Pad Disintegrating!

marinesoup

marinesoup

New member
As some of you know already I had a bad problem with pollen embedding in my wax on a very hot day and then dropped in temp.
I was able to get my hood to where I wanted it after much machining and different pads and products.
I just attempted my roof now to remedy the same problem. I was using my PC with Meguiars UC with a 4" orange LC pad at 5-6 on my PC.
I wasn't using much pressure and the pad slowly started Disintegrating from the edges.
The pad has only been used on the hood before and was cleaned properly with snappy and air dried.
What would cause a good quality pad in such new condition to fall apart like this?


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we've been having a lot of trouble with LC flat pads, 5.5 inch, falling apart a lot faster than they normally do. we ordered a large lot of them back during the new years sale on AG and this batch just isn't lasting as long as the ones we have been using for years. cant figure out why, as we aren't doing anything different than we always have. sometimes the backing comes off and can be glued back on, sometimes not. but mostly its just as you described OP, the foam is tearing apart faster and easier than in the past. I haven't looked into calling Lake Country or AG on this, but I think I probably should, being that we still have about 25 pads that we haven't opened yet that are part of this same batch. never had this problem before.
 
Sounds like the pad is getting too hot and thus is breaking apart. Some pads collapse as they get hot and simply start falling apart. I do half a panel before switching pads and letting them cool down.
 
Marinesoup,

This can happen for several reasons. Keep in mind a 4 inch pad is more of a spot polishing pad for smaller areas. I would recommend a larger pad next time. The Porter Cable does fantastic with 5.5 inch pads. If I may suggest a few things after explaining my madness that runs through my mind. When using a dual action machine such as a porter cable. Its very important to look at several things. One being pad saturation. On a dual action movement, your going to build up product in the center of a pad very fast. More especially on a smaller pad. This is very common. Spraying the pad with quick detailer will actually saturate the pad more. While the pad surface that touches the paint may seem dry, most likely the inner foam still had moisture. From my years of polishing, I've noticed that moisture will help build up heat heat and rip a pad apart from the inside out. When using a 4 inch pad for as much coverage area to polish as your attemping this will happen real quick. Also another reason for this could be compression between the sides of the backing plate and the pad. If your using a 3 inch backing plate with a 4 inch pad. Over time when compressing the pad during rotation, the backing plate could be digging into it and causing issues.

Here are a couple of quick steps to help you.

1. Make sure your using a backing plate desigened for the pad. Size matching is critical. It will distribute even pressure throughout the pass.
2. Try using a little less product to prevent saturation.
3. Use compressed air or a brush to clean your pad instead of quick detailer.
4. Pad rotation, try slowing the machine down a little for a two reasons. One it won't build heat and two it will allow the abasives to do there job better. resulting in a better pass. Speed isn't always better.
5. I would suggest on bigger areas to use bigger pads if you have them.
6. Maybe alternating pads in between panels will help as well.

In the end, remember one thing. Polishing paint should be fun and enjoy what you do!! Have a great day and I hope my little bit of advice will help you.
 
When I used my pad cleaner brush on a new Hydro-Tech pad it got destroyed in seconds. My solution was to just order more pads and switch pads often (1 or 2 pads per panel). This keeps the heat down, the pads work better, and pads are lasting longer.
 
MooreImpressive said:
we've been having a lot of trouble with LC flat pads, 5.5 inch, falling apart a lot faster than they normally do. we ordered a large lot of them back during the new years sale on AG and this batch just isn't lasting as long as the ones we have been using for years. cant figure out why, as we aren't doing anything different than we always have. sometimes the backing comes off and can be glued back on, sometimes not. but mostly its just as you described OP, the foam is tearing apart faster and easier than in the past. I haven't looked into calling Lake Country or AG on this, but I think I probably should, being that we still have about 25 pads that we haven't opened yet that are part of this same batch. never had this problem before.
Click to expand...

I have switched over to mostly Buff and Shine pads. I have a ton of Lake Country pads and have used them for years but IMHO the Buff and Shines are just more durable. I have yet had one of their pads come apart on me or become separated from its backing. They are tough as a tank.
 
I appreciate everyone's input into this problem.
I did notice the pads were saturated and thought that might be part of the cause of the problem and also I may have had it set too fast.
I do have 6.5" pads with a 5.5" backing plate also. I had been told by someone earlier that the PC doesn't do well with 6.5" pads and that
I should only use 4" pads for optimal results with the PC.
Maybe someone that has more experience than myself can tell me if the PC can handle 6.5" pads or did I just waste my money?
 
The PC will work with 6.5inch pads if you have the right backing plate (6inch). The ideal pad for the PC IMHO is the 5.5 inch (using a 5inch backing plate) and the 4inch pads (on a 3.5inch backing plate).
 
6.5" pads on PC will work, but that's pretty big for a PC. 4" is spot correction and small area only (small flat part on bumper etc.)IMO.

As I've had this happen to me before from bot the inside and outside of the pad, I would have to say it was likely too much heat. A 4" pad is going to heat up much faster than a 6.5" pad, especially if you're trying to do a whole top of a car with it. Go with a pad size in between the two and do smaller areas. Basically, you went from one extreme to the other and skipped right over the sweet spot of 5.5". At least that's what I believe happened. Of course I only use my MF pads at speeds 3-4 on my Griots after having had pads disintegrate at speeds 5 and 6 lol.

Was it smoking at all when you pulled it off the paint? (Wouldn't be actual smoke, just steam from the QD if you built up too much heat.)
 
There was no smoke/steam at anytime. I think the size and speed and saturation all played a part.
I now have my 5" da backing plate and few pairs of 5.5" pads.
I will take all the info offered and start slower with least agressive method and move up from there keeping my eye on saturation.
I was only doing 1/4 of the roof at a time which I believe wasn't too much.


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Do you have any pictures of these pads? To the OP and others - If you are having durability issues or are experiencing a defective pad, please don't hesitate to contact us. If people don't email or call when they have a problem, we simply don't know.
Any questions, complaints, or concerns can be emailed to David.Patterson@LakeCountryMfg.com
 
David Patterson@LakeCountry said:
Do you have any pictures of these pads? To the OP and others - If you are having durability issues or are experiencing a defective pad, please don't hesitate to contact us. If people don't email or call when they have a problem, we simply don't know.
Any questions, complaints, or concerns can be emailed to David.Patterson@LakeCountryMfg.com
Click to expand...

David has helped me before when I had a problem with some Hydrotechs I had at one time. Was even nice enough to send me a Hybrid pad to try out at the time.
 
I was using the megs 3" microfiber pads with my PC and I was working it hard on glass with the worst hard water spots I have ever seen and the pad self destructed.
 
David Patterson

I wish I had thought of that earlier.
After I had problems with the new pad I just threw it out. It was a 4" orange waffle.


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We have written back and forth a few times in the past few days. I explained the situation and sent him some pictures of the pads. He says he is looking into the problem and will be working to resolve it, whatever that means. Will update when that resolution happens. He said he has heard from several people recently about this same issue.
 
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