Question after first time using Griots polisher.

[LF911PCR]

All,
Used my new Griot DA polisher today...First time ever using a polisher.
I have a couple of quesitons about the below picture...

http://911pcrescue.com/Images/orange_pad.jpg

1. Is it normal for the product ( in this case WGTSR3.0) to come into the center of the pad as shown or is my technique messed up? This picture was taken after the first section pass.
2. Is that depression in the center normal? It's a brand new LC 5.5" pad, and the depression is still there after cleaning...

Thank you.

[Finemess]

How did you prime your pad? I've had them depress like that after doing glass, I think I got it to hot.

[LF911PCR]

I tried to prime it the way Mike does it....put some some product on the pad, use your finger to cover the pad....then three pea sized beads...

[cleanmycorolla]

what speed were you using? I've read that on speed 6 it can get hot and cause that, theres a few threads on pads busting mid detail due to high speeds and temps, maybe this is in that category?

[DaveT435]

It is normal for product to move toward the center...that is why you put the product toward the outer part of the pad. As far as the bad...definitely looks like an over heating issue.

[LF911PCR]

Speed was 5.....I did try it at 6....trying to get the feel...Then backed it down to 5.

[Rsurfer]

The pad is over saturated with product and drawing the product to the center and overheating. This caused the pad to concave. Did you clean the pad after every panel? If your going to use the KB method to prime..use a cotton terry towel to wipe the pad occasionally. Change pads or clean on the fly. The biggest mistake noobies make, is trying to polish out a car with one pad.

[swanicyouth]

That picture was taken after one section pass? Something isn't right. Your pushing too hard, spinning too fast, moving too slow, or using too much product. When your done a section pass, pull the pad half way off the backing plate and check for heat. If its very hot, wait till it cools. Sitting the whole set up in front of a fan helps.

[LF911PCR]

RSURFER,
I might have over saturated but that was my first pass...so it wasn't from not cleaning the pad.
I tried to follow Mike's priming intructions...place a thin bead of product around outter part of the pad, then spread over face of the pad with your finger. Maybe I used to much when priming. 3 pea sized beads per section (aprox 16-18 sq in.).
It was probably a combination of too much product, 6 speed setting and too much pressure. Bummer...

[embolism]

did you install the compression washer that came with the backing plate? It was the cause of overheating and all it's associated issues on some PC's a while back...

[LF911PCR]

I put a Meguiars w67DA backing plate (with its compression washer) on it.

[Kevin Cullen]

I have done this with M105. The pad got hot and melted internally at that spot. I never got the indentation to come out and ended up cutting up the pad into 3 inch pads to save some of it. It is very strange that it did it on the first pass though.
I have a few pads of the same kind and swap them put to cool during the correction stage of the detail.

[Mike Phillips]

A lot of heat is generated at the backing plate and via the liquid in the product and thus the pad the heat is transferred to the foam.

LC Hydro-Tech pads are close-celled so they hold liquids in and thus hold heat in...

I see this happen to some of our pads after our Thursday Night car projects and I clean them and put them back into the cabinet to use again.

The only time I stop using a pad is if the Velcro de-laminates from the foam. When I was detailing full time I would glue the Velcro back on if the foam was still good to get more use out of the pad. For this I would typically use two-part epoxy or goop glue.


:)

[LF911PCR]

I cleaned the pad (used Blackfire Adv Pad Cleaner...this stuff really works!) and inspected... other than that depression, the pad looks fine... albeit through inexperienced eyes.

[Kevin Cullen]

Mike. So the pad is still fine to use even with the depression? Does one have to worry about unused product congrigating to the depression? I guess with using a DA polisher it does not matter that the pad is flat because of the orbital action.