Questions from a first time DA polisher user

[ccm]

I used my Griots DA polisher for the first time this past weekend and would like to get some advice. First let me say this was my first time to ever use a power polisher so I have nothing to compare to.

I was polishing a 2011 Ford F150 all white truck.

After applying the polishing compound and wax I noticed some speckles of the products on the rubber trim and windows of the truck. Did I have too much product on my polisher pads?

When using the polisher I was amazed at how little pressure you could put on the polisher before it would stop spinning. I have read that it is recommended that the pad spins about one revolution per second so that is what I tried to maintain. I found out that anytime I was polishing anything but a flat surface, it was hard to keep the pad spinning. Is this proper? Don't know if there may be a problem with the polisher or if it was a user problem.

Any advice you can give me would be appreciated.

Charlie

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Charlie,


If you use too much product, "some" products will pile up or the term is pilling. That is form what looks like little pills of product.

What are you using for chemicals?


As for pad rotation,

What speed are you using?
What size pads are you using?

[Buster906]

I have the Griots 6 in DA polisher and I have never incurred the problem. You must keep the pad clean from built up used compound and a braided paint. A soft toothbrush will work or a pad cleaning brush

[ccm]

Hi Charlie,


If you use too much product, "some" products will pile up or the term is pilling. That is form what looks like little pills of product.

What are you using for chemicals?


As for pad rotation,

What speed are you using?
What size pads are you using?

Mike, first I appreciate your reply to my post. In answer to your questions I am listing answers:
Products-Menzerna Polishing Compound. 5" orange pad. Speed of 4
-Mothers Pure Polish. 5" blue pad. Speed of 2
-Collonite 845 wax. 5"red pad. Speed of 2
I would not have described the pilling as "little pills" of product. Much smaller than what you would ordinarily think of as pills. Maybe 1/4 the size of a pencil lead.

What do you think about my problems with the polisher not rotating with very light pressure? Is this normal?

Thanks for the help.

Charlie

[ccm]

I have the Griots 6 in DA polisher and I have never incurred the problem. You must keep the pad clean from built up used compound and a braided paint. A soft toothbrush will work or a pad cleaning brush

Buster
I never felt the pads needed cleaning during the polishing process. I did clean the pads after the job was complete. When I would stop the polisher there was very little product left remaining on the pads.

I appreciate your reply.

Charlie

[Buster906]

Hi Charlie, question. If you held your DA in one hand and had a pad on, squeeze the trigger and the other hand to apply pressure to the rotating pad, does the pad stop at any speed setting?

[dlc95]

Sounds like too much product, too much pressure, not enough cleaning of the pad.

Menzerna makes a lot of products. Is there a number on the bottle? What brand pads?

[cardaddy]

Sounds like too much product, too much pressure, not enough cleaning of the pad.

Menzerna makes a lot of products. Is there a number on the bottle? What brand pads?

THIS!!!

You should be cleaning the pad after EACH AND EVERY SECTION!

I'm saying... a section should be something like NO MORE than 24" x 24". Then when doing your "section", you'll be overlapping each pass of the pad by 50%, going up, down, up down, till you do the section. Then left, right, left, right... again, till you complete the section. You want to do EACH section at least 5~6, if not 8~10 passes.

The trick is that after EACH SECTION you absolutely MUST "clean on the fly". You do that with a pad cleaning brush AND a terry cloth bath towel. Spin your machine up to speed 4.5~5 and let is spin while brushing the pad. Then take a folded bath towel in one hand, set your machine on speed 5~6 and as it starts to spin up... you BURY the pad into your open hand that's holding the bath towel. Do that 2~3 times. You have now cleaned your pad on the fly.

Another critical thing...
You DO NOT do the entire vehicle with 1 or 2 pads..... EVER!!!

You can do the HOOD with 2 pads, but not the entire vehicle.

Good rule of thumb is no area larger than a door with a single pad. That'd be 2 on the hood, 2 on the roof, at least 3 on each side, 1 on the trunk, 1 on each bumper. That's rotating out pads using FIFO along the way. (First in - First out) Doesn't mean you HAVE to have 12 pads, but you need to ***act*** like you do. If you're cleaning on the fly, you'll be able to use 6 pads, moving through 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, then back to 1 and so on. It's possible to do it with 4, just make SURE that you're not building up heat inside the pad(s) along the way. If you think you're using a pad too long... pull it off, put the BACK of it against your cheek (or inside your forearm). If it's anything more than slightly warm... STOP USING IT then and there, and switch to a cool pad.

As for the GG6 stopping spinning.... pffffft... that's hard to do.

Don't be afraid to run it on speed 5~5.5 when compounding. You're right by looking at the pad rotation speed, 1 per second is good. On that speed though, with medium arm pressure, with a 5½" pad, (that is properly primed, and not overloaded with product) you shouldn't be having pad stoppage.

As for the little white dots...
Sounds like you've been slinging product.
That goes back to the above reply. Too much product.

[dlc95]

The only rule of Tony's that I really break, is using two pads per step. I am ocd about keeping them clean though!

[ccm]

Thanks to all of you who took time to reply. Your advice was helpful.

Charlie