A Look Into Pad Priming

PorscheGuy997

New member
Hey everyone,



I thought I would give you guys a little sample of Kevin's paper. One of the most important topics covered is pad priming. Although it may seem simple, I wanted to clear up some confusion.





When I refer to pad priming, I am referring to the liquid that will be used in polishing - not a spray detailer.



M105, M205, M86, D151, SwirlX, ScratchX 2.0, and Ultimate Compound use abrasives that are uniform and non-diminishing. That means that they are very different than most products that use abrasives that break down. These products that use non-diminishing abrasives rely heavily on the lubricant. If there is too much lubricant, then the cut will be reduced because the abrasive is floating in lubricant. If there is too little lubricant, then the product will "flash" very quickly and you will need to reapply product.



The best way to utilize the products listed above (non-diminishing) is to prime the pad. To do so, take the product and pour some on the pad. Then, rub it in. You are not trying to spread butter on toast! Aggressively rub the product into the pad until the entire surface is covered.





To show the method, I chose M205 and a W9207 finishing pad.

StandardPad.jpg




Below is an example of a poorly primed pad. As you can see, the product has completely filled in each of the pores. This will waste product and reduce the cut.



Oversaturated.jpg




Here is what a properly primed pad should look like. The pores are not filled with product, but there is still product available in the pores.



Primed.jpg




To give you a better idea of what the pores look like, I took a macro shot of the above pad properly primed with M205.



Macro.jpg






Hope that helps!



Chris
 
Whoops! I've been over-priming the pad! I bet that's one of the reasons why I've gotten less than stellar results with 205.
 
I am missing something.



PorscheGuy997 said:
When I refer to pad priming, I am referring to the liquid that will be used in polishing - not a spray detailer.



What should I use to prime the pad, water? Or, are you saying you should not use any liquid to prime the pad, you are referring to the liquid in the product?

PorscheGuy997 said:
The best way to utilize the products listed above (non-diminishing) is to prime the pad. To do so, take the product and pour some on the pad. Then, rub it in. You are not trying to spread butter on toast! Aggressively rub the product into the pad until the entire surface is covered.



Would you say the first pic was an example of spreading butter on toast?



When I saw the 2nd pic I was surprised how uniform it look. Did you spread the product on like butter and then push it into the pad?





Thanks for this post, makes me realize that I am using way too much product.
 
dinosaur12 said:
What should I use to prime the pad, water? Or, are you saying you should not use any liquid to prime the pad, you are referring to the liquid in the product?



if you are going to polish with 105 then prime the pad with 105



if you are going to polish with 205 then prime the pad with 205



ect, ect
 
Thanks for the compliments, guys!



dinosaur12 said:
What should I use to prime the pad, water? Or, are you saying you should not use any liquid to prime the pad, you are referring to the liquid in the product?



No, do not use water or detailing sprays to prime the pad. Instead, use a non-diminishing abrasive product (M105, M86, M205,D151, Ultimate Compound, or SwirlX).



dinosaur12 said:
Would you say the first pic was an example of spreading butter on toast?



Correct. I used a ton of produt and just smeared it on the pad without working it in.





dinosaur12 said:
When I saw the 2nd pic I was surprised how uniform it look. Did you spread the product on like butter and then push it into the pad?



Yes, I just pressed my finger into the pad and kind of scraped away the excess product. Usually, I just apply a circle of the polish, work it into the pad, and then apply a bit more polish to the dry areas and work it in. This really shouldn't take much product.
 
Thanks for posting this Porscheguy! I think that I too have been over priming my pads. I usually press the pad after priming onto a MF to remove some of the excess, but no use wasting it.
 
My method with Ultimate compound and ZPC is to apply several small dots over the face of the pad. After turning the machine and spreading the product the pad self primes.
 
Thanks for the info & pics Chris. That macro shot is great. Pretty interesting how the product sits inside the foam loops.
 
thank you for taking the time out to show us how to properly do this but is there anyway to provide a pic of how much product you put on before you work it in ?



Thank you Sir
 
Pardon my beginnerness but what is meant by "over priming my pad"?



Also after the pad is completely primed do you then add more to the pad like normal or to the vehicle and start working?
 
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