Tippy - Using small pads on comparatively large tools

Mike Phillips · 07-30-2012, 12:02 PM

Tippy - Using small pads on comparatively large tools

The term tippy comes up from time to time as it relates to using polishers to buff out car paint so here's a short article to explain what the word tippy means.

Footprint size of the face of the pad
Here's a 3" pad on a Griot's 3" Mini Polisher. The tools size as compared to the footprint size of the face of the pad is not extreme and the tool is is easy to use without the tool being tippy on horizontal surfaces.

Here's the same pad on the same backing plate on a Porter Cable 7424XP. The size of the polisher is much larger and heavier than the 3" Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher and now with this smaller footprint size of the face of the pad, the tool becomes tippy when working on horizontal surfaces.

Here's the same Porter Cable with a 5.5" CCS foam cutting pad. Now with a larger footprint to the face of the buffing pad the tool is less tippy when working on horizontal surfaces.

Using small footprint pads on vertical surfaces is less of a tippy issue because with a vertical surface you're already supporting the weight of the polisher. (5.5 pounds).
When working on horizontal surfaces, people tend to use the weight of the tool as part of the "pressure" being applied for working on the paint.

Here's the Cyclo ProGuard Orbital Backing Plate attached to the PC since they use the same 5/16" threads arbor. With the Cyclo ProGuard Orbital Backing Plate you can now use the 4" Cyclo Pads on a DA Polisher like the PC, Megs or Griot's.

Here's a shot of some various backing plates to show comparative size.

From left to right starting in the back row,

Cyclo 4" pad, Cyclo ProGuard Backing Plate
Meguiar's S3BP 3” Professional Backing Plate, 3" Griot's Backing Plate, 3.5" LC Backing Plate, 5.5" LC Backing Plate

On Autogeek.net

3" Lake Country Backing Plate

3.5" Lake Country Backing Plate

5" Lake Country Backing Plate

Meguiars Unigrit 3 Inch Professional Backing Plate and Adaptor Kit

Cyclo ProGuard Orbital Backing Plate

Hope that helps explain the term tippy as it relates to polishing by machine.

**shoeless89** · 07-30-2012, 01:23 PM

Hmmm tippy I like it!

**kemefk** · 07-30-2012, 02:05 PM

Mike. Just have a question. I know with the PC that the counterweight must be changed if going from a 5 inch backing plate to a 6 inch backing plate. If I attached a 3 inch backing plate to a PC, do I need to change the counterweight?

Mike Phillips · 07-30-2012, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by kemefk

Mike. Just have a question. I know with the PC that the counterweight must be changed if going from a 5 inch backing plate to a 6 inch backing plate. If I attached a 3 inch backing plate to a PC, do I need to change the counterweight?

As far as I know, the counterweight has to do more with the performance of the tool when using thin discs of sandpaper.

I have not used a PC with a 3" backing plate very much. I have using a 3.5" backing plate and I don't remember any issues.

Neither the Griot's nor the Meguiar's have a changeable counterweight, so the answer is "no" for these two tools.

These two tools are versions of the Porter Cable and it started out as a wood sander and it was when it was engineered to be a wood sander that the counterweights were recommended to be changed depending upon the size of backing plate you were going to use to sand with.

As it relates to polishing paint I've never looked nor bothered to change a counterweight and I've buffed out a lot of cars with no hint of an issue.

Buffing the Panic Parrot with a First Gen PC

See both of these articles,

The Free Floating Spindle Bearing Assembly - The Story Behind The Story...

The Porter Cable Dual Action Sander with Wood Dust Collecting Attachment for Sanding Wood

And this one,

The history behind polishing paint with a DA Polisher