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Well I just finished a marathon 10 hour polishing session and finally had a chance to check out the new finishing pads. So far I have around 16-17 hours into this car's paint alone! I still have to apply an LSP which will either be #21 or NXT 2.0. My polishing process went like this:
105/SOLO wool/1600rpms on certain deeper defects.
105/7006/1000rpms
80/8006/Speed 5
9/Finishing pad 2.0/Speed 5
Which brings me to the review.
After checking my work post #80 I was satisfied with the finish and could have gone to wax. But I wanted to check out my new finishing pad and that would give me a chance to refine the finish even more and bring out that last little bit of shine.
I'm using a smaller backing plate made for 6.5" pads but it was still easier to center the pad than on the current 6.5" pads. Even though it doesn't line up with the outer beveled edge it is the exact size of the Velcro not covered in glue. Which is not the case on the 6.5" pads.
The second thing I noticed was that product didn't seem to absorb into the pad as much. Maybe the pores are closer or maybe I'm just imaging things!
So I fired up the DA with a full circle of #9 on the pad to prime it. The new finishing pad is much smoother than the tan pad. I can't comment on it's performance compared to the tan pad but it was indeed smoother. I split the hood in two and did one side with a tan pad and the other side with the new finishing pad. I couldn't see a difference but the black pad being so smooth compared to the tan makes it more than worth the purchase in my eyes. The last nice thing was that I made it through the whole car without having to clean the pad at all. Which was nice.
Here are some pics. The first two are befores. The second two are afters of the finishing pad/#9 passes. No LSP yet.
Before:
You can see the greyish color, lack of depth or clarity, some buffer swirls, scratches, and random other defects.
Now on to the afters. All of the buffer swirls and deep wash marks removed. Some RIDS remain even after a couple passes with 105 and SOLO light cutting wool pad. They are not visible unless you know where to look and the metallic hides them well so I'm going to live with it.
After:
Summary:
I like it! I guess I better buy a couple more now
105/SOLO wool/1600rpms on certain deeper defects.
105/7006/1000rpms
80/8006/Speed 5
9/Finishing pad 2.0/Speed 5
Which brings me to the review.
After checking my work post #80 I was satisfied with the finish and could have gone to wax. But I wanted to check out my new finishing pad and that would give me a chance to refine the finish even more and bring out that last little bit of shine.
I'm using a smaller backing plate made for 6.5" pads but it was still easier to center the pad than on the current 6.5" pads. Even though it doesn't line up with the outer beveled edge it is the exact size of the Velcro not covered in glue. Which is not the case on the 6.5" pads.
The second thing I noticed was that product didn't seem to absorb into the pad as much. Maybe the pores are closer or maybe I'm just imaging things!
So I fired up the DA with a full circle of #9 on the pad to prime it. The new finishing pad is much smoother than the tan pad. I can't comment on it's performance compared to the tan pad but it was indeed smoother. I split the hood in two and did one side with a tan pad and the other side with the new finishing pad. I couldn't see a difference but the black pad being so smooth compared to the tan makes it more than worth the purchase in my eyes. The last nice thing was that I made it through the whole car without having to clean the pad at all. Which was nice.
Here are some pics. The first two are befores. The second two are afters of the finishing pad/#9 passes. No LSP yet.
Before:
You can see the greyish color, lack of depth or clarity, some buffer swirls, scratches, and random other defects.
Now on to the afters. All of the buffer swirls and deep wash marks removed. Some RIDS remain even after a couple passes with 105 and SOLO light cutting wool pad. They are not visible unless you know where to look and the metallic hides them well so I'm going to live with it.
After:
Summary:
I like it! I guess I better buy a couple more now
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