I do believe in ALWAYS being open to new ideas, products and techniques and when I say this what I mean is I am always open to the introduction of the next best thing in relation to pads and polishes. The times we're living in have seen more cool new technology introduced in the last few years then I've ever seen in my detailing journey. So I practice what I preach when I tell others to be open to new ideas, products, pads, tools and techniques. Bring it on...coming to a relatively new topic, an a very dangerous one as well, cutting an buffing.......the first thing to consider is that when we use a buffing pad, we are dealing with a LOT thicker foam material than the foam backed discs typically used, even with an interface pad placed between the backing plate and disc. The next thing to consider is that the abrasive grains are NOT permanently attached to the foam. Certainly, some of the grains attach, some roll about between the foam and the sanded surface, and other grains attach to the foam and then release. Finally, it must be understood that the abrasive grains are not evenly distributed. Some areas of the pad may have NO abrasive material attached to it, while other areas may have grains stacked upon other grains. The unevenly distributed material can sometimes cause microfine marring (or hazing) of the paint surface.
To minimize the possibility of hazing, the pad should be properly primed with buffing liquid, and firm and even pressure should be applied to the machine. FIRM does not mean FORCED! Firm simply means that the pad needs to have an even distribution of pressure applied to it. This accomplishes several things. First, the abrasive grains will cut consistently and evenly when they are contacting the paint surface level to each other. Picture this: If we were hand sanding, we would try our best to keep our hand backing pad level to the paint surface so that the paper could evenly abrade the paint surface, right? Firm pressure across the pad achieves this. Secondly, we want the abrasive grains to attach themselves to the foam. Certainly, we do not desire all of the grains to be attached because the loose and rolling grains serve a purpose, too. Primarily, their movements mimic rolling little spheres (think of ball bearings). This movement helps the pad to glide along, and as the grains roll about, they contact the grains that are attached to the pad, knocking them loose, and allowing them to possibly reattach to a different area of the pad, and in a different position. Hope the crew can digest that.....Now as I sit back & admire the thread a quote sprang to mind “You can polish a turd, but it’s still a turd!”. Shakespeare I think.
