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  1. #11
    Super Member Desertnate's Avatar
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    Re: Had some problems when practicing last night

    Just checking! It wasn't meant to be insulting, but just trying to ensure you understood whether the tool was appropriate for the job.

    You mention doing the right quarter panel of the truck at a previous time. Did you do the whole panel with the same pad as the one that flew off? If you used a single pad for that job, even if it is only the front quarter panel on a truck, that is a pretty large area for a 3" polisher. The pad may have become hot enough it weakened the velcro.

    If the velco on the pad is still in tact and it didn't come apart, I'm out of ideas beyond the possibility of a low quality pad and the velco just gave up. Which pads are you using?
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  3. #12
    Super Member Rsurfer's Avatar
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    Re: Had some problems when practicing last night

    The first thing you need to do is put a Sharpie mark on your backing plate. Keep an eye on this mark when polishing..if the mark is not rotating your not correcting. Let up on the pressure or change your angle. With a little practice you won't have to concentrate on the mark.

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  5. #13
    Super Member PaulMys's Avatar
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    Re: Had some problems when practicing last night

    I agree with all the boys about your pads being too saturated.

    Like Bruno said, don't prime a foam pad. Just use enough liquid to get started, and then just a few drops afterward.

    And Rsurfer is dead-on with his advice about letting up on the machine and/or changing your angle.

    And finally, I cannot stress enough that having enough pads is the key to success. By the time a pad is clogged with product and getting too hot, you know that you have way overworked that pad.

    You don't want 4-5 overworked pads in the cleaning bucket when you're done polishing. You want 12-16 lightly used pads in there.

    It might sound like overkill, but if you wear out the 4 pads, you'll be replacing them often. The 16 pads will last you for years.
    It is no coincidence that man's best friend cannot talk.

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  7. #14
    Super Member Desertnate's Avatar
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    Re: Had some problems when practicing last night

    Quote Originally Posted by PaulMys View Post
    And finally, I cannot stress enough that having enough pads is the key to success. By the time a pad is clogged with product and getting too hot, you know that you have way overworked that pad.

    You don't want 4-5 overworked pads in the cleaning bucket when you're done polishing. You want 12-16 lightly used pads in there.

    It might sound like overkill, but if you wear out the 4 pads, you'll be replacing them often. The 16 pads will last you for years.
    Great advice. I still struggle with this myself. Even though I rotate pads and clean them on the fly as I'm working, I'm sure I'm still using too few pads.

    Good quality pads are key to success too. When I first started machine polishing I used Harbor Freight pads. Most would barely survive the job and some didn't make it all the way. Either the low grade backing plates would simply loose their grip or the pad itself would disintegrate as I worked. Moving to quality Lake Country pads not only improved the quality of the work, but they would survive the job and allowed me to build up an inventory of pads. This actually saves you money in the long run as good pads will last many years.
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  9. #15
    Super Member Lance Mark's Avatar
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    Re: Had some problems when practicing last night

    I'd made some assumptions

    I was assuming more product = more lubrication = cooler running

    my problem was too much product, wrecked a couple of pads figuring it out

    it was in this video where he gives contrary advice than what has been given here....he was the reason i primed the pad ......17 mins in, he says new pads need to be primed and he demos how to do it....he does the same thing with a fresh cutting pad at 25 1/2 mins in

    mike says it's an art form

    right now, my art looks like this

    Had some problems when practicing last night-untitled-8-jpg

    thanks for all the great points and suggestions

    is there a rule of thumb for how long a pad should be used....fore example, maybe one pad does 1/2 a hood....or 3 or 4 16" x 16" areas?

    i like the idea of building up an arsenal of pads....i'll do this when i decide which ones I really like.....when I painted, there were painters that would go all day with a crappy brush that was trashed 2 hrs into the day, i cleaned and changed brushes regularly....easier to work with, less likely to leave boogers and brush marks

  10. #16
    Super Member acuRAS82's Avatar
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    Re: Had some problems when practicing last night

    For reference: When doing a whole mid-size SUV with TSR and more traditional size pads (5.5”), I use at least 6-8 pads. Then I’ll use 2 or 3 of the 3” pads for the small areas (my SIV has a decent amount of small areas). The number of pads could vary depending on if I’m working long passes for a lot of correction (more pads used) or if I’m buzzing through eliminating only minor swirls (less pads). The amount of time each pad is in use and the amount of times you apply more polish should dictate how wet and hot the pad gets and therefore how often to replace. When in doubt, replace... it’ll only save the life of each pad.

    The smaller ones will get more hot since they tend to rotate faster, easier, in my opinion. Thin pads also rotate faster, easier and being thin, there’s less foam to absorb heat and they also get saturated faster. So pay attention to the heat being generated by each different style of pad.

  11. #17
    Super Member Lance Mark's Avatar
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    Re: Had some problems when practicing last night

    Quote Originally Posted by acuRAS82 View Post
    For reference: When doing a whole mid-size SUV with TSR and more traditional size pads 5.5”), I use at least 6-8 pads. Then I’ll use 2 or 3 of the 3” pads for the small areas (my SIV has a decent amount of small areas). The number of pads could vary depending on if I’m working long passes for a lot of correction (more pads used) or if I’m buzzing through eliminating only minor swirls (less pads). The amount of time each pad is in use and the amount of times you apply more polish should dictate how wet and hot the pad gets and therefore how often to replace. When in doubt, replace... it’ll only save the life of each pad.

    The smaller ones will get more hot since they tend to rotate faster, easier, in my opinion. Thin pads also rotate faster, easier and being thin, there’s less foam to absorb heat and they also get saturated faster. So pay attention to the heat being generated by each different style of pad.
    but any time I feel the pad, it never really seems hot.....how are you paying attention?

  12. #18
    Super Member acuRAS82's Avatar
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    Re: Had some problems when practicing last night

    Quote Originally Posted by CaffeineBuzz View Post
    I'd made some assumptions

    I was assuming more product = more lubrication = cooler running

    my problem was too much product, wrecked a couple of pads figuring it out

    it was in this video where he gives contrary advice than what has been given here....he was the reason i primed the pad ......17 mins in, he says new pads need to be primed and he demos how to do it....he does the same thing with a fresh cutting pad at 25 1/2 mins in

    mike says it's an art form

    right now, my art looks like this

    Had some problems when practicing last night-untitled-8-jpg

    thanks for all the great points and suggestions

    is there a rule of thumb for how long a pad should be used....fore example, maybe one pad does 1/2 a hood....or 3 or 4 16" x 16" areas?

    i like the idea of building up an arsenal of pads....i'll do this when i decide which ones I really like.....when I painted, there were painters that would go all day with a crappy brush that was trashed 2 hrs into the day, i cleaned and changed brushes regularly....easier to work with, less likely to leave boogers and brush marks
    Lol, I like your art, to be honest. But I’m also a huge fan of my 5 year old’s works, so maybe it’s just preference.

    I personally do prime each brand new pad with my finger like Mike says. But not a lot of polish is needed after that on each additional application. There may be times where more is needed for longer working time but then you should be switching out more.

    Hopefully my last post gave you an idea of how often to switch out, but I would say a few doors is a good average.

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  14. #19
    Super Member acuRAS82's Avatar
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    Re: Had some problems when practicing last night

    Quote Originally Posted by CaffeineBuzz View Post
    but any time I feel the pad, it never really seems hot.....how are you paying attention?
    That’s interesting then because if it were heating up a lot you would feel heat at the bottom of the pad. It could just be poor Velcro attachment on the pad the flew off? Or were you going over an area with multiple bends-angles where the pad became dislodged due to the spinning at multiple angles causing part of the Velcro to become detached? This has happened to me when polishing wheels with a 3”.

  15. #20
    Super Member Lance Mark's Avatar
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    Re: Had some problems when practicing last night

    Quote Originally Posted by acuRAS82 View Post
    That’s interesting then because if it were heating up a lot you would feel heat at the bottom of the pad. It could just be poor Velcro attachment on the pad the flew off? Or were you going over an area with multiple bends-angles where the pad became dislodged due to the spinning at multiple angles causing part of the Velcro to become detached? This has happened to me when polishing wheels with a 3”.
    little bit of some angles, this time around I was practicing on my truck's tail gate

    I went at it again last night and it went way better, the thicker pads are not as easy to work with, i prefer the thinner with the hole in the center, at least for now

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