Mike,
As always great job and all the luck to you going forward with this new endeavor.
Thank you.
I recently purchased the Flex XCE 10-8-125 forced rotation polisher.
Actually, or technically, you purchased the FLEX XCE 10-8-125 Forced Rotation and FORCED OSCILLATION polishers.
A forced rotation is a
rotary polisher. The XCE is 2 actions - rotation and oscillation.
As someone that writes about these tools a lot, I notice in the Facebook, YouTube and Instagram worlds, most guys don't invest the time to add
all the words.
Not a big deal but if you think about it - a forced rotation polisher, if that's all you're saying about it - is a rotary polisher.
I read somewhere that you should not use wool or microfiber pads with a forced rotation polisher, main reason given it will generate to much heat. True? Your input would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Greg
The original reason I stopped using and rarely recommended any type of fiber pads is because in most cases, they are too,
Grabby
The year was
2012 - so the term was coined 11 years ago as I type in the year 2023. At least for now, I can click on the below link and pull-up my write-up from 2012.
2012 Dodge Challenger + Menzerna Color Lock Makeover
From what I wrote in
post #31
Mike Phillips
[color=blue said:
I've been asked a lot since microfiber pads have been introduced which pads for which tools and here's what I know...
For tools with a free floating spindle bearing assembly, the thin, stiffer microfiber pads work well.
For any of the gear-driven tools, for example rotary buffers and the Flex 3401, then microfiber pads with a thicker foam core buff better while thin microfiber pads are grabby.[/color]
So my own personal experience, is microfiber pads
BACK THEN (11 years ago), tended to be too grabby when buffing with gear-driven orbital polishers. They were and are smooth with free spinning random orbital polishers. I have not met anyone that likes it when the pad on their polisher is grabbing onto the paint and then yanking the polisher around, which in turn yanks around the person holding the polisher.
Improvements in fiber pads
Since those day, or to fast-forward a decade, I think there's been a lot of improvements in the design of microfiber pads.
I don't remember heat at the surface level being a problem for anyone that knows what they are doing and this would mean - keep the polisher moving - don't hold the buffing pad in one place for too long as it will create heat.
Type of liquid
Another factor as to how a pad will work is the product or liquid you're using. Compounds, polishes and AIOs all have some form of lubricating oils, carrying agents, solvents, etc. Some products offer more lubrication or slip than others. This can have a noticeable effect on how any type of pad feels and performs on a polisher.
LIVE TEST - In the Present
You made me curious. Normally if I need fast cutting action for deeper defects or for hard paint I simply use a wool pad on a rotary polisher. But you made me curious. So just now I went out into the garage and tested the Redline 6.25" All-in-One Microfiber pad on my personal CBEAST, which is a forced rotation - forced oscillation 8mm orbital polisher and it worked great.
My input would be - some microfiber pads will work great on gear-driven orbital polishers. The applicable factors are,
- Type of pad - foam backing on the pad helps as does a short fiber length.
- Type of product - a high lubricity compound, polish and/or AIO should buff well.
- Technique? - Keep the polisher moving and use more than 3 Pea Sized Drops of product.
To be honest, I simply have not used microfiber pads on gear-driven orbitals for the last few years and my normal go-to for heavy cutting is a wool pad on the cordless FLEX PE-150. I know not everyone owns a rotary or is comfortable with a rotary so I'll endeavor to spend some more time with microfiber pads on gear-driven orbitals moving forward.
One thing for sure - fiber pads cut better than foam pads. The down side of fiber pads is because each individual fiber cuts the paint - you cannot always finish out on soft to medium paints as the fibers will leave micro-marring in the finish.
Mike