Coolfoam Polishing Pads - Mini Review

One of the issues with using a rotary polisher with foam pads is the heat that can be generated, especially at higher speeds and with more aggressive polishes and compounds. High heat can quickly lead to paint damage, especially on plastic panels such as bumpers where the material used cannot dissipate the hear produced effectively.

The design of the foam pads on test here are such that they help to ensure lower polishing temperatures and reduce the risk of paint burns when using a rotary polisher. They have been tested here in 6" size using a Makita 9227CB rotary polisher with a Meguiars backing plate.

As is traditional in one of my tests, we start off with a swirled test panel - light to medium swirls here like you would see on a typical car:



The choice of polish and pad to remove these marks was Menzerna PO85RD3.02 Intensive Polish applied using a 6" Coolfoam Orange Light Cut pad, shown primed with polish below:



My traditional technique of slow>faster>fast>slower was used to work the polish. The polish was spread at 600rpm, worked for two or three passes at 1200rpm before turning up the wick to 1800rpm to work the polish in until the residue went clear, and then back off to 1200rpm for a couple of passes to refine.

First impressions of the pad were that, straight out of the box, it was rather hard. I'm not a fan of hard polishing pads personally, and the LakeCountry Orange Light Cutting is the world's worst offending for me. This pad however softened up after just a couple of passes and remained soft for the rest of the session which was good.

Pad was easy to control, spread the polish and worked the polish effectively. I sometimes worry about "shaped" pad surfaces over flat ones, as they can trap polish and then chuck it out later in your polishing set - LakeCountry CCS pads I find can do this on occasions. These pads did not give this problem though, they spread the polish evenly and worked it thoroughly and evenly.

The end results with the light cut pad and Intensive Polish:



Finish was good - good clarity, no holograms and full correction achieved showing the pads working the cut of the polish well without inducing scouring of their own.

The acid test however - winding the speed up to 2000rpm and comparing with the flat faced Meguiars polishing pad. Making several slow passes revealed that to the touch, the panel with the Meguiars pad seemed noticeably hotter so the design of the Coolfoam pads were doing their job. Dont expect them to give cold panels, but they run that little bit cooler than flat pads which is an advantage.

Next out of the box was the Coolfoam Red Finishing pad:



Applied Menzerna PO106FF Final Finish using this pad to go for an enhancement to the gloss of the above finish, again using my traditional finishing technique: spread at 600rpm, work for a couple of passes at 1200rpm, then work until the residue goes clear at 1500rpm before refining for a couple of passes at 1200rpm.

First impressions of this pad were that it was very soft - much like the Meguiars W9006 Tan finishing pad. Lovely feeling foam that was lovely in use and very easy to control, with no evidence of the foam becoming bogged down with the polish.

The end results:



A lovely high gloss finish, as you would expect from one of the best finishing polishes on the market used on a high quality finishing foam.


Discussion:

The Coolfoam pads have been designed to help reduce heat build up during the polishing process and this is something which they do effectively do versus equivalent (and lower) cutting flat foam pads. This does bring an additional safety element to rotary machine polishing that proves very well the worth of these pads.

As well as serving the purpose they were designed for, the are also effective at spreading and working polishes trialled on them - the design doesn't cause hording of the polish but rather keeps a nice even spread of the product being worked which makes for easier and more effective breaking down of the abrasives.

Jury is out for me on longevity of the pads as I have yet to put this to full use, but will report back as the pads are used through my detailing in the coming weeks and months.

One final point of note is the price: These pads are very competitively priced, cheaper than the slightly larger Meguiars polishing pads which makes them very strong contenders in the rotary polishing market.

All in all, a big :thumb: from me on these pads for rotary polishing.

Many thanks to Alex at Elite Car Care in the UK for sending me the pads to try out.

 

nice Dave.. thanks for the Review.. are these pads sold here in the US?

 

great review dave. wow! who's the maker of the pads? or what brand is this? if it doesn't build up that much heat it should be good...

 

Tnx man nice mini review.

 

I'll do some more research into this for you, guys

 

I'm very interested in these pads too.

 

thanks Dave...

 

No probs, I have contacted the UK based trader who sent me these pads for further information about manufacturer and availability in USA and Canada. Will keep you posted.

 

Thanks again Dave... i wonder if there are any domestic companies here..

 

Oh BTW... the cool foam is similar to the ones from 3M right? 3M eStore: 3M Perfect-it Hookit Foam Polishing Pad

 

The pads I have were sourced from Elite Car Care in the UK - Coolfoam pads.

I hope that doesn't violate any advertising rules - I am not related to the above company, just happen to buy some of my products from them

I have been told that these pads are not available in the US, but retailers in the UK are happy to ship across as they are light so shouldn't cost too much...

The design is similar in concept to the 3M pads you point out above, though contains more in the way of "flat face" due to the more square design... Both designs I have tried out to find that they work effectively, the ones above are preferred by me on a cost basis in the UK as I can source the Coolfoam pads cheaper and they do an excellent job

Hope this information is useful

 

I think these pads are manufactured by flexipads.com, look at the ultimate "coolshine" foam @ page 18

http://www.flexipads.com/docs/flexipads-catalogue-2006.pdf

 

They look very similar - right colours, though on the ones I have, the backing plate does not extend out to the edge as shown in the picture.

The foam design looks nearly identical though.

 

too bad thats in UK...

 

Thorough and detailed product review as always - appreciated

Cool Foam Pads (LC CCS Technology) - these are the first pads designed specifically for use on painted fiberglass and composite surfaces. Because fiberglass can not dissipate heat like painted metal, these pads are designed to minimize paint burn, checkering and scorching by internally dissipating heat to keep the working surface cooler providing an extra margin of safety when polishing on any paint finish (7.5 and 4 – inch) - Classic Motoring Accessories - Car Buffers, Car Waxes, Car Polishes, Auto Detailing Supplies, Car Covers, Car Accessories