Foam pad RPM?

[dukess396]

Is there a rule of thumb regarding buffing/polishing speed using a foam pad?

 

[RodMan]

Depends what product your using and how fresh the paint is. I generally start about 1000 rpm and go up or down from there.

 

[crashtech]

around 1500 here, give or take a few hundred.

 

[jcclark]

I use 1700 to 1800 for cutting,
a little faster for final polishing.

 

[Deleted member 7]

Remember foam pads need less rpm to generate the heat they need to do the work than their wool counterparts

 

[Jim C]

Remember foam pads need less rpm to generate the heat they need to do the work than their wool counterparts

thants right. compounding foam generates more heat than polishing foam or wool so generally they run slow. i will usually compound at about 1400 and polish slightly slower say around 1200

 

[540goat]

My buffer goes from 1000 to 3000 rpms. The numbers on the dial go from 1 to 6. One is almost just turning. How would I determine rpm. 500 per number on the dial. It is a Coleman buffer.

 

[Bob Hollinshead]

1000-3000rpms no load, start in the middle- speed 3 or 4 and I bet that will be close to optimum.