3D Pad System – Keeping it simple…



One of the most confusing topics when you’re first getting into machine polishing is trying to figure out which pads to buy? There are hundreds of different types of pads, sizes of pads, colors of pads and even shapes of pads. Here at 3D we keep it simple. For most people and most detailing projects, you only need access to 3 different types of pads,

Cutting – This is our dark purple foam pad.
Polishing – This is our light purple foam pad.
Finishing – This is our black foam pad.

Get maximum polishing efficiency with 3D’s spider-cut design 6.5” foam pads
Some people think foam is foam, but this is simply not true. There’s a lot of chemistry and physics that go into the design of a quality foam pad. 3D’s quality foam buffing pads use the latest in foam chemistry to create pads that simply outperform the competition.

Foam Chemistry
Different chemicals can be added to a foam formula to make foam react differently under time, heat, and pressure and exposure to liquids or chemicals. Simple, non-descript foam pads cost less and that’s because they do less. Cheap pads also don’t last as long.

Unique foam structure
Run your hand over the face of a clean, dry 3D 6.5” light purple spider-cut medium polishing pad and you will feel the mild but crisp texture of the foam. This pad starts out a tick on the firm side but as soon as you start to use it the foam texture softens just a little for the perfect balance of light cutting, polishing, and even finishing depending upon the product you’re using and the hardness or softness of the paint you’re polishing.

Pad design
The slotted spider-cuts across the face of our foam polishing pad flex when spinning against the surface, this increases their surface area, which increases their polishing ability for faster refining of the surface and finishing swirl-free and show car quality.

Product trapping
The spider-cut structure flexes to open up when buffing allowing the polish powders or abrasives to migrate in-between the spider-cuts trapping them in the pad for extended work time and more efficient polishing and refining of the surface. As you’re buffing, the abrasives have greater contact against the surface for a more efficient polishing-effect.

Longer lasting
The open-cell design also offers great tensile strength as compared to closed-cell foam pads and this means they are more tear-resistant and thus last longer.

Cooler buffing temperatures
The slotted spider-cuts across the face of the pad flex as you buff allowing better air movement over and through the pad for improved heat transfer from the pad to the air. This helps keep surface temperatures lower and helps to prevent the face of the pad from bowling-in.

Excellent polishing range
3D’s 6.5” light purple spider-cut medium polishing pads are versatile because they offer light cutting, medium polishing and even fine finishing simply by changing the product. To get light cutting use with 3D compounds or 3D’s unique 505 Correction Glaze. For normal polishing on any paint or final polishing on harder paints, use with 3D’s 502, 510, ONE or SPEED. See? Very versatile!

Best value
These pads offer a great range of polishing options, and the foam is extra durable. 3D’s buffing pads don’t cost more money, they make you more money.

Versatile
Our 6.5” light purple spider-cut medium polishing pads work great on any type of polisher including rotary polishers, long stroke polishers, short stroke polishers, free spinning polishers, and gear-driven polishers.

3D Foam Pads are made to last and get the job done.

What is it?
High performance foam polishing pad for use with rotary and orbital polishers.

What does it do?
When used with 3D compounds, polishes, glazes and AIOs, these foam polishing pads can remove a wide range of defects or refine and maximize gloss and clarity.

When do you use it?
Typically foam polishing pads are the workhorse of the paint correction industry. When doing multiple step paint correction, a polishing pad is used as the second step after a more aggressive step, for example after the compounding step when removing sanding marks or after the compounding step when detailing severely neglected car. The 3D 6.5” light purple spider-cut medium polishing pad is also perfect for doing one-step correction with 3D AAT 505 Correction Glaze or SPEED. This polishing pad is also a perfect match when using 3D ONE.

Why use 3D’s 6.5” Light Purple Spider-Cut Medium Polishing pads over other options?
All the foam used to create 3D’s foam pads is of the highest quality. Cheap foam buffing pads don’t last long because the foam tears-up or bowls inward when exposed to high temperatures from heavy compounding. 3D’s foam buffing pads use advanced foam chemistry where the foam is modified and tuned for specific functions like durability, heat and chemical resistance, sustained cell wall structure under extreme work loads for more uniform polishing performance from start to finish.

How To Use:

Always work on a cool clean surface in the shade.

Step 1: Attach and center pad onto backing plate. Using compressed air or a pad cleaning brush, ensure the face of the pad is clean and free from any contaminants.

Professional Technique Tips

Switch to fresh, clean dry pads often

While foam buffing pads can offer excellent cutting, polishing and finish compared to fiber pads, it is the nature of foam to absorb liquids. This means as you’re working around a car, each time you add fresh product to the pad and then buff – a portion of the liquid in the product you’re using migrates to the inside of the foam pad. Within a few panels, the pad will become wet or saturated with product. This means it will also become heavier then when it was clean and dry.

When buffing with any tool and foam pads, you will work faster and more efficiently if you switch to a clean, dry foam pad often. For example, buff two panels, say the roof and the trunk lid and then switch to a clean dry pad before moving onto the hood. Same for the vertical sides. Buff a front fender and a door and the switch to a fresh, clean, dry pad.

Not only will you work faster because dry foam is more effective than wet foam, but your results will be better and more consistent from panel to panel and as a bonus – your pads will last longer over time.

When it comes to buffing with foam pads – more pads are better.

Clean your pads often

Let me share an analogy to make a point.

When you’re buffing anything out, car, truck, rv, motorcycle, boat, etc. After you buff a section, don’t you then take a microfiber towel and wipe off the residue on this section? Of course you do.

This residue you wipe off is a combination of the product you’re using, for example a compound or a polish plus particles of the surface you’re buffing as the surface is being abraded – thus you’re removing tiny particles of it. This is what is inside the residue you’re wiping off.

Now think about it… this same residue is on the face of your buffing pad. You NEED to clean this residue off the face of the buffing pad for the same reason you wipe the residue off the surface of the area just buffed.

This is called, working clean.

Then when you add fresh product to the pad, you’ll get maximum product and pad performance. You can work faster and get better, more uniform, and more consistent results – especially if you’re also changing to fresh pads often.

If you don’t clean your pad after buffing a section, when you add fresh product to the residue encrusted face of the pad you pollute it and dilute it. That is you mix fresh product with tainted residue thus polluting the fresh product. You also dilute the fresh product because now its going to mix with the spent product and the abraded surface particles. It’s truly working backwards as well as working harder instead of smarter.

Gummy residue
If you don’t clean your pad often and instead add fresh product to the face of a buffing pad with spent product and removed paint on it and then buff – the resulting residue on the surface will be more gummy and more difficult to wipe off. This will tire you out, require more microfiber towels and worse yet, you risk re-introducing swirls, scratches and marring to the surface you just perfected because now you’re fighting the product residue off the surface.

Work like a professional and you become a professional
Professionals are people that know more than newbies and they practice professional techniques as they work. Clean your pad often and switch to clean, dry pads often and you’ll be a professional. You’ll get better results faster with less work and your results will be more consistent over all the surfaces of whatever it is you’re buffing out.

QUICK VIEW:

• This is 3D’s most versatile foam pad. It can be used for light cutting, polishing, and even finishing depending on product choice and paint.
• Spider-cut design offers increased surface area for maximum polishing performance.
• Spider-cut design holds polishes onto pad surface for maximum polishing efficiency.
• Spider-cut design buffs cooler than conventional flat pads.
• Open cell foam means higher tensile strength than closed cell foam, this means these pads lasts longer.
• Use with 3D compounds, polishes, glazes and AIOs
• Use with rotary and orbital polishers – Fits 3” backing plates
• For removing swirls, scratches, oxidation, and water spots or refining the results from an aggressive compounding process to maximize gloss and clarity.