3M scouring pads

[Kez]

I have a few 3M red and green scouring pads that I bought from a painting supply store may years ago. While prepping a fiberglass hull for painting, I decided to give them a try. They did a good job in knocking off the gloss from the gel coat. Unlike sandpaper, they do not clog up when I used it on painted or primered surfaces. One thing it will not do is if you want to level or contour some filler. But for roughing up the surface, it seems to be doing a good job.

Are these pads good substitues for sandpapers? Any downside that I am not aware of?

kez

 

[LarryConrad]

You used them in exactly the manner they were intended to be used for in painting and refinishing...To scuff the surface, hence the nick name "scuff pad".

 

[68Bud]

I have a few 3M red and green scouring pads that I bought from a painting supply store may years ago. While prepping a fiberglass hull for painting, I decided to give them a try. They did a good job in knocking off the gloss from the gel coat. Unlike sandpaper, they do not clog up when I used it on painted or primered surfaces. One thing it will not do is if you want to level or contour some filler. But for roughing up the surface, it seems to be doing a good job.

Are these pads good substitues for sandpapers? Any downside that I am not aware of?

kez

Hey Kez, 3M scuff pads are awesome and there is virtually no downside what so ever! You can even wetsand with them! It is the only way to fly when you want to knock the shine off of a paint job before clear coat! Just be sure and use a tack cloth....little "hairs" from the pads will hide and show up in the weirdest places.

 

[Rudy Formanek]

At one time Bob Violet recommended taking the shine off his epoxy-glass fiberglass parts with Scochbrite pads. He recommended it to people wanting to expose less pinholes when prepping for painting. I tried this on a Phil Thomas Sp-40 epoxy-glass build. I was not satisfied with the result because during a high speed stuff, the epoxy-glass flexed and a large hunk of paint came off. Needless to say, I no longer Scotchbrite my epoxy-glass, I now fully sand my epoxy-glass to fully remove the shine and just have to deal with the pinholes.

 

[brad nichols]

It does not hurt to use a wax and grease remover on new glass parts as the moulds are waxed for releasing parts.

 

[moparbarn]

Yes, always clean before sanding. old or new, you take the chance of sanding any surface contamination into the part, not off of it. then clean again after sanding. your primer & paint will grip much better with a properly prepped surface.

 

[Adam Piotrowski]

It depends on the Quality you want from your paint job and How you intend to Paint it. If you plan to Spray Bomb it or even Single Stage it and aren't Real concerned with Fine Finish, or Best Adhesion then using a scuff pad to scuff the entire surface Will Work. BUT on Flexible parts it will Release the paint when the part flexes. It will also release if the part expands and contract a lot from siting in the sun. If your using a 2 or 3 stage paint system with Metal Flake, Mica, or Pearl you will often See the scratches from scuff pads because the Flake, Mica, Pearl tends to gather to the fine ridges like their drawn there by a magnet.

For Best Finish and Adhesion you cant beat Sanding. If your prepping the hull for Primer you should definitely finish with Sanding it, Just scuffing doesn't allow the primer which is thicker than most paints to get the "Bite" needed to feather edges Smooth.

Personally the only time I use scuff pads are for Preliminary Cleaning the area with Comet and a Scuff Pad, and going over hard to sand Edges, But I'm anal like that, 17yr in paint and body (the last 10 on Benz's), made me That Way.