Pads versus Products: What do you move up in aggressiveness first

Here's a general polishing question: when you are doing you test spot and need more umph to correct, do you grab more aggressive pads first or try the same pad with a more aggressive polish?

Example: if WP-3N and a LC Hydrotech Tangerine, do you go next to WP-5n with Tangerine or WP-3N with Cyan?

 

Change your pad first. The trick, especially when using a rotary, is to get as much cut as you can without leaving holograms. By moving to a more agressive pad, there is less chance of inducing holograms and necessitating a second step. Menz Power Finish and Scholl S17 are awesome for this as you can use them with aggressive pads and get very good correction without leaving holograms.

 

^^Same. Depending on the result I'm looking for I'll usually start with PowerFinish on an Uber green or blue pad. Then if its not enough cut, I'll bump up the pad before stepping into a compound.

 

Got it. Thanks for the reply. Now I just have to get my back to cooperate so I can do this.

 

Pad Dependency

Any abrasive polish and pad combination is only as fine as its coarsest component. All abrasive polishes are ‘foam pad and applied pressure dependant’ as far as their paint correction abilities are concerned. Any abrasive / pad combination is reliant upon its most abrasive component.

If we consider the Lake County (LC) White foam (50 PPI) polishing pad as the baseline; any polish used will derive help from the abrasive abilities of the foam. Then consider the LC Blue (70 PPI) finishing pad has no abrasive ability and will contribute nothing to the cutting capability 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 (10-15 Lbs is the usual range) applied will also have an effect on the abrasives capability


Different pad / product combinations (least abrasive pad / polish first)


a) Base pad / product (least abrasive pad / product) if this combination does not provide the desired results, increase the aggressiveness of the technique or product selection.
b) Step-up 1 - using the same pad with a more abrasive product
c) Step-up II – use a less abrasive pad and the same product as used in step-up I
d) Step-up III- using the same pad with a more abrasive product

As can been ascertained from the above the total abrasive ability of a polish / foam pad combination is subject to many variables, the polishes abrasive ability is just the starting point

Factors that increase abrasion ability

• Increased speed (Velocity)
• Increased pressure (Compression)
• Use smaller pad(Reduced surface Area)
• Using a slower panel transition speed (Increased surface contact time)
• Reduce the working area

The key to the polishing process is to know how the paint will react with each pad / polish combination you consider using. You must know your product and what its capabilities are before using it. This is why a ‘test’ spot is so important.

The factors that affect the outcome -speed, friction (kinetic energy) applied pressure, foam pad actual surface contact area, pad grit number (abrasive ability) amount of surface lubrication available, the surface area and heat conductivity of material

All pads have a performance cycle, meaning you will get the desired results only to a certain point on that curve. The point of declining performance is typically reached by polish / compound pad being overloaded with product; you should always be able to see the individual cells or texture of the pad, with proper, regular cleaning pad overload can be avoided.

Clean (or replace) you pads frequently: pads are easy to clean; the slotted pad face actually makes it easy to clean. Do not use the same pad to apply differing products as cross contamination will reduce the effectiveness or completely negate their purpose altogether. A new or freshly cleaned pad must be used with each type of car care product.

 

Ive always wondered this as well, but let me ask just to make sure I am understanding this correctly.

Say I only have M105 and M205. I want to use the least intensive method to correct the paint.

1. So I start off by using M205 and an Uber Green pad (I suppose LC White would be about the same?)

2. M205 & Green pad doesnt cut it.

3. I should step up to the next heaviest cutting pad, Uber Orange (LC orange?) while still using M205? Correct so far?

If that doesnt cut it, would I be stepping up to M205 with Uber Yellow? Or should I go to M105 and Uber Orange?

I tried to make that process as little confusing as possible lol.

Obviously there are other variables that need to be factored in such as what car is getting polished/RPM/OPM/Pressure/Lubricity/Humidity/etc....


Ive been playing around with Surbuf pads lately and I know that they are a completely different ball game. ive had some hits and misses with them so far. One time i tried Surbuf w/ M105 worked like a charm, the next time, the M105 dried up almost instantly and started chunking up, became chalky, and was a huuuuge PITA to remove. From everything I read, youre not supposed to prime Surbuf pads but start off by using only a couple small drops of polish. What about misting some detail spray on the pad???

I dont mean to thread jack by any means, but i figured it was relevant to the OP's question

 

No Hijack. Good question.

 

Well with Meguiars 105 for sure, you need to keep it moist to get it past that initial drying stage, and then it will settle down and work much better. This is how it works for me almost 100% of the time, and one of the reasons I try to avoid it as much as possible. I have not found a better solution to make M105 work normally to date, except for what I just said above..

None of the Menzerna products act like this, and now that I have Meguiars 101 I am glad to hear it doesnt act at all like M105.

Dan F

 

Ok, to get more specific with my question. The Jag I'm going to be correcting has very hard paint (according to folks I trust know this sort of thing). I'll get my new PTG after this weekend to make sure it seems to be original paint and see what I'm working with as far as how much clear I have.

How aggressive a combination should I go in with to start? I'm assuming my SF4000 on an Uber Green is probably not the place. Should I start with WP-3N or go straight to D300? Going against the advice already given, I do have OPT MF cutting pads waiting to go into action - just sayin'.

 

Dan when your using 105 how are you keeping it moist? Cause sometimes it dries out?

 

I would step it up to an orange pad personally, m205 is very pad dependent, you can make it cut hard and finish well. If 205 with an orange pad isnt cutting it, step it up to Menzerna SIP or 203, try with green, then with orange.