Can`t decide between 6" pads vs 5.5"

B

bcgreen

New member
My rotary has the 6" backing plate and it is seldom used except for those special occasions. I have a long throw and the PC DA that have the 5" backing plates. These last two are my work horses.
 
bcgreen said:
My rotary has the 6" backing plate and it is seldom used except for those special occasions.
I have a long throw and the PC DA that have the 5" backing plates. These last two are my work horses.
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I put a 5" backing plate on all my machines and have never looked back.
Rotary, 21, 15...all of em`. This also keep my inventory of pads to one 5" size!
 
I also only use 5" backing plates, even on the Makita.. And, if you put a small spacer on the machine, it makes it easier to get into tight places without having the machine be in the way.. Also, the spacer allows you to see what you are doing easier in those places as well.. https://www.autopia-carcare.com/buff-and-shine-rotary-backing-plate-extension.html#.X24ltcKpH3g I never take the spacer off, it`s been on the Makita for almost 20 years..

Since correction is really all about pad rotation, the smaller diameter 5" backing plate and pad will rotate easier on all the random orbitals, so that is always a good thing too.

When the first Flex 3401 VRG machines came out, I bought one to see what it was all about, and immediately cut down the 6" backing plate to 5" and that made this left rotation machine much easier to use.. Later, Flex came out with a 5" backing plate..

Only on something really big like an airplane or those really tall, long vans, that just need a quick correct/polish, will I ever use the 6" backing plate.
Dan F
 
I really have not seen any time differences between a 5" pad and a 6" pad.
I feel the 5" backing plate/pads are better to control with improved results.
 
I was thinking of ordering the Rupes DA Yellow Fine Foam Pad in the 5 inch but it doesn`t look Autopia has it.
 
bcgreen said:
I,was thinking of order the Rupes DA Yellow Fine Foam Pad in the 5 inch but it doesn`t look Autopia has it.
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Hey Hermano ! I hope you guys are all safe and well...

Is this the pad you are looking for ?? https://www.autogeek.net/ru-br150m.html
I know, it says for Rotary, which means it will be thicker, than perhaps the one for the DA??
I have no experience with this machine line, so I do not know if this is a good thing or a bad thing to use a little thicker pad on it..

I did more research and also saw a Rupes Mille 5 inch yellow foam pad at carpro dash us if that is the one you are looking for?..

Dan F
 
Well, since we ARE on the subject of pad sizes and which are better on what polishing machine/buffer, I will ask the "dumb" question if some manufacturers` pads seem to better suited to long-throw DAs and are some better suited to rotaries (yah, yah, it`s all about the wool).

Choosing a pad manufacturer and foam type along with the abrasive for correcting and/or polishing is a variable that can be difficult to make unless one has had experience using them on a particular paint type or a specific vehicle manufacturer`s (OEM) surface substrate (primer/base coat/clear coat.. my acronym is "PBC" rather than "SS" with is confused with Single Stage). I guess that is why "experienced" detailers will do a trial area with a pad and compound/polish combo experiment to try to determine what may work best. Better detailers can "feel " the buffer response (like a grabby pad) and see the results (hazing or micro-maring) as they do this.
 
Lonnie said:
Well, since we ARE on the subject of pad sizes and which are better on what polishing machine/buffer, I will ask the "dumb" question if some manufacturers` pads seem to better suited to long-throw DAs and are some better suited to rotaries (yah, yah, it`s all about the wool).

Pad manufacturer and foam type are a correcting and/or polishing variable that are difficult to make unless one has had experience using them on a particular paint type or a specific vehicle manufacturer`s (OEM) surface substrate (primer/base coat/clear coat.. my acronym is "PBC" rather than "SS" with is confused with Single Stage). I guess that is why "experienced" detailers will do a trial area with a pad and compound/polish combo experiment to try to determine what may work best. Better detailers can "feel " the buffer response (like a grabby pad) and see the results (hazing or micro-maring) as they do this.
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Hey Amigo ! Hope you guys are all good up there in Green Bay !
I think the only variables between Rotary type pads and the rest are the thickness of each type..

The Rotary foam pads have always been thicker, because we can wear them out faster sometimes, because of the Direct Drive aspect, while the other machines that do all these extra things with throw, etc., create more friction = heat, so they are better with thinner pads, with those special vented backing plates, to help dissipate the extra heat faster..

I see a lot of new formulations of "wool", etc., pads out there and perhaps, they are all very good..

The ones I use and have been able to get just great correction and finish with, are still the Lake Country Purple Foam Wool pads, in all the sizes they make..

You have to know that wool pads are designed to be "thrown away" to a fashion, because if you use them with a Rotary on really bad, hardest paint alive like Airplane Paint, you Will kill them off completely, but they Will also make that Airplane paint really clear, flat, and glossy.. And for sure, Boat Gelcoat is another super wool pad killer..

Yes, I clean these pads after each use, because they need it, but they do wear down faster, and eventually, they have to be thrown out.

I have even used these pads on BMW Jet Black completely trashed that had turned a weird shade of gray paint, Lexus Jet Black, destroyed Paint, Mercedes Jet Black completely wrecked Paint, and Honda Jet Black Farm Car Trashed Paint, and they absolutely cleaned the paint up just beautifully.. Yes, I had to come back with a Polish and just a White Foam Flat Pad, and it turned them all into the Rolling Black Mirror vehicles I love to see..
Dan F
 
Based on my short experience with my Bauer 21mm, pads with a center hole work better and are smoother.

It would seem to me that the smaller the backing plate the more potential for overheating a pad.
 
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