Meg Burgundy/Cutting pad and DACP

hkgs300

New member
I just bought a Dewalt 443 and want to know if I can use SOFTBUFFâ„¢ Cutting Pad (Red/Burgundy) together with DACP safely. :o



We do not have a large choice of pads, the only other avail are the Wool pads (too abrasive I think) and the 3M waffle pads. I already boughy a set of waffle pads but want to check if that is enough?



Thanks,

Alex
 
Hi hkgs300,



Be careful.



You can easily burn paint with the W-7000/W-7006 cutting pad, even with #83 DACP



The maroon cutting pad is quite aggressive for a foam pad and you could easily burn through paint on an edge or body line.



(been there, done that)



What are you working on?



What is your goal?
 
Thx Mike,

my goal is to make my car look good :D



I am using the Dewalt 443, which is in fact a random orbital polisher. I only have the 3M waffle polishing pads for now, but would like to get a few more pads to work with.

There is not a lot of choice in Hong Kong, but probably can get some of the meg pads here without too many difficulties.



Recently I got a bottle of DACP, but did not start using it.



By the way, my car is a 1998 black (non-clear) Lexus GS300 and has some whirls and small scratches.



Also, if I used DACP, do I need to clay?



Thanks.
 
I use a Dewalt 443 as my Random Orbital and find it works great. If light swirls and scratches are what you are looking to fix then it should be ok. The Meguiars red cutting pad with DACP will work ok. You may need to make a few passes. Keep cleaning your pad with a damp towel and dont use too much product.



Follow this up with something lighter even DACP with 3M polishing pad. You might need to go less abrasive again if you find there is still some micro marring by the DACP. 3M Perfect if III Machine Glaze or Meg #9 on a yellow MEg polishing pad and you should be ready to apply a sealant



If you feel you paint is a bit rough or if the car has been kept outside its better to clay before you start any polishing.



Good Luck

Tony
 
hkgs300 said:
Thx Mike,

my goal is to make my car look good :D



I figured that much, what I meant was specifics, like you mention below, i.e., remove whirls.



By the way, is that the common term everyone uses in Hong Kong to describe



"Buffer Swirl", or

"Swirls" in general? (as in what we call cobweb-effect)



Buffer swirl is typically caused by the improper use of a rotary buffer, and/or product and pad selection and shows up as circular scratches in a zig-zag pattern following the direction the rotary buffer was moved across the surface.



Cobweb-effect is the hundreds of thousands of random scratches caused by day-in, day-out wear and tear.



I am using the DeWalt 443, which is in fact a random orbital polisher. I only have the 3M waffle polishing pads for now, but would like to get a few more pads to work with.

There is not a lot of choice in Hong Kong, but probably can get some of the meg pads here without too many difficulties.



Recently I got a bottle of DACP, but did not start using it.



By the way, my car is a 1998 black (non-clear) Lexus GS300 and has some whirls and small scratches.



Also, if I used DACP, do I need to clay?



Thanks.



The DACP should work using the 3M waffle pad, I can't say for sure because while I have tested the waffle pad, I don't use them because they don't make sense to me.



Single-stage black paint is typically very soft, even with today's harder resin types. For this reason, you should have a high chance of success using a dual-action, (jiggle machine), polisher and the DACP. Remember to work the product until it's almost gone, and only do a section at a time, like 16" by 16". You must be thorough.



As far as claying goes. If after evaluating your surface with the palm of your clean hand after washing the car, you still feel little bumpy contaminants on the surface, then I would clay it.



Claying is fast, effective and non-evasive. The dual-action polisher is gentle, it will more than likely glide over the contaminants versus kick them off



Your mileage may vary.



Good luck!
 
Mike Phillips said:
You can easily burn paint with the W-7000/W-7006 cutting pad, even with #83 DACP



The maroon cutting pad is quite aggressive for a foam pad and you could easily burn through paint on an edge or body line.



I assume this warning doesn't apply when using this pad on a PC? Thanks! :wavey
 
Hi Aurora40,



This warning does apply when using the W-7006 cutting pad on the Porter Cable Dual Action polisher.



If your paint is thin, then any companies buffing pad, and any companies chemicals could potentially be responsible if burn-through occurs.



Example: I'm sure everyone will agree that baby oil is non-abrasive, and in fact, is on the exact opposite extreme end of the abrasive scale, i.e. baby oil is a pure lubricant.



However, if your paint is thin, and especially if your paint is soft/single-stage, then the abrading action of the W-7006 on a Porter Cable Dual-Action polisher can be aggressive enough to burn through the paint even with a pure lubricant like baby oil.



Especially at the higher speed settings. Don't kid yourself, the firmness, and aggressive cell wall structure of the W-7006 foam pad will do what it is intended to do... abrade.



This is more likely to happen on edges, versus panels, but depending on the existing film-build, it is 100% possible say in the middle of the hood, or deck-lid.



Caution, tempered with experience, isn't enough when dealing with thin paint. The reason being is because you know how thin the paint is until you begin. And of course... once you bring your buffer down onto the finish... your committed. (at least I am).





Now it all depends on the luck of the draw.



It's a good idea to always approach every buff job as though the paint is thin, and the difference between, whoops!, and wow! is a whispered prayer.



The biggest problem with buffing out a paint job is,



"You don't know who has gone before you"



By this I mean, you don't know if your working on a virgin finish, or if Bubba, using a Milwaukee buffer built in the 1960's weighing 20lbs, using a coarse abrasive compound buffed most of the paint leaving only the essence of a film-build.
 
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