3 inch to 3.5 inch buffing pads

Hey everyone,

So I have been using LC 4 inch pads and although it does it's job it doesn't get the job done as well as I would like it.

I have looked at Gloss-It pads but they are a tad expensive. Menzerna looks like an interesting choice but it doesn't seem to be readily available in North America let alone Canada. I would appreciate any recommendations.

Thanks in advance !

 

Foam Pad Size (Area and Applied Pressure)

Smaller pads in general will offer you more control with any buffer, as it can reduce the tendency for the buffer to skip on the paint surface. Smaller pads also make it easier to manoeuvre in tighter areas and closer to trim pieces.
Assuming equal orbital speed, orbital radius and foam compression (50% - 15 pounds of force applied) the difference between 4- inch and 6 - inch pads is their different surface area and therefore surface friction applied.

Pressure / Pad Compression

The required pressure applied to obtain optimum results to adequately compress the pad (50%) and obtain uniform abrasion is usually in the range of 10 – 15 lbs. (a random orbital buffer will stall at approximately 20 pounds of applied force) To compress a 6-inch pad 50% requires you increase the total force by the ratio of their surface areas (i.e.2.25 times as much force, almost 34 pounds). With the smaller pad you're applying the same force, at a constant speed but over a smaller, more concentrated area, which will induce friction and greater abrasion abilities to the polish, both these abilities require a certain amount of caution as it’s possible to abrasion burn the paint.

Foam and Polish Combinations

All abrasive polishes are ‘foam pad dependant’ as far as their paint correction abilities are concerned. If we consider the LC White foam (50 PPI) pad as the baseline; any polish used will derive help from the abrasive abilities of the foam. Then consider the LC Blue (70 PPI) these pads have no abrasive abilities and will contribute nothing to the cutting ability of a polish.

What is derived from this is that a polishes abrasive ability can be ‘fine tuned’ by using different combinations (abrasiveness) of polish and foam (the same thing is true of wool pads) and of course differing the amount of downward pressure applied will also have an effect on the cutting abilities

An extract from one of a series of in-depth detailing articles © TOGWT ™ Ltd Copyright 2002-2008, all rights reserved ​

 

Car Buffing Pads, Car Wash Equipment, Automotive Polishing Pad & More – Buff and Shine

They are also available at ADS - Auto Detailing Solutions -- Meguiar's Car Wax, Auto Polish & Detailing Supplies Store

They fit awesome on the 75mm bp from Ben. I have only dry fit them, I have not polished with them yet. But they were reasonable priced, at about 4 bucks each IIRC.