# What did I do wrong!



## kaisah

Hey guys,

First attempt at using a DA polisher today. I’ll talk through my process:

Wash, dry, clay, wash and dry again. I decided to have a go on the bonnet first. 

Using a DAS6 DA, white hex logic pad and meguiars #205 (least agressive of my products). 

Started by putting 5 pea sized splodges of polish on the pad, then spreading this round 1/4 of the bonnet. Speed 1 to spread it. I then put another 4 splodges on and started at speed 1 to spread this again, then moved up to speed 5/5.5 and worked it around. Seemed to work fine. I did 1/4 of the bonnet at a time, adding 3 more dots of polish each time. When I got to the last quarter, I was nearly done.. then my pad exploded. 

I’m pretty sure this will be a technique thing - I ever so slightly lifted up the DA which increased the speed - at this point the pad exploded. Was this the problem? Was I not using enough polish? I was checking for heat build up all the time and I didn’t detect anything too hot. When i started the last quarter the pad “looked” ok to me. 

The bonnet now looks nice and shiny however the swirls/light scratches are not really fixed. I didn’t expect this on my first attempt with the least agressive combo however! I now have no white pad and just a orange. Would the next step be to use this oranage pad with the same polish? I also have some megs #105 - should I jump straight to that?


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## voon

Old pad? I remember my shoes falling apart, because the softeners had left the foams, thus it all became brittle over the years, despite looking perfect initially.


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## kaisah

Nope brand new pad, this was my first attempt so all equipment is new.


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## voon

Strange. Did the padfoam rip off the "hooks and loops" pad thing on the back? or did it just weirdly disintegrate randomly? I never had that happening with my Flex 3401 ever ... not that I did a lot, but around 3 entire cars I did with it and nothing ever happened to the foam?


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## cossiecol

Sounds like you didn’t clean the pad out regularly and let the heat build up too much.


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## cwdwb65

My first thought was putting too much pressure on the pad particularly if it was allowed to dry out... but I could be miles away as I'm by no means an expert. Hopefully one of the more experienced guys on here will add their thoughts.


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## kaisah

voon said:


> Strange. Did the padfoam rip off the "hooks and loops" pad thing on the back? or did it just weirdly disintegrate randomly? I never had that happening with my Flex 3401 ever ... not that I did a lot, but around 3 entire cars I did with it and nothing ever happened to the foam?


2 large pieces ripped off the backing Velcro part yes, and millions of tiny bits of foam came away with them.



cwdwb65 said:


> My first thought was putting too much pressure on the pad particularly if it was allowed to dry out... but I could be miles away as I'm by no means an expert. Hopefully one of the more experienced guys on here will add their thoughts.


I must admit as my confidence was building I was applying more pressure to the pad by the last stage, but i wouldn't say I was pressing down too hard. Just a little more than was required to keep the pad flat to the surface and not bounce around. At first I was literally just using the weight of the polished alone while I practiced a bit.

By "dry out" what do you mean exactly? I had only done 3/4s of a bonnet - should I be rinsing/cleaning my pad even after that much work? Was 3-4 drops of polish every 1/4 bonnet enough to keep the pad lubricated?

There did appear to be polish left behind in the buffer trail as I was going, which form the tutorials I've watched is what it says to look out for?

As always appreciate the input guys  hopefully I'll put my finger on what it was so I can prevent it happening to my new white pad on its way!


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## Simz

205 is for finishing not cutting so defects will remain, as for the pad sounds to me like it got too dry/hot and was not primed properly.

Watch the junk man on YouTube mate.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## cwdwb65

By 'dry out' I mean keeping going beyond the effectiveness of the compound to the point it's lost its purpose in life and possibly generating friction enough to pull the pad apart?


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## kaisah

cwdwb65 said:


> By 'dry out' I mean keeping going beyond the effectiveness of the compound to the point it's lost its purpose in life and possibly generating friction enough to pull the pad apart?


What would be the main cause of this - not using enough polish (does it sound like I used enough?) or overworking it? I polished each section for maybe 4 minutes


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## PaulaJayne

kaisah said:


> What would be the main cause of this - not using enough polish (does it sound like I used enough?) or overworking it? I polished each section for maybe 4 minutes


Both.

Get a practice panel from a scrap dealer to play with.
:detailer:


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## mirdif64

Did you ''prime'' the pad before starting ?


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## kaisah

mirdif64 said:


> Did you ''prime'' the pad before starting ?


I did but not as thoroughly as I should, I don't think. The tutorial I watched said 4-5 dollops was enough to start but since I've watched a few more videos that use a lot more polish for initially priming the pad. This sounds like it could have been the issue


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## Mardgee

kaisah said:


> I did but not as thoroughly as I should, I don't think. The tutorial I watched said 4-5 dollops was enough to start but since I've watched a few more videos that use a lot more polish for initially priming the pad. This sounds like it could have been the issue


Next time you have a go cut the pannel into smaller sections


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## voon

I never knew to prime my pads when I started and never had anything fly apart.


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## kaisah

Mardgee said:


> Next time you have a go cut the pannel into smaller sections


I will definitely give this a go - thanks for the advice


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## kaisah

voon said:


> I never knew to prime my pads when I started and never had anything fly apart.


I may have overheated the pad (was checking the paint and it was ok but the pad itself may have overheated?)

Either that or I inadvertently nicked the pad on the edge of the bonnet causing a rip which may have then propagated into a tear? Hmm


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## Starbuck88

I'd say could potentially be a tear in the pad. Never had it happen to me, only time something bizarre has happened with a pad is when it's got caught and tore, They are easy to get cut too when spinning so fast.


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## euge07

I've never felt the need to go to speed 5.5 on my polishers- possibly building up too much heat


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## AndyN01

This is sounding more and more like heat build up in the pad or maybe simply a duff pad?

A quarter of a bonnet is probably bigger than the 18" x 18" square that's the sort of benchmark for size (unless you've got a Citroen C1 or similar ).

4 minutes of (constant?) working sounds too long and coupled with speed 5/5.5 and "a bit more pressure" may well have created heat well into the body of the pad and.......boom.

How often were you cleaning the pad (which you need to do anyway to remove the clearcoat it's "polished" off the car)? And how were you cleaning it?

I'll be interested to hear other ideas/opinions/suggestions.

Andy.


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## kaisah

euge07 said:


> I've never felt the need to go to speed 5.5 on my polishers- possibly building up too much heat


I'll try 4 - 4.5 next time. Problem is you get so many conflicting tutorials and "how to's". I've seen anywhere from 3 to max ) suggested for this very product.

All in practice I guess  hopefully I can learn from this experience and refine my technique a bit!



AndyN01 said:


> This is sounding more and more like heat build up in the pad or maybe simply a duff pad?
> 
> A quarter of a bonnet is probably bigger than the 18" x 18" square that's the sort of benchmark for size (unless you've got a Citroen C1 or similar ).
> 
> 4 minutes of (constant?) working sounds too long and coupled with speed 5/5.5 and "a bit more pressure" may well have created heat well into the body of the pad and.......boom.
> 
> How often were you cleaning the pad (which you need to do anyway to remove the clearcoat it's "polished" off the car)? And how were you cleaning it?
> 
> I'll be interested to hear other ideas/opinions/suggestions.
> 
> Andy.


I think you're right - too long and too big an area. I cleaned it by wiping it on a MF cloth, going to try using an old toothbrush next time though. I also turned off the machine to wipe it - I've heard a few people recommend leaving it on and gently pushing the MF cloth against the pad to clean it. Anyone recommend that?


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## Paul.D

Yep I use a tooth brush to clean the pad after every couple of sets Wind the machine up to Max. Rest the back of the head on your knee with the body running up your leg and use the brush on the pad with it spinning flat out to get the pad clean if clogged polish


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## MBRuss

Or a bit of compressed air, if you have a compressor.

Not sure about 205, but I know with 105 you can spritz the pad with a light mist of water to re-activate it if it starts to dry out. Also work at lower speeds.


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## shabba

IMHO it can only be a tear in the pad, I've never had any pad "explode" on me even when I did the mistake not priming it enough (very beginning of my detailing journey - I have since learned 

It is an interesting question though, how hot a pad need would to get that in order to make the foam structure decompose and fly away...

Happy your bonnet's fine and you didn't burn thru. As PaulaJayne recommended, get a test panel from the scrapyard to practice on


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