What Pads + Backing Plate should I use with my 1st rotary?

[TimmyG]

Just ordered the Makita 9227C kit from Home Depot with some store credit I forgot I had! Here is a link to the kit I have purchased.

7 in. 10 Amp Polisher and Sander with Polishing Kit-9227CX3 at The Home Depot

My question is, what kind of backing plate do I need and what pads work well with Meguiars and Menzerna compounds/polishes? Any other advice is appreciated as well!

[Mike Phillips]

You know, your question came up a couple of time by different members right before I left for vacation. Do a search of my posting history and I'm sure you could find the right threads.

Besides that, I would strongly recommend getting flexible backing plates for the reasons I list in my article here,


Trend: Backing Plate Extensions for Surgical Precision Buffing

Trend: Flexible Backing Plates for Rotary Buffers

Trend: Small buffing pads

Trends: Flexible Backing Plates

Flex-Foam HD Rotary Backing Plate

Flexible Backing Plates

[Mike Phillips]

Lots of good rotary buffer info here,

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...ind-blown.html

[AutowerxDetailing]

I really like the LC Waffle Pro pads on the rotary. They float over the paint like butter and seem much less "grabby" than the other pads I have used.

Lake Country Waffle Pro Pads INTERACTIVE Review

I have also used LC CCS and LC Hydro Tech pads. CCS pads work great and feel very similar to how they feel on my PCXP.

The Hydro Tech pads feel sort of weird on the rotary. They get VERY wobbly sometimes even if they are perfectly centered. I'm sure it is just my technique and I need to get more practice with them but thought I would point it out. I like them at low speeds but nothing over 1200rpm. Tangerine HT and some D151 is magic though for one-steps on daily drivers.

[Mike Phillips]

Here's something I posted this morning from this thread,

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-help-plz.html


Sounds like you need and want a twisted 100% wool cutting pad and a flexible backing plate to go with it.

I think we're getting some new styles of aggressive wool cutting pads but until then the Meguiar's wool pad in their So1o like is a good pad. Easy to buff with, great cutting power and easy to clean with a spur or a pad washer.


WWHC7 Solo Wool Heavy Cutting Pad 7 inch

This is a matching flexible backing plate that I would recommend for this wool pad or any wool pad.

Meguiars Solo Easy Buff W66 Rotary Backing Plate 6 Inch

We also have this one that fits the Solo Heavy Cutting Wool Pad.

Flex-Foam HD Rotary Backing Plate, 6 inches


As for M105, at this time it is the best cutting and finishing compound on the market. I tested it against M101 and Menzerna FG500 on black paint and it still finishes out better than both, the M101 does cut faster but it didn't finish out as nice as the M105 on black paint.


A couple of tips for using M105 with a rotary buffer and a wool pad.

First, clean your pad often. If you don't have a steel pad cleaning spur then get one. Don't use the caveman method of using a screwdriver especially if you're in this for the long run simply invest the money and get the right tool for the job.

Lake Country Wool Pad Spur

Second, anytime you find buffing with M105 difficult, shrink down the size of your work area. My shrinking down the size of your work area you will be keeping the product on the surface more liquid than buffing out a large section of paint.


Some people like to use a wetting agent to re-liquefy the compound and get more working life out of the abrasives. Meguiar's recommend either their body shop safe M34 because it's going to have the least amount of "extra" ingredients in it to interfere with the M105 formula, or plain water.


Third, always wipe a buffed panel clean before re-buffing. If you find you have to compound a panel a second time to remove all the defects, be sure to wipe off any previous residue before adding fresh product. When you add fresh product to spent product you're getting a completely new product that is now diluted with the spent compound and removed paint.


Fourth, hold the pad flat to the surface whenever you can hold the pad flat to the surface. You get more fibers cutting the paint working for you than if you only buff with an edge and you reduce the risk of burning through and edge and instilling deeper swirls. If you have to go up on edge then do so but try to buff flat whenever you can.

When you finish buffing one section of paint, start a new section and overlap a little into the previous section for a uniform, defect free appearance.


Fifth, try to do your heavy cutting in the morning when temperatures are still cool if you're working in a hot environment. This will give your compound a longer buffing cycle and make both buffing and wiping off residue easier.


Sixth, always do a Test Spot before buffing out the entire car. If you can't make one small section of paint look good to your expectations then you won't be able to make the entire car look good.


While Corvettes have very hard clear coats, I've used Porter Cable DA Polishers with foam cutting pads and Medium Cut Polishes to remove the majority of swirls and scratches. An aggressive compound like M105 however will remove more paint faster and from this what you'll "see" is faster defect removal. Just know where to draw the line for what to remove and what to live with as you don't want to remove too much paint or you could have clear coat failure issues into the future.


Above all, clean you pad often and always work on a clean surface.

A rotary buffer that is adjustable and lets you buff at a slower speed would be nice, if you're in this for the long run take a look at the DeWALT 849X as it dials down to 600 RPM and is a very well built tool for it's category.

[Mike Phillips]

Any foam pad will work on a rotary for polishing work. Sure there are differences but at this step you're just trying to get the paint very good, not perfect.

After you machine polish with a foam pad and a rotary buffer you can then choose to finish out using only a rotary buffer or re-polishing all the paint by changing the action of the tool, or in other words, switching to a tool that oscillates and rotates at the same time to ensure no rotary buffer induced swirls are left in the paint.

If you want to try finishing out using only a rotary buffer, then get some Menzerna SF 4500 and get a soft, flat face foam pad like any of the foam finishing pads by Lake Country or Meguiar's Black 7" Soft Buff Pad like I used on the El Camino. Point being is you want a very soft foam pad in excellent condition, no tears or no tattiness to the face of the pad.


For compounding work find a range that you're comfortable with between 1000 rpm to 1500 rpm. Just because old timers always buffed at high speed doesn't mean it was the right or best way to buff or that they were right in the first place. I will often work M105 at the lowest setting of my Flex PE14 or DeWALT 849X

For polishing work, a range from 600rpm to 1200 rpm, again whatever fits "you".

I like doing the finishing work using the 600 rpm setting when finishing out with a rotary buffer, slower, not faster for me...



Be sure to read through both of these,


Hologram Free with a Rotary Buffer

Bumblebee - Testing out the NEW DeWALT DWP849X



Also, it's easier to practice and master the rotary buffer using small foam pads, (or wool pads), than larger pads.

The 5.5" Hydro-Tech and Flat Pads are very easy to learn how to use especially when using a flexible backing plate.

Above all... work clean, that is clean your pads often and always wipe spent residue off a panel before either re-working it or moving on to new territory.

[TimmyG]

Thanks Mike! I've been reading quite a bit on these rotary polishers and feel like I'm ready to make the jump. I understand the risks associated with these polishers in the wrong hands and I have a test car to do my work on with it. My main confusion stems from the significantly larger pad sizes offered with the rotary tools. A 7.5"+ pad seems enormous, so it's tough for my to fathom working an 18" x 18" area with such a large pad combined with the powerful tool. I work entirely with foam pads 5" and smaller on my Porter Cable, so it's a big jump in size and power all around. I have 3 different backing plates for my porter cable, and I'm wondering what kind of backing plates I'll need for the Makita to accomodate the varying pad sizes that the rotary will call for. I'll do some additional reading and see what the best "starter" rotary pad + backing plate combo I can go with. Thank you all for all of your help, it's what makes this forum the best detailing forum in the world!

Currently my pad inventory looks like this..

5 Orange LC Flat 5.5"
5 White LC Flat 5.5"
5 Black LC Flat 5.5"
6 Cyan LC HT 3"
6 Tangerine LC HT 3"
6 Crimson LC HT 3"
1 White LC Waffle 4"
1 Orange LC Waffle 4"
1 Black LC Waffle 4"
1 Blue LC Waffle 4"

I also have a ton of Meguiars MF Cutting Pads, both 5" and 3" but I've heard those don't perform well on rotary tools so I'll stick to using these on my DA.

I'll probably stick to using the DA for tight spots until I can master the rotary.