Stop giving wool pads a bad name. They are your friend

SVR

SVR

Dream Machines
G'day all



Was watching some you tube videos and a podcast from a supposedly industry legend in USA and had to totally disagree with their harsh comments about wool pads



Sure wool pads should be a last resort and I use them not as often but wool is still king for paint correction



The industry legend was saying that wool pads make a big mess all over the car and the detailer cause of the frizz flying everywhere and the haze, swirls, holograms etc that they leave behind.



Here are my tips for using wool. This works for me. If it doesnt for you then I apologise.

Note: I learnt some of this from so many of you. the tiny bead part from DSMS from detailing bliss. But all of the guys from 2001 to 2007 are awesome. Thanks.



1. Wash the wool pad out first. Get the frizz out of the pad (or buy a prewashed one)

2. Buy top quality wool pads made from Aussie wool. 100% natural wool only (I recommend buff and shine centre ring wools)

3. use wool pads of 1, 1.25 or 1.5 inch pile height only. not the 2 inch or bigger

4. Prime the wool pad like foam. Black Baron pad lube x 1 spritz. rub it in.

apply a circle of polish around the heart of the wool pad (be generous) and rub into the wool well.

5. The more worn the pad, the better it works. the thinner it is, the better for peel removal.

6. Blow out removed clear coat and polish after every 2 x 2 up to 5 x 5 ft section by turning on the rotary to speed 5 or 6 and blow the spinning pad with compressed air then slow down to speed 2 on the buff after its pretty clean to refluff up the pad

DO NOT BUFF A WHOLE PANEL WITHOUT BLOWING THE PAD OR USING A SPUR. GOLDEN RULE - NO SCREWDRIVERS

7. Buff with the pad flat 99% of the time. only tilt slightly but always finish flat.

8. Don't use compounds. They are obsolete. Use water based single polish systems that do not contain nasty ingredients. these include stoddard solvent naptha, kerosene, dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane and pentasiloxane (cancer causing solvent from skin care industry), formaldehyde, crystalline silica abrasive - causes silicosis)



Single polishes mean you dont have to buy 3 or 4 polishes

They correct like compounds but finish down without a single swirl mark/hologram etc unless the technique is off or the pad is dirty, surface not purified first, pad not perfectly centred (pads not centred right will act like orbitals but leave strange marring behind)



AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, Stop using one speed buffing style such as 1500 rpm then stop.



Start at whatever speed the product is meant too but then slow down by 200 rpm at a time and jewel that finish down. Spend most time at 900 but continue to 750 and 600 rpm if you wish which I do alot



If the product dries up, put a tiny bead of product on the surface, add some water or diluted black baron and water (25/75) and continue



Sure some may say - that takes too long but it doesnt because you can now skip some pad grades. Instead of needing a heavy Cut and or a medium cut foam, a light cut or polishing foam (50 to 70 ppi) will gloss up the paint and jewel the paint even finer and your done.



The softer the grade, the more colour shade intensity and depth/clarity you will get.



I am adopting the Buff Pro product plus microfibre discs from Surbuf and Meguiars and using them with DA's and Orbitals too however the rotary and wool should not be ignored or sneered at



For orange peel, it cant be beat - YET.

4 keys to a world class finish. Technique, Talent, Time, Tools
 
Good info! If I had had those tips earlier I would have been much happier. I recently got back in the wool game due to detailing boats. But, I know I'll be using wool on a few cars too. You're spot on about the old compounds, nasty stuff and they're still out there too. Ya'll read the label on a few if you have doubts.
 
A couple of more tips about wool pads (if you don't mind)....



Wool pads are very RPM dependent, particularly when it comes to their ability to level (remove the microscopic height differences) the paint. This is because of centrifugal force. Think of a ball attached to a string... If you spin the ball lazily over your head the string will have a lot of slack. In the case of a wool pad the fibers will contour to the paint's surface. However if you really whip the ball and string around, centrifugal force will 'pull' the ball 'outward' which pulls the string taut. The same principle applies to a wool pad, the faster you spin it, the more the fibers are pulled outward and the stiffer they become.



While the wool fibers themselves are abrasive (twisted wool more so then lamb's wool), wools biggest advantage is the increase in surface area. If the wool is adequately primed with abrasive grains (polish) you can get a whole lot of extra cutting power from the simple fact that far more of the polish is working at a given time. However this increase in cut means that far more material (paint) is being removed in one pass. This abraded material will attach to the wool (and abrasives) and can cause them to clump together, which results in a more scoured finish.



To combat this, clean your wool pad after each application, either by spurring or by using compressed air. By keeping the pad clean you get a much nicer finish....



For example,



You start your polishing application with your wool pad and your favorite compound at 1500 rpm (or whatever). The abrasives are removing a lot of material, which is becoming attached to the wool fibers and causing the abrasives to 'clump' together. This is the opposite of a diminishing abrasive. The abrasives become more uneven which leads to an increase in surface scratching Instead... you stop polishing half way through the application and blow the pad out, removing most of the clumped up material. By reducing RPM to allow the wool to flow over the fine contours of the paint and polishing with a 'clean' surface free of clump abrasives you should be able to to a much nicer finish.

 
TH0001 said:
To combat this, clean your wool pad after each application, either by spurring or by using compressed air. By keeping the pad clean you get a much nicer finish....

Click to expand...



One of the most important things to do with your wool pads that some forget to do.
 
Nice post!



Not sure agree with using wool to remove orange peel though, I'll wet sand for that. ;)



I'm partial to the Megs Solo wool pads and the W5000 double sided wool.
 
When I use a rotary......I like to use wool. And, it's the safest pad to learn on. Barry Theal likes using 10 inch wool pads for heavy orange peel removal. Hope he chimes in to share his experience.
 
I've never been that big on wool personally, but lately I'm starting to get into using them a bit more. One of my favorites are the 3" Wool spot pads from Meguiar's; using those on my Flex 3403 for spot repairs is really convenient and makes quick work of sanding marks if I've had to get aggressive on some RIDS.
 
Thank you Todd for that excellent info.

You can do the orange peel removal without removing much paint too.

Sanding is definately the fast way to do it and with alot of water and light or no pressure with long strokes, one can polish with sandpaper. 2500 and 3000 grit papers used this way work terrific at reducing the need for much sand scratch removal.



I've got 1500 through to 8000 grit discs and papers but am nowhere near a sanding expert.

long strokes not little ones is my style.
 
SVR said:
I've got 1500 through to 8000 grit discs and papers but am nowhere near a sanding expert.

long strokes not little ones is my style.
Click to expand...



8000 grit? Cant say I've ever seen anything like that before.... what do you use that fine of a grit on?



Seems like by that point you'd already have switched over to a polish or compound.
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
I've never been that big on wool personally, but lately I'm starting to get into using them a bit more. One of my favorites are the 3" Wool spot pads from Meguiar's; using those on my Flex 3403 for spot repairs is really convenient and makes quick work of sanding marks if I've had to get aggressive on some RIDS.
Click to expand...



buff and shine have 2 and 3 inch wool pads which we used on the shinex rotary and makita whilst in the USA last year. Absolutely loved them

Still have not tried Tuff Buff wools yet or Gloss it knitted wool.



I've never liked the edge black and yellow foams, LC purple kompressor foam or megs burgundy pads.
 
SVR thanks for posting this! This was a great read! You really threw it out there in the realest aspect! Autopia should be gratefull for this post. When I look back at my career in detailing. One of the first things that pop into my mind is a wool pad or 2. Personally I really love the schliegal wool pads. I have these by the dozens in my shop. I love the white and the yellow ones for sure. Foam pads are great and they serve there purpose. I can remember the days before foam and finishing down on wool. I wonder what some of these people today would have done back then. As accumulator mentioned wool runs cooler on paint then foam. I have recently seen many people bashing wool pads. What I think is either they were never taught how to use them properly or just had bad experiances. I seen a video today someone sent me with a guy bashing wool pads. I kinda laughed and wondered to myself does he even know how to use it. Just like any other tool, everything has a place. Learn to use your tools properly and life gets easier!
 
I am using wool pads on all my correction details, I prefere the smaller ones(5") similar to LC foamed wool and they are awesome. Using compressed air is a

great way to clean them, this make it so much easier to polish and to avoid hologramming.
 
Barry Theal said:
SVR thanks for posting this! This was a great read! You really threw it out there in the realest aspect! Autopia should be gratefull for this post. When I look back at my career in detailing. One of the first things that pop into my mind is a wool pad or 2. Personally I really love the schliegal wool pads. I have these by the dozens in my shop. I love the white and the yellow ones for sure. Foam pads are great and they serve there purpose. I can remember the days before foam and finishing down on wool. I wonder what some of these people today would have done back then. As accumulator mentioned wool runs cooler on paint then foam. I have recently seen many people bashing wool pads. What I think is either they were never taught how to use them properly or just had bad experiances. I seen a video today someone sent me with a guy bashing wool pads. I kinda laughed and wondered to myself does he even know how to use it. Just like any other tool, everything has a place. Learn to use your tools properly and life gets easier!
Click to expand...



Up until today, I'd never heard of you but your name was mentioned earlier in this thread

I took a look at your website and holy smoke, that is some magnificent work.

Must make a trek to PA some time in the next few years as I slowly tour around the USA.

Been stuck in boise, idaho and LA only so far. going back this time next year. see how I go with spending money.



That must be the best compliment I have ever received from any forum for the past decade. Very nice of you.

Had a feeling that the thread might not fare well with the autopian crowd since I've only been back a very short time and was seen as either a genius or a looney. could go either way



But lets not forget Todd Helme's input to this thread which finished it off nicely.
 
SVR said:
I've never liked the ...megs burgundy pads.
Click to expand...



Oddly enough I've found that these days I *do* like the Meguiar's Burgundy foam cutting pads! For *ages* I never liked/used them, but these days I like 'em with the Flex 3401 and the Griot's 6" RO, when using M105 and OHC. I think it's a combo of the nondiminshing abrasives and the more powerful RO polishers :think: When I want to get aggressive with foam and a RO, those are the pads I'm reaching for at present.
 
Accumulator said:
Oddly enough I've found that these days I *do* like the Meguiar's Burgundy foam cutting pads! For *ages* I never liked/used them, but these days I like 'em with the Flex 3401 and the Griot's 6" RO, when using M105 and OHC. I think it's a combo of the nondiminshing abrasives and the more powerful RO polishers :think: When I want to get aggressive with foam and a RO, those are the pads I'm reaching for at present.
Click to expand...



Agreed.

Meg's Burgundy pads+ Flex 3401=:spot
 
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