What does the cutting? Pads or the compound?

L

lamyun

New member
Hi everyone, there is a question I've been meaning to ask.

Maybe the gurus can enlighten me :)



What actually does the cutting when you are polishing a car??



Does the pad do the work or the compound you are using?

Or maybe even a combination of both?



Here is what I am thinking:



1) The foam cells are what cut into the paint and the compounds are just used to keep everything lubed up. (ex: light cutting and heavy cutting pads, etc)



2) The foam is just used to press the polish/compound onto the paint so that they can take off the scratches. (ex: #80 and #83 with diminishing abrasives, etc)



Thanks!
 
it's a combo of both...otherwise there would not be different levels of polish/compounds, etc. the various types of pads have their own aggressiveness...then coupled with the varying levels of polish...yo u get the final result.



it can get quite complicated if you start to mix different polishes w/ different pads or even mixing different polishes together to make a hybrid polish.
 
Hybrid Polish! Awesome!

I like to think of detailers sitting in their garage mixing up polishes with a big chemistry set making their own version of a Frankenstein Monster.

Franken-Polish!
 
Yup, combination of both. But unless one uses a wool pad (which is very aggressive) the majority of the cutting is due to the abrasives in the polish/compound.
 
Combo of both. Wool pads are generally easier to cut with. I know a body shop that uses only foam pads for buffing, even after wet sanding.
 
If you think that the buffing cream is just acting as a lube then try water, ky jelly, or liquid wax. You will soon see the importance of a buffing cream. I'm no scientist but i think it has something to do with 3 things: heat resistance, the ability to lubricate, and the ability to penotrate and clean the painted surface.



of course there are cleaners and other things added to the buffing cream, that is why there are others better then others



one of the importance of different pads is that each different grade adds gritt to the cutting power. like a wool pad vs. foam pad. If you buff with both pads with the same exact buffing cream, the wool pad can create a much different cut. The biggest way to see this is to get a panel with SS paint and buff away with the two different types. and you will see.
 
buffing compounds have abrasives in them that roll around on the clearcoat and breakdown...i am no chemist but think of it this way......compounds have abrasives in them that are shaped like footballs, when they roll around it doesnt go very smooth....hence they will do more work/damage than a polish....and combined with a certain pad you get a alot of work done with certain combos...



polishes have abrasives that are truly round so there is less friction, it rolls smoothly across kinda like to massage the clear and cleans it to bring out more shine...this is why you use your least agressive pads for this...



depending on your products that you use there can be as literally hundreds of diff. combinations you could be doing to basically acheive the same end result
 
The polish/compound is doing the work because it's what's contacting the paint. The pad should not be contacting the surface without a layer of polish in between.



Different pads apply different amounts of pressure and force to the surface in different ways.



It's a misconception that heat causes the polishing action. The heat is a RESULT of the polishing action/friction, not the cause of it.
 
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