Life Expectancy of Megs 5" thin pads

[willowcatfish]

I have never used a DA before, so this new HF DA is my first roll of the dice. I am using the Megs 5" backing plate and pads to go with it, as a few of you have suggested.

What is an average life expectancy of these pads, or how many average cars could I knock out with them

Thank you and take care all!


Ray

[DasBurninator]

Re: Life Expectancy of Megs 5" thin pads

Really, there are too many variables to tell.

Things like how well you care for the pads after use, how bad of condition the paint is in (rougher paint will cause more pad wear), and if you tend to catch the pad on things that might cut part of the pad up, will affect pad life.

What I will suggest to you is this: Don't expect to be able to do a whole car with one pad.
Multiple pads are key. At a minimum I would say 4 burgundy pads and 4 yellow pads for one car. The black finishing pads you should be able to get away with one or two.
At this point I have almost enough pads to change after each section on my cars. It really helps keep consistent cut/finish. You aren't fighting clogged pads or having to wait until you clean and dry a pad to continue working.

[willowcatfish]

Re: Life Expectancy of Megs 5" thin pads

Excellent answer Dasburninator! Thank you for that.

What do you use to clean your pads up?

Also, what problem does it cause if I try to use the same pad over all of the car?

Thanks dude, and have a great one!


Ray

[The Guz]

Re: Life Expectancy of Megs 5" thin pads

Good post by Das. I personally use Detailer's Pro Pad Rejuvenator to clean my pads. I soak them overnight and clean them the next day.

A pad loads up with spent product and paint residue. It hinders the pad from doing its job. Cleaning on the fly helps but swapping out to another pad is always recommended after a few panels. Heat is another issue.

[willowcatfish]

Re: Life Expectancy of Megs 5" thin pads

Hmmm. I just bought that combo with the 6 pads(2 of each use: Comp.,Pol., and Finish) and the 5 in. backing plate. Looks like I'm going to need to buy another 6 pads. That way I'll have 4 pads for each use. Do you guys think this would be enough? Again I don't have my own shop. I'm only doing family, friends, and Church friends.

This is beginning to be an expensive hobby!

[DasBurninator]

Re: Life Expectancy of Megs 5" thin pads

I use the same pad cleaner as Guz. Cost effective and works great. The nice part about the thin pads is they are easy to clean up, especially when using Meg's compounds and polishes.

Enough is very dependent on size of cars as well as condition. I think you should skip out on buying more finishing pads at this point and get 3 more of each cutting and polishing pads. Generally I go through more cutting pads than polishing pads, but I do multiple step corrections on most cars vs using an AIO as you sound like you will be using.

Using a finishing pad for applying wax/sealant you won't change the pad for different sections of the car. It is nice having extras, but if you are on a budget I would focus on cutting and polishing pads more.

This can be an expensive hobby. That is why I do other people's cars though. To cover the costs for my OCD.

[Eldorado2k]

Re: Life Expectancy of Megs 5" thin pads

You already have more than enough finishing pads.

[willowcatfish]

Re: Life Expectancy of Megs 5" thin pads

Thank you guys again so much. This helps out a lot, and I can't wait to use my polisher on my Dad's PT Cruizer. It's a Bright Red metalic color of some sort. But I can already see the swirls in the paint, so I was able to point those out to him.

I should never have exposed him to the swirls. Now every time he looks closely at a cars paint, he'll be looking for them. He's doomed! LOL!