At Home Pad Cleaning and other questions

[The BSMachine]

Rotary section is kinda dead so I am posting this here....

I got to really play with my Makita 9227c Buffer which was quite a fun experience. I really noticed the benefit of having a apron... lol.

Anyways, my set up is....

Makita 9227c with 7" Backing Plate
Meguiars 105/205 combo
Lake Country Pads (Smart pads)
-Orange x2
-White x2
-Red x1
-Black/Dark Grey x1

One of my first questions is that when I am ready to cut, I primed the pad by putting some product on there and moving it around. Then I putting a thinish line of product on the surface. Running about 1500 rpms I would go over the area quickly and not to over lap. Enough where I touched the paint after and felt a little warmth, nothing crazy, just a minor difference (which is to be expected).

I tried m205 and a Orange Pad which was the highest cutting pad I had and overall, even with more pressure and some rpm, did not remove all the defects. I am thinking I junked up the pad but not sure. I have no reference. Does the (Cleaning the Pad on the Fly) technique work with a rotary?? I sounds silly but that thing grabs my cloth.

One thing to note is that using the 2nd clean Orange pad, I stepped up to 105 and ran a decent speed and the swirls and RIDs really cleared out with out too much effort.

To follow up I went to the White pad and 105, reduced the speed, and reduced my arm speed and seemingly that really help clean up any hazing. I achieved IMO 95% correction of a pretty swirled surface and the owner was quiet happy.

I guess to get down to my question is what is the best way to keep pads clean during a correction process, I have limited funds so I cannot have 10 pads for each type of cut avalible. I think I will be adding LC Yellow pad and I do have some wool but I do not see a need for it yet.

Second, what RPM on a Rotary are people using as well as arm speed. When I did the White/205 combo I had it down around 1000 rpms and my hand speed had the pad moving about 6 inches every 3 seconds or so. When It was on the Orange/105 I had it 1500 rpms moving about 6 inches every 1-1/2 seconds.

I am basically looking for some thoughts and insight. I have no pics, it was not an avalible options.

I do not have a bucket or specific cleaner but my understanding with the Rotary, i can run it on the highest speed and should get most of the water out and let air dry with the hook and loop facing up.

[Mike Phillips]

M205 is a finishing polish, it's meant to be used to remove any light swirls after heavy compounding with M105 in a body shop situation.

Test out the M105 with a cutting or polishing foam pad and you'll see more correction power.

As for cleaning your pad on the fly with a rotary buffer there is a technique but be careful you don't get your towel caught up in the pad and break a finger or wrist.

What I do is hold the buffer upside down against my knee and bring the buffer up to speed, about 1000 to 1500 RPM and then using a terry cloth towel, I hold a portion of the towel against the inside portion of the spinning pad and basically use the towel to remove any excess product off the foam.

It's not a perfect way to clean your pad but it's a way that removes a majority of the built up residue off quickly and enables you to get back to work and that's the entire idea of anything that's being done "on the fly".

[JonMiles]

Duo Spur Wool & Foam Pad Cleaning Tool: Scrub dirty pads clean with this multi-pupose cleaning tool!

one of the best tools i've ever bought for working clean. Very efficient and very easy to use.

[Mike Phillips]

If you go the the forum homepage, Autogeekonline Auto Detailing Forum and scroll towards the bottom and then click on the link that goes to "Pictures and Comments from our Advanced Detailing 102 class and then after that page loads, scroll down to where you see me cleaning a wool pad on a rotary buffer using a Pad Cleaning Spur, you can clean foam pads the same way using a nylon brush.

A nylon toothbrush will work but don't push the bristles too hard against the foam so you don't tear it up, just lightly to peel away any built up residue.

I used that technique for probably 20 years before I ever obtained a Pad Washer.

[Mike Phillips]

A good average speed for compounding is 1500 RPM and a medium slow arm speed.

I do almost all of my compounding at 1400 RPM and finish polishing at 1400 RPM for the first step and 600 RPM for the second step finish polishing.

If you buff too fast your pad is basically skimming the surface, some guys like that for light cutting but for chopping you want to engage the abrasives against and into the paint so they cut it or in other words take little bites out of it.