The DA Cutting Pad Show Down

[Todd@RUPES]

It wasn't long ago that DA polishers were used for light-duty polishing and/or waxing only. If you wanted serious paint correction you had no choice but to use a rotary buffer, a rock's n' bottle compound and a heavy-cut foam or wool pad.

Technology, in both polishes and pads, have allowed DA polishers to significantly close the heavy-cut performance gap. Pads have become smaller in diameter and thinner in design allowing them to more efficiently transfer the motion of the machine the paint.

Additionally, we have seen unique materials such as microfiber and short-cut wool pads make their way into the DA polishing world. With the ability to cut out coarse, P1500 grade, sand marks completely from paint, DA Polishers are now capable of removing extremely severe defects in a relatively safe manner.

Scoring:

The DA Cutting Pads in this test will be ranked, and scored, on their ability to correct the paint finish, how well they finish, the amount of heat they produce, and how easy to the product is to wipe off after use.

The best in each subject will be given the maximum point total per category. The remainder will receive points based on performance relative to the best performing product.

Correction Ability: How well the pads, in combination with the polish, remove the P1500 grade sand scratches from the paint finish. Since the primary goal of a cutting pad is to remove surface defects, this will be the most heavily weighted performance category worth a total of 50 points.

Finishing Ability: Also important to how well a DA Cutting Pad performs is the quality of finish it leaves behind. While some level of surface scouring/haze is to be expected, it cannot be so much that an additional step must be performed prior to final polish. This category is worth 20 points.

Heat: Heavy polishing requires friction to remove material. Heat is a by product of the friction (in layman's terms). All machine polishing creates heat, however different pad designs will dissipate heat faster then others, keeping the surface temperature lower. Because excessive heat can damage the paint and underlaying material this category is worth 20 points.

Wipe Off: The way a pad works with a polish can greatly effect how easy to the polish is to remove from the surface. Pads that absorb a lot of lubricant or move too much air can dry the product on the paint, making removal difficult. This is the least important part of the write-up and worth only 10 points.

Although not weighted (because it is neither bad nor good) the way that the polish would break down was observed through out the process. Some pad's caused the product to break down quickly, delivering the majority of the cutting power upfront. Other pad's would break the polish down slower, allowing for a smoother, longer cutting action.


The Test Track:

A large hood, divided into eight equal sections will serve as our test track. The paint finish on this hood is very soft, which allows these DA cutting pads level the paint quickly. In order to compensate for the soft paint the hood was sanded with Meguiars Unigrit 1500 grade sandpaper on a DA polisher.

The hood was sanded with Meguiar's P1500 Unigrit Sandpaper to test the limits of each pad.

When illuminated with a Brinkmann Swirl Finder Spot Light the finish appeared hazy with little reflection.


The Test:

The first manner of testing was to select a polishing compound that is versatile and would equally well with all of the pads. This polishing compound would have to offer good cutting power to allow the pads to work AS WELL as having a good finishing ability so the truth finish of the pad could be accessed. Looking back at our recent 1-Step Polish Showdown, BLACKFIRE SRC Compound fit the bill perfectly.

The tool used to apply the polishes was a Porter Cable 7424 XP. Decades after introducing the world to DA polishing, the Porter Cable remains one of the most popular and reliable machines available. Given the popularity over 5 to 6-inch polishing pads, all pads used in this test were designed to fit this parameter and attach to a 5-inch backing plate.

2 Polishing Passes- Some pads work better when primed or seasoned with polish while some pads work better fresh. In order to "meet in the middle" two polishing passes were performed back-to-back. For the first pass, an X was of BLACKFIRE SRC Compound was drawn across the pad to help prime it as it worked. For the second pass, three dime-sized drops were added around the outer third of the pad.

After the first pass the polishing temperature was assessed. Each pass was limited to 2 minutes in duration, should all 2 minutes be needed. The difference in correction between first pass and the second pass would give us a good indicator of whether the pad preferred to be primed.


Meguiar's DA Microfiber 5-inch Cutting Disc

Meguiar's re-wrote the rules on DA correction when they introduced their highly-engineered DA Microfiber Disks. The short-nap microfiber allows more of the polish to work at any given time and takes advantage of the small 5/16th-inch orbit created by standard dual-action polishers.

The Meguiar's DA Microfiber Cutting Disc features the longest nap and moderate density compared to the other microfiber pads in this comparison.

The Meguiar's DA Microfiber Cutting Disc features a foam backing that is also middle of the road compared to the other microfiber pads in this test. It features minimal overhang on the Lake Country Flexible DA Backing Plate although Meguiar's recommends using a Meguiar's DA Backing Plate for maximum pad life.


As the first pad tested, Meguiar's DA Microfiber Cutting Disc set the bar high. It was extremely easy to use and produced a very long buff time which continued to cut the entire 2 minutes of the first pass. Once primed with the product, the Meguiar's DA Microfiber Cutting Disc really came into it's own, eliminating the remaining defects easily and with time to spare!

Additionally Meguiar's keep the surface temperature fairly low, never reaching more than 87.4 degrees (only 10 degrees warmer then the test temperature). BLACKFIRE was easy to wipe clean after the testing. Compared the other microfiber pads in this test, the Meg's Cutting Disc left the haziest finish, although it would still be easily removed with a finishing step.

Meguiar's only raised the surface temperature by 9.8 degrees despite polishing with speed 6 and using firm pressure.

Meguiar's DA Cutting Disc completely removed all traces of sanding, including the 1500 grade texture. This disc offered excellent defect removal and leveling ability while leaving behind a noticeable, although not excessive, polishing haze.


Lake Country 5 1/4 Inch Ultra-Fiber Dual Action Microfiber Pad

Lake Country Ultra-Fiber pads come in two designs. The dual action version which features a thin, hard foam backing and a rotary version which features a thick soft foam backing to easy contouring.

The Lake Country Ultra-Fiber DA Microfiber Pad featured the shortest and densest nap of any of the microfiber pads tested.

It also had minimal overhang for maximum polishing power and the firmest, thinnest backing material. In theory this should offer improved cutting power and a higher surface temperature.


With the excellent performance of the Meguiar's DA Cutting Disc, the Lake Country Ultra-Fiber DA Microfiber Pad had a lot to live up to. Out of all the microfiber pads test, the Ultra-Fiber clearly had the fastest rotational speed. Unforunately, the speed did not equate to polishing power as the Ultra-Fiber pad did not remove all of the sand scratches.

When loaded with additional product for the second pass, the Ultra-Fiber pad lost cutting ability, suggesting this pad does not require priming for maximum effect. While the BLACKFIRE SRC Compound was easy to remove after both sessions, surface temperatures reached a high of 126.1 degrees, showing a 42.7 degree increase, the highest recorded.

It appeared that combination of the wet BLACKFIRE compound and short nap caused the microfiber to lay flat, reducing the polishing ability and preventing the pad from dissipating heat efficiently.

Sanding marks littered the surface after 2 2-minute passes. Ironically, the Ultra-Fiber Microfiber Pads created the highest gloss and a haze-free finish.

 

[Todd@RUPES]

Re: DA

Optimum Microfiber Compounding 5.25 Inch Pad

The Optimum Microfiber Compounding Pads feature a thick open-celled foam backing which is claimed to promote airflow through the pad reducing surface temperature and improving pad life.

The Optimum Microfiber Compounding Pad featured the shortest and thinnest nap. Each fiber almost appeared knurled.

This pad featured a thick and soft foam backing and minimal overhang.

The first thing that was noticeable with the Optimum Microfiber Compounding Pad was how smooth it felt compared to the other pads in this test, equaled only by the Scholl's Concepts foam pad. This pad also produced the longest working time with the polish staying extremely wet for the entire buffing cycle, although there was a much more pronounced change in the polishes behavior compared to the Meguiar's.

Where as the Meguiar's pad allowed BLACKFIRE SRC Compound to gradually diminish through the cycle, the Optimum was more front loaded, cutting extremely quick at first and then losing power as the cycle extended. The Optimum Microfiber Compounding Pad cut equally well on the first and second passes.

The pad temperature of 99.6 degrees, which was a raise of only 22.4 degrees. The product was easy to wipe away.

The Optimum Microfiber Cutting Compound required all 2 minutes of both passes in order to remove 95% of the defects. The finish quality fell between Meguiar's DA Cutting Disc's haze and Optimum's clarity.


Lake Country 5 1/2 Inch Thin Wool Pad

For years, wool pads have been used on direct-drive rotary polishers for maximum cutting ability. The traditionally long wool fiber would offer excellent leveling and correction ability. Unfortunately on DA polishers, the long-fiber design would absorb much of the orbital polishing movement. Lake Country sought to correct this problem with their Thin Foamed Wool series of pads.

The Lake Country 5 1/2 Inch Thin Foamed Wool Pad is made with the same design characteristics as their rotary-style Foamed Wool Pads including the same patented nanofoam base particles. The nanofoam base should prevent the fibers from matting, increasing the cutting action of the pad.

The short wool nap is fairly dense and resistant to matting. The wool fibers, in theory, promised to keep the surface cool while maximizing the Porter Cable's ability to cut paint.

As opposed to the microfiber pads which measured about 5.25 inches, the Lake Country was a little wider and had a little more over hang. The total thickness of the pad is very thin, with no foam backing to absorb the orbital movement.


The Lake Country Thin Foamed Wool Pad produced a unique feel that was more direct than the other pads in this test, likely because it is the only pad without a significant backing. The Thin Foamed Wool Pads allows created the highest amount of pad rotation and quickly broke the BLACKFIRE SRC Compound down, reducing it to a clear film about 90 seconds into the first application

Simply put, this pad simply rocks. It removed over 99% of the defects half way through the first polishing cycle (by which time the abrasives were spent) and removed the remains of the deeper scratches later. I did dry out the polish slightly, requiring just a touch more effort to remove then the most of the pads in this test.

The Thin Foamed Wool Pads did warm the paint, increasing the surface temperature by 29.6 degrees. This was likely do to the huge amount of friction and correction power offer by the pad.

The Thin Foamed Wool Pad was the only pad in this comparison that removed the defects on 1 pass. It did leave a significant amount of surface haze, although the haze was extremely uniform and was easy to remove with a finishing polish in follow up testing.


CarPro Cool Wool 5 Inch Polishing Pad

The CarPro Cool Wool Pad is the other DA-specific wool pad offered by Autopia-CarCare.com. It actually predates the Lake Country version and offers a few unique design features. Most prominently, it has a foam backing with a webbing feature designed to promote airflow.

The CarPro Cool Wool Pad features a soft dense wool fibers that feel softer than the Lake Country Thin Wool Pads.

The Cool Wool pads feature a vented "webbed" backing designed to promote airflow through out the pad. The 5-inch diameter had very little overhang on the Lake Country backing plate.


At first the Cool Wool pad was slightly disappointing, given the stellar performance of the other wool pad in this test. Then, when attempting the second pass, the pad transformed into a heavy-cut machine! When properly primed with product, the Cool Wool pad made extremely fast work of the paint defects. The first pass required a full two minutes, where as the second pass quickly eliminated the remaining defects in almost no time.

Despite its sensitivity to product amount, the CarPro Cool Wool Pad put on a stellar performance. It ran cool, the product was a breeze to wipe off, and the polishing action was smooth. It did leave behind a deeper, less uniform haze that could require a middle polishing step on some very soft paints.

Although blocked by the reflection in this photo, the temperature gauge recorded a maximum of 100.7 degrees, a 23.3 degree increase.

The CarPro Cool Wool Pad left behind a deeper haze then the Thin Wool Pad, which could require an additional polishing step on very soft paints.


Surbuf R Series 5.5 Inch Buffing Pad

The Surbuf R Series "Micro Finger" pads were among the first textile style pads available for DA polishers, pre-dating the microfiber and wool DA-style pads. Once revered for their impressive correction power, how would they fare in this test.

The short, rough-feeling micro fingers are the most unique in this test.

The thick open-celled foam made polishing with the Surbuf pad's a very smooth appearance. Measuring in at a hair over 5.5 inches, the R Series pads had plenty of overhang.



The Surbuf R Series 5.5 Inch Buffing Pad require a different technique than the other pads in this test. Where as most pads require pressure for the best results, the Surbuf pad's require a more delicate touch in order to avoid squishing down the micro fingers. As such, the rivaled the Lake Country Thin Foamed Wool pads in terms of rotational power.

Sadly, the similarity ended there. These pads simply couldn't not equal the correction or finish of any other pad in this test. Additionally, the BLACKFIRE SRC Compound was extremely difficult to remove after use. The surface temperature remained low.

The Surbuf Pads increased the temperature by only 11.2 degrees.

The Surbuf pads left a high amount of haze as well as struggled with removing all of the sanding scratches and texture.


Lake Country 5 1/2 inch Yellow Low Profile Cutting Pad


The Lake Country 5 1/2 Inch Yellow Low Profile Flat Cutting Pad is one of the Lake Country's best foam cutting pads. The 5 1/2 inch x 7/8 size is ideal for working with a DA polisher and the yellow foam is stiff enough to cut well without leaving behind a lot of surface scouring.

The fine-grade cutting foam replaced the former coarser yellow foam of yester-year while proving a similar level of cut.

The thin design and 5.5 inch size are ideal for DA polishing.


The Lake Country 5 1/2 Inch Yellow Low Profile Flat Cutting Pad worked extremely well but quickly illustrated difference between defect removal and paint leveling. This foam pad worked equally well whether primed or not and provided a smooth buffing action with a good amount of pad rotation.

When all was said and done, the Lake Country 5 1/2 Inch Yellow Low Profile Flat Cutting Pad was able to remove all of the sanding scratches but did not remove the texture created by the scratches. While no visible defects remained and there was no haze, the surface appeared murky because of the texture remaining.

The combination of the fine open-celled foam and pressure required caused the temperature to increase by 26 degrees. The polish residue wiped away cleanly.

There was very little-to-no haze left. However the surface and reflections appeared cloudy.




Scholl Concepts 5.7 Inch Medium Grade Purple Compounding Pad

The Scholl Concepts Purple Compounding Pad is the largest and heaviest pad here. It would be interesting, given these drawbacks, to see how this firmer foam formula pad compares to the the thinner, finer Lake Country yellow pad.

The Scholl Purple foam is a stiff, yet fine to the touch, formula.

This pad was the thickest and largest in the test.


The Scholl Concepts Purple Compounding Pad was immediately smooth to use and provided equal correction whether primed or not. Where as the Lake Country Yellow Pad slowly broke down the polish, the Scholl Purple Pad quickly transformed BLACKFIRE SCR Compound into a clear film. The larger size created a slight wobble when pressure was applied.

This pad corrected all of the defects and offered better leveling ability than the LC Yellow Pad, although it left a very light haze in the paint. The polish residue was easy to wipe away.

The Scholl Concept Purple Pad increased the surface temperature by 28.7 degrees.

The Scholl Concept Purple Compounding Pad was able to remove all of the paint defects quickly, although in a different manner than the LC Yellow pad. It did offer slightly better surface leveling and a slightly hazier paint finish.

 

[Todd@RUPES]

Re: DA

Adding The Numbers Up:
With the testing done and the results in it was time to crunch the numbers and figure out the results.

The Meguiar's DA Microfiber 5-inch Cutting Disc finished with a total of 90 points, tying it for the highest score in this test. Simply put, the Meguiar's didn't offer the most cut, it didn't offer the best finish, but it scored high on both those categories while offering the least amount of surface heat and among the easiest wipe off.

Lake Country's 5 1/4 Inch Ultra-Fiber Dual Action Microfiber Pad did just okay in this test with a 70 point total. The combination of a wet compound (which would matte the fibers) and soft paint (which loaded them with residue) severely limited the pad's ability and caused a lot of heat on the paint surface.

The Optimum Microfiber Compounding 5.25 inch Pad put on a more-than-respectable performance with a second-place (third overall) 84point performance. Much like the Meguiar's Microfiber Disc, Optimum's Microfiber Pad scored high in every category although it didn't have quite the cut of the Meg's pad and increased the temperature more.

The Lake Country 5 1/2 inch Thin Wool Pad tied for first place with a 90 out of 100 score. For many people, this will be the number choice as this pad created the largest amount of cutting power while remaining easy-to-use. If correction ability is your number 1 criteria, the LC Thin Wool Pad is king.

The other wool pad in this contest, the CarPro Cool Wool 5 inch Polishing Padcame within 1 point of second place, getting a 83 point score. The Cool Wool Pad produced the second highest amount of cut (once primed) and the worst finish, but scored high in temperature and wipe off.

Which brings us to the Surbuf R Series 5.5 Inch Buffing Pad. The Surbuf's abilities have been long touted, particularly when the larger (hard-to-collapse micro fingers) size is used with a drier compound such as Meguiar's M105. The smaller size used in this test, along with the wetter BLACKFIRE SRC Compound worked against this pad, leaving it with a point total of 60 points.

The Lake Country 5 1/2 inch Yellow Low Profile Cutting Pad did just to foam pad users with a high 80 point score. It produced a good level of defect removal but had the lowest amount of leveling ability, leaving the paint modeled looking. It produced the highest gloss, moderate temperature increases, and the easiest wipe off. For anything less than coarse grade defect removal, LC's Yellow Foam Pads remain a great choice.

Finally, the newest stateside offering in this contest, the Scholl Concepts 5.7 inch Medium Grade Purple Compounding Pad put on a great performance in its first comparison. The larger, thicker sizing is typical of imported brands because of Europe's heavy reliance on rotary polishers. This pad's dimensions showed how sensitive DA polisher's are to pad sizes, even when armed with a great foam formula. Still, the rotary-sized pad managed a highly respectable 76 point score.

Quick Note: The Different Between Paint Correction and Leveling

This test proved that is possible to remove the paint defects without really removing the paint defects! What do I mean?

Paint defects cause a texture when viewed in a cross section of paint, whether it is a scratch which penetrates into the smooth surface like v-shaped valley or an acid rain etching which resembles a u-shaped crater. When viewed from the same cross section, orange peel and uneven paint would resemble rolling hills which smoothly transition from their low points to their high points, whereas scratches would be more jagged. Gradual changes are more difficult to remove (this is why orange peel is typically sanded away with a hard block). In some cases the jagged defects can be rounded over until they become texture-like and more difficult to remove (in the same vain).

To illustrate the difference between Paint Correction (material removal) and Leveling imagine a hill. For our purposes the hill doesn't have to be too big. Let's say its 1000 feet from one corner to the opposite corner and 500 feet high. We want to remove this hill.

To understand Leveling, imagine he hire a a handful of workers, give them shovels, and tell them to remove the hill. If they are thinking clearly, they are going to stand at the highest point of the hill and begin shoveling. As they reduce the highest point, they will spread out to the next (larger) highest point, and so on and so on. Evenutally, by focusing on the highest points only, they will Level the hill into the surrounding terrain.

To understand Material Removal (sometimes called Paint Correction or Cutting Ability) let's go back to our imaginary hill. Instead of using guys with shovels we will use a bulldozer. Setting the trowel to 1-foot deep and driving the hill, we will remove 1-foot of material, channel-by channel, from the entire hill. In order to maintain progress, we will have to expand our working zone to include around the hill as well. While the peak of the hill is reduced, so is ALL of the other material, at an even rate. The result is the hill lessens, as does the surrounding area, so that we left left with a lower hill but with the identical shape, including a moat like channel around the hill.

In order to remove the hill we cannot just remove material. We have to focus our efforts on the peak, and work the (lowering and expanding) peak down until it is level with the rest of the terrain. If we remove material evenly we do not change the terrain and the hill will remain. That is the difference between Material Removal and Leveling.

The Lake Country Yellow Cutting Foam did a great job of removing the paint defects, but it did so in an even manner which left behind a texture.

The left side shows how murky the reflection of the overhead lights is. This side was cut using the LC Yellow Pad. The light on the right was cut using the Scholl Pad which offered slightly better leveling. Both pads removed the defects, but neither could fully Level the sanding texture.

Here is a better look at the murky reflection and texture left by the Scholl pad.

The Scholl Pad looks good until you look at how flat and crisp the reflection is in the area polished by the CarPro Wool Pad. The Lake Country Yellow Foam, Scholl Concepts Purple Foam, and CarPro Wool Pads all removed the paint defects, but each had a different amount of Leveling Ability.


Conclusion:

This test was interesting and fun to do. This pad also exposed the limitations of any comparison test - Detailing is highly dynamic.

Two pads, the Lake Country Ultra-Fiber and the Surbuf Series R, didn't live up to their reputations. I was most surprised by the Lake Country Ultra-Fiber as it is my go to microfiber pad when using a dryer polish such as Meguiar's M101 or M105. It really seemed to lose cut quickly on with the wetter polish and extremely soft paint (which can "glue" the fibers down).

The Surbuf is a proven defect killer. However, the smaller size and wet polish really caused it to struggle.

Ultimately, I will continue to grab Lake Country Ultra-Fiber discs when using a dryer compound, as it is a proven combo for me. That said, there is no denying the awesome correction power of the Lake Country Thin Foamed Wool Pads, which have immediately found home in my arsenal and will likely be the first pad I grab for when doing heavy correction with a dual-action random orbital polisher.

Because of the limitations and controls in place, no test smaller than a novel could accurately predict how each pad will work on each polish in each situation on every paint. Instead, I wrote this comparison as a guide, not a rule book, that hopefully will assist you in your goals for the perfect finish.

 

[Todd@RUPES]

Questions or comments welcome!

 

[colinpd137]

Bookmarking this, friggen awesome review Todd!

 

[Wors]

Really really nice article Todd. The heat numbers were very interesting.

Which bp did you use for the test, Megs or LC?

Will you be taking a vote for the next compound to test with the same setup?

 

[Evan.J]

Todd

Awesome Awesome write up! Thanks for taking the time to do this and asking us member what we wanted to see you really hit a home run on this!

Looks like I'm getting the LC thin wool pad!

 

[Concours.John]

Great review. Just in time as I'm looking to add some other pads to the arsenal.
Your comparisons were spot on with the factors I'm deciding. You help save me from taking a lot of time to test everything. As you said factors can vary but this is a great baseline to work from!

 

[Orinda Auto Detail]

Awesome review Todd! I've been doing something like this for 2 months now with finishing polishes. GOSH lotta work lol. You make it look easy! :bow

 

[Bunky]

Another great review!

Why did you choose BF polish and not a "drier" polish?

I admit not understanding the full ramification of paint correction vs leveling. As you define it, leveling is a slow process whereas paint correction is a brute force method.

 

[RTexasF]

I can't imagine the time that went into making this happen, thank you. I also appreciate that no punches were pulled. Very well done. Considering the only pads I ever used in my heyday were the standard Lake Country 6.5" Flat standbys (foam) of yellow, orange, and white, this was an eye opener. Yellow, orange and white flat foam were used on the Cyclo too. Thanks for bringing me into the current century.

 

[mnehls86]

Is the heat recorded in any of them likely to cause any problems? I would think not since DA's are pretty darn safe. I'm just wondering if the Meg's MF would be better than the LC Wool since the Megs had a less friction even though the LC Cut better and faster?

Awesome review BTW.....I can't even imagine how long that took to write up.

 

[Wheelzntoys]

Excellent! Glad I have two purple DA pads, can't wait to use them.

 

[ZL1Mark]

Todd, you are the freakin' man!! Thank you VERY much for all your hard work and giving us such great information. I commend you my friend!!!

 

[Ronkh]

Uhhhhhh

Guess it's time for me to enter the 20th century and start looking for new pads

 

[ZL1Mark]

I'm not surprised the Meg's pad is at the top. I am surprised at the overall cutting and finishing ability of the LC yellow pad, especially the finishing. I've read that its weakness is finishing, but that obviously wasn't the case in this test. The foam pads in this test would do even better with the 3401, at least for removing defects.

 

[ZL1Mark]

Todd, if you used M105 in this test, do you feel the ultra fiber pads would have ranked near the top of all categories? Do you prime the ultra fiber pad when using M105?

 

[skibik]

Great job. This was really informative to a person like myself and really helps clarify some of the pad use questions I have had stirring around in my head.

I do have a question though. Since my car doesn't need heavy correction how about a similar article for finishing pads? If it has been done I guess I need to look for it, although I have only been a member for less then a year I don't recall seeing one done in that time frame. The reason I ask is because since I am a novice and have used a rotary a couple times years and years ago I didn't want to mess with one and bought a DA last year. I have only used it a few times for polishing and numerous times for waxing but the last time I polished even though it seemed to look great when I was done to me it still looks like it has a haze or a slight fog to it in the right light, black paint of course. So I am not sure if I used the correct pads/polish. I did see the thread that was done on polishes and that was great information.

Thank you for the very helpful information.

Dean.

 

[Trouble]

That is a $5000.00 write-up!

 

[Todd@RUPES]

Bookmarking this, friggen awesome review Todd!

Thank you!

Really really nice article Todd. The heat numbers were very interesting.

Which bp did you use for the test, Megs or LC?

Will you be taking a vote for the next compound to test with the same setup?

Not sure I will do this with another compound (reasoning in a later response). I used the Lake Country backing plate.

Todd

Awesome Awesome write up! Thanks for taking the time to do this and asking us member what we wanted to see you really hit a home run on this!

Looks like I'm getting the LC thin wool pad!

My pleasure, thank you for the compliments!

Great review. Just in time as I'm looking to add some other pads to the arsenal.
Your comparisons were spot on with the factors I'm deciding. You help save me from taking a lot of time to test everything. As you said factors can vary but this is a great baseline to work from!

Thank you John!

Awesome review Todd! I've been doing something like this for 2 months now with finishing polishes. GOSH lotta work lol. You make it look easy! :bow

Thanks Joe!!!

Another great review!

Why did you choose BF polish and not a "drier" polish?

I admit not understanding the full ramification of paint correction vs leveling. As you define it, leveling is a slow process whereas paint correction is a brute force method.

Al, I chose BF SRC Compound because it wasn't too aggressive. My fear and thinking was that if I went with sometime extremely aggressive then every pad would achieve full correction. I wanted to go with coarse grit scratches and moderate compound (with good finishing) so we could really put the pads to work.

Leveling is focusing the energy on the top or peak of the mountain, so you are removing material UNEVENLY in order to create an even surface.

Material Removal is removing material from the entire UNEVEN surface, so you are still left with an UNEVEN surface at the end.

I can't imagine the time that went into making this happen, thank you. I also appreciate that no punches were pulled. Very well done. Considering the only pads I ever used in my heyday were the standard Lake Country 6.5" Flat standbys (foam) of yellow, orange, and white, this was an eye opener. Yellow, orange and white flat foam were used on the Cyclo too. Thanks for bringing me into the current century.

Thank you for the compliments!

Is the heat recorded in any of them likely to cause any problems? I would think not since DA's are pretty darn safe. I'm just wondering if the Meg's MF would be better than the LC Wool since the Megs had a less friction even though the LC Cut better and faster?

Awesome review BTW.....I can't even imagine how long that took to write up.

No, the heat recorded was not anywhere near any danger zone, however it is still valuable information. As I stated, I prefer the LC microfiber pad with dry polishes, but given the heat that it produces, I wouldn't use it on a composite surface such as a rubber bumper, plastic fender, or carbon fiber roof since those materials hold heat longer.

Excellent! Glad I have two purple DA pads, can't wait to use them.

Let us know what you think!

Todd, you are the freakin' man!! Thank you VERY much for all your hard work and giving us such great information. I commend you my friend!!!

My pleasure Mark. :rockon

Uhhhhhh

Guess it's time for me to enter the 20th century and start looking for new pads

Sounds like a plan!! :rofl