While on the subject of pad priming does anyone have any insights or comments on Todd Cooperider of Esoteric and his statement that pad priming is totally unnecessary when using "good products"?
I am specifically referring to him talking about using Megs microfiber cutting pads with Jescar Correcting Compound
He says 3 dots of product and go to work, no priming required
I tried that ONCE and it felt sooooooo wrong
Look up "dry buffing" and there is a picture of me trying that process (well not really)
I know people will use a ton to prime a microfiber pad, blot, brush, or blow out the excess and then put 3 more dots down for actual cutting and I feel that is overkill in the opposite direction
I will use maybe 50% more than I normally would for a section pass to smear in to prime and then a couple dots more
There are a lot of YouTube detailing people who are entertaining but who I certainly don't take advice from but Todd has always seemed to be one of the most genuine and believable people out there
IDK...
I started polishing paint by machine in 1998. The only priming recommended on the Meguiar's bag that the pad came with was a light mist of M34 Final Inspection. The guys at the body shop where I bought my supplies told me about picking up a bead of product. Took a minute for me to get it down without making a huge mess of splatter.
I also had a little 6" orbital from the auto parts store. It was with that thin I learned that only four drops of polish was needed. Back then there were nowhere near as many resources, or options.
So for years I did many cars that turned out great using those methods.
In 2001 or so, I got some literature from Meguiar's that discussed use of their G100 random orbital polisher, and the recommended the "X" pattern or the line of product around the circumference of the pad.
I avoided the "X" because it concentrated product in the center of the pad, where polish tends to migrate as the pad is used. It prematurely over saturated my pads. I still on occasion use the ring around the outside circumference of the pad.
So when the full face priming thing got popular around 2009 or so I found it interesting. I tried it, and like the "X" method, I found it saturated my pads pre maturely, was messy, and inefficient. Like you mentioned about not priming - it felt weird and wrong. The only time I might still do that is when using Meguiar's D300 on their microfiber pads, and that's a strong maybe, because I find the four drops works just fine.
In the end either way is no real big deal. I'm doing this almost seven days a week some weeks and I never do a full face prime. The scangrip lights and panel wipes don't indicate any issues with defect removal or loss of gloss for finish polishing. "All roads lead to Rome" and you just have to do what's right for you. There are two other guys in the shop with me. One has been doing this as long as I have, and also does not face prime. "The Kid" is 22 and just stared last month. He also is a four drops guy, and gets incredible results with his work. He has about two years of experience.
Then there are the times I'm using the Optimum polishes. That's an entirely different situation becaise I'm "priming" the pads in the Lake Country System 4000 pad washer with ONR, and applying a mist of product to the full face of the pad - and after working my section, quickly washing my pad in the washer. Haven't tried the four drops method yet, because it would be in contrast to what I'm trying to do with that set up, which is to be efficient.