Webbing - correct pad or something else?

[yellowplum]

I have a Flex Dual Action rotary polisher xc 3401 vrg, my problem is that I don't think I have the right pads to use with it.

I bought some Lake Country CSS pads to use, but they just don't seem to cut sufficiently. I then moved to the 3m pads but unfortunately they don't really fit the machine and they wear out round the edges badly. I have been using 3M Perfect III polish with both.

The main issue is I have a bit of webbing on the car to start with, after I have polished the car you still get a bit of webbing, not as much but it is still visible. How do you get rid of it? Is it the pad? Or the compounds? or both?

[RW1]

I had the 3M pad (Blue) fray around the edge because the backing plate (pad mounting plate) was too large. Since getting smaller backing plate, the 3M pad has not been pulled by the velcro visible edge of the original backing plate. It must match in diameter. Use 3M Blue with either Autofinesse Rejuvenate Pre Wax Cleanser to lightly cut or Meguiar's Ultra Finishing 205 to finish. Does the job well for me.

C.

[yellowplum]

I had the 3M pad (Blue) fray around the edge because the backing plate (pad mounting plate) was too large. Since getting smaller backing plate, the 3M pad has not been pulled by the velcro visible edge of the original backing plate. It must match in diameter. Use 3M Blue with either Autofinesse Rejuvenate Pre Wax Cleanser to lightly cut or Meguiar's Ultra Finishing 205 to finish. Does the job well for me.

C.

Thanks for the tip, do you have the same machine? Where did you get the replacement backing plate?

[RW1]

Have a Kestrel DAS6 Dual-Action Polisher. Smaller backing plate from http://www.shinearama.co.uk/search.php?page=1&fcat=79 similar to the two on this page. Its diameter is 120mm, pretty sure its neither of the two shown but is very similar as I wanted a more flexible outer lip area to take on some curvey parts of my cars. (Just asked for something at Shinearama to resolve the 3M pad problem and they stuck the 120mm in my hand, no markings on it. So can't specifically say what the backing plate maker/part number is.)

Also for heavier cutting, I use Meguiars DA Microfiber Correction Compound D300 with a Meguiar's DA Microfibre Cutting Disc 5 which cuts in harder. It took some of the deeper cuts out but leaves a rough surface. Not to be used regularly. Used Meguiar's Ultra Finishing 205 to finish off when I used D300 which is gentler than the AutoFinesse as a finishing product.

Combination works on all three cars, two with 15 - 20 year old VW metalic paint/lacquer finishes. Results were consistant. Applied little pressure, just used the weight of the DAS6, first on slow speed each time to apply, then high speed to work the surface.

C.