Micro Fiber pads and Backing Plates - What will handle the abuse?

Hi guys,


Some time ago I worked on a german car with "scratch resistant" ceramic paint. It was heavily swirled and marred.

Rotary and Wool + S500 didn't do much, but the D300 worked like a charm under heavy pressure and speed 4 on my DA, needing 2-3 hits all over the car. But the Meguiar's pads overheated quite fast. I went through 3 small pads and 3 medium pads (5 inches) on one car. I've not always had these issues, but the paint was a bit odd on this car.


The the velcro hooks in the middel of the 125mm Meguiar's BP also melted, so I'm looking for a replacement.

I've since been looking at ventilated 125mm Mirka backingplates(5/16" attachment), which should sort some of the overheating. Anyone having experience with these BPs?


And I want to try some different MF Cutting pads - I can see that both Chemical Guys and Optimum do them, but they look very much alike. What to get? - And why?



Kind regards,

Ebbe

 

Did you use the Meg's BP designed for use with the pads, W67DA I think is the number I have?

 

Indeed, an original Meguiar's Backing plate from my former G220.


Kind regards,

Ebbe

 

If your backing plates are melting, you are using too much pressure. Lighten up a bit and slow your movement. As well, go up to speed 5, Put a visible mark on your backing plate. Under normal load on flat surfaces, that mark should show that the backing plate is spinning freely. That should solve your heating issue. It is possible to put enough load on the PC to get the BP to spin backwards.

 

Thanks for the reply.

The pad was spinning in the correct direction and the movement was really slow, it's on a machine similar to the Griot's Garage DA. The pads felt like they overheated even faster on speed 5.


Kind regards,

Ebbe

 

Hey EbbeJ,

Let me know if you find a resolution or if one of the backing plates with holes helps reduce the heat. I was just working on a Volvo S60R, medium-hard paint and just blew up a pad that melted a nice hole in the hook/loop backing plate too. I was using pressure, but I have the mark and it was spinning pretty well. I was using speed 5.

 

Will do, I'm getting some Mirka backing plates and interface pads, and will be trying this option with both Meg's MF pads and Opt./Chem.Guys MF pads..


Kind regards,

Ebbe

 

Okay,

I got hold of all the bits now, will be testing this pretty soon.

This is how it looks..





The backing plate is supplied with a "Pad Saver", which is nice if the velcro decides to melt again. Bought a few extra of these + interface pads for 125mm BPs


I hope these holes will help cooling the pads down




My old Meguiar's 125mm BP, nicely melted in the middle


Also bought the pad savers and interface pad for the small Megs BP, the holes match




Kind regards,

Ebbe

 

Thanks Ebbe!

I've been holding off on ordering one until I hear the results. Looks promising. What D/A is that? Thanks for doing this!

 

My CG Evolve backing plate seems to be holding up really well. Its only been used a few times for polishing cars, but I used it a while back with some 800, 1500, 2000, and 3000 grit sanding discs on my Flex PE-14 to polish my steel exhaust. That generated a way more heat than paint polishing ever should and it held up just fine.

 

That BP is a bit $$, but if it saves these pads and allows them to work longer than a few panels then I'm in!!

 

- No problems. It's called an DAP900, should be pretty much the same as the Griot's/DAS6 Pro from the UK etc. (although all models vary a little)

- I didn't know the backing you mentioned, so I looked it up. It seems to be a backing plate for rotary polishers, and the problems I've had are concerning D/As


Kind regards,

Ebbe

 

Are you blowing your pads out with compressed air to clean or are you using a pad brush? I blow mine out after each section and it seem to help keep the temps in check. I have yet to have a pad fail like that when used per the instructions and I've been using them since Dec '10. I'm currently using a Mirka plate for both 3" and 5" but they do not have the holes in them.

I did have a couple come apart after washing though, which Meguiar's replaced without issue.

Rasky

 

Hi,

Thanks for posting.

A bit of both, of course using a compressor cools them a bit, but the heat builds up in the middle of the step. What machine are you using? The DAP900 I use is 880w.

I have used the MF pads without issues, but sometimes these pads die quickly.


Kind regards,

Ebbe

 

I'm not familiar with the DAP900, but it appears to be similar to the ones we use here in the US. I'm using the Groits Garage DA on a speed of 4 (approximately 4800opm). You could just have some pads from the bad batch I guess. Though up until a couple weeks ago I had not had any fail with washing either, so who knows. I do still have one of my per-release pads working like a champ though.

Cheers,
Rasky

 

The issue is the heat that is generated during polishing with a DA builds up into the backing plate. The heat isn't allowed to dissipate, causing high enough temperatures between the pad and into the BP, causing them to fail. Unlike a rotary, where the action of the machine causes the heat to generate between the pad and the paint or surface being polished.

Easy fix would be to change backing plates periodically, and change mf pads often... every panel or so should allow them to cool giving you better pad life.

I've set up two DA's to address this issue. While I use one, the other cools down, and with it its backing plate. The pads are changed every panel or half panel depending on its size.

Another important point is to clean the MF pads often. Compressed air is your best friend with this system.

Sent from my VM670 using Tapatalk

 

That Mirka BP looks interesting. Where do you get it?

 

It's about the same as the Griot's machine. And I was mainly using speed 4 with the 5.5 inch pads.

- Thanks for posting.

I'm hoping that this BP and the interface pads will help cooling the contact surface between pad and backing plate under the polishing step. I agree that compressed air is great, but it's not always possible to carry along a compressor.

I got mine from Germany, so I bet shipping would kill the deal for you. From a quick google search I can see that "BuffDaddy.com" aka. Kevin Brown sell Mirka products, you could try contacting him.


Kind regards,

Ebbe

 

Those Mirka bps and pad interface looks pretty cool. Just ordered the uber 3 inch from Phil after my meguiars one busted.

I'll be anxious to see how the uber mf pads hold up on my next job...

 

Not sure how well plates made for Mirka's net mesh sanding discs will hold up. They use a longer hook, which have been designed to lay over on their sides (so as not to stick through the sanding disc). Nevertheless, last week I had a guy text me about trying to get a hold of a plate with lots of holes, as he hopes it'll keep things running cooler.

I took a Mirka plate similar to the plate shown as the focus of this thread, but a 6" version (916SGV - 6" diameter, Soft, G=hook face, Vacuum), cut it down to match the diameter of a 5" DA Microfiber Disc. I told him to basically use like he stole it... I figure it'll fail, but I've been wrong before, so we shall see.

I'm not too sure how much holes will help. Generally, using slower machine speed and keeping the pad free of solvent saturation helps more than anything. Spritzing water on the paint surface while compounding helps tremendously- not for cooling, but rather, it can increase cut, keep the disc clean, loosen the product that is already attached to the microfiber (allowing you to use the compound longer before more is needed), create less dust (less compound = less dusting), untwists fibers and positions them closely together (increasing leveling ability).

Getting the picture here? Spritz is tits! :headbang:

While there are times when super-fast machines speeds are necessary, they're usually needed to increase backing plate rotation. Rarely if ever, do we find ourselves thinking, "Gee, if I could only polish this exact spot 125 times per second (7,500 RPM) instead of 110 times per second (6,600 RPM)." Nope, we usually increase machine speed in order to create more backing plate rotation, not to polish an area more times per second. Centripetal force is what causes the backing plate to randomly rotate; applied pressure, machine weight, abrasive-laden compounds, heavy pads and backing plates, friction, bearing quality, and so many more things affect centripetal force.

A wonderfully interesting topic for another day, I suppose. :graduation: