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 paint correction efficiency with 3D’s spider-cut design 5.5” 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, pressure and exposure to liquids or chemicals. Simple, non-descript foam pads cost less and that’s because they do less.

Sharp Foam Structure
Run your hand over the face of a clean, dry 3D 5.5” dark purple spider-cut foam cutting pad and you can feel the sharpness of the foam. This pad has a sharp, coarse foam structure, which is what you want when you need to remove defects quickly.

Pad Design
The slotted spider-cuts across the face of our foam cutting pad flex when spinning against the surface, this increases their surface area, which increases their cutting ability for faster defect removal.

Product Trapping
The spider-cut structure flexes to open up when buffing allowing the compound powders or abrasives to migrate in-between the spider-cuts trapping them for extended work time and more efficient paint correction. As you’re buffing, the abrasives have greater contact against the surface for more efficient defect removal.

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.

Fast Cutting
3D’s aggressive 5.5” dark purple spider-cut foam cutting pads cut fast and because the pad material is foam and not fibers, they leave a nicer finish. Fiber pads like our wool cutting pads will cut faster than any brand of foam cutting pad, this is the upside or benefit to a fiber pad. The downside is anytime you cut with a fiber pad, (any brand), the same feature that provides increased cutting, which is individual fibers cutting into the paint surface, also leaves deeper marring of the surface. If you don’t need the most aggressive wool cutting pads for your project, then 3D’s 5.5” dark purple spider-cut foam cutting pads cut fast while leaving a nicer finish.

Best Value
These pads cut better, cut more efficiently, cut cooler and last longer. 3D’s buffing pads don’t cost more money, they make you more money.

Versatile
Our 5.5” dark purple spider-cut foam cutting 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 cutting pad for use with rotary and orbital polishers.

What does it do?
When used with 3D compounds and polishes, these foam cutting pads remove defects in paint like swirls, scratches, water spots, oxidation.

When do you use it?
Typically foam cutting pads are the first paint correction step after the normal steps of washing, drying, and claying the paint. Foam cutting pads are used to remove the deepest and most severe paint defects followed by the polishing step where a less aggressive pad and product are used.

Why use 3D’s 5.5” Dark Purple Spider-Cut Foam Cutting pads over other options?
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 cutting performance from start to finish.