Tips and tricks for buffing with wool?

Most you want to do with a wool pad is rinse it with cold water. Cold water only as hot water will make the wool shrink some. Some of the wool pads I used in the past didn't like getting wet and didn't perform the same afterwards. In those cases using the spur or a flat screwdriver works. Especially when the compound has dried. I do like the 3D Xtra Cut pad in that I can rinse it and keep on buffing.

Lake Country has a page with info on maintenance of all pads. Scroll down for info on knitted and tufted wool pads and how best to clean them.

lakecountrymfg.com

Pad Care Instructions - Lake Country Manufacturing

Maximize your pad's life with proper pad care and cleaning.
lakecountrymfg.com lakecountrymfg.com
 
MJM said:
I too have used the M100. Wasn't sure what to expect from it since I picked up a bottle, at all places, Harbor Freight. I assumed it has other filler properties in it, wish I knew how to know for sure. I have yet to try IPA to clean with. Where are you getting that product from?
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The isopropyl alcohol is at any store with a pharmacy. I got 4 gal on Amazon .
 
MJM said:
Mikey likes bulk products. Do you use it straight from the bottle, or do you cut it with water?

Amazon has the 4 gal as you stated. Pretty good price.
https://www.amazon.com/Isopropyl-Alcohol-Grade-91-Anhydrous/dp/B083ZLC7K4/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1F1E0PXT39UAK&keywords=91%+percent+isopropyl+alcohol&qid=1699562800&sprefix=91%,aps,560&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do:amzn1.fos.18630bbb-fcbb-42f8-9767-857e17e03685

This was also on Amazon with another good price.
https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Brand-Isopropyl-Alcohol-Antiseptic/dp/B07J49CD76/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1F1E0PXT39UAK&keywords=91%+percent+isopropyl+alcohol&qid=1699563316&sprefix=91%,aps,560&sr=8-1&th=1
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Put into a squirt bottle and go for it. BTW, Don't use alcohol on fresh clear. Instead use the 710. I made that mistake before and it made me cry.
 
I like to use wool pad on dewalty rotary and 3d extra cut 500. Followed up by the same compound on a foam pad. I also like sonax on a foam pad the same as the 3d. Follow up with black foam and the 3d 520 polish. Finish it off with detail spray and some old school car brite butter wax. In between compound and polish spray 710 and wipe clean to not cross contaminate. It doesn't take alot of compound I usually put a dot of it every every 2 to 3 square inches...there's no need to be flinging compound all over the car. Keep a damp microfiber nearby to clean up as you go. I buy the roll of micro fiber at Walmart for 14 dollars. Use them and throw them away. Or wash and use for other things but not buffing. Naturally u never want to let the wool or foam touch the dirty ground. I store them in ziplock bags when not in use. I also wash them in the washing machine. As far as not slinging compound everywhere, hard to explain but I like to swallow the dots of compound with the buffer.....lift the edge and go over the dot. Aka swallow. If u buff up to the dot, it's going to hit the pad and sling everywhere.
 
MJM said:
Maybe you're having success with the Meguiars M100 because it has added filler properties in the compound that are hiding the scratches? I thought I had read that using compounds with added filler properties doesn't truly get the best polishing jobs.
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you know i had a 2 hour long debate/discussion with an old school painter friend of mine, who i admire his work. i went to pick his brain about flow coating a car. i already had my mind made up about flow coating the car, but when he asked me "why do you feel the need to do that?" i didnt have any answer, other than..."i dont know?"...i asked him about buffing out a black car. this guy doesnt frequent the internet much, never heard of SPI and still uses the 3M compounds that sometimes get bashed on here for having fillers. we were talking about a black 57 he did a full job on. i asked him what he thought about that 3M 36060 and he said, its great stuff, what about it? i said man i use to use that but then after a few washes i started seeing stuff that wasnt there on the day i buffed. its like something washed off the car and left scratches remaining? he went off on this 2 hour rant about how he was buffing a car one day and an old school painter, who is probably dead now, walked in when he was buffing and chewed him out because he wasnt using high enuff RPM on the rotary. the guy could tell just by the noise of the buffer than the RPM was too low. so when he asked me what RPM i use on the dewalt, i told him 1400ish. he said that wasnt enuff, need more RPM, to actually work the scratches out instead of making them shiney. we talked for 2 or 3 hours when i was just there to pick up a part i needed and turn around and come right back home. i told him that i threw away all my 3M stuff other than the blue swirl remover and now i used 3D and sonax stuff. he still uses all 3M stuff, still sands everything by hand , and he is a walking encylopedia of paint and body knowledge..so now hes got me second guessing my technique used with the 3M compounds.
 
RosharonRooster said:
you know i had a 2 hour long debate/discussion with an old school painter friend of mine, who i admire his work. i went to pick his brain about flow coating a car. i already had my mind made up about flow coating the car, but when he asked me "why do you feel the need to do that?" i didnt have any answer, other than..."i dont know?"...i asked him about buffing out a black car. this guy doesnt frequent the internet much, never heard of SPI and still uses the 3M compounds that sometimes get bashed on here for having fillers. we were talking about a black 57 he did a full job on. i asked him what he thought about that 3M 36060 and he said, its great stuff, what about it? i said man i use to use that but then after a few washes i started seeing stuff that wasnt there on the day i buffed. its like something washed off the car and left scratches remaining? he went off on this 2 hour rant about how he was buffing a car one day and an old school painter, who is probably dead now, walked in when he was buffing and chewed him out because he wasnt using high enuff RPM on the rotary. the guy could tell just by the noise of the buffer than the RPM was too low. so when he asked me what RPM i use on the dewalt, i told him 1400ish. he said that wasnt enuff, need more RPM, to actually work the scratches out instead of making them shiney. we talked for 2 or 3 hours when i was just there to pick up a part i needed and turn around and come right back home. i told him that i threw away all my 3M stuff other than the blue swirl remover and now i used 3D and sonax stuff. he still uses all 3M stuff, still sands everything by hand , and he is a walking encylopedia of paint and body knowledge..so now hes got me second guessing my technique used with the 3M compounds.
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Barry did a post recently saying the same thing. Basically, if there isn't a sonic boom, you're going too slow.
 
That was the old school way. With the new compounds and pads you don't need to go that fast. Example, 3D has specific recommendations on their compounds and polishes. Using their wool pad they recommend 1200-1800 rpm. With the finishing polish 600-800 rpm. When the speed goes up the chances of effing up increase exponentially. Personally I would always want to go with what the manufacturer says works unless it's a situation where I know something different. JMO.
 
And if 3M worked really well at that speed, why the need for fillers? What purpose would they serve?
 
I have found that if I set my HF buffer to speed setting 4 (whatever RPM that is) it buffers MUCH better than when it's slower.
 
i am buffing with wool around 1800-2100 and polish on foam @1400 or so. i also rarely wash or clean my pads. the 3d compound doesnt seem to load up the pad and glaze it over like the old compounds did. i never really get build up. i use them until they are worn out then just throw them away.
 
Lizer said:
I use chemical guys pad cleaner for cleaning foam pads. Works very well. Spray some on then rinse the pad out under the hydrant. Put it on buffer to spin water out and it’s ready to go again. You do not need a brush with chemical guys cleaner.
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Also found that glass cleaner works just as well on foam pads. I use sprayway glass cleaner it smells the same too.
 
I like to crosshatch buff with a wool pad for the initial cut. Kinda the same idea as crosshatch sanding, but altering the contact patch direction compared to the sanding grain direction.

If the sanding scratches are horizontal then I'll buff with the contact patch spinning in a vertical direction- perpendicular to the scratches, then tilt and make the opposite side of the pad contact so its being buffed in both directions perpendicular to the sanding scratch pattern. Might just be in my head but it seems to gloss up faster and with more clarity.
 
Finally done with the hood. It isn’t perfect and there are spots I’ll have to fix after final assembly. I’m hoping the next panels—with the air sander I bought and using some of Jim’s tricks—don’t give me near as much fits.

I’ll also say one more time the Meg’s M100 is the real deal. CG V32 doesn’t come close to touching it.

By the way, I have a full quart of V32 for sale :)


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