#83 & #80 weirdness w/ 4" Pads

[RobAGD]

Well, after getting kinda tired of some of the areas of teh front of my car ( Dodge Magnum ) I got some of the 3 or 4" pads ( 1 wool 1 polishing 1 finish pad ).

Spent the morring Washing, Claying etc etc as I havent clayed the car since spring and I had not laid down any wax in a few weeks. I started early knowing I had a long day ahead of me.

So I put the adapter on the Backing plate for the smaller pads put the speed to 4 ( Smaller pad more muscle, didnt want to bork anything up ) loaded the pad with #83 dabed the product of the area I was going to work, turn it on and start to spread, I got maybe 2 strokes into going across the bumper area and it dry as a bone, still kinda milky. So I turn off the PC and look at the pad, it looks untouched by product.

I take a fresh MF towel and try to wipe the #83 off, no go, stuff is almost like rubber cement, try a little Quick Detailer still no go. I take my finger and rub the **** out of it and it balls up like rubber cement.

Ok I think wtf, I have done this before never had an issue like this, took that same pad and product and did a small section on the fender, no problems. Hummm So I WTF grab a clean 8006 pad swap backs add 83 to that and try again, and again about 2 strokes in it dry ( or acts like it ) Cleaned it off and tried 80 for giggles, it gets even worse. So I leave it and do the rest of the car.

The car got #80 and #21 ( btw I LOVE that stuff I, still have to try the #26 but I think Ill be using #21 from now on ) and it so late I decide to come back in the am and try again.

Well in the morring the front area of my car where I tried to spread the #83 looks like rubber cement. Nothing I am doing is working on getting it off, so I break out the ScratchX and a foam pad and BAM I have to work the ever living **** out of it but it all comes off and I end up doing the whole front fascia by had and ScratchX, then #21 ( 2 coasts ).

I have never seen this before and while I have been doing this for a few months I have done 5 or 6 cars not counting mine and I have never seen anything like it. The same product and pad on the metal parts of the car worked fine. I was in a garage, no direct sun, I tried Speed 4 and 5, new pads, old pads etc etc.

I shake the bottle every time I load the pad up, I am almost done with this bottle of 83 though and this is the first oddness I have seen out of it. Its been a work horse for me.

Ideas ? Suggestions ? Comments ? Help ?

-Robert

[Setec Astronomy]

You didn't say which of the 4" pads you were using. One thing to remember...ok two things...your surface area of the 4" pad, as you hinted at is, almost 3 times as small as your regular Meg's pads, and a plastic fascia has much less thermal condutivity than a metal panel. What this likely means is that heat at the interface of the pad and the fascia, which might have dried out the product. You could try less pressure, lower speed, or both. If you were using the wool pad, I think you have your answer right there.

[RobAGD]

I had tried the finishing and polishing pads ( I use the wool on the bright work on the wheels )

I had dropped the speed with the smaller pads, I wasnt sure how low to go, I went as low as 3 while messing with it, the initial hit was at 4 I belive.

That still didnt explane why it did it with the normal 8006 pads :/

-R

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Rob,

We're not sure why you would get these kind of results?

Soft pads like a finishing pad for whatever the reason, sometimes accentuate a gumming up problem, using a slow speed would likely increase the chance for this.

Try turning your speed back up to the 4.5 to 5.0 setting, clean everything off and start fresh, you might even try misting a little quick detailer onto the pad or onto the paint before starting, (as is a little bit, not a lot)

[RobAGD]

Mike, Ill give that a shot in a few weeks end I go over the car again before a show.

The odd thing was it did it with the polishing pad as well, I just tried the finishing pad as a WTF lets try this kinda thing.

BTW - finished watching the SCG PC Video Sent links out to my buddies

-R

[Setec Astronomy]

Sorry, I misread what you said, I guess. I thought it was ok with the regular Meg's pads. One thing you did say is that it's the bottom of the bottle ("I am almost done with this bottle of 83"). One thing I have found with certain polishes is that when they sit for a while, stuff separates out on the bottom, and it can take a surprising amount of shaking to get it all back into "solution". Since the #83 bottles are opaque, I don't really know if this happens with #83, but you certainly can't see in there to tell if there is some "undissolved" product on the bottom. I'm just throwing out an idea that possibly what you have left in the bottom of the bottle has a higher solids content than what you started with, therefore explaining why it seems to be drying out faster.

One other thing is I have found at certain times using too much product will cause it to gum up like that, you may have to adjust the amount you are using for the smaller pad and/or different pad characteristics (more/less absorbant, etc.).