Wool Pad...is it really necessary?

[Accumulator]

I dont see it mentioned much but I love the Edge Wool pads. Used the yellow wool on an F150 the other month and the edge wool pads are wonderful.



Wool IMHO cuts faster, leaves a better finish in less time. It's such a time saver IMHO.

Oddly enough, my yellow edge wool pad was getting me *nowhere* on the M3. I switched to a Meg's 7006 (foam cutting pad) and that worked great :nixweiss That was via rotary, so idea why it worked out that way.



Yellow edge 4" pads can do some really impressive work with M105 via PC though, but expect a fair bit of residual marring.

 

[imported_paintxpert]

I agree that a wool pad can correct a paint job quicker than that of a firm orange pad. ONLY if you are very experienced! I use a WOOL pad with 100,000 miles on it....BUT you must be VERY careful....or you could BUY the farm. Ben. PS you MUST always repolish with a finish pad SPONGE to finish up

 

[David Fermani]

How does 85RD work on a cutting wool pad? I would have never thought to try 85RD on anything but a finishing pad.

It works great. I used it on rock hard Z4 paint today and cranked up the speed (2500 rpms) and it cut really nice, fast and didn't leave super heavy halos. After trying everything on this paint, I ended up using SIP (w/ BLW). This pad facilitated the full cutting power of 85RD (and SIP) without totally blushing/hazing the surface.

 

[Accumulator]

I agree that a wool pad can correct a paint job quicker than that of a firm orange pad. ONLY if you are very experienced!

I dunno, I always find wool a lot safer than orange foam (Griot's orange foam excepted). While *I* like orange foam pretty much (more than many here, I think), and use it a lot, I often recommend (certain specific types of) wool for newbies because it runs so much cooler and it's overall more forgiving of so-so technique.



Yeah, gotta use the *right* wool, but that's a lot easier to do these days than it was a few years ago. Whole lotta *VERY* safe wool pads on the market now.



If somebody messes up with a gentle wool pad, then they're lucky they were using *that* instead of an aggressive *foam* pad because the damage woulda been a lot worse.

 

[wannafbody]

I think the orange foam works fine with oil based compounds like Megs UC. I think the biggest issue with the orange pad is the stiffness. I'd never use one on a rotary. Wool is a much better choice for rotary work.

 

[David Fermani]

I agree that a wool pad can correct a paint job quicker than that of a firm orange pad. ONLY if you are very experienced!

I guess I'm not that experienced. :nervous: I've have applications where orange LC corrected the finish better and left it with less clean up. Mostly on soft clears where wool was just too heavy.

 

[gmblack3]

I have not touched a wool pad since I started using the surbuf pads w/ PC via KBM. I need to sell my wool pad collection as I had used the edge wool on plenty of jobs in the past.

 

[David Fermani]

SurBuf pads are at the top of my must have list!! Where do you recommend me getting them from?

 

[gmblack3]

SurBuf pads are at the top of my must have list!! Where do you recommend me getting them from?

I get them from the main surbuf site, but there are some local distributors as well.

 

[Accumulator]

I got my 4" ones from TOL.



Thinking of the gist of this thread, I'd be a *little* hesitant to recommend these to newbies as they're not the most, uhm....Accumulator-proof things in the world and the ad-copy makes it sound like you can use them for most anything, which is *NOT* the case IME. They're pretty dependent on proper technique too.



No, no...not a slam at the Surbufs, which I plan to revisit next time I do some serious work (i.e., buy another used car ), just a caveat...



Edit: having recently read gmblack3a's summary of KMBing with SurBufs, and having bent Kevin's ear about them too, I need to try them with M105 via Cyclo.

 

[Junebug]

I only have DA machines, Cyclo, PC and new PCXP and with these - wool just doesn't work. I think Mr. Helme had a pretty good article about this, just can't find it at the moment. I'm on the fence on the surbuf pads even though there is a store right in town that has them, I have the new LC Cyan and Tangerine pads and still haven't tried them. I know - need to get busy!

 

[Accumulator]

I only have DA machines, Cyclo, PC and new PCXP and with these - wool just doesn't work. ..

The Edge/Cyclo yellow and blue wool 4" pads work OK with the PC if you use them with M105. They don't leave things all that nice (esp. the yellow) but they do get the job done when you're trying to do stuff that really calls for a more aggressive machine.



Better than SurBufs? Well, that's another matter...

I have the new LC Cyan and Tangerine pads and still haven't tried them. I know - need to get busy!

If that tangerine pad is as similar to the Griot's orange as I suspect it to be, you'll find it very versatile.

 

[neighborsenvy]

Opening up this old thread.



Background: I just did a 2010 Black Corvette for 14 hours using the griots and 5.5" ccs orange/105 and ccs white/205. I just started machine polishing a few months ago and have done a 09 Pontiac G8, 99 Sable, and the corvette. Ive read for hours on end before I did the first car and everything came about great. It only took about 8 hours becuase it has extrememly soft paint. I thought I was doing pretty good until I got to that corvette. Im looking to improve my time as well as doing things the right way to achieve top 1% results. I want to be known as the go to guy not just a guy that details. Im doing this on the side for the next 2 years or until I have one year worth of savings put aside.



The questions:



- Im confused as to whether the wool will work with the griots as Ive seen a few people say it wont work in a hundered or more posts.

- If it does work what size should I go with and it looks like I need a foam backing plate? I think I read that somewhere but I cant find it now. I really need to bookmark pages right away before forgetting to.

- If they dont work should I just stick with 4" foam pads until I get more experience and upgrade to a rotary?

- Off topic but, why dont they have a machine that can do both? Kind of like a hammer drill that will drill normally with a push of a button.

- In your opinion, with $400 should I upgrade to a flex and assorted 6.5" and 4" pads? I only have one customer and have free exterior detail for a raffle for a car show/cancer research benefit. Im also going to do my wife's godfather's car (03 G35) in hopes of getting some business from his work (mailmen). I may be doing another G8 in exchange for a logo/tshirt design as well.

- I do realize that this should be reserved for really hard clears such as corvette, audi, and bmw.

 

[PorscheGuy997]

Will a wool pad work with a DA polisher?



Yes, a Purple Foamed wool pad will work with a DA. However, I would suggest looking into the Surbuf pad line. These pads use very short "microfingers" that efficiently transfer the power. A traditional wool pad has very long strands that will waste the DA's orbital pattern.



What size backing plate should I use?



It all depends on which size pad you go with. With a Surbuf pad, you can still use a larger sized pad and plate.



Should I upgrade to a rotary or stick with more advanced pads?



I would stick with the more advanced pads. There have been many significant improvements in polish and pad technologies that make the DA much more capable. I foresee the DA getting even more capable.



On the flip side, rotary polishers are always fun to have around. For the first pass on a wrecked finish, they work great.



Why don't they make a machine that can change between a DA and a rotary?



Dynabrade makes an attachment that converts a rotary to a DA.



Should I upgrade to a Flex DA?



Maybe, but it's up to you. I have used a Flex before (rotary and DA). The rotary is fine, but I really dislike the rotation of the Flex DA. Maybe it is because I am used to working with a clockwise rotating rotary, but it seems like I am fighting it. However, it is a very capable machine. That being said, I can take my beater 7336 with a Surbuf pad and some M105 and hammer out 1500 grit sanding marks all day.

 

[Accumulator]

The questions:

Compare my responses to those of PorscheGuy997. This stuff is just soooo dependent on individual preferences.

- Im confused as to whether the wool will work with the griots as Ive seen a few people say it wont work in a hundered or more posts...

There are different wool pads and they come in different sizes. Generally, PFW works with any RO/DA machine and is like a "better orange foam cutting pad". I've also used 4" wool pads from Edge/CycloToolmakers with M105 for *seriously* aggressive spot-correction via PC and it worked fine for that.

- If it does work what size should I go with and it looks like I need a foam backing plate? I think I read that somewhere but I cant find it now. I really need to bookmark pages right away before forgetting to.

With the PFW and the 4" Edge wool, I use regular backing plates.

- If they dont work should I just stick with 4" foam pads until I get more experience and upgrade to a rotary?

Try the SurBufs with M105.

- Off topic but, why dont they have a machine that can do both? Kind of like a hammer drill that will drill normally with a push of a button.

- In your opinion, with $400 should I upgrade to a flex and assorted 6.5" and 4" pads? I only have one customer and have free exterior detail for a raffle for a car show/cancer research benefit. Im also going to do my wife's godfather's car (03 G35) in hopes of getting some business from his work (mailmen). I may be doing another G8 in exchange for a logo/tshirt design as well.

There's a Makita that's like that...BO6040 maybe :think: I can't quite remember if that's the right model number or not. FWIW, I really like the Flex 3401 and it's basically replaced my rotaries for most stuff, but as noted not everybody likes the Flex's somewhat unique "feel".

 

[neighborsenvy]

PorscheGuy and Accumulator,



Thanks for the responses. Im going to order the (2) 4" Surbuf pads, (2) LC PFW's, (2) 4" orange LC pads, spur, brinkmann, 3.5" backing plate. I really want the Flex but will wait until another detail is definitely lined up before I go and spend money unnecessarily.



Do you see anything Im missing to start being able to work really hard clears?

 

[Accumulator]

neighborsenvy- That oughta work, but I'd want a lot more orange pads than that, especially if you're using the little 4" ones.



Oh, and I don't find the spur all that useful on PFW myself, but I dunno how others feel about it :nixweiss