Polishing Pads

[SANCasey]

Where does everyone buy their polishing/buffing/waxing pads? I have a 7" Milwaukee polisher. I am thinking about using compound-polish-wax to bring back some of the shine on my 2000 SAN and need to find a good source for the supplies.

Thanks!

[DanielC]

RE: Polishing Pads

Auto body paint store/supplier. I would name names, but I am in Portland, OR.

[mf01]

RE: Polishing Pads

I have a 10" buffer/polisher and got mine from Harbor Freight. I would suggest against any microfiber as it seems to absorb too much water. Here's some that should work: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=92096

[SANCasey]

RE: Polishing Pads

What about for a foam backing pad?

[sstexan]

Make sure your polisher is a random orbiter, or the swirl marks will come out! Foam is the only way to go!

I get all my detailing stuff at griots garage

www.griotsgarage.com

[mndanielsncsu]

I bought my foam polishing pad from Home Depot (Milwaukee brand), 3M wool pad and adapter to fit the polisher you have from TCP Global (http://tcpglobal.amazonwebstore.com/). They were the best online price I could find on the 3M Super Buff pad and adapter after searching a bit.

[TRBenj]

Make sure your polisher is a random orbiter, or the swirl marks will come out! Foam is the only way to go!

I get all my detailing stuff at griots garage

www.griotsgarage.com

I completely disagree when working with gelcoat! Rotary is the way to go- you gotta be agressive and you dont have the worry of burning the paint. Ive found that wool (compound) and wool blend (polishing) pads work very nicely as well- the foam ones I use on my car just dont cut it on the boat.

You'll find great prices on product (3M) and pads (Lake Country) at http://smartshoppersinc.com/.

[DanielC]

More than one way to polish a boat. Orbital will work, but takes longer. If you are learning how to polish your boat, that may not be a bad thing.

[mndanielsncsu]

Here's what I use when polishing, waxing, etc...

[bchesley]

There is a reason professionals use rotary and not orbital. It works better hands down. I have tried every which way to buff/polish a boat over the past 12 years of ownership. Go find your local glass/gelcote repair man and find out where he buys his stuff localy.

[DanielC]

The reason professionals use rotary is because it helps them beat a flat rate.
I have, and use both. Each has there place.
Because of the aggressiveness of a rotary buffer, especially with a wool pad, you can very easily buff through gelcoat on corners, until you have some experience.
There are many good ways to polish a boat. This is not a case of I am right, and everybody else is wrong.

[Murphy_Smith]

properboatcare.com

They have both wool and foam and they are top notch.

[PHXSANTE]

my set up!

[Red57Bird]

Here's my set up :shock: Otherwise, why go through the expense and trouble of having kids?

[SANCasey]

I appreciate all the replies. I am finally getting around to this project this weekend... hopefully the heat will not do me in. Smart Shoppers is great to deal with. If you are in a pinch, Sherwin Williams Automotive has all the stuff as well, but they are considerably more expensive.

Quick Question:

If I am going to use a 3M compound, should I remove all the decals on the boat? the decals are in good shape for the most part, so my preference is to leave them alone, but I am not sure if that is feasible. Any body have any experience compounding around the decals or if I can go over top of them without damage?

Thanks,

Casey