4in 6in 8in

[abrcrombe]

What pad size is better for polishing. 4, 6, or 8 inches. I know Neo uses 4 inches, and he always has great advice. What do you guys/girls use? I use 6 inches, but am willing to change.

[killrwheels@autogeek]

I like the standard 6 inch pads personally, but found that the 4 inch units worked better on my past Vette because they fit inside the body side moldings. So it appears that each are best given the car and finish ... cannot go wrong with either 4,6,8.

[abrcrombe]

Neo says he only gets results from the 4 in pads. Do you see a difference in performance?

[BILL]

Originally Posted by abrcrombe

Neo says he only gets results from the 4 in pads. Do you see a difference in performance?

Maybe maneuverability

[abrcrombe]

By manueverability, do you mean him being able to put it exactly where he wants or to get into smaller spaces? His Tc has pretty wide open panels.

[BILL]

yes .tight spots....or maybe the ease of use since its a smaller tighter pass.............. but as far as final finish??? NAW.......

[abrcrombe]

Do you use 6 inchers?

[BILL]

6 inch pads for me.......

[dengood1]

I REALLY like the 5" low profile orange cutting pad I got with my pc kit. It's very maneuverable and operates VERY smoothly with the 5" backing plate because I assume I can center it better. It also rotates much more rapidly (pad rotating freely), which I like. Sometimes I notice the larger pads kinda sitting in one place, not rotating much probably because I'm applying too much pressure I'm sure it's not important, but it seems it works the product better and the polishes break down quicker. I like the larger pads for finishing. Just my 2 cents----still learning

[Neothin]

well, ya, you guys already know what i use.

my reasoning-
smaller pads take more pressure to bog the machine down. as such, i can apply more pressure to the pc and still have it orbit at a faster rate than i could with a larger pad.
the force of the pc is concentrated into a smaller area. think of it this way, you apply pressure to the pc using a large pad and then again with a small pad. the pressure remains constant throughout both tests. the larger pad spreads that pressure out over a larger area and as such less pressure is applied per square inch of pad space. with smaller pads, that same force is distributed over a smaller area which in turns gives you more force per area.
I like how i can fit the machine into smaller spaces with the small pads. just taking a look at my tC, the air ducts to the left and right of the lower grille, the a-b-c pillar, and the area under the mirrors gets really tight. small pads let me get to those areas easily.