# Pros and cons to microfiber polishing discs compared to foam?



## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

As above.

Is there anything better about microfiber polishing pads (both cutting and finishing) than the normal foam pads. Do they need specific polishing compounds or will regular do? Is it just a matter of personal preference?


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## Junior Bear (Sep 2, 2008)

interested to hear this too.


i used an optimum mf polishing pad today, tried it with scholl s17+, no reason in particular, just thought id combine two completely new products to me, the pad walked way more than i expected it to compared to foam. they say these are fine for rotary, but i do think it would be better on a DA

i quickly moved to a 3m yellow pad and the scholl s17+ was lovely to use!


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

I should add I will be using it with a DA. I also menzerna polishes and Gtechniq p1 at the moment. 

Got a rather big job on my aunties car soon (an old Vauxhall Corsa) it started life blue but has badly oxidized in the sun. Thinking of a new pad set for the occasion as the others I have are a little tatty at the moment. I have to admit, I don't think I look after them properly...


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## k9vnd (Apr 11, 2011)

Via da am currently trying out some microfibre flexipads which worked well so far using menzderna polish's and to me felt i got a far better result than i did with my cg hex pad(polishing) ive used the finishing pad with blackfire dgp over the old man's new audi and various mark's here dissapeared with very few passing. I wonder though if it would have been best to use the micro polishing pad(which i willtry out soon on the swirled vectra).

A must is the disk cleaning brush though as i noted the pad did collect a fair amount of the product,but that may have been my user error as am just getting used to the change.


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

The first time I used foam pads I broke them (tore them up) trying to clean them with one of those pad cleaner tools. The second time I didn't bother cleaning properly just let the polish dry and knocked it off (although it was still marked). The third time I put my pads in the washing machine and they all went a dark shade of purple... 

Don't seem to have much luck. Maybe I should bite the bullet and buy a bottle of pad conditioner.


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## Steampunk (Aug 11, 2011)

Microfiber Pads Pros:

1. WAY more leveling potential than foam
2. Increases the correction efficiency of DA polishers
3. Finishes much nicer than an equivalently aggressive foam compounding pad
4. More durable than some foam compounding pads
5. Drastically reduces the time needed during the correction phase

Microfiber Pads Cons:

1. Slightly limits polish selection; requires the use of non-diminishing abrasives, and moreover certain lubricant viscosities to obtain best results. DAT polishes can be used, but just not as effectively, and there is a greater chance of inducing marring.
2. Requires frequent cleaning, which is best done with compressed air. A brush can also be used, though it doesn't do as thorough of a job. 
3. Will not finish quite as crisply as a foam finishing pad, so do not expect them to replace every other pad in your arsenal. 
4. They do require you to adapt your technique, keeping the pad well-primed, and using lower speeds to avoid heat buildup. I consider this an advantage, but not everyone wants to deal with the learning curve. 
5. While some can be used on rotary polishers, the nature of the technology best suits DA's. Again, I do not consider this a disadvantage, as in reality foam pads are equally machine-specific.

Hopefully this helps. If you like using classic diminishing polish technology, and don't want to change, don't bother with MF pads. If you are trying to get the maximum possible performance out of your DA polisher, MF & non-diminishing abrasive technology is definitely the way to go. With it, practically no correction job should be more than 2-steps unless you're wetsanding (In which the wet sanding is counted as its own step.), or have isolated defects, so it does save a lot of time. It really transforms the DA into a machine that can match or even exceed in some respects the performance of a rotary polisher, though like any system it is not perfect for every situation. I can say that it certainly is a good tool to have on hand if you are a DA user who wants to start doing more correction work, but for light finishing/polishing stages, I still think that foam can finish down a little crisper on softer paint types.


IMGP5728 by Mole Hill Motors, on Flickr


IMGP5736 by Mole Hill Motors, on Flickr

P2000-3000 wet-sanding scratches vs. an Optimum Microfiber Polishing Pad & Optimum Polish II? No sweat...

Here's how I use them: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=3850157&postcount=4

If you have any more Q's, don't be afraid to ask. :buffer:

Steampunk


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## 888-Dave (Jul 30, 2010)

What he said ^^^
Epic advise as always Sam :thumb:


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## Steampunk (Aug 11, 2011)

888-Dave said:


> What he said ^^^
> Epic advise as always Sam :thumb:


Cheers, mate .


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Just to add to Sams post, the clogging with certain polishes is horrific, use of compressed air is a blessing. Things like megs 101 gunk up the whole pad instantly. Water based polishes are better with mf pads as they clog less. I have some polishes called katana series, few have heard of them (sam being one of those few :thumb and less have used them. The compound on an mf pad can run multiple sets with no clogging whatsoever, so a quick wipe after a full panel is sufficient. Avoid very solventy gloopy polishes and stick with water based polishes and the benefits of mf pads will be easily seen :buffer:


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## neil b (Aug 30, 2006)

Also remember ( when using these pads on rotary) to swap over backing plate to a stiff one as its this little things that add more cut to the pad as you have more downward force applied to the area your working on instead of been soaked up with a softer backing plate .


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## Junior Bear (Sep 2, 2008)

Link!


Regarding m101 though, could you spritz some water onto the panel (I don care about sling) to increase the set time and avoid clogging?


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## Steampunk (Aug 11, 2011)

neil b said:


> Also remember ( when using these pads on rotary) to swap over backing plate to a stiff one as its this little things that add more cut to the pad as you have more downward force applied to the area your working on instead of been soaked up with a softer backing plate .


The same applies to a DA. :thumb:

Steampunk


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

great advice from steampunk.

I'd add, that the oxidisation is going to clog the pads even quicker than polish, so you will definitely want a compressor available if possible to blow them out regularly and need 4-5 cutting pads.

also add that the stiffness of a MF pad has another flaw in flexibility for intricate areas or concave curves being much trickier and sometimes unreachable compared to foam.

a very good alternative imo is the Car Pro Cool Pad, it's a microfibre/wool mixed pad, I bought a few to test lately on hard paint with car pro's fixer and the DA (festool rotex) I had no clogging issues with them at all and very good correction.


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