Wearing out pads too quickly

veeko

veeko

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Gear: XP7424 with 5.5" LC CCS white, orange, yellow pads and Optimum polish II

I would imagine that these pads are capable of doing more than one vehicle. I seem to be wearing out the centers after a single vehicle and I am look for some feedback as to what I am doing wrong. When using these pads I am using them at a speed of 6. I have a feeling that I'm using the pads at too high of a speed and applying too much pressure. I'm essentially using the weight of the machine plus the additional weight of my hand palming the top of the machine, enough to keep the pad spinning nicely. At times I do catch myself applying some additional pressure when I probably shouldn't be. I am swapping between 2 pads and switch switch out one for another once I have completed a panel. I do also spur the pad every other panel but there's barely anything that comes off (using a toothbrush). I have been getting some great results however the pads aren't lasting for more then a vehicle.

Do most of the compound and polish products work just as good at a speed of 5?

Any feedback is good feedback.

Thanks
Lu.
 
hmm, that's strange, I've done a two stage polish on my car and a one stepper on 2 others using the same two orange pads each time and my pads still look new

I use one pad for half the car, cleaning on the fly with a terry towel after each panel. Then I swap to a fresh pad and do the same for the other half of the car.

What may be happening is the act of ripping off the pads while they are hot is putting more stress on the glue than if you just left it on a bit longer, then swapped to a fresh pad, not going back to a used pad after it is removed.

Haven't done much polishing but those are my thoughts...
 
thanks for your reply. what speed are you using the pad at?
 
I use mine at 5 for correction with 5.5 in flat pads but I have a GG6
 
Cleaning on the fly doesn't seem to work well for me. Maybe I'm not doing it often enough or I have crappy towels?


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you said you "spur" the pads, i hope your meaning a nylon brush not a metal spur, as metal spurs are for wool pads not foam,also ive seen people on the forums who use the nylon brush and it eats up the pads, its probably your cleaning methods...
 
Which part of your pads are failing? I am assuming your talking about the cut?
 
By spurring I was referring to cleaning on a low speed with a soft tooth brush.

The centers of the pad is what's wearing out on me way too quickly
 
Come to think of it, I've realized much less cutting ability with my white pads recently. They are 5.5in ccs and I use my orange nylon brush to clean them, but I wasn't aware that they wear down this quickly.
 
i forgot to add the way i clean my pads is with a paintbrush with bristles cut down to make it a good bit stiffer but not enough to do any damage to the pad...works for me
 
I use a griots and usually polish at speed 4.5 to 5...i think your speed is too high...maybe cut down to speed 5 or 5.5 and im sure it will help.

that being said..i used flat pads most times. i clean on the fly w/a smally nylon brush i got from target in their car care section...works great. I do it gently and generally do it till the dust stops flying off it and if it gets overly wet ill wipe with a terry.

I had been using speed 6...middle of the pad got too hot...and tore the backing off when i went to remove it on a couple pads..that got me to going to a slower speed. Now your backing is ok but id assume the heat build up still transfers through the pad and that could be an issue.

Also, how do you apply your polish...do you do an X or do a circle in the middle or apply pea sized dots or do you 'pick up a bead'. For me i prime my pad then apply 3-4 pea sized drops on the pad...not directly center though..but moved out slightly.
 
Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
I use a griots and usually polish at speed 4.5 to 5...i think your speed is too high...maybe cut down to speed 5 or 5.5 and im sure it will help.
Click to expand...

:iagree: I only tend to use speed 6 when doing compounding or some heavy swirl removal. I think bumping the speed down to 5 will work fine.
 
embolism said:
have you seen this post?

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/37538-burnt-backer-pads-2.html
Click to expand...

i dont think this is the case but i am definitely going to check the clearance to see if the spacer is necessary.

Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
I use a griots and usually polish at speed 4.5 to 5...i think your speed is too high...maybe cut down to speed 5 or 5.5 and im sure it will help.

that being said..i used flat pads most times. i clean on the fly w/a smally nylon brush i got from target in their car care section...works great. I do it gently and generally do it till the dust stops flying off it and if it gets overly wet ill wipe with a terry.

I had been using speed 6...middle of the pad got too hot...and tore the backing off when i went to remove it on a couple pads..that got me to going to a slower speed. Now your backing is ok but id assume the heat build up still transfers through the pad and that could be an issue.

Also, how do you apply your polish...do you do an X or do a circle in the middle or apply pea sized dots or do you 'pick up a bead'. For me i prime my pad then apply 3-4 pea sized drops on the pad...not directly center though..but moved out slightly.
Click to expand...

it could be that i need to slow the speed down to 5 (i dont think the PC has .5 increments).

thats exactly it, it seems as if the heat build up is transferring through to the pad which is causing the center of my pads to burn up and become really soft. would slowing the speed down or adding a spacer help avoid this from happening?

i apply my polish in an X form on the pad and spray on xmt pad conditioner prior to polishing. i could also try avoiding the center when applying polish to the pad.
 
veeko said:
just found this as well.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...ers/6051-how-hot-does-your-pc-7424-get-2.html

i'm going to check if i have the spacer in place.
Click to expand...

When you say spacer...do you mean the little washer that goes on the spindle? That could be...and i always use one.

Ive tried pad priming w/spray...but using the Kevin Brown Method has worked best for me.

If you're unfamiliar do a search on it...but in short...you put a good amount of product on the face of the pad...then use your finger to gently massage it in over the WHOLE surface of the pad...dont drench it...but just get it enough to where it covers the whole surface...then just 3 or 4 pea sized dots will be all you need. Its nice because it allows the WHOLE pad to be used for correction and not JUST focus on the center...and is really nice because on edges or body lines..if you just SLIGHTLY tilt your polisher in the direction of the edge...or lean your pressure towards that side, it gives you really good correction since you actually HAVE PRODUCT on that part of the pad and not just in the middle. If you really want to check out a buff job...look at the edges and tape lines...those are super hard to get but done correctly it really makes it look 'finished'
 
Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
When you say spacer...do you mean the little washer that goes on the spindle? That could be...and i always use one.
Click to expand...

That's the one! I don't think I put it on when I first got my PC. I called PC today and they shipped one out to me free of charge. :xyxthumbs:

Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
Ive tried pad priming w/spray...but using the Kevin Brown Method has worked best for me.

If you're unfamiliar do a search on it...but in short...you put a good amount of product on the face of the pad...then use your finger to gently massage it in over the WHOLE surface of the pad...dont drench it...but just get it enough to where it covers the whole surface...then just 3 or 4 pea sized dots will be all you need. Its nice because it allows the WHOLE pad to be used for correction and not JUST focus on the center...and is really nice because on edges or body lines..if you just SLIGHTLY tilt your polisher in the direction of the edge...or lean your pressure towards that side, it gives you really good correction since you actually HAVE PRODUCT on that part of the pad and not just in the middle. If you really want to check out a buff job...look at the edges and tape lines...those are super hard to get but done correctly it really makes it look 'finished'
Click to expand...

I've read up on it before. When I get some free time I will definitely give it a shot. Thanks for the advice!
 
Here's some recent pics of the work I did on my brothers 2003 VW GTI 20th Anniversary. Such an awesome colour to work with!

hood reflection
IMG-20110807-00427.jpg


roof reflection
IMG-20110807-00428.jpg


hood reflection
IMG-20110807-00431.jpg
 
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