Need pad recommendations for newbie...

[eyost]

Hi all,

I just purchased a PC DA kit which came with two Lake Country CCS pads but I also inadvertently purchased some Cobra Cross Groove foam pads.

Any thoughts on which would be best for someone that has never used a DA polisher?

Thanks,

Ed

[Eandras]

It all depends on what paint correction you need to do. Also what backing plate did you buy. You can also go with the McGuiars DA correction system. A little more information is needed.

Ed

[swanicyouth]

Really the brand of pad doesn't matter much, as long as they are matched up with the correct polish and speed for the correct job. I think size is more important. 5.5" pads work best with a 5" backing plate for a PC IMHO.

[eyost]

It all depends on what paint correction you need to do. Also what backing plate did you buy. You can also go with the McGuiars DA correction system. A little more information is needed.

Ed

Thanks for the reply. The set came with a Dual Action 5 Inch HD Hook & Loop Backing Plate and the pads that were included are 6.5". My car is only nine months old so the paint is in good shape other than some light swirls in two small areas. I may use the polisher also to apply some Wolfgang deep gloss sealant and possibly also use it to apply Fuzion after that. I do have another car that is eleven years old and has never been waxed or polished. It is a daily driver but is garaged when at home. Paint on that car doesn't have any swirls although the paint is dry looking and needs rejuvenated.

Hope that helps.

Ed

[eyost]

Really the brand of pad doesn't matter much, as long as they are matched up with the correct polish and speed for the correct job. I think size is more important. 5.5" pads work best with a 5" backing plate for a PC IMHO.

That was what I thought. I wonder why they include 6.5" pads with the set? I will be using it with the Pinnacle twins and may also use it to apply the Wolfgang Deep Gloss sealant and Fuzion.

Ed

[swanicyouth]

That was what I thought. I wonder why they include 6.5" pads with the set?

They always do. Why? Who knows. You can use 6.5" pads. The important thing is to keep the pad rotating if your doing correction. Even though 5.5" pads are only an inch "smaller"; it's just easier to keep the pad rotating with them. If your using it to apply a sealant, 6.5" are fine. If you already have the 6.5" pads you may as well use them to start.

Just do a test spot on the hood and make sure you are doing whatever you came to do. Repeat along the whole car. This is very important. Nothing is more frustrating than to buff out a whole car and see whatever defects you are trying to remove still there. It will make you want to throw your PC and pads straight in the garbage.

That was the problem I had when I first started. Just watch Mikes videos, prime your pad to start, use a slow a speed (maybe slightly faster than an inch per second), about 20 lbs of downward pressure, and keep the pad rotating and you will succeed regardless of what brand of pad. Don't be afraid to run the PC at speeds 5, 5.5, or 6 if the pad is bogging down and not rotating.

Also, change up your pads frequently, after every panel or two. If not, they get saturated with spent product and abraded paint and cut less effectively and heat up faster. If you don't have many pads, you can clean and rinse them, then quickly dry them with the aid of a fan. Also clean you pads "on the fly" after each section pass with a terry towel.

I use the LC Smart CCS pads and the Hydrotech pads. But, IMHO the brand or model doesn't matter a lot. There are some differences when you start to get into open and closed cell foam and absorption of product - but either will do the job.

[tuscarora dave]

It's just plain dumb to throw in a set of 6.5" pads with with a DA that is sold with a 5" backing plate. I wish AG would stop doing that. The 6.5" pads will likely rotate a little but not really enough to do correction.

Then you can apply more pressure to get them to rotate, but then the pads will go.."flop" "flop" "flop" "flop" "flop" as they rotate because so much of the pad will be hanging off the edge of a 5" backing plate.

:rant:


Do yourself a favor and order up a few more 5.5" pads now before you get half way through a job and need them and don't have them. Better to have a few too many in the middle of a job than to not have enough.

Which pads to use?

It will depend on the hardness or the softness of the paint that you'll be working on and what products you'll be using and the severity of the paint defects too. There's no hard and fast rule on what pads to use for what situation. Generally you'll want to start off with something not so aggressive if you're working on soft paint (you won't know if it's soft until you try a non aggressive pad and product and it doesn't give you any results) If this is the case it's a harder (harder than soft) paint in which you'll want to step up to a more aggressive pad and polish/compound to get the cutting of the paint defects done.

After cutting the paint then you'll want to step back down to your pad/product combo that you first tried, to clean up any swirls or marring from the cutting stage.

Make sense?

[eyost]

It's just plain dumb to throw in a set of 6.5" pads with with a DA that is sold with a 5" backing plate. I wish AG would stop doing that. The 6.5" pads will likely rotate a little but not really enough to do correction.

Then you can apply more pressure to get them to rotate, but then the pads will go.."flop" "flop" "flop" "flop" "flop" as they rotate because so much of the pad will be hanging off the edge of a 5" backing plate.

:rant:


Do yourself a favor and order up a few more 5.5" pads now before you get half way through a job and need them and don't have them. Better to have a few too many in the middle of a job than to not have enough.

Which pads to use?

It will depend on the hardness or the softness of the paint that you'll be working on and what products you'll be using and the severity of the paint defects too. There's no hard and fast rule on what pads to use for what situation. Generally you'll want to start off with something not so aggressive if you're working on soft paint (you won't know if it's soft until you try a non aggressive pad and product and it doesn't give you any results) If this is the case it's a harder (harder than soft) paint in which you'll want to step up to a more aggressive pad and polish/compound to get the cutting of the paint defects done.

After cutting the paint then you'll want to step back down to your pad/product combo that you first tried, to clean up any swirls or marring from the cutting stage.

Make sense?

Makes sense regarding not using too large of a pad on the backing plate. I'll give 'em a ring and check about swapping them out for some smaller pads.

What are your thoughts of using the polisher to apply polish or wax on a car that is new and doesn't need any correction. Less risk of screwing up if I hand apply it?

This is with Wolfgang deep gloss sealant and Fuzion on a dark brown metallic 2011 Honda crv.

Thanks

Ed

[Trey T]

When detailing, the priority keys for beginners are:

1. Use DA - more control as it's lighter and force is not constant. If you want just raw power but for beginner, I highly recommend cheap HF rotary bc it does not have constant force. Constant force can overpower the operator.
2. Use top quality compound. i.e. meguiar's #105 and #205 - must have arsenal.
3. Pads are not as important these days, just get 5-6" pad respectively to your DA and abrasion level. Get pads with bevel or chamber edge as it's easier to move across the panel w/ curvatures.
4. Follow basic technique: mask and divide up work area and make slow polishing path w/ overlapping.