Dr_Pain
Certified Finest Installer
Since joining the Finest team I've been talking with Corey (@CarPro)about the latest and greatest (in a quest to improve my skills and my arsenal), and shared with him one of the biggest limitations I had which is that I am NOTORIOUSLY tough on my polishing pads, especially when doing a heavier correction. He hinted at the fact that CarPro was coming out with a "Flash Pad" which would be a "game changer" in the world of heavy correction. Let's say that I was excited. He described a dense compressible foam pad, which could stand to the kind of abuse I would throw at it. I do have to mentioned that I've destroyed many foam pads due to overheating and overpressuring, so this left me a little weary. My current go-to for heavier correction which does not require wool is the Megs MF cutting pad, but I've destroyed a few of those as well due to overheating (long work time and pressure). The heat would basically destroy the glue holding the velcro to the pad. He offered to send my a 3.5" pad to try, and I've never refused a freebie.
The product in question is:
CarPro Flash Pad 6 1/4"
CarPro Flash Pad 3 1/2"
P.S. Corey did send me the 3 1/2" but decided to buy the 6 1/4" for an honest review (where I would use it on large flat panels, curved panels, small sections etc...
The subject: 2003 50th Anniversary Corvette Z06..... a SWIRLED mess!
Polisher: Flex 3401 w/ 6 1/4"; GG6 w/ 3 1/2"
Compound: Wolfgang Uber Compound and Menzerna FG400
Process: Flex speed 5, slow arm speed, moderate pressure x 4 passes; GG6 speed 5-6, slow arm speed, heavy pressure (pad still rotating) x 6 passes.
P.S. The GG6 was used on all tight areas (including the scoop, rear valance and mirrors).
The results:
The paint was relatively hard and finished down nicely. I could have called it a day on a one-step correct and the owner would not have known unless looking under high intensity LEDs (and knowing was he was looking for but a polishing step was necessary to "refine" the paint. Comparing this system to the MF cutting pad, I would give this Flash Pad the winning edge. I initially did a test to see how badly the pad would heat up if I were to take a larger section or if I applied a lot of pressure and the Flash Pad passes the torture test in both case. The pad is SUPER firm and does need a little time to break in but this is a small set back for a great pad. I purposefully only used 1 pad (or each) to see if it would get clogged (and lose its cutting edge) but everytime I took the pad off the paint to reload, inspect and wipedown I was surprised how easy it was to spin it with a pad brush and get back on task. I would not advocate only using one pad because it did require a little more work to get the pad clean enough later in the compounding but was able to use the one pad for this large swirl mess. The pad did not collapse on me, it did not get so clogged that it would not correct anymore, the velcro backing did not overheat and fail. I was going for a catastrophic torture test and found my new best friend!!!! For those interested in the pad, I would say that 4 and 2 pads (6 1/4 and 3 1/2 respectively) would have been my game plan for this car. I haven't cleaned them yet, so I can't report on how easy or hard they are to clean, but I will be glad to update.
P.S. As you can see, this vette has a tinted clean, so there is no way to hide how well the residue will clean off the pad.
The Results!!
Thanks for watching!
The product in question is:
CarPro Flash Pad 6 1/4"
CarPro Flash Pad 3 1/2"
P.S. Corey did send me the 3 1/2" but decided to buy the 6 1/4" for an honest review (where I would use it on large flat panels, curved panels, small sections etc...
The subject: 2003 50th Anniversary Corvette Z06..... a SWIRLED mess!
Polisher: Flex 3401 w/ 6 1/4"; GG6 w/ 3 1/2"
Compound: Wolfgang Uber Compound and Menzerna FG400
Process: Flex speed 5, slow arm speed, moderate pressure x 4 passes; GG6 speed 5-6, slow arm speed, heavy pressure (pad still rotating) x 6 passes.
P.S. The GG6 was used on all tight areas (including the scoop, rear valance and mirrors).
The results:
The paint was relatively hard and finished down nicely. I could have called it a day on a one-step correct and the owner would not have known unless looking under high intensity LEDs (and knowing was he was looking for but a polishing step was necessary to "refine" the paint. Comparing this system to the MF cutting pad, I would give this Flash Pad the winning edge. I initially did a test to see how badly the pad would heat up if I were to take a larger section or if I applied a lot of pressure and the Flash Pad passes the torture test in both case. The pad is SUPER firm and does need a little time to break in but this is a small set back for a great pad. I purposefully only used 1 pad (or each) to see if it would get clogged (and lose its cutting edge) but everytime I took the pad off the paint to reload, inspect and wipedown I was surprised how easy it was to spin it with a pad brush and get back on task. I would not advocate only using one pad because it did require a little more work to get the pad clean enough later in the compounding but was able to use the one pad for this large swirl mess. The pad did not collapse on me, it did not get so clogged that it would not correct anymore, the velcro backing did not overheat and fail. I was going for a catastrophic torture test and found my new best friend!!!! For those interested in the pad, I would say that 4 and 2 pads (6 1/4 and 3 1/2 respectively) would have been my game plan for this car. I haven't cleaned them yet, so I can't report on how easy or hard they are to clean, but I will be glad to update.
P.S. As you can see, this vette has a tinted clean, so there is no way to hide how well the residue will clean off the pad.
The Results!!
Thanks for watching!
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