well, we're starting to thaw out and supplies need to be replenished. Curious what your thoughts are on the new gloss it or uber pads. Currently use mainly Sonus for polishing *aside from LC purple wool) and for finishing, I tend to flip flop between finishing pads LC Grey, 3M Blue or Meg Black solo pads. All out of 4" pads so I'm starting to revisit pad selections again...
Here is a review you already probably know what I would go with but here is a review on DW. Detailers Domain Polishing Pads - Detailing World
I have used both Uber and Gloss It pads and I can say both are quality products. Im sure Phil and many others will be able to elaborate on the performance of the Uber pads but since I am one of very few on here who use the GI pads I will tell you my opinion. The GI pads are cut from pre-polymer foam. As of now there are 3 grades of foam, a fourth is coming soon which will be a pure polishing pad. The GI pads come in 5.75inch and 4inch sizes. Note that the 5.75 pads have velcro backing which is 5inches, this makes for perfect centering with the 3M BP and 5" hook and loop BP. The 4inch pads have 3" velcro backing and can be used with the GI 3" BP. GI pads: White is cutting Yellow is med. polishing Blue is finishing. The white cutting pad is extremely smooth, less hop on sticky paints than the LC orange flat pads and they finish down very nicely, using EVP will get this pad to finish down LSP ready, I can only say I have done this with the GI correction polishes. I prefer this pad over the orange LC pad. The yellow med. polishing pad is very versatile. The GI one step machine polish, Menzernas power finish etc. all work well with it. It has a bit more bit than the Uber green pad which I think is also a fantastic pad. The blue finishing pad is my favorite, its almost identical to the new 3M blue finishing pad sold from polished bliss. What makes this pad very nice is that it has the same deep foam construction as the rest of the GI pads, which means it has a lot of give and buffs very smoothly. This pad will clean up light marring and fine swirls while leaving a very fine finish. GI finishing polish, 3M ultrafina, M205 and PO85rd all work beautifully with this pad. A pic of the blue finishing pad (5.75") Yellow med. polish pad w/ 3M BP 4" cutting pad on 3" BP Personally I like both Uber and GI pads, on sticky clears I find the GI pads to perform exceptionally well and the rounded edges are nice around corners. I do think that the green Uber pad is really awesome too, thats 1 pad I def. need to have in my arsenal. Hope this helps.
Care to shed some more 411 on the *new 3M blue finishing foam* ? I have the older 3m blue foam pads from UK back when ultrafina came out last year, and really love the texture of it. Normally not a fan of waffle weaves, but I tend to grab that pad naturally with my right hand while I'm grabbing 85rd with my left hand
What I meant with the new 3M finishing pad is that the older 3M polishing pad (black) was often used for finishing, that pad was replaced by the new yellow 3M foam. So I refer to dark blue 3M pad seen on polished bliss website as the new 3M finishing pad. There is also a light blue Ultrafina pad by 3M which has been around for a while, this version 3M™ Perfect-It™ Ultrafina™ BLUE Foam Polishing Pad, 05733, 8 in I didnt want to confuse people. The 3M finishing pad polished bliss carries is dark blue, not light blue and has the 3M logo imprinted on the back velcro... light blue one does not, 3M did this when they made their new Green cutting and Yellow polishing pads. The "recent" darker blue pad I believe is a closed cell, reticulated foam... im not sure if the older 3M light blue pads are of the same composition. The GI blue foam is also a reticulated foam, reticulated is another way of saying open cell. You want your finishing pads to be open cell because they will generate very little heat on the paint (air will permeate an open cell foam better than a closed cell foam) , this is great for when you need to jewel the finish for a long time so you will not generate lots of heat on the paint. An open cell foam will not cut as well a closed cell. The GI white cutting pad is non-reticulated (closed cell foam), this why its more dense and cuts better. The GI yellow med. has both open and closed cell foam, so it cuts well and finishes well without generating excess heat. Hope this clears some things up:thumb:
I have been a fan of the LC CCS pads for a while now but have recently tried the newest version of pads from 3M via Rich at Polished Bliss and just finished a 22 hour detail using the Gloss-it products. I am basing my opinions on very limited time with these pads. I love the green 3M cutting pad. Very easy to use and control and with Power Finish, will polish down LSP ready. I don't believe the yellow polishing pad has enough cutting ability and so will continue to use my German green CCS pad from Proper Auto Care for polishing duties. The blue finishing pad from 3M is very smooth and easy to work with as well. The Gloss-it cutting pad( white ) cut like crazy. When used with Gloss-it Extreme cut it removed almost every defect in one pass. As David mentioned, if you use the EVP with it, you can polish out LSP ready with this pad. The polishing( yellow) pad works well although I find it too firm because of its thickness I'm sure. Making this pad thinner would give it more flexibility over humps and curves in the body and would make it nicer to use. I am waiting on my finishing pad. The Gloss-it backing plates are awesome. Now I know why all you guys love the 3M ones. The Gloss-it 4" pads are a charm as well. I just picked up some 3" pads from Autoglym that fit perfectly on the GI backing plates but haven't had a chance to use them yet.
How can a foam both be reticulated and non reticulated? :shead: Never heard of this before. The pads do look nice, that's for sure...
