8" vs 4" buffing pads

[EPHIOS]

I am trying to decide whether to buy the 4" polishing pads or finishing pads. According to Michael Stoops, the 4" pads will have more concentrated (more heat as well) at a given spot than the 8" that Meguiars sells.

Is it safer to just buy the 4" finishing pad, because it will give me a similar results like the 8" polishing pad (because of the smaller size)? This is of course, if you give the two pads the same amount of time to cut a certain area. Or should, I just buy the 4" polishing pad?

I always have the idea of, "use the least aggressive method at all time." My car has very light swirls.

[Flash Gordon]

Re: 8" vs 4" buffing pads

I am trying to decide whether to buy the 4" polishing pads or finishing pads. According to Michael Stoops, the 4" pads will have more concentrated (more heat as well) at a given spot than the 8" that Meguiars sells.

Is it safer to just buy the 4" finishing pad, because it will give me a similar results like the 8" polishing pad (because of the smaller size)? This is of course, if you give the two pads the same amount of time to cut a certain area. Or should, I just buy the 4" polishing pad?

I always have the idea of, "use the least aggressive method at all time." My car has very light swirls.

I'm assuming your using a rotary, no? Why not purchase two or three of each? Change out your backing plate and you'll be good to go

I would go with a 3" pad instead of 4". Kevin Brown has a great selection of BP's and Pads and I'm sure will be happy to assist you further. Here is his email address >>> iamwaxman@yahoo.com


Happy polishing

[EPHIOS]

Re: 8" vs 4" buffing pads

Sorry guys, I forgot to mention, this will be with my DA, G110v2.

Thanks, Flash Gordon! I am a bit out of budget. I am pretty sure I will be buying more smaller pads in the future, but I need something that will get me started.

[l SIC l]

Re: 8" vs 4" buffing pads

I'm assuming that if you really wanted to concentrate on removing as many swirls as possible (if you are using a D/A), you would take the extra time to perfect the finish using the smallest pad (as it has the most cutting power). The larger you go in relation to the size of the pad, the less cutting power it will have.

So before purchasing the pad, think whether or not you will be primarily working on a paint finish that is susceptible to major or minor paint defects (due to your environment) and buy which pad suits you based on this, for example; there is no point in buying a smaller pad if you only expect to correct light swirls in your paint as opposed to where if you had a fairly neglected finish, you would achieve better correction results with the smaller pad.

[Shawn T.]

Re: 8" vs 4" buffing pads

I love my 4" pads for A-pillars and such. Otherwise, I stick to the softbuff 2.0 pads for larger panels.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: 8" vs 4" buffing pads

Do you find the paint on your car to be particularly difficult to correct (ie, hard paint)? Are you not able to correct it to your satisfaction using standard sized pads? By the way, you mention 8" pads - do you mean the Soft Buff 2.0 7" pads or are you indeed using the W8000/W7000 foam 8" pads? If so, then can we assume that you're using these on a rotary and not a D/A? 8" pads on a D/A likely won't give you quite the result you're looking for.

Now, that concentrated heat/energy when using 4" pads - that's true when using them on a D/A, but things change with a rotary. On a D/A the smaller the pad the more you concentrate the energy (all else being equal of course - same foam construction, same liquid, same speed, same pressure, etc etc) and potentially the more heat you can generate. By that same token, you can often remove more stubborn defects with a smaller pad via D/A because of this concentrated energy.

On a rotary the opposite is true. Speed is the big player in rotary work, and the smaller the diameter of the pad the lower the velocity of the outer edge of the pad for a given rpm setting. For example, a 4" pad has a circumference of roughly 12.5", so for every revolution of the pad the outer edge travels 12.5". A 7" pad has a circumference of just under 22" so the outer edge travels almost 10" farther per revolution than that of the 4" pad. That's almost 80% farther in the same time, hence 80% faster, for the larger pad. So with a rotary, everything else being equal, you'll actually get less cut out of a smaller pad.

Now, with all that said, if you currently are able to correct your paint to your satisfaction, then stick with the larger pads. Using small pads for full correction over an entire vehicle, when there is no real to do so, just increases the time needed for the work. On the other hand, small pads can be an enormous help when dealing with tight or small areas like A-pillars, bumper covers, etc and are a great addition to any detailers arsenal of tools.

[Flash Gordon]

Re: 8" vs 4" buffing pads

Sorry guys, I forgot to mention, this will be with my DA, G110v2.

Thanks, Flash Gordon! I am a bit out of budget. I am pretty sure I will be buying more smaller pads in the future, but I need something that will get me started.

I understand working on a shoestring budget I see your using the G110v2 (nice machine) I would go with the 5.5" pads. Get a couple of orange, maybe 1 or 2 yellows and 2 black for finishing out

A quick google search turned up the following TheDetailShop (auto detailing suppliers/las vegas) Maybe give them a shout and see what the low down is

www.thedetailshoplasvegas.com

You should be able to purchase pads from them

[EPHIOS]

Re: 8" vs 4" buffing pads

Sorry, Mike. Yeah, I meant the 7" Soft Buff 2.0 for G110v2. Yeah, there's some panels on my xB that a bigger pad will not get to. For example, around the headlights and tailights, in front of the grill, and area around the license plates.

[EPHIOS]

Re: 8" vs 4" buffing pads

Do you find the paint on your car to be particularly difficult to correct (ie, hard paint)? Are you not able to correct it to your satisfaction using standard sized pads? By the way, you mention 8" pads - do you mean the Soft Buff 2.0 7" pads or are you indeed using the W8000/W7000 foam 8" pads? If so, then can we assume that you're using these on a rotary and not a D/A? 8" pads on a D/A likely won't give you quite the result you're looking for.

Now, that concentrated heat/energy when using 4" pads - that's true when using them on a D/A, but things change with a rotary. On a D/A the smaller the pad the more you concentrate the energy (all else being equal of course - same foam construction, same liquid, same speed, same pressure, etc etc) and potentially the more heat you can generate. By that same token, you can often remove more stubborn defects with a smaller pad via D/A because of this concentrated energy.

On a rotary the opposite is true. Speed is the big player in rotary work, and the smaller the diameter of the pad the lower the velocity of the outer edge of the pad for a given rpm setting. For example, a 4" pad has a circumference of roughly 12.5", so for every revolution of the pad the outer edge travels 12.5". A 7" pad has a circumference of just under 22" so the outer edge travels almost 10" farther per revolution than that of the 4" pad. That's almost 80% farther in the same time, hence 80% faster, for the larger pad. So with a rotary, everything else being equal, you'll actually get less cut out of a smaller pad.

Now, with all that said, if you currently are able to correct your paint to your satisfaction, then stick with the larger pads. Using small pads for full correction over an entire vehicle, when there is no real to do so, just increases the time needed for the work. On the other hand, small pads can be an enormous help when dealing with tight or small areas like A-pillars, bumper covers, etc and are a great addition to any detailers arsenal of tools.

This is really a great tool to add to arsenal. I can also use this to remove isolated scratches, and water spots on the windows (which my wife's PT Cruiser have). I do appreciate your explanation, Mike, especially about using a small pad on a DA vs. a rotary. Thanks!

[EPHIOS]

Re: 8" vs 4" buffing pads

I understand working on a shoestring budget I see your using the G110v2 (nice machine) I would go with the 5.5" pads. Get a couple of orange, maybe 1 or 2 yellows and 2 black for finishing out

A quick google search turned up the following TheDetailShop (auto detailing suppliers/las vegas) Maybe give them a shout and see what the low down is

www.thedetailshoplasvegas.com

You should be able to purchase pads from them

I actually been here already; only five (5) minutes away from my house. They have pretty good selection, however, the price is also a bit hefty. I go to my local detail shop called LAS VEGAS CAR CARE. They carry a complete line of Meguiar's especially the Mirror Glaze and Detailer's Line. This detail shop of mine is an authorized distributor of Meguiar's. Also, when you buy a gallon of Meguiar's Detailer's Line product, you can refill it with them for a fraction of the cost.

They sell Super Soap (1 gallon) for $13.99, then if you want to refill it next time, it will only cost you $7.99 (UNLIMITED TIMES).

[Flash Gordon]

Re: 8" vs 4" buffing pads

I actually been here already; only five (5) minutes away from my house. They have pretty good selection, however, the price is also a bit hefty. I go to my local detail shop called LAS VEGAS CAR CARE. They carry a complete line of Meguiar's especially the Mirror Glaze and Detailer's Line. This detail shop of mine is an authorized distributor of Meguiar's. Also, when you buy a gallon of Meguiar's Detailer's Line product, you can refill it with them for a fraction of the cost.

They sell Super Soap (1 gallon) for $13.99, then if you want to refill it next time, it will only cost you $7.99 (UNLIMITED TIMES).

Oh, how cool. I wish we had a 'true" Megs distibutor here. Those jugs cost serious bank it seems

[Michael Stoops]

Re: 8" vs 4" buffing pads

Sorry, Mike. Yeah, I meant the 7" Soft Buff 2.0 for G110v2. Yeah, there's some panels on my xB that a bigger pad will not get to. For example, around the headlights and tailights, in front of the grill, and area around the license plates.

Sounds like perfect spots for the smaller 4" pads, making them a perfect compliment to the 7" Soft Buff 2.0 pads you already have.