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

    Quote Originally Posted by FivePoint.0 View Post
    5" pads to polish a whole car? Would take wayyyy too long, IMO. 5.5" is small enough!! LOL
    This quote made me think and get out the calculator

    a = pi * r2


    5" pad surface area = 19.63 square inches

    5 1/2" pad surface area = 23.75 square inches


    So yes, the 5 1/2" pad is 21% larger, so theoretically it saves you 52 minutes on a 4 hour polishing job


    The huge difference would be going from 5" to 6 1/2'; which is almost 70% larger and would reduce a 4 hour job to just 1 hour and 12 minutes.


    I personally do not believe that these numbers hold up in the real world.

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

    Quote Originally Posted by allenk4 View Post
    I personally do not believe that these numbers hold up in the real world.
    Yep, I'd have to agree. Since you overlap your passes, and the overlap isn't exactly done with measured precision, it's not going to be very close to the theoretical.

    Plus there are going to be panels where you can only fit a couple-few rows of passes regardless of whether 5 or 5-1/2" so in those cases there'd be no difference at all and you just have slightly more overlap with the larger pad.

    Also you'd factor in the orbital throw, since that increases the effective pad sweep area to be a bit more than the physical dimensions of the pad. But the improved cutting speed of the larger throw is probably more of a factor than the effective size of the pad.

  3. #3
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    Re: Efficiency of 5" pads versus 5 1/2" pads

    I would think this depends on the type of work you are trying to accomplish.

    If spreading out wax, you're probably right. However, if you're trying to polish/correct the opposite might be true since the "working" forces are distributed across the larger pad vs being more concentrated on a smaller pad.

    Just thinking out loud and calling on memories from my extensive High School level physics.
    Drop by to see the latest at The Car Geek Blog

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

    This is a great discussion, thanks for posting.

    I agree that there are many other variables, but what don't? ... I just think it's one more (important) factor to know and consider while polishing, and input from everyone improved a lot your calculation data.

    While reading I've thought a lot about the way I overlap passes (which I generally don't think a lot about). I'm always doing ~50% overlap, without considering many other factors, just because 'everyone' does it.

    Sure I've gained +1 XP after reading this topic.

    Thank you all,

    Kind Regards.
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  5. #5
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    Re: Efficiency of 5" pads versus 5 1/2" pads

    When you do four passes

    Overlap by 50%

    Go up to the edge of a door....


    Does that last 2 1/2" at the edge of the door actually get 50% less polishing?

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

    Quote Originally Posted by allenk4 View Post
    When you do four passes

    Overlap by 50%

    Go up to the edge of a door....


    Does that last 2 1/2" at the edge of the door actually get 50% less polishing?
    Yes, and if I understand what you're saying, wouldn't it be on both ends, for any large panel?

    That's why on the 2 ends of the panel I try and only do minimal overlap with the adjacent pass, and about 50% overlap for the middle passes, with a longer dwell time on the end passes. But you can't avoid uneven polishing on narrow panels that are only for example 2-1/2 pad widths wide.

    Generally I imagine we overpolish every panel, even the ends, since it's not like we can stop at the exact nanosecond the finest remaining swirl disappears. We go beyond that point. Not sure but it seems it should be less critical that we overpolish if using diminishing abrasives, but we're probably talking small fractions of a micron difference.

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

    Quote Originally Posted by SR99 View Post
    Yes, and if I understand what you're saying, wouldn't it be on both ends, for any large panel?

    That's why on the 2 ends of the panel I try and only do minimal overlap with the adjacent pass, and about 50% overlap for the middle passes, with a longer dwell time on the end passes. But you can't avoid uneven polishing on narrow panels that are only for example 2-1/2 pad widths wide.

    Generally I imagine we overpolish every panel, even the ends, since it's not like we can stop at the exact nanosecond the finest remaining swirl disappears. We go beyond that point. Not sure but it seems it should be less critical that we overpolish if using diminishing abrasives, but we're probably talking small fractions of a micron difference.
    I agree...all four edges would receive 50% less polishing

  8. #8
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    Re: Efficiency of 5" pads versus 5 1/2" pads

    Kevin Brown created a nice little chart a while back for the difference pad sizes make...

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  9. #9
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    Re: Efficiency of 5" pads versus 5 1/2" pads

    Nice Chart

    Very good tool for explaining the relative differences


    For anyone who wants to save it:

    Right Click on it and select Save As

  10. #10
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    Re: Efficiency of 5" pads versus 5 1/2" pads

    Cool chart!

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