# NEW Optimum Microfiber Polishing Pads - Used with DA Polishers



## Mike Phillips

*NEW Optimum Microfiber Polishing Pads - Used with DA Polishers*

Below is an excerpt from our 1954 Ford F100 Autogeek's Car of the Week project.

*1954 Ford F-100 - Extreme Makeover - Modeled by Janna*

For this project we used the new Optimum 3.25" Microfiber Polishing Pads and the 5.25" pads using Hyper-Polish on *DA Polishers*.

This was the first time I personally used these microfiber pads from Optimum and from this first experience I would say they worked great.

One of the differences between the Optimum pads and the Meguiar's version is the type of foam used for a backing and in my opinion there's not enough of a functional difference to make a difference when buffing out a car.

The pads worked great and the polish worked great and even my good friend Glen who had never machine buffed before let along with a microfiber pad produced professional results his first time.

_Begin excerpt... _

*The Test Spot*

Since I've already inspected the paint and documented it is filled with holograms from a rotary buffer the next step is to do a Test Spot to see what it will take to remove the swirls and level the surface of the paint.

*One comment on the rotary buffer swirls...*
This truck was painted by a custom painter and we don't blame him for the swirls. The fact is, it's not how GREAT the painter is...

*It's the guy that does the wetsanding, cutting and buffing that makes or breaks the end-results.*

It looks like the guy that did the sanding and buffing used a rotary buffer and likely a wool finishing pad for his last machine step.

This is the norm for the kind of work done at the majority of body shops across the world. Most people getting their car painted have no idea as to what to ask for and just take what they get when they pick up their freshly painted car.

Most body shops only use a rotary buffer for all their buffing work and don't charge enough money to cover the cost for extra steps whether they be doing a final rotary buffing step using a foam finishing pad and an ultra fine cut polish or using a DA Polisher to ensure the swirls are all removed. The the swirls I documented in this custom paint job or the norm for this industry. That's okay as it give Pro detailers plenty of work undoing the damage.

*Back to our story...*
For our Test Spot we're hoping to use Optimum's brand new Microfiber Finishing Pads with the Optimum Hyper-Polish on DA Polisher. This is keeping with the philosophy of,

Use the least aggressive product to get the job done which is also covered in my e-book on page 84 of both the e-book and the paperback version of The Art of Detailing and how to do a Test Spot starts on page 94

*Doing a Test Spot*
Here's Robert spraying Hyper-Polish onto a brand new, clean Optimum Microfiber Pad on a Porter Cable 7424XP










Note that Robert is using some painter's tape to make a tape-line on a horizontal panel and then only buffing on one side of the tape line. By doing this he will make it real easy to inspect the results on other side he's buffing on and compare it to the "control" side to gage the effectiveness of this combination of pad, product, tool and of course his expert technique.









After performing the Test Spot we inspect the results and the combination of Optimum Hyper-Polish with the new Optimum Microfiber Finishing Pads on the Porter Cable on the 6.0 speed setting removed 99.9% off all the swirls and scratches and left the paint simply *AMAZING* looking with no micro-marring even after chemically stripping the paint with IPA.

*Diluting and using IPA to inspect results*
How to properly dilute and use IPA to inspect your results is covered on page 115 of my how-to e-book and paperback version.

Since our Test Spot confirmed our process everyone joined in using the same combination of pads and product with various DA Polishers including the Porter Cable 7424XP, Meguiar's G110v2 and the Griot's Garage DA Polisher.

These are are the same "type" of tool in that they all use a Free Floating Spindle Assembly for a drive mechanism but they each have different power configurations. Not that it's a HUGE deal but here are the speed settings we used for the different tools with the microfiber pads....
*Porter Cable 7424XP = 6.0*
*Meguiar's G110v2 = 5.0*
*Griot's Garage = 5.0*​*Robert from Impression's Detailing*
Here's Robert with the PC tackling the rest of the hood... Robert is booked all the time doing show car work and his shop in in Palm City, Florida called Impression's Detailing. I often get asked by locals for a true professional to both detail their car and to also maintain it and I know I can always trust Robert to completely take care of all his customer's needs.









*Jeff*
Here's Jeff using the Porter Cable 7424XP to tackle the rear passenger fender, Jeff works in our Tech Support division and is a true car guy owning 2 Mustangs and a classic *1978 El Camino*









*Glen*
Here's Glen using a Meguiar's G110v2 to remove the swirls out of the tailgate. This is the first time Glen has ever used a machine to polish paint and he did a superb job!









*Me using the Griot's Garage 6" Random Orbital Polisher*









As you use a microfiber pad the fibers will lay down flat at become matted with both spent product and the paint you're removing anytime you're abrading the paint. You can also see a grayish color on the pad, this is staining of the paint caused by road grime and air-borne pollution. Staining is both topical and to some degree embeds into the paint so when you do any type of compounding or polishing you remove the staining and restore a more clear and brighter finish as you can see as we buff out this truck









To clean the microfiber pads we use a Pad Conditioning Brush with the tool OFF and simply hold the pad from spinning with the hand that's holding the polisher. I cover all the ways to clean both foam pads and fiber pads starting on page 76 of my book.









Here you can see the fibers have bee fluffed up and this pad is ready to go back to work...









Robert tackling the passenger door...









*Rene*
I first met Rene when we needed a cool car for a video Matt Steel and I made a few months ago. Rene was interested in learning how to machine polish paint so after we made the videos I invited him back to buff out his car. You can see the results from that project here,

*Rene's 2011 Camaro with a Mirror Finish!*

Rene tackling the running boards, door and rear fender...









*Safety First*
Here's Robert and Glen tackling the roof, not they are standing on stable work platforms to protect both themselves and the truck.









Robert using the PC and Glenn using the Meguiar's G110v2









Remember how dirty the clay was after claying just one half of the roof? Clay remove ABOVE surface bonded contaminants but it doesn't remove embedded staining of the paint. You can see abrading the paint with a light polish and a microfiber pad has removed the staining effect and restored a very bright and shiny finish.


















This is me tackling the iconic front grill using the Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher using an Optimum 3.25" Microfiber Pad with Hyper-Polish.

I now the question everyone wants to ask and here is the answer...

YES the 3" Mini Polisher was able to maintain pad rotation. I started with the upper potions and worked downward and wiped the residue off as I worked... look how shiny and glossy the paint is after using the 3" Mini Polisher. The 3" Mini Polisher also makes a great *Dampsander* for spot repair.



















*Dampsanding with 3" Griot's Garage Mini Polisher*

After using the microfiber pads with the Hyper-Polish we re-polished and then waxed the truck and here are the results...

Here's a couple after shots...













































*Frosting on the cake provided by Pinnacle Signature Series II*


















:thumb:


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## Eurogloss

Thanks Mike , for your informative write up !

Will this system work with the Flex XC 3401 VRG DA ?

Thanks for sharing 

Best Regards 

Mario


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## Mike Phillips

Eurogloss said:


> Will this system work with the Flex XC 3401 VRG DA ?


The answer is "yes" but with a caveat...

Microfiber pads on the Flex 3401 seem to work well with light polishes or even cleaner/waxes but as soon as you try using them with compounds or medium cut polishes the characteristic described by most and myself is the buffing experience feels grabby.

That is it feels like the pad is grabbing the paint as it's cutting the paint and it's not a smooth buffing experience.

I much prefer to use the Purple Foamed Wool pads with the Flex 3401 for doing any type of correction work versus a microfiber pad. The switch to foam for the polishing step.

The below was taken from last week's "Autogeek's Car of the Week" thread... we used the PFW pads on the Flex 3401 to remove about 95% of the swirls and scratches out of this numbers matching 1969 Camaro Pace Car.

*The Major Correction Step*

*Getting more aggressive...*
After testing the new G-P-S the next thing we tested was Purple Foamed Wool pads with Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover wit the Flex 3401 and this combination easily removed 98% of the swirls and scratches while leaving the finish incredibly glossy...

*Here's Rene and Kyle working on the hood...*


















While they tackled the hood I knocked out the panel in front of the hood and some of the tops of the fenders...



















:thumb:


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## -Raven-

Nice read Mike! Makes me want these new pads even more! 

You stated that after using the MF pads and hyper polish, you repolished the car. What did you use, a light finishing polish and foam? Wasn't the finish good enough after using the MF pads?

And with these MF pads, can you use any regular polish to good effect?


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## Mike Phillips

type[r]+ said:


> Nice read Mike! Makes me want these new pads even more!
> 
> 
> 
> type[r]+ said:
> 
> 
> 
> You stated that after using the MF pads and hyper polish, you re-polished the car. What did you use, a light finishing polish and foam?
> 
> 
> 
> Yes, we re-polished using Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish and soft foam finishing pads.
> 
> 
> 
> type[r]+ said:
> 
> 
> 
> Wasn't the finish good enough after using the MF pads?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> My experience with fiber pads, any fiber pads, when used on black paint and then chemically stripping the paint and inspecting under bright light you'll see micro-marring or tick marks or DA Haze, (whichever term you like, they all mean the same thing as it relates to DA Polishers).
> 
> If I see this on black paint chances are pretty good it's happening on all paints it just might be harder to see. So instead of taking any chances with show cars, I always finish out with foam.
> 
> Keep in mind the Meguiar's Microfiber pads are part of a "system" marketed and targeted at the "Production Detailing Industry.
> 
> There's a huge difference between production detailing and show car detailing.
> 
> 
> 
> type[r]+ said:
> 
> 
> 
> And with these MF pads, can you use any regular polish to good effect?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> The polishes I've used to date, (misc brands), all seem to work taking in what I wrote above about the characteristics of fiber pads.
Click to expand...


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## -Raven-

Cheers Mike!


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## Nick_Zee

Informative as always Mike. Your recent contributions to DW are a very welcome addition.


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## Mike Phillips

Nick_Zee said:


> Informative as always Mike. Your recent contributions to DW are a very welcome addition.


Hey thanks Nick...

I actually have a lot of new articles, new projects and tons of pictures to share but time has been so rare lately...

I'll try to get caught up ASAP

We have a really cool project next week in fact with PJ from Dodo Juice...

:thumb:


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## Spirit Detailing

Mike, is that the 4 3/8" backing plate or the 5 1/2" one. Not sure with the oscillation in the photo! 

Either way, would like your opinion of the 4 3/8" over the bigger one with the different sized pads - especially the purple wool. 

Thanks a mill
Brian


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## Mike Phillips

The one in the picture is the brand new 4" backing plate that comes in a kit starting in January. The 4" backing plate lets you use 4" pads and the PFW pad in the picture is the 4" PFW

_Couple of comments..._


4" pads let you safely buff thin panes and work in tight areas
4" pads are super easy to use on the Flex 3401
If you own a Flex 3401 and do correction work... if you don't own any PFW pads... _*get some...*_ they are indestructible and level the surface faster than foam...


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## NickP

Mike Phillips said:


> The one in the picture is the brand new 4" backing plate that comes in a kit starting in January. The 4" backing plate lets you use 4" pads and the PFW pad in the picture is the 4" PFW
> 
> _Couple of comments..._
> 
> 
> 4" pads let you safely buff thin panes and work in tight areas
> 4" pads are super easy to use on the Flex 3401
> If you own a Flex 3401 and do correction work... if you don't own any PFW pads... _*get some...*_ they are indestructible and level the surface faster than foam...


Hi Mike,
Are the Purple Foamed Wool Pads the Lake County ones?

Thanks
Nick


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## Mike Phillips

NickP said:


> Hi Mike,
> Are the Purple Foamed Wool Pads the Lake County ones?
> 
> Thanks
> Nick


Yes...

Lake Country Purple Foamed Wool Pads

A very unique buffing pad that works especially well for correction work with the Flex 3401


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## NickP

Mike Phillips said:


> Yes...
> 
> Lake Country Purple Foamed Wool Pads
> 
> A very unique buffing pad that works especially well for correction work with the Flex 3401


Thanks Mike, I've got a 3401 so I'll get some of these to try 
6" size?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## k9vnd

Fantasic write up, like many am pondering whether to give these pads a shout, however i wonder what would be the suitability or the results achieved if i was using scratch-x from meg's for example? would these be suitable? and if so what would be a good follow up after using? and it would be used on a black car as an example before other's!


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## Mike Phillips

couped said:


> however i wonder what would be the suitability or the results achieved if i was using scratch-x from meg's for example? would these be suitable?


I have not used ScratchX with these pads but ScratchX is a SMAT product and it should work well for removing defects.

Follow-up with a finishing polish and a foam pad.


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## Spirit Detailing

Mike Phillips said:


> The one in the picture is the brand new 4" backing plate that comes in a kit starting in January. The 4" backing plate lets you use 4" pads and the PFW pad in the picture is the 4" PFW
> 
> _Couple of comments..._
> 
> 
> 4" pads let you safely buff thin panes and work in tight areas
> 4" pads are super easy to use on the Flex 3401
> If you own a Flex 3401 and do correction work... if you don't own any PFW pads... _*get some...*_ they are indestructible and level the surface faster than foam...


LOL, yes I have PFW's. I don't agree that they are indestructible really. I found they got thin pretty quickly. I just changed my 3401 backing plate to a foam-base instead of the hard-back so I will check them out again.

I do get excellent results with the LC Orange Compressor pads on the machine. Can't wait for the 4" backing plate as I have a lot of use for 4" pads.

Thanks Mike. 

Best regards
Brian


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## Mike Phillips

Spirit Detailing said:


> LOL, yes I have PFW's. I don't agree that they are indestructible really.


Compared to foam... they are much more indestructible... nothing lasts forever, not even you or I...

I can't even begin to describe how I've abused them...

:thumb:


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