Just got my Porter Cable. Tried a couple of small areas to remove sworls with the general purpose white pad..and it didn't do much at all. Does the yellow or orange cutting pad really make that much of a difference??

 

Ron, You will notice a difference between pads yes. Whether it's enough of a difference to solve your particular paint issues is less certain. You *may* need a rotary buffer if it involves cutting or leveling paint or serious spider webbing, but more than likely you'll be able to do it with the P/C, it'll just take longer and require some pad/polish experimentation.

Step up to the next more aggressive pad and work it longer and I'm sure you'll note a difference. Remember though, once they load up with polish (any pad) they need to be spurred now & then because that alone will reduce their effectiveness.

 

Where do you get a "spur" and what does it look like? Thanks...

 

Guitarman I noticed it this weekend. Was using an orange sonus pad with Megs #82 and the pad became ineffective after a while...I did notice that it was caked and loaded...was wondering if I should wash and continue...

 

OK, this thread I wrote last year has some info on this subject,

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=131273

But here is the essential paragraph from the 'Definitions' part of the thread;

The important part is that you DON'T want to use a metal spurring tool (or screwdriver) on a FOAM pad, only a wool or wool blended use those A stiff nylon toothbrush or similar is perfect for foam pads. When raked acrosss the pad with the tool spinning on and off, the bristles will doslodge some of the built up polish. Bear in mind however, that it's a bit more effective with a rotary buffer and foam pads than an orbital, simply because the orbital kind of wobbles and vibrates rather than maintains a certain strict rotation. But it will still help free up some of the cells in the pad .

Beyond that, you will find it necessary to stock up with at least 3 pads of each degree of aggressiveness, i.e. 3 cutting pads, 3 polishing pads, 3 finishing pads. This along with the spurring effect will give you the best performance when doing a multi-step polishing routine. When one pad loses it's performance even after spurring, you'll have another there at the ready. Cheers guys.

 

If you want a really purpose made tool for BOTH wool & foam, here's the ticket; http://www.superiorcarcare.net/spur100.html

Other wise just use a nylon brush. I would stay away from wicker bristled and other natural brushes because they can break off and can stick in the pad, sometimes too small to see, and then you have worse problems when you start buffing again. I've never had issues with toothbrushes in that respect.

Look here at step 2B to see a traditional metal spur tool, being used on a rotary buffer & wool pad.

http://www.automagic.biz/Training/Compounding.htm