# Exploding Pad!



## markoneill (Mar 24, 2009)

I was detailing a lovely 1977 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0, which had been cleaned by the owner using a Brillo pad to remove tar spots....

I believe the old 911's had enamel paint and it's very hard. I went straight out with the DA and a LC Hydrotech blue cutting pad and some Menzerna S500, which is the coarsest polish I have.

I had completed most of the bonnet and was working on the front wings at speed 5 on my DAS6 PRO, when 'Bang!' - the pad simply exploded and some chunks travelled a good 20 feet. Luckily, I was not using too much pressure and the car was not damaged or my eyes taken out, but it was a close call and I am now quite nervous about continuing with these pads.

Has anyone experienced anything similar? The pad was not new, but had only been used once before and had been thoroughly cleaned. I had spritzed the pad with a mist of Last Touch before starting to polish.

Here's the damage:


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## Chris91 (Nov 28, 2011)

Holy moly. 

I was recommended to use LC pads, glad I went for CG hex after seeing this. Infact, dreading using my DA this weekend now!


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Don't dread using it pal, things like this are very rare and you won't experience with hex pads :thumb:


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## Chris91 (Nov 28, 2011)

Ill hold you too that when one explodes in my face this weekend


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## Audriulis (Dec 17, 2009)

The same hapened to me with the same polish and yellow hex pad last summer


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

ooof... ive seen pads disintegrate but 'cking ell... thats a cracker..

must have given you a bit of a shock..


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## markoneill (Mar 24, 2009)

CraigQQ said:


> ooof... ive seen pads disintegrate but 'cking ell... thats a cracker..
> 
> must have given you a bit of a shock..


Yes, definitely was a 'new underpants, please' experience.

Anyone know if heat build up in the pad can cause this? I have never had this with my other LC finishing pads (orange and red).

I am going to order some new pads and it appears that Hex Logic are the way to go. Any other ideas for appropriate pads for use with Menz polishes on Audi paint?


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

hex are great pads imo.

heat is normally a factor in this kind of thing happening to a pad... but there can be other factors like polish saturation causing the pad to weaken, then heat, then boom.

manufacturing malfunction ect ect..
but yes heat can be a factor.


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## Keir (Aug 31, 2010)

oh god, that's not good.


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## Mike-93 (May 16, 2010)

would probably be worth getting in contact with LC about this, they would probably send you a new one. If you sent the remains to them they could probably work out what happened then try and reduce the risks of it happening again in later designs


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## markoneill (Mar 24, 2009)

Mike-93 said:


> would probably be worth getting in contact with LC about this, they would probably send you a new one. If you sent the remains to them they could probably work out what happened then try and reduce the risks of it happening again in later designs


Good idea! I still have the remains. I can't find contact details or an address for Lake Country, but perhaps my best bet is to email Tim @ Clean Your Car and see what he thinks.

Ok, I have submitted a Helpdesk Ticket on the new CYC website. Will see what they say.


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## PimanUK (Nov 19, 2011)

I had something similar with a 3M green pad. It was new and had only been through about a dozen sessions that day. Bit of a shock!

James


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## pee (Apr 6, 2009)

WOAH!!!!!!!

I have the same pads but not experianced anything like that hope you manage to get it sorted.


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## umi000 (Jan 14, 2011)

The consensus on US forums is that these pads tend to fall apart when used wet - which your spritz of Last Touch might have contributed to. I've never heard of one that's exploded before, though...


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## Duke Wellington (Dec 1, 2009)

Lake Country contact details:

http://www.lakecountrymfg.com/contact/

Can't wait to see what they say about this.


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## nick.s (Dec 21, 2009)

I have not had it with those pads, but the Menzerna pads. Similar destruction too  The cell structure looks to my eye very similar to the Menz, and as it happens I was polishing a single stage red......perhaps the build up of residue from paint/polish was a contributing factor, perhaps causing some level of sticking and the pad 'twisting' beyond its capabilities?


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## RSTsteve (Jul 28, 2010)

the same happend to me with a autobrite orange pad using the DAS pro at speed 4. 

The pad was used twice (full body on an MR2 & 3/4 Range rover) Then boom!

pretty scary thing to happen within those few seconds


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## turboyamaha (Nov 18, 2010)

I have had same happen to me had to climb a tree to get half the pad back????


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## markoneill (Mar 24, 2009)

*Quick Update.*

I logged a helpdesk ticket with Clean Your Car. As ever, customer service from Tim was excellent and sent out a replacement pad free of charge.

Tim suggested the pad may have got too hot or could be a manufacturing fault. "It's also necessary to keep a good amount of pressure on, they tend to break when you lift pressure off but the machine is still spinning and the pad is hot."

Thanks Tim! :thumb:


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## Lupostef (Nov 20, 2011)

Wow  bet that made you jump :lol:


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## zsdom (Aug 30, 2011)

My friend had exactly the same happen to him but with an orange pad









We just l;aughed it off & we used a 3m pad instead


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## Bratwurst (Jan 23, 2009)

I think the chances are you've overloaded the pad with polish, plus the high speed (and also high temperature of the machine/plate), then lifted off the paint and it's all combined to just be too much for it and it's done what it's done.

If not all of the above, then maybe a few of them and an already weakened pad.

Not sure I'd be off looking for a refund myself... I'd just put it down to experience...


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## President Swirl (Oct 23, 2011)

I have the exact same pad. It decided to rip itself from the base of the pad, and rip in the middle. Not in as spectacular a fashion as your's, but surprising none the less. I have the polishing and finishing pads of the same ilk, which to date remain unscathed. I am putting it down to a one off, as i like lake country pads, and have since obtained yellow and white ccs pads. Hopefully these will not suffer the same fate.


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## markoneill (Mar 24, 2009)

wee_green_mini said:


> Not sure I'd be off looking for a refund myself... I'd just put it down to experience...


I didn't set out looking for a refund or a replacement pad, but Tim at CYC has an excellent customer service record and sent me an email to say a new pad was in the post anyway.

The reason I posted was that the pad exploding genuinely scared the  out of me. I could easily have damaged the car or myself and was looking for advice and to guage from other forum members if it was a common problem.

I will think about switching pads and polish in the future, but it's not an urgent priority for now. I will keep my eyes peeled for interesting posts!


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## Bratwurst (Jan 23, 2009)

That's very good of him :thumb:

I know what you mean - when they go, they do it with some speed and force! :doublesho:doublesho

My bit about 'looking for a refund' wasn't aimed at you, more towards the folk who said you should get one, or try to get one. Mainly because, well, these things happen. Pads degrade and rip and tear etc, so where do you draw the line? I've had some pads for years and they get used pretty regularly yet seem to be nowhere near the end of their lives... so when that day comes say next year should I be looking for a refund then just because they pop or split?...

Glad you have a new one in the post anyway. :thumb:


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## Tomukas (Oct 21, 2008)

don't spray water on pads polishes have oil in them for this reason don't prime pads or this will happen water+oil mixed in pad going in to high temperatures then boom


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## Richard. (May 3, 2011)

Think about it: Polish = chemicals! There could be a chance that the heat buildup reacted with something in the polish and you bore the brunt of it.


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## georgey2011 (Oct 24, 2011)

Had the same happen to me, DA6 pro, menz polishes, orange menz pad, and bang exploded, got me in the eye and all sorts, which was a problem as i wear contact lenses so had to go upstairs remove my contacts and clean them/my eyes as my eyes were stinging, it appears they become hollow in the centre under pressure but stay firm around the outer edge then all it takes is some uneven pressure or a sudden movement and boom !


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## 20vKarlos (Aug 8, 2009)

IT WAS THE HEAT!!!

this happened to me about 3 weeks ago... i bought all my gear from CYC but never thought about contacting anybody about it, im my opinion it was my own fault. shame really as i was a brand new pad, only had about 5 minutes use :lol:... now i need to buy a new pad

Menzerna Pad

As you said before... some foam was un-traceable!! :lol:


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## John @ PB (Aug 25, 2010)

Tomukas said:


> don't spray water on pads polishes have oil in them for this reason don't prime pads or this will happen water+oil mixed in pad going in to high temperatures then boom


I agree with this: modern polishes don't need extra moisture and the moisture gets into the structure of the pad, heats up, turns to steam and the pad explodes.





20vKarlos said:


> IT WAS THE HEAT!!!
> 
> I had the same trouble with a Menzerna Pad
> 
> As you said before... some foam was un-traceable!! :lol:


That pad has _WAY_ too much polish on it that's probably why it failed.

You should spur your pads after each section: that pad in the photo, I'd have swapped to another one long before it got to that condition.


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## D.Taylor R26 (Feb 5, 2012)

Oh dear. Seems its happened to a few people on here. I've got a G220 and mez pads ready to go for the first time next weekend with P1. 

So I should: not wet the pad, not use more than a few dabs of polish and keep preasure on the pad at all times? 

Should I start with the finishing pad and work up if needed or will using the finishing pad with polish increase the chance of it going bang on me?

Thanks

Dave


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