Buyers remorse

W

whiteWRX

New member
Hi,

So in my adventures to the world of rotary use, I just purchased the Edge 2k 8" wave pads. Just have to say these are HUGE. Now I am a little concerned that they may be a little too hard to maneuver around. Just wondering if I would be better off getting some 6" pads instead. So my questions are:



1) Are these the 'safest' bet for a beginner (ie least amount of heat build up)



2) If and when I get some 6" pads, should I go flat or wave style (again safety/ease of use are my primary concern)



Thanks
 
It's all all in what you learn on, I have used 6.5" and 8" wool pads, I prefer the 8". It's like when I did lawn care - there are two basic methods of controling a commercial walk-behind mower - Toro's T-bar and Scag's grip levers, most folks get brand loyal quick but the guys that run Scags - NEVER arm wrestle them unless you're Popeye! To me, it's easier to run a buffer with the 8", wider base made it steadier.
 
I always trained people with an 8 incher without any problems. Start on the large flat areas to get the feel of things before moving into the curves and edges. You'll be fine. Just work slow and stay loose.
 
The people never mention about bigger pads is they make the rotary act more aggressive. At 1000 rpm, the outter edge of a 6 inch pad is traveling 18.84 inchs per rotation or 1884 inches a minute. That is how fast the pad is abrading against the surface at the outer limit.



A 8 inch pad @ 1000 rpm is traving 25.12 inches per rotation or 2512 inchs a minute. To achieve this level of working power in 6 inch pad you would have to spin it at roughly 1320 rpms.



What produces more heat, and 8 inch pad @ 1000 rpm or 6 inch pad @ 1320 rpm? They should be about equal (setting all variables equal) so the question becomes which pad with disipate the heat better? An 8 inch pad is producing its working power over a greater area, so the in this case, the 8 inch pad @ 1000 rpm is producing the same working power as the 6 inch pad @ 1320 rpm and removing heat from the surface faster.



People are correct in assuming that at equal RPM's, the 6 inch in pad produces less heat. It also is doing less work. To be equal you have to spin the 6 inch pad roughly 30 percent faster.



So see what you llike, try the 8 inch pads (I don't like them as I feel they steer me too much). See what you feel the best with, but remember that 8 inch pads cover more area, do more work at lower, so if speed is a concern.....
 
TH0001 said:
The people never mention about bigger pads is they make the rotary act more aggressive. At 1000 rpm, the outter edge of a 6 inch pad is traveling 18.84 inchs per rotation or 1884 inches a minute. That is how fast the pad is abrading against the surface at the outer limit.



A 8 inch pad @ 1000 rpm is traving 25.12 inches per rotation or 2512 inchs a minute. To achieve this level of working power in 6 inch pad you would have to spin it at roughly 1320 rpms.



What produces more heat, and 8 inch pad @ 1000 rpm or 6 inch pad @ 1320 rpm? They should be about equal (setting all variables equal) so the question becomes which pad with disipate the heat better? An 8 inch pad is producing its working power over a greater area, so the in this case, the 8 inch pad @ 1000 rpm is producing the same working power as the 6 inch pad @ 1320 rpm and removing heat from the surface faster.



People are correct in assuming that at equal RPM's, the 6 inch in pad produces less heat. It also is doing less work. To be equal you have to spin the 6 inch pad roughly 30 percent faster.



So see what you llike, try the 8 inch pads (I don't like them as I feel they steer me too much). See what you feel the best with, but remember that 8 inch pads cover more area, do more work at lower, so if speed is a concern.....
Click to expand...



I've never really thought buffing was this critical of a science for people. That pretty analitical. :eek: :hide:
 
Wow:eek:

Thanks for the great replies! I think I will hang on to my 8" blue pad (from what I read its all I really need).

I'm attempting to contact AG to see if I can trade my other 8" for some 6".

For the 6" should I go wave or non-wave. It almost seems like the non-wave might distribute the polish better. Any thoughts?

Also, would the white or blue be best for PO106FF?



Thanx again.
 
David Fermani said:
I've never really thought buffing was this critical of a science for people. That pretty analitical...
Click to expand...



Heh heh, I really like explanations such as that post from TH0001. IMO it's not like people overly apply the ol' brain cells to this stuff (or much of anything else) and good, logical thinking is, well, good ;)



On-topic, I found the 6.5" pads easy to use from the start. IMO a rotary-newbie might find the larger pads a bit harder to control, at least if DIYing the learning curve as opposed to having expert instruction. Havng somebody with experience there at the get-go would be *so* valuable!
 
Just my opinion, but I personally, like the smaller pads for a rotary. I find them a lot easier to control than the larger ones, and by doing a smaller area at a time you can concentrate a little bit more on the polisher vs. the pad.....make sense? In other words, I used a set of large pads when I first used my rotary, and it skipped and jumped all over the place. I had such a hard time trying to figure out how to keep the pad from going crazy that I wasn't even thinking about technique. Since then, I have stepped down to the very same 6" flat pads that I use on my PC and haven't had any problems.
 
The only hops, skips and torque steer if you will was polish related in my experience. OP and XMT never gave me any trouble, maybe due to the lube in them.
 
I wanted "6 inch wool pads", this is what I have found out. If you have different connections/sizes or suppliers I would really like to know about them because I haven't been available to find them.



This is it for "6" wool" pads for a rotary:

Lake Country manufactures "1" 6" wool pad for the Rotary. A description is available on there web site for it's uses. It is basically a throwaway (read there description).



Thats it! Other companies list 6 inch wool pads, but LC makes it, and it is as above.



If you want a different cut, whatever in a "6 INCH WOOL PAD" it is not available at least from my searching..



To get a different cut/size/whatever, you have to step up to larger sizes of wool pads such as 7.5 inch are larger. Great for big flat surfaces, sucks for the smaller surfaces, angle changes (getting smaller) on todays autos.

Therefore, I ended my search. There was a rumor that "The Edge" was coming out with 6" wool pads, but I contacted Aaron at the Edge and found out it was FALSE!!!

Changeling
 
Changeling said:
This is it for "6" wool" pads for a rotary:

Lake Country manufactures "1" 6" wool pad for the Rotary. A description is available on there web site for it's uses. It is basically a throwaway (read there description).
Click to expand...



Can you provide the link with the description of the wool pads? Mike...
 
I was just at the Lake Country site and was unable to find any description that the 6in. wool pads are a throwaway pad. Changeling, could you please explain to me or guide me to what gave you this idea. Mike...
 
Changeling said:
To get a different cut/size/whatever, you have to step up to larger sizes of wool pads such as 7.5 inch are larger. Great for big flat surfaces, sucks for the smaller surfaces, angle changes (getting smaller) on todays autos.
Click to expand...



If you think about it, an 8 inch pad will get in tight limited areas better due to the extra length the pad sticks out over the body of the rotary compared to a 6 inch. It's easier to access areas around door mirrors, wings and bumper openings with a *normal* pad than a 6 inch.
 
David Fermani said:
If you think about it, an 8 inch pad will get in tight limited areas better due to the extra length the pad sticks out over the body of the rotary compared to a 6 inch..
Click to expand...



Good point! With both the rotary and the PC, I find that overhanging section of the pad better for a lot of things than smaller pads (which I like for *different* jobs).
 
Same principle as commercial lawn mower, most use 60" decks that stick out on the left side about a foot - so you can get close to stuff and leave the trim mower on the trailer.
 
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