Meguiar's wool pad vs Makita wool pad

[ShinyChevy]

About the same or is one more aggressive? Comments Mr. Stoops?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Meguiar's wool pad vs Makita wool pad

You know, I've never used the wool pad that came with my Makita as it's sort of an unknown quantity. I'd have to search a bit but it seems to me someone here has used it with good success, and even had some information on who makes it for Makita. One would assume, however, based on the construction of the pad and fibers that it's quite an aggressive pad - most likely fairly similar to our W4000.

Let me poke around here a bit to see if I can pull up that info.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Meguiar's wool pad vs Makita wool pad

OK, the thread in question is HERE but it may not be much help since there are conflicting reports from two highly reputable sources: Tim Lingor flat out calls the pad "junk" (with an apology for being blunt!) while Todd Helme says the 4 ply wool that comes with the Makita is very similar to the Shlegal pads, which he likes very much.

That thread also reminded me that I did, in fact, use the Makita supplied pad on the stainless cover of my BBQ.

[ShinyChevy]

Re: Meguiar's wool pad vs Makita wool pad

Hey Mike, thanks for the quick reply.

Yes, expert opinions are valuable, and very interesting when they disagree! In reading your cited post, it seems Todd and Tim may have been talking about two different pads as Tim points out. Also interesting what Todd said about the pad that comes w/ the PC.

In my experience, the Makita single side hook & loop pad I have (1" 4 ply strands, no PN on back, just the Makita logo) works fine, just like most name brand wool pads. Can't wait to try it on stainless steel!

Let me rephrase my question:

I'm working on a project that is going to require a wool pad: removing some really bad water (or maybe some kind of chemical) spots. My test spots have shown that #105 and a 7xxx foam cutting pad won't do it but #105 & the Makita pad will. In the interest of using the least aggressive technique that works I'm wondering if there might be a less aggressive wool pad available.

So the questions I should have asked are:

What would be Meg's least aggressive wool pad?

Would this pad be less aggressive (in your opinion) than a typical 1" 4 ply wool pad?

BTW, what makes one wool pad more aggressive than another?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Meguiar's wool pad vs Makita wool pad

The So1o yellow wool is our least aggressive wool pad, but it's not all that much more aggressive than the W7xxx foam pad when used under similar circumstances. These jumps in aggressiveness are not always huge and, since total cut can easily be altered up or down depending on pressure, speed, etc the differences can get really blurred at times.

If you know that M105/W7xxx foam isn't removing the defects but M105/Makita supplied wool pad is, then you should be fine staying with the Makita pad. If you have any doubts then do a little experimentation - can you remove the defects at a slower speed with the wool pad without putting in really severe holograms or hazing the paint horribly; does running at a slower speed leave the paint looking better, but not quite all the defects are gone? If so, then definitely stick with that pad, but feel free to increase the tool speed a bit.

As for what makes one wool pad more aggressive than another, it's things like the way the wool fibers are configured, number of strands per inch and a host of other variables. Same goes with foam pads since you can alter not only the cell density but also cell wall construction and other things. As always, there isn't just one or two little differences between grades of pad.

[ShinyChevy]

Re: Meguiar's wool pad vs Makita wool pad

Great info, thanks! I especially like the idea of varying the tool speed to dial in the amt. of cut.

So I'll stick with the Makita pad for this project. But sometime in the future I'll probably try the yellow So1o pad, just because I've never used one.

[BlackScreaminMachine]

Re: Meguiar's wool pad vs Makita wool pad

I have this same pad and I expect to use it for practice. When it comes to something like expensive paint and when using a tool, I tend to want that one that is consistant and considered "best" among it's peers. Having a Meg pad or something with in reason is important to me.