Using a DA polisher for the first time

[Coopers ST]

Meguiars pro tips (thats what I think they are called) has great videos, while most apply to their own tool, its still good enough to watch and look at.

These videos Mike used a PC, I actually ordered a GG, the idea is the same isn't it? I am still going to operate my GG the same and same speeds?

[Mike Phillips]

I am watching the videos here http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-polisher.html and have a couple questions.

In part two I notice you put the product in a 'X', did you already prime the pad, or do you not prime it?

In this video I didn't prime the pad just like you see, that is by placing an X-pattern on the face of the pad. Kevin Brown make "priming the entire face" of the pad popular and once this became the new accepted norm for how to polish paint I started showing the same as I think it makes good sense. Before this method became popular though keep in mind MILLIONS of cars were buffed out successfully by simply placing an X-pattern of product onto the face of the pad or my preferred method placing a circle of product around the outside perimeter of the pad.

The reason I preferred the Circle-Pattern was because once you start buffing out cars with foam pads on dual action polishers you'll notice your pads tend to become wet or saturated with "liquid" form the product you're using. The "liquid" accumulates the MOST in the center of the pad, not the outside.

Knowing this I chose not to help the center of the pad to becomes saturated faster by not placing product in the middle of the pad.

Knowing many of the people that have attended my classes were new to machine polishing, instead of letting them figure this out on their own and dealing with wet, soggy foam pads I would always show them the circle option instead of the X-pattern option.

With the pad priming option, you're coating the entire face of the pad with a thin film of product which means a thin film of both abrasives and lubrication and then applying 3-4 drops or dollops of product to the outer perimeter of the pad, pretty much the best advantages of all options.

Then again... millions of cars have been buffed out and continue to be buffed out by people that don't prime and simply squirt some product on the face of the pad and start buffing.

No matter how you apply the product to the face of the pad, after doing 6-8 section passes over a body panel the pad for the most part become "primed" in that the face of the pad gets product over the entire face.

Buff out a few thousand cars and try different options for applying product to the face of the pad and sooner or later you'll find a technique that works best for you.

Priming a new, dry pad and then adding a few drops of what I always call the "working product" because it's the majority of the product that's going to be going to work for you is in my opinion the best way.

Meguiar's even stresses the importance of thoroughly priming their microfiber pads in their microfiber DA Correction System but I don't know if they stress the same for any of the products when using them with foam pads. If they do now that would be a change because in years past the recommendation for foam pads on dual action polishers was the simple X-pattern.


New Video - Meguiar's DA Microfiber Correction System


Last summer, Jason Rose and Mike Pennington joined me here in sunny Stuart, Florida to shoot a new video to introduce the new products and improvements to their already successful Microfiber DA Correction System.

Check it out...

New Meguiar's MF Training Video

In step 3, I am watching the black mark on the backing plate. Is it an illusion, or is the pad really spinning that slow?

When applying pressure to s dual action polisher the pad will slow down but it should still spin at a fairly good clip. Most important is to make sure the pad does not STOP rotating due to too little or too much pressure.

Also, keep in mind that these videos were made when I first came to work for Autogeek and in these videos we show using 6.5" thick pads. Sometime afterwards Lake Country introduced 5.5" thin pads and thin pads always rotate better than thick large pads.

I don't ever use anything but the 5.5" thin pads when using dual action polishers like the Porter Cable. In fact, all the Griot's and Meguiar's dual action polishers in our garage have 5" backing plates and all we use is 5.5" pads. You can see this in any of the write-ups I've posted over the last 4.5 years and in any of the Live Broadcast videos and even any of the videos AFTER these ones you're referencing.

I also recommend the same in all versions of my how-to book and explain why. I coined the term...

Thin is in...

Thick foam pads simply absorb and dissipate the energy coming out of these types of tools more so than thin foam pads.

Proof and vindication of this is look at the Meguiar's Microfiber pads, they are thin by design and that is to get the most "safe" correction work out of a dual action polisher to reduce the need for rotary buffers in the production detailing industry. They've invested a lot of time and research into pad design for dual action polishers.

These videos Mike used a PC, I actually ordered a GG, the idea is the same isn't it? I am still going to operate my GG the same and same speeds?

Yes.

The Porter Cable, Meguiar's G110v2 (and all the previous versions and the Griot's polisher are all the same "type" of tool.

[SR99]

The reason I preferred the Circle-Pattern was because once you start buffing out cars with foam pads on dual action polishers you'll notice your pads tend to become wet or saturated with "liquid" form the product you're using. The "liquid" accumulates the MOST in the center of the pad, not the outside.

Knowing this I chose not to help the center of the pad to becomes saturated faster by not placing product in the middle of the pad.

Have you noticed that the large-throw machines don't tend to have the center accumulation of product as much?

[Mike Phillips]

Have you noticed that the large-throw machines don't tend to have the center accumulation of product as much?

With the Rupes compound and blue foam cutting pad, "yes".

With the softer foam pads I still see pad saturation if a person either overuses product, (common), or uses a single pad too long for one project before switching to a fresh, dry pad.

More pads is better as trying to push a foam pad to do correction and polishing work to long accelerates pad failure due to excessive heat build up caused by heat retaining moisture inside the pad. That plus the violent oscillating action, (at extended high speed settings), we all punish our pads with doesn't tend to increase pad life. What's the opposite of increase.


Good question...