Efficiency of 5" pads versus 5 1/2" pads

[JMP]

Speak English... Or go back from wenst thee came!!

[greatwhitenorth]

Does every thread have to turn from a practical discussion to either;

A.) A chemistry debate.
B.) Advanced mathematics that in real world situations have minimal effect on the outcome. (Although I often measure my overlaps down to the .0005")
C.) A deep observation of mankind's common tendency in any given situation to disprove A.) or B.)

[allenk4]

Yes

Yes

Yes

Seriously though, i think we are all going a little "Small Pad Crazy" with 2" polishers and the like. They are fun to play with, but I have not seen much that I can't get with a 3" pad on 2 7/8" BP

I would say using a pad with 40% more surface area escapes the realm of mathematical theory and becomes very applicable in the Real World of Polishing Paint

I understand smaller pads 5-5 1/2" pads for a PC or a Ruoes to help keep rotation, but not on a Flex or GG6

[FUNX650]

Does every thread have to turn from a practical discussion to either;

A.) A chemistry debate.
B.) Advanced mathematics that in real world situations have minimal effect on the outcome. (Although I often measure my overlaps down to the .0005")
C.) A deep observation of mankind's common tendency in any given situation to disprove A.) or B.)

I can't wait to see how some of the threads that contain "practical discussions" over on Autopia.org translates, whenever they transition to their new-forum's-format!

You're a member of autopiaforums.com, aren't you?


Bob

[greatwhitenorth]

I can't wait to see how some of the threads that contain "practical discussions" over on Autopia.org translates, whenever they transition to their new-forum's-format!

You're a member of autopiaforums.com, aren't you?


Bob

I'm not, just here on AG
So I'm not privy to what goes on there.
What size pads do you use most often bob?

[FUNX650]

What size pads do you use most often bob?

Thanks for asking.

•I take into consideration what type of buffing I plan on doing.
-I can usually get by with pads in the 4"- 6" range just fine.
-For smaller blemishes, I'll often spot-buff using 3"- 4" pads.
-Since I don't spend a lot of time buffing on the sides of RVs/Boats:
I don't use many 7"- 9" pads

•In a nutshell; and, as my general rule-of-thumb:
-I use the smallest pad possible, for the most control possible
over the buffing process.


Bob

[aim4squirrels]

Downward pressure would be more distributed over a larger pad. You could pressure harder to make all things equal.

Panel curvature would need to be taken into consideration as to whether or not the pad is truly more effective due to size.

For any forced rotation machine, larger pads will have a greater cut on the outer edge of the pad as the edge of a 7" pad will be traveling much faster than a 5" pad, assuming the machine doesn't bog down.

[swanicyouth]

Does every thread have to turn from a practical discussion to either;

A.) A chemistry debate.
B.) Advanced mathematics that in real world situations have minimal effect on the outcome. (Although I often measure my overlaps down to the .0005")
C.) A deep observation of mankind's common tendency in any given situation to disprove A.) or B.)

Yeah. It's getting old. It seems we have some experts here who know more about the products than the people who manufacturer and sell them. Of course, they easily see through the "marketing BS" - and prefer to look at their car on a molecular level, and possibly even a sub atomic level of quarks and leptons.

Maybe we should go more zen. Does anyone know where the meridians and chakras are on an 01 Pathfinder? Are they near the solar plexus?

[allenk4]

I disagree with Bob

"-I use the smallest pad possible, for the most control possible
over the buffing process."

I think lots of us waste a lot of time using small pads

I am starting to use the largest pad that I can effectively maintain full surface contact with

3" to 4" is +78%
4" to 5 1/2" is +89%
5 1/2 to 6 1/2 is. +40%


A general rule that many of the "Pros" use is to.maintain 50% compression of the pad. This seems to work for me with cutting and polishing pads of all types (exception is MF pads)

[FUNX650]

I disagree with Bob

"-I use the smallest pad possible, for the most control possible
over the buffing process."

I think lots of us waste a lot of time using small pads

I don't have a problem with you disagreeing with my above rule-of-thumb without you knowing which size(s) the pad will be that I choose for the most control possible over a particular paint's buffing process.

I let: "The Test Spot" be my guide for more than selection of liquids.

Also:
My rule-of-thumb, that determines the size(s) of pads I choose, might just include:

the largest pad that I can effectively maintain full surface contact

Which in turn may actually be the "smallest" pad that allows me to, once again: have the most control possible over the buffing process.

A general rule that many of the "Pros" use is to maintain 50% compression of the pad.

What is your source of this interesting tidbit of information?


Bob