4-inch spot pad advice

Depends on the product and machine you are using. I use them on a PC or rotary only where my Cyclo can't fit. On the Cyclo I'd say they run "average time" before needing to be swapped.
 
My bad! I'll be using a PC and please consider the following polishes:



PI-III RC

#83 DACP

IP

#80 Speed Glaze

PI-III MG

FPII



Thanks!
 
It is still going to vary according to how much product you put on the pad, how long you work it etc.... Once the pad gets loaded just wash it out, put it back on the PC and spin it dry. As the name implies they are really for spot work and not doing the entire car.
 
With the "PI III twins" you don't have to worry about immediate caking up or anything like that. Just monitor the pad after every pass and be sure not to use too much product. If you're going to do a whole car with a PC via 4" pads alone, you're likely going to need several ( tough to say exactly, my guess is at least 3 per product). You could set up a bucket of soap, hand wash the pad and spin dry it in between the detailing process also to use less pads.
 
rjstaff, Bill D,



Interesting. I never really considered washing out the product immediately - I always thought it'd take too much time. But I wasn't thinking about spot pads back then.



My wallet is breathing a bit easier now. :D



rjstaff,



I know they're called spot pads but you have to remember that the Cyclo is used with 'em. :D



Bill D,



Thanks for the tip. I've never used the "PI-III twins" as you call them but I'm looking forward to it. Accumulator thinks highly of these two.



Are you suggesting that the Menzerna twins and Meg's #83 and #80 will probably load up more quickly than the PI-III twins on an ounce-for-ounce basis?
 
I sometimes hear that people have caking issues with the PI-III RC, so don't use too much.



I did the hatch of our MPV with one pad on the PC/PI-III RC(experimenting ;) ) with no problems at all. That involved many passes on an area that had been scratched. It did need washed out after that, though.



The PI-III MG doesn't load the pads much unless you use too much.



The #80 can load pads more than the 3M stuff but it washes out easily enough.



But note that with products like these that have diminishing abrasives, it pays to keep the pads clean/fresh lest they get all loaded up with broken down product. I usually switch to a clean, fresh pad before I think I really need to. Sometimes I notice a surprising difference in performance when I do this.



Not familiar enough with the others to comment.
 
merci said:
Bill D,



Thanks for the tip. I've never used the "PI-III twins" as you call them but I'm looking forward to it. Accumulator thinks highly of these two.



Are you suggesting that the Menzerna twins and Meg's #83 and #80 will probably load up more quickly than the PI-III twins on an ounce-for-ounce basis?
Click to expand...



Menzerna won't load real quickly and I haven't used #83 on a 4" pad. The best bet is to closely monitor the pads after each pad and never use too much product.
 
I used a pair on my Cyclo to compound a whole GMC 2500HD (with Poorboy's SSR3), without washing or switching pads. I just brushed them out gently after each panel (using an old carpet brush that I carefully cleaned out first). Seemed to work fine, and when I was done, I just tossed them in a pail with a little Snappy powder, and moved on to a lighter polish.
 
Thanks for the responses, everyone.



I'm thinking I can get away with the following setup:



8 orange LC spot pads to be used this way:



4 test pads for testing which polish will do the trick for the paint I'm working with (one for #83 DACP, IP, #80 Speed Glaze, and PI-III RC). The 3 pads that don't cut it (pun intended) get washed and dried for later use.



The remaining 5 will be used to do the actual work (includes the orange pad that successfully did the job during testing).



This way, I have 3 clean test pads and 5 work pads that get used and cleaned as I do the work.



As a pad gets loaded, I'll gently clean it with a brush and after it gets loaded again, I'll toss it into a bucket of soapy water (Tide Liquid).



If there are two in the bucket already and I'm about to toss in a third, I'll squeeze-clean the two spot pads, rinse, and give it a quick spin on the rotary so that they're ready for duty again.



This way, I'll have two on standby, two on soak, and one in use.



What do you think?
 
8 orange pads is quite a bit, I use a Cyclo regularly and I only have 4. If you deal with single stage paint a lot, however, it might be worthwhile. Once again, I feel that a lot of guys wash pads when its just as easy to brush em out. I make do with probably 16 Cyclo pads in total, only 6 of which are orange/yellow, and I've never used more than 4 at a time.
 
I see! This is getting even more interesting!



If you've never used more than 4 at a time, how do you go about testing/selecting the least aggressive pad & product to do the work?



I'm fascinated that you do a full detail using only 4 pads.
 
merci- I go the other way, the more pads the better :D



You don't want to end up short of pads, and any extras will still be fine when you eventually need them.



But then I have dozens of pads...another pile of stuff I seem to have "accumulated" :o
 
Bill D said:
You could set up a bucket of soap, hand wash the pad and spin dry it in between the detailing process also to use less pads.
Click to expand...



That's a good suggestion, though I think that porter cable and many people who've wrote PC tutorials have advised against letting the machine run freely without putting the pad against the paint. I would use a rotary to spin dry rather than the random orbital PC. :xyxthumbs
 
I used both the PC and rotary to spin dry "out in the open"; no harm done to the pad or machine unless of course you have an absolutely soaked velcro backing: don't want the pad to go flying :eek: so make sure the backing isn't dripping wet.
 
I'll have to agree with Accumulator regarding the number of pads. I'll probably stick with 8 for good measure. Better to have a little more than not enough. :up



As for PC vs rotary for drying pads, I'll have to go with the rotary.



I normally get a majority of the water out from soaked 7.5" & 8" pads by "throwing" all the water out: I hold a quarter section of the pad gently and pretend to throw it to the ground (without letting go, of course) so the water gets expelled from the pad. I do this about four times and each time I hold a different quarter section.



Any remaining water will then be handled by the spin dry with the rotary @ 600rpm initially for 5 seconds, then 900rpm, then 1200rpm. :D



There will still be some water in there but the sun normally takes care of that. :D



I imagine it'll be so much easier with the 4-inch pads. :D
 
Whenever I spin-dry a pad on the PC it ends up going flying :( I keep a plastic tub in the shop just to contain the splatter from spin-drying, but I do it with the rotary or the Cyclo.
 
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