Thinking about buying 4 inch FOCUS polishing kit

[diitto]

Hi... I have a new 2012 Corvette... Recently I discovered three small scratches side by side by side on the rear end just below the corvette emblem near the center of the back of the car... I'm pretty careful about belt buckles and the like near the trunk but my guess is I likely wasn't as careful as I thought at some point... Oh, and the scratches can't be felt with a fingernail so I don't think they're deep but certainly visible in the right light... Anyway, I tried some very light hand polishing with some Meguiar's polish (very fine). That didn't phases the scratches but it did manage (much to my chagrin) to sort of make the area around the three scratches brighter or shinier than the surrounding paint... Anyway, I've been watching Adam's videos and thinking about buying the Porter Cable 7424 and the green, orange, white polishing kit but because this is in an area that is sort of small and I don't really want to get into polishing an entire car I was thinking about buying the 4 inch kit rather than the larger 6 (or 6.5?) inch pads... One question is what exactly causes the pads (4 or 6 inch) to stick to the backing plate??? In the videos I see what appears to be velcro or something like that on the back of the pads themselves but I don't see such on the backing plates??? What makes them stick??? And second, is buying the 4 inch focus kit an ok thing to do for a small area (with the 7424 PC) or are there some added risks with using the 4 inch pads versus the larger 6 inch versions??? Above all I don't want to do any damage... Thoughts???? thanks... bob...

[JBlack151]

You should be able to get out those fine scratches with the 4" Focus Pads. I rarely use them on the PC except when I'm doing some corrections on my pillars. For the scratches I prefer to use the Focus Pads with a cordless drill (or you can use a corded). This provides more of a rotary action. I go thru the process with SSR, SHR and FMP.

 

And the backing plate is velcro to hold the pads on.

 

There is a video of Adam doing this process on the deck lid of a Corvette you can watch if you didn't see it.

 

[ame=

]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5-TCXvykK8&feature=player_embedded[/ame] Edited July 15, 2012 by JBlack151

[DaveVY]

Hi!

 

The 4" pads attach via velcro, here are a couple pics to show the backing plate and the back of a 4" pad (these pics are from the prior generation of backing plates and pads, Adam's released newer improved versions this year).

 

 

 

The 4" focus pads are perfect for working small areas like you mentioned. It will take some patience and practice to correct that on the vette as the vettes are known for having a very hard clear coat.

 

What John said above is absolutely correct. Using the 4" pads on a drill (so that you are using a rotary action instead of a DA) will make the scratch removal process much faster. Just be sure to watch the videos and keep the drill moving across the surface to avoid getting the paint too hot.

 

Don't be surprised if, once you get that small area corrected, you then want to get the larger pads to work on the rest of the car!

 

Though it may not seem like much of a difference between the 4" focus pads and the larger pads, when it comes to working the whole car, the 4" pads just won't be what you want to use.

 

Edited July 15, 2012 by DaveVY

[diitto]

Hi... Thanks for the help... I've seen a lot of the videos but I hadn't seen the one you embedded in your post... Thanks... I'm a total newbie so my thought was to start with the orbital polisher as it sounds like they are not prone to potentially overheating and burning paint where using a rotary tool (drill) has that potential...

 

What I haven't been able to see in the videos is the backing pad (either for the 6 3/4 pads or for the 4 inch) having anything on the surface that is velcro like...

 

But the picture you posted of a previous style certainly shows the velcro... So I'm assuming what you're telling me is if I buy the kit at this link,

 

Adam's FOCUS 4" Porter Cable Polishing Pad Kit

 

one of the two backing plates mentioned that comes with that kit,

 

Adam's FOCUS 4" Backing Plate

Adam's PC 4" FOCUS Pad Backing Plate

 

will fit right into the Porter Cable 7424 xp and that it will have some sort of velcro attachment that will allow me to just stick the green, orange or white pad right on it???

 

is that correct???/ And why two backing plates??? One appears to be for the Porter Cable polisher... Since that entire kit is meant for the PC, what is the other backing plate for???

 

thanks... bob...

[diitto]

Oh, and one other point... One of the videos added a tip that the 4 inch FOCUS set of pads, even when used on the Porter Cable orbital polisher (not on a rotary drill when it put up that tip) is an "aggressive polishing system"... Are the 4 inch pads any more "aggressive" when use on the PC than are the 6 3/4 inch pads??? Again, I'm a newbie and looking not to dive in at the deep end... Aren't the 4 inch pads in their respective colors the same as the large pads other than size??? Is there something about the smaller size that makes that system more "aggressive"???? thanks... bob...

[Chris@Adams]

Oh, and one other point... One of the videos added a tip that the 4 inch FOCUS set of pads, even when used on the Porter Cable orbital polisher (not on a rotary drill when it put up that tip) is an "aggressive polishing system"... Are the 4 inch pads any more "aggressive" when use on the PC than are the 6 3/4 inch pads??? Again, I'm a newbie and looking not to dive in at the deep end... Aren't the 4 inch pads in their respective colors the same as the large pads other than size??? Is there something about the smaller size that makes that system more "aggressive"???? thanks... bob...

The 4'' pads are the same foam as the larger PC & Flex pads.

The 4'' pads used on a PC or drill are not more aggressive, they just concentrate more on one area, you can zone in and put more pressure and pin point your problem spot. I hope this makes sense.

[LDM]

They're more aggressive because the machine is converting the same amount of work onto a smaller surface area. This is why it's usually recommended to run the 4" pads at a lower speed with the PC than you would with the large pads.

 

If you buy that kit you linked to, it will come with ONE backing plate that works with the PC. The description is a typo left over from when they had only one style of backing plate with two adapters. If you look at the picture, that's what you get.

 

 

And I'm not sure where it is that you aren't seeing the velcro, but all the backing plates have it. Everything Adam's sells as part of their system is designed to work together.

[diitto]

They're more aggressive because the machine is converting the same amount of work onto a smaller surface area. This is why it's usually recommended to run the 4" pads at a lower speed with the PC than you would with the large pads.

 

If you buy that kit you linked to, it will come with ONE backing plate that works with the PC. The description is a typo left over from when they had only one style of backing plate with two adapters. If you look at the picture, that's what you get.

 

 

And I'm not sure where it is that you aren't seeing the velcro, but all the backing plates have it. Everything Adam's sells as part of their system is designed to work together.

 

 

Got it... And one last question, will that PC backing plate fit into a rotary drill if I ever decide to try the drill approach or will I then need to also buy the rotary drill backing plate at some later time??? I appreciate the help... thanks... bob..

[LDM]

If you but the kit now, you'll have to buy a separate backing plate for the drill. They recently changed from one plate with two threaded adapters that you switched out for either the PC or drill, to now where they have two separate backing plates with fixed adapters. This was supposedly done to make things easier but now you have to buy an extra piece.

[LDM]

And just for visuals of what I'm talking about, this is what they used to sell which is no longer available. Maybe some Adam's dealers might still have them.

 

 

If you order direct from Adam's now you get either this for the PC:

 

or this for the drill, depending on what you buy:

[diitto]

Got it... Thanks for the pictures... That helps a lot... I just bought the 4 inch kit for the Porter Cable and I bought the Porter Cable itself locally earlier today... I will start with that and if I decide I need to take the next step up to the drill (which I hope I don't cause I am paranoid about doing more harm than good) I will place a second order for the drill back plate and will just have to pay a second shipping charge...

 

Thanks for the help... And the pictures were great... bob...

[slicksierra]

why does Adams say the kit it for cordless drills? Are there any advantages to cordless besides well... the cord. My truck needs this kit bad but I dont have the cash for a good cordless drill. Can I use corded? Any suggestions?

[LDM]

It works fine with corded drills. I think it just says cordless because that's what a lot of people have. I've used it with both. Once I was polishing some pretty trashed wheels with it and the cordless drill just kept chewing through batteries so I switched to my corded DeWalt.

[DaveVY]

why does Adams say the kit it for cordless drills? Are there any advantages to cordless besides well... the cord. My truck needs this kit bad but I dont have the cash for a good cordless drill. Can I use corded? Any suggestions?

 

I use a corded drill with mine - no issues or problems

[Rightushook]

Is the any reason why you couldn't use the 4inch pads to polish a car entirely? I hear they are easier to work with and vibrate less than standard size pads. I noticed especially when I polish near bumps that the PC want's to wander over to the bump even though I'm not on it. Makes it hard to polish the bed of the truck cause it wobbles.

[camaro2ssblack]

It would take forever man, and they would clog up and tear up by the end of the job. I would not recommend it. Use them often around the tight spots but the large pads make short work of the open flat surfaces. What part of Tennessee?

[b_pappy]

I have several of the older kits in stock with both adapters if you are interested. They work great for small areas like you are talking about. To be honest though, I have never used the 4" kits on the PC, only a drill. Just work careful, keep it moving to avoid heat build up.

Bruce

Bruce4Adams(at)hotmail(dot)com

[Rightushook]

It would take forever man, and they would clog up and tear up by the end of the job. I would not recommend it. Use them often around the tight spots but the large pads make short work of the open flat surfaces. What part of Tennessee?

 

Smyrna TN. I don't know what it is, but I can't seem to use it to for to long as it causes my arm to go completely numb. I can get a few sections done at one time but have to take a break from it. I though maybe if I purchased the 4inch pad and 4 speed that it would cause less numbing due to the lower speed.

 

Thanks you for helping though.