Wool pad or Not?

S

SamIam

New member
I am trying to get some scratches out of my Black Audi and have mixed success. Am using my PC with yellow pad and getting most out using Meg #2 Fine Cut.



No problem getting out the lighter scratches, but some are still there. Should I try the CMA wool pad?



Probably 85% are gone and I know black is tough to keep perfect, but I would like to know if the wool pad would make a big difference vs 3 or so passes with the yellow pad.



Thanks,



Sam
 
Yes, you can use the wool pad. Be aware however you will probably need to futher polish the areas that you used the wool pad on. A follow up with a foam pad and SMR should remove any marks left behind from the wool.



Good Luck!
 
Since you've raised the issue of wool pads, I hope you don't mind me making a minor hijacking and raise another issue about wool pads that I've been wondering about? :)



Wool pads come in various grades of "strength", these grades from finer to coarser are:



- knitted pile 100% wool (loose fibers, looks like a polyester washmitt) or sheepskin(?)



- single ply yarn 100% wool (soft looking yarn that looks like one thick strand)



- 4 ply twisted yarn 100% wool (looks like it's made out of many ropes)



Wool/polyester blends of the 3 different styles above are usually more aggressive. I got this info from a Buff & Shine brochure.



I have seen the Meguiar's w4006 wool polishing pad and it seems to be of the single ply wool style. Porter Cable sells wool pads that seem to be knitted wool/polyester blend ("polishing") and 4 ply twisted wool ("compounding") styles. Basically, I've seen examples of all 3 styles of wool pad.



My questions are: What is the construction of the CMA wool pads? Which style would be the best "next step up" from a foam cutting pad?



I'm thinking the 4 ply compounding pads might be too coarse, but I'm just wondering how their cut and final finish (compounding swirls) balances out between them.



Thanks. :wavey
 
4DSC,



Can't speak for the CMA wool pads but I've used a few from Autoint in the weeks past. I'm certainly not an expert but what I've learned these last few months using a rotary has been first hand and pretty frequent. If anyone feels the need to correct me or expand on what I say please do so.



First, don't use a 4-ply wool pad on clearcoat. It is way to aggressive. This I sort of new but still had to try and I can say to steer clear of them. Lots of heavy marring that would be a nightmare to deal with.



I have used Autoint 2 ply wool/synthetic blend cutting pads with their Clear Coat compound and it worked well. Removed all the moderate to heavy scratches/swirls and hard water Only scratches that were simply just too deep to fix without painting remained. It does leave a haze and some fine marring. TO fix that I followed up with a light polish and natural lambswool pad (again Autoint) then again with the same polish with an extra fine foam polishing pad. After these three steps, the surface was practically like new. I would naturally assume that a single ply wool pad would be a bit less agressive than the double ply and leave even less hazing and marring. I plan to try a single ply soon.



Back to the lambswool. This has become my favorite pad (on the rotary). I've found that I can use a fairly mild polish like Meg's #82 Swirl Free or Autoint Clear Coat Polish and remove some pretty significant spiderwebbing. After the lambswool again follow up with the same polish and the xtra fine foam pad and you have a glistening finish. The lambswool pad is extremely versatile but I would say following up with a fine foam is still the way to go for the extra step to get optimal results. You do have to spur the pad after each 2x2 section to keep it from loading up.



I plan to pick up a Lake Country wool pad (or two) and white lambswool pad to see if there is any significant difference in wool pads from one manufacturer to another. Having only used Autoint pads (on the rotary) I don't have anything to compare to but I can say their pads do work well and are priced attractively.



SamIam,



I would say the lambswool on the PC will defintetly help get those more stubborn problems that the yellow pad won't. THe foam "cutting" pads I've used recently still don't cut quite like lambswool. Spur the pad often and work on small areas. Go easy on the pressure.



Hope this helps a bit.



Natty
 
Natty, thanks for the reply! :bow I re-discovered this thread only now just by accident - I thought I had "subscribed" to this thread, but.... :nixweiss



And I thought no one cared! :D



Thanks for sharing your experiences with the 2-ply pad and using them with a rotary, but I would be looking at using them with a PC. It seems to me that many products, in terms of "strength", become much milder when used by PC as opposed to when used by rotary. With this in mind, I was just wondering how much more aggressive a wool pad should be for PC use.



I've found out the CMA wool pad is a prewashed lambswool knitted pad, similar to the Porter Cable branded wool polishing pad. Based on this, it doesn't look like either CMA or Meguiar's suggest 4-ply wool either, so I've narrowed it down to:



-Meguiar's single ply wool pad



OR



-PC/CMA knitted wool pad



Which one should I go for if something like DACP/cutting foam doesn't turn out to be strong enough? Are they close enough that I could go with either? :nixweiss

Anybody with some input or opinions about how much stronger they are would be welcome.
 
Keep us posted on what you find and what you try, Brian. So far, in my experience, DACP and the yellow pad (Meguiar's) have gotten out 95% of all swirls and scratches. I am going to try the maroon cutting pad and DACP on some of the worst scratches on my wife's car next, prior to Klasse application. The way I see it, with the cutting pad and an agressive compound, anything you can't get out, you'll likely need a rotary anyway.
 
Will do Gary. :xyxthumbs Like I said, I'm only wondering "just in case" - I don't want to wait untill I actually go and do it to start asking questions.



Good luck on your end too.
 
I use DACP and a purple pad all the time.



It gets rid of all but the deepest swirls and all the junk off the top of the paint.



I usually go with the yellow and some glaze of AIO, then UPP or wax by hand.



Only problems ive had are with DACP gumming up the pad :angry



Its a real bugger to get off the paint once it happens.

It doesnt mark the paint at all, but its just like trying to get dried snot off the car and takes ages.



Future regime will be 2 pads per car and wash em out regularly.
 
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