How much product do I use with my DA Polisher?

[Mike Phillips]

How much product do I use with my DA Polisher?


Use an "ample" amount of product
When I say use an ample amount of product this means don’t use too much product and don’t use to little product.

From The Free Dictionary.com

am·ple
adjective

1. Of large or great size, amount, extent, or capacity: an ample living room.

2.
a. Large in degree, kind, or quantity: an ample reward.
b. More than enough: ample evidence.

3. Fully sufficient to meet a need or purpose: had ample food for the party.

Out of the above definitions, I'm using the 3rd definition.

Using too much product
If you use too much you can hyper-lubricate the surface and this will make it more difficult for the abrasives to abrade the surface as they’ll tend to want to glide or slip over the surface instead of bite into the surface.

Using too little product
If you use too little product there won’t be enough lubrication to enable the buffing pad to rotate and thus engage the abrasives against the surface so they can bite into and remove small particles of paint.

You want an AMPLE amount of product when first starting out because you pad is dry and some of the product is going to seep into the pad leaving less on the surface to LUBRICATE and ABRADE the paint.

Another option is to use a Pad Conditioner to lubricate and condition the surface of a dry pad, this will improve the buffing cycle and provide protection to the paint surface to help prevent micro-marring.

XMT Polishing Pad Conditioner



Cut down on the amount of product AFTER pad is broken-in...
After your pad is broken in with product, clean your pad after each section pass and when you apply fresh product you can cut down on the amount of product you actually apply to the face of your pad.

Some people will recommend 3 to 4 dime size drops of product as the proper amount of product to use and this can be correct for concentrated products or working small sections and if you follow this advice make sure you are not under lubricating the surface being worked.

I usually place about a 2/3rds circle pattern to the outer face of my buffing pad and get back to work.

Remember you want enough product on the surface so you have,

• Abrasives working for you.

• A lubricating film keeping and maintaining a wet film between the paint and your pad.

Often times if you don't have enough product you'll end up buffing to a dry buff and when you lose lubrication friction increase and this can lead to micro-marring or hazing.


So a good rule of thumb that has worked for THOUSANDS of people over the decades is to start out with either a Circle Pattern or X Pattern of product on the face of your pad.


Why I prefer a Circle Pattern
I tend to prefer a Circle Pattern as a habit because as you work around the car you'll find that your product will migrate to the center on it's own. This can lead to pad saturation starting at the center of the pad where most of the heat is generated. Knowing this... I don't help it by using an X pattern.

Circle Pattern on a clean dry pad and then worked for a Section Pass




Pad is now equally dampened with residual product. At this point you could clean your pad or add fresh product and when you add fresh product you can adjust how much product you apply. In this example I used half a circle of product since the pad is now dampened.




X-Pattern on a clean dry pad and then worked for a Section Pass




After making a thorough Section Pass. The pad is now equally dampened with residual product. At this point you could clean your pad or add fresh product and when you add fresh product you can adjust how much product you apply. In this example I used half an X-Pattern, or a single strip of product since the pad is already dampened.




The key it to have enough product on the surface as you're working a section to have a film of product that you can see on the surface behind the polisher as you move the polisher in a direction.



Hope that helps...

[jayhkr]

Man I wish this information was out a few weeks ago when I was doing my first detail. I used basically the same amount of product each time I added to the pad. Probably would have saved me a little product which equals to saving a little $$. Now I know and will go forward with this info! WTG!

[bigez]

Good info...Thanks.

How often do you usually need to keep adding polish? I was using the Wolfgang twins, and seems like I had to keep adding even when doing a small section.
So, if doing 6 section passes (in a small square), can you usually make it through all 6 section passes without adding more polish??

[CAD]

Thanks for the info. I just did my first polish the other day and felt like I was using a lot of product. But it would dry out before I would even get to like 3 or 4 section passes. Does that mean its broken down and I should stop or I didn't add enough. I'm using XMT. Thanks

[shagnat]

How small a backing plate and pad can I use on my DA polisher? Trying to clean A pillars and other narrow areas are too difficult to use a 5.5" or 6" pad. HELP!

[arisking]

Every new section you polish you will be adding more product. I usually do 3 dime sized drops in a triangle in the pad.

And when doing a section, up to 8 passes if compounding, you will normally not need to add polish in the middle of the section as you'll be working backwards and not letting the product break down or get worked fully.

And about every 3 sections or so, depending on product and condition of paint, you should clean your pad to make sure you're not transferring spent product and impurities into the new area you are working.

Good info...Thanks.

How often do you usually need to keep adding polish? I was using the Wolfgang twins, and seems like I had to keep adding even when doing a small section.
So, if doing 6 section passes (in a small square), can you usually make it through all 6 section passes without adding more polish??

[Desertnate]

Is this a technique for polishing correcting vs applying a sealant/wax?

In many other places I've seen examples showing 3~4 pea sized dots of product.

I've always used the dots after the pad was primed and had product in it.

[Powerman]

Thanks, I obviously used way to much product.

Because of the adage of the car and the condition of the paint I over applied the Meg's twins I was using. I used a pad conditioner to start and applied a x pattern after every section pass. The car looked spectacular when finished but the pad (LC Brand new white) was soaked with product. I'll use less next time.

It turned out I had used some some product to touch up the hood and roof of an 96 caddie Seville beforehand. But I obniously unused to much product.

I couldn't be more pleased with the finish and will use considerably less when I try it again.

[Mike Phillips]

The car looked spectacular when finished but the pad (LC Brand new white) was soaked with product.

We call that pad saturation.


The wetter your pads become with product the less they will rotate. I think I cover that in this article here,

Factors that can cause a pad to stop rotating on a DA Polisher


Working a wet pad for extended periods of time can also cause them to fail prematurely because a wet pad will hold in heat better than a dry pad.


Plus, the oscillation/rotating action at high speed is violent, and this violent action combined with,

• Downward pressure
• Time
• Chemicals soaking through (pad saturation)
• Heat

Will tend to break the bond between the Velcro and the pad and in some cases the Velcro and the backing plate. That's why I always say,

More pads is better....

Let your budget be your guide but if you can swap to a fresh, dry pad after buffing a spell versus trying to buff out an entire car with just one or two pads you'll work more effectively and thus work faster and you'll get more life out of your pads.


Hope the above helps...

[Powerman]

That explains why I had to toss two LC white pads that separated from the Velcro backer.
Just too much product.