Counterweight and pad question

[Digiman]

Hi all!



I am new to this forum. Just have a question. Today, I first time detailed my car with DA polisher. The vibration was unbearable when I dialed up to speed 5. I noticed that the counterweight that came with the polisher says use 5" pad only. So, using 6.5" pad is the cause of the vibration? If I want to change the counterweight from 5" to 6", do I also need to change to the 6" backing plate? :thx

 

[Accumulator]

Digiman- Welcome to Autopia!



Experiences/impressions/opinions regarding the counterweights vary. Some people say they don't notice any difference at all; others (myself included) say that they *do* notice a difference. Can't say which group you'll be in, but here's my $0.02:



The differences are minimal. The CWs are designed to go with the different size of backing plates *when they're holding a single sheet of sandpaper*. Any foam pad, of any size, wet with product is gonna weigh a *LOT* more than a single sheet of sandpaper. So I use the larger, "for 6" plate" CW with every size of foam pad, even the 4" ones and it works best *for me*. Considering how cheap the CWs are, you might as well give it a try.



FWIW, and again, this is just my take on this, the best combo is the heaviest CW and the lightest pad/plate. So a light backing plate is gonna be better than a heavy one. If your 5" plate does *not* damage the back of your pads (the "cookie cutter effect") then you might do fine to stick with it. I weighed my backing plates once and IIRC my "flexible" plate, which doesn't flex all that much, was the lightest.



But no matter what you do, the PC is gonna vibrate. Just the nature of the beast and one reason why some of us prefer the Cyclo. Don't let the vibration mess with your hands, "white finger" never damage is nothing to sneeze at and some people are very susceptible to it.