How many pads do you need with an AIO or cleaner/wax?

[Mike Phillips]

How many pads do you need with an AIO or cleaner/wax?


For anyone that pays attention to the little things.... anytime I post a write-up for my detailing projects I always include a picture that shows what I used including a STACK or STACKS of pads. My purpose for this is to not only document how many pads I used for any given project but to also TELEGRAPH a mental and even subconscious message to everyone that will read the article that it takes more than ONE pad to buff out a car.

Here at Autogeek we sell lots of KITS and often times the polisher kit will include three pads, a selection of three "types" of pads. Usually,

1. One foam cutting pad
2. One foam polishing pad
3. One foam finishing or waxing pad

And I "think" that some people, especially people that are new to machine polishing and also perhaps have ONLY found the AG store, not the AGO FORUM - well these people naturally think and assume that the pads included in the kit are all you need to buff out a car.

That would be a normal think to think.


BUT - that is not the case. Trying to buff out an entire car, or more specifically, trying to COMPOUND an entire car with one foam cutting pad means absolutely PUNISHING this single pad to DEATH. Same goes for polishing an entire car with only a single polishing pad. This doesn't much apply to a foam finishing or foam waxing pad because by the time you get to this pad all the grunt work is done. That is all the work that would punish a pad.


And think about this, the ACTION of most dual action polishers at high speed is a VIOLENT action. That is,

The oscillation
The rotation
The downward pressure
The heat build up
The chemicals in the products you're using the SEEP or penetrate into the foam and make it all the way to the backing plate

And the very important factor of TIME


All of these things are abusive to the pad. The pad including the foam, the adhesive and the velcro backing. It's all these things and the TIME FACTOR - that is HOURS of running your polisher around an entire car (with ONE pad), that simply destroys the pad.

It's always faster to have lots of pads and frequently switch to a clean, dry pad. When buffing with foam pads, (not so much fiber pads), a clean DRY foam pad will always rotate better on a free spinning random orbital polisher and a dry pad will also do what it's suppose to do better.



By this I mean,

A foam cutting pad will cut better when it's dry.

A foam polishing pad will polish better when it's dry.

(not dry without product but fresh, clean and dry with fresh product applied)




Anyway - here's an example from this write-up. See how I purposefully took a picture showing how many pads I used and the type of pads I used.


And here's everything I used... and note the amount of pads I used. I'd say most people don't know how may pads it takes to do the job right. As you work around a car your pads become wet as they saturate with the product you're using. The performance of the pad diminishes or falls off as the pad becomes wet. The right thing to do is to switch to a clean DRY pad, which is what I did of course.




Tools used
For the major body panels I used the FLEX 3401
For thin panels, around 4" wide I used the Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher with some Buff and Shine Pads
For working the back of the car, which has a LOT of very thin panels, I used the RUPES iBrid Nano in Rotary Mode with 1" pads.





Here's the car....







Here's the write-up

Review: Pinnacle Jeweling Wax - 2014 Maserati GT Sport detailed by Mike Phillips



So keep this in mind if you're just getting into machine polishing. You need more than a few pads to do the job right. To do the job fast. To be effective when using the polisher.

[Mike Phillips]

Here's another example of sharing how many pads and the type of pads I used. This example is not with a one-step cleaner/wax like the above example but with dedicated compounds and polishes.

Same idea though....

Review and How-To: Gyeon Compound, Polish and Primer - 1932 Ford Roadster detailed by Mike Phillips











I forget just how many cars I've detailed over the last 10 years and how many write-ups I've created....

Lots.... do any of the other guys that are Detailing Class Instructors do this?

[acuRAS82]

So for the Maserati you used 5 orange pads with Souveran Jeweling Wax to remove larger swirls, then followed up with 4-5 white pads with Souveran Jeweling Wax to remove marring and finish nice.

Is that correct, Mike?

[Mike Phillips]

So for the Maserati you used 5 orange pads with Souveran Jeweling Wax to remove larger swirls, then followed up with 4-5 white pads with Souveran Jeweling Wax to remove marring and finish nice.

Is that correct, Mike?

Yes.

I used the Jeweling Wax like a compound with the foam cutting pads. Why? Because it's easier to wipe-off than a compound.

The I cleaned up the marring left by the foam cutting pads by re-polishing with the same product but a softer pad.


I guess you could call me lazy.

[Paul A.]

Oh yeah, Mike, YOU are lazy! That's rich. ��

[acuRAS82]

I would call you, Mike, a guy who can accomplish a task in many, many ways depending on what you are using or what you want to teach an audience. Thanks again for showing us the versatility in the products we use and enjoy!