From aircraft to private cars, polishing them and removing obnoxious dirt from the body has always been a matter of concern. Polishing is either done by hand using a soft cotton cloth or by using a buffing tool. Buffing tool requires the use of polishing pads known as buffing pads. Buffing pads are circular pads used to polish paint and other hard materials, apply wax sealants and other coatings. Doing it with the hand is a tedious task and often doesn’t give satisfying results. Most polishing pads are made of foam, wool, and microfiber or a combination of all three. They offer a perfect solution to remove scratches, swirls, and oxidation marks while giving a smooth finish to the vehicle exterior.
Brief Description of Different Types of Polishing Pads
Foam Polishing Pads
The foam pads are smooth and gentle to touch and are often used during the final stage of polishing. Being delicate, these polishing pads cannot remove dirt and deep scratches but small scratches, marks, and streaks left by earlier polishing can be removed. Among the two types of foam pads, the open-cell variant with holes throughout its surface looks like a sponge and is used in initial polishing stages while the closed-cell variant with even surface is used in the later stages for streak-free lustre.
Wool Polishing Pads
Generally considered as cutting pads due to their abrasive texture, the woolen pads cut deeper into the paint layers than the foam ones. These are used in removing thick dirt layers, debris accumulated on the surface, and deep scratches. Among the three variants, four-ply has the highest abrasiveness and is used during the beginning to remove wax and sealants. Blended has moderate abrasiveness and finishing pads have the least abrasiveness with its delicate natural fibers. Finishing pads, often made of sheep wool contain a natural lubricant called lanolin that makes finishing touch smoothly.
Varieties of Polishing Pads
According to your job, you can choose from the following polishing pads with different colour coding after checking their descriptions –
Orange –High-density foam to be used with swirl removers and polishes for light scratches to moderate imperfections
Yellow –The most abrasive variant used to apply polishes or compounds for removing deep scratches, swirls, and oxidation. Use on older finishes only and follow up with the orange pad, fine polish, and white pad for smooth refined paint.
Green –Medium-density coarse polishing pads to be used with light or medium-cut swirl removers to remove light oxidation and fine scratches
Blue –Soft and flat pad that provides proper contact with the paint surface during glazing and applying finishing polishes, liquid waxes, and sealants.
Grey –Has firm composition without any cut and can withstand the pressure applied in the final finishing. It removes buffer swirls and applies even wax, glaze, and sealant coating.
White –With low-density composition containing cutting powder, it is used in pre-wax cleaners for applying sealants and micro-fine polishes.
Red –These soft polishing pads are firm enough not to soak up the paint and have no cut and cleaning ability. These are used in applying sealants and liquid wax.
Other Considerations While Choosing Pads
For compounding and swirl removal, yellow, orange, and green pads are used with aggressive compounds. White and green pads are used in polishing stages with chemical cleaners. Red, black and blue pads are used in the finishing stages to add optimum shine.
You need a larger buffing tool for a larger polishing pad, otherwise, swirl marks will be left on the surface.
Do not go for small polishing pads if you want to remove more dirt and imperfections.
Choose large woollen pads during the beginning stages and use small foam pads in the finishing stages for removing the streaks left by woollen pads.
Clean your pads frequently with soft-bristle brush after your work is finished, otherwise, grime and dirt will accumulate.
The pads often might to be changed during a heavy-duty polishing task with hook and loop fastening plate, the pads can be screwed on and off with ease. Always check the abrasiveness of the pads while purchasing and if you feel confused with the colours, get professional help stating what job you will be doing.
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