The Pencil Trick - What is a bead of product when using a rotary buffer?

[Mike Phillips]

The Pencil Trick - What is a bead of product when using a rotary buffer?


I was speaking with Mike aka smack aka Mike@DedicatedPerfection about a bead of product this morning and describing how I use a plain, ordinary pencil in my detailing classes to teach people how much product to lay down when laying down a bead or strip of product.

While on the phone I could not locate the picture but using the right key words with Google images I found it....






So here's the deal with the lingo in our industry....

When you hear someone say they are going to pick up their bead of product or they're going to lay down a bead of product what they mean is they're going to pour a strip of product, usually a compound or polish onto a panel and then using the 10 @ 10 Technique they will "pick it up" with the buffing pad on their buffer.



The Pencil Trick - How much product to lay down?
A good general rule of thumb is to use a new wood pencil like I show in the picture above as a reference for how much product to apply when compounding or polishing with a rotary buffer. This is assuming you're using a 7" or larger buffing pad. Adjust according to pad size.


I don't know where the word "bead" came from it's just the term I've always used and remember being used since I became involved in this industry. Perhaps an old-timer body shop guy knows?

The word bead can be used interchangeably with the word strip but for some reason the word bead is the commonly used term.


And that's the rest of the story....

[Dr_Pain]

Well blow me down with a whisper!!!! This is the simplest, most concise and oh so visual reference (for newb and pro alike). Thanks Mike (and Mike)

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Good talking with you over the phone this morning Mike. Always a pleasure.

Thanks for putting this together to showcase exactly what is going on.

I will surely include my picture of this method when I get going with Menzerna's new SC300 compound...

[TurboToys]

maybe the term started when a welder coined it? only other place you use the term laying a bead and putting a line of product (or running a whole rod in a straight line) is with welding.

[Mike Phillips]

maybe the term started when a welder coined it? only other place you use the term laying a bead and putting a line of product (or running a whole rod in a straight line) is with welding.

That could very well be....

I used to work as a welder on a Dairy Farm and you're correct, when you're stick welding you're laying down a bead of product or a bead of steel weld.

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

As promised Mike. Pictures taken from my review on the new Menzerna SC300.
Initial Impression: Menzerna SC300 vs. FG400







Using the 10 @ 10 technique is a beautiful way to grab your product from the surface. Simply lay down a bead of product on the surface and swipe the polisher over the surface to pick it up and begin working.

Thanks again for the phone talk last week and also getting me in the booth with you at SEMA 2011 and showing me exactly how it's done. That was the first time I ever laid hands on the PE14 or picked up a bead of product. Talk about pressure doing it for the first time in front of you, the AG crew, and many many SEMA spectators!

I think this is the article you were talking about.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...ry-buffer.html

Thanks again buddy!