Hey everybody, haven't posted in a while. Anyway I have a 6 month old now and have since stepped back from my previous washing and mini detailing arena. Well, I'm looking to start doing some correction work which I never got fully into so... I have some foam pads but let's say I didn't. Should I buy some microfiber disks instead of foam? I've seen enough praise about them, I guess I'm just curious will they tackle any situation I'm likely to run into regarding paint defects. I know there's a tool for every job, but I'm looking at keeping a minimalist approach as far how many different detailing tools I get. Thanks for the responses.
Depends on what type of cars you will be doing and will you be doing a lot of different ones? MF pads are a must have, but so are wool. At least the one made by 3D. Finish very well, with superior cutting ability over MF pads. What polisher do you use?
I have the GG 6" da. I will be working on other peoples cars so yeah different vehicles with different paints. I guess I can't say really specifically what cars as of yet because they're not booked yet.
I didn't know there was difference. No, it works fantastic even on a PCXP, not just rotary. Rupes, Flex 3401 love it.
never had very good luck with the durability of MF pads. They work but I wouldn't say you NEED to go out and buy some to do your own car. Foam pads still work great.
Maybe people more skilled than I am have different results but I have never been able to get MF pads to finish acceptably on soft paint.
I just recently got my first set of MF pads and I have to say, it is awesome. I was amazed at the scratches I just got out of a silver Toyota Camry in one pass with FG400 on a GG 6". I would not have gotten the same results with a yellow or orange pad in one pass. I also feel like the MF pads are easier to clean off mid-polishing compared to foam pads, but that may just be me.
I don't have a lot of experience polishing, but I recently got some pretty awful hardwater spots on my car. I used the Meguiars cutting pads with M101. Even in hot weather and black paint, they worked really well. A bit of dusting, as you'd expect due to the weather, but they finished down great even with a pretty aggressive compound.
If your detailing for a living then yes you should have MF pads and for a weekend detailer its really up too you.
Both are advisable, but you dont have to go wild buying pads either, buy a few of each. I have 6 green, 3 black, 3 blue, 2 orange and 6 MF cutting disks. which IMO basically replaced the orange pads. I still use them all. I find myself using the green ones the most actually.
OP - you want to be ready, so i'd have foam, MF wool in my arsenal to make sure I could do the work efficiently.