| It is important to have the correct backing plate | | | | pad may be made of 100% wool or a blend of |
| and buffer pad. You should find a durable Velcro | | | | synthetic and wool or natural lamb's wool for |
| backing plate and Velcro foam pads and wool | | | | finishing purposes. The colors of the wool pads |
| pads. Look for a backing plate with holes in it to | | | | tend to vary from company to company, so |
| redistribute heat from the surface of the paint. | | | | disregard the color of the pad since it's only a |
| Another cool design is the three leaf clover design | | | | dye. The features that make a wool pad |
| which has great gripping power and cooling | | | | appropriate for different types of jobs are: |
| capabilities. | | | | Ply - Wool pads can be single ply, four ply, |
| Make sure to buy foam pads that correspond to | | | | whatever. Ply is the number of twists per strand |
| the holes on the backing plates. Look for a | | | | of yarn. The more twists the stronger and more |
| backing plate with a harder outer ring that is | | | | aggressive the pad becomes. |
| slightly beveled. This feature strengthens the plate | | | | Pile Height - This refers to how tall the yarn is. It |
| and allows flexibility when buffing on the exterior | | | | can range from 1 1/4" to 2". The shorter the |
| step ribs of the hull. | | | | height the less it gives and the more aggressive it |
| You will find that air circulation is much better on | | | | becomes. |
| these types of pads than on 'waffle' type pads | | | | Description - Ply and pile height are important |
| which tend to fling more product. This is wasteful | | | | factors to determine how aggressive a pad will be |
| and also makes a mess causing extra taping, | | | | but also the make-up of the type of wool is a |
| clean-up and a slight environmental situation if | | | | significant factor. As you get away from 100% |
| working on a boat in a slip. These pads have a | | | | wool to synthetic and from four ply to one ply |
| very 'tight' hook and loop system which can grab | | | | and increase height, the pad becomes softer and |
| the Velcro on the back of the pad too tightly. If | | | | better for producing a finer finish. |
| you are not careful, you will completely rip the felt | | | | Take good care of your finishing wool pads. Keep |
| back off the pad. This is why we recommend a | | | | them clean and use a spur tool to clean them not |
| backing plate that uses a looser or more spread | | | | a screwdriver. If you have synthetic wool pads |
| out design. | | | | you can wash them, but 100% wool pads will |
| Unlike cars, which have a 1 to 3 micron thick clear | | | | knot up and shrink. Four plys are the worst for |
| coat, a gel coat on a boat is 10 to 15 times | | | | this. Whenever possible or practical replace the |
| thicker and on more expensive boats as much as | | | | pads. Save old pads for the tug boats and things |
| twenty times thicker than the clear coat on cars. | | | | that are rough and might ruin a good pad. With |
| For this reason a wool pad is preferable unless | | | | foam pads, you can easily tell their aggressive |
| you are doing such light oxidation removal that | | | | nature by density. The more dense the more |
| you are simply trying to save hand motion. Double | | | | aggressive. Also, they have ratings. Parts per inch |
| sided wool and synthetic fiber pads work great as | | | | (PPI). Most range from 40 to 100 PP. The higher |
| well. They allow speedy change when you are on | | | | the number the softer they are. 40 to 50 PPI is |
| top of the boat and want to save time getting | | | | for swirls in clear coats of cars and light cuts. |
| off the boat to change the pad. Just flip it over | | | | Foam pads tend to stick and grip more than wool |
| and go. They also have the right flex to allow | | | | pads and can heat up quicker. At 1700 rpm's |
| proper buffing technique. S.M. Arnold is a place to | | | | foam pads tend to max out in temperature |
| get them. | | | | unless they have heat holes. Cleaning foam pads |
| Now there are a variety of wool pads to choose | | | | is simple. Use warm soapy water, spur tool, tooth |
| from. The jobs they perform best range from | | | | brush and wring them out to dry. Do not use real |
| heavy cutting and compounding to light cutting, | | | | hot water because it delaminates the glue on the |
| polishing and finishing. When finishing you may wish | | | | Velcro. |
| to switch to a foam pad. But if you feel | | | | Catalog for Pads |
| comfortable with it stay with the wool. The wool | | | | S. M. Arnold Inc. |