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What makes a wool pad more or less aggressive?
During the development process of our new wool pads, the first big dilemma Rupes had to face was: Which is best: natural or synthetic wool?
To come to a decision, there were many elements to take into consideration, since both solutions have pros and cons, and therefore any decision can have undesired side effects. Synthetic fibres (usually acrylics) have one big advantage: since they are made in a laboratory, their nature, structure and behaviour are completely predictable. We are aware of its structure, and that it will always be the same, in both the production batch and from one batch to the other. This is not valid for wool pads, since being a natural material, its microscopical nature will always be inconsistent and to a certain extent, unpredictable.
A 200x magnified image of the wool fibre of our yellow medium pad.
Why use natural wool then? The answer is quite simple, and is linked to the surface of the material, the fibre structure. Natural wool has some irregularities on the surface, that are called cuticles, while a synthetic fibre is perfectly smooth, and today it is not possible to duplicate those cuticles in an artificial material. The cuticles of natural wool help the pad cut more, since their presence makes the surface microscopically rawer and more aggressive. In a Rupes wool pad, most of the material is natural, mixed with a part of synthetic acrylic to make the pad smoother and prevent an excessive pad drag that would make the job of polishing too difficult.
A 200x magnified image of the wool fibre of our blue coarse pad.
Another factor that can be modified to adjust the cutting power of a wool pad is the woven string. The more the single fibre is woven, the more of a cut you will achieve. Particularly for a wool pad dedicated to random orbital polishing, weaving is important because the stress that the pad receives, due to the presence of continuous change in direction of the movement is very high. In order to prevent a short durability 200x magnified image of wool fiber of the pad and too much linting, it is important to have an optimal and accurate weave and connection between fibres and substrate. When manufacturing wool pads for rotary polishing, the structure is simpler because the movement is more constant and consistent, since it always occurs in the same direction.
The third variable is thread length. A longer thread provides less cut, because it creates a thick cushion that reduces the friction between fibre and paint. Shorter threads instead tend to stay more erect, vertical and in this way, their action on the surface is faster and more intense. This element is similar to a carpet, when a carpet has thicker depth of fibres, it is softer and gentler to our feet, whilst when it is thin it feels rougher.
Rupes wool pads are the result of a long engineering process that have considered these factors and other variables, to give to our customers the state of the art technology and the best possible results.
What makes a wool pad more or less aggressive?
During the development process of our new wool pads, the first big dilemma Rupes had to face was: Which is best: natural or synthetic wool?
To come to a decision, there were many elements to take into consideration, since both solutions have pros and cons, and therefore any decision can have undesired side effects. Synthetic fibres (usually acrylics) have one big advantage: since they are made in a laboratory, their nature, structure and behaviour are completely predictable. We are aware of its structure, and that it will always be the same, in both the production batch and from one batch to the other. This is not valid for wool pads, since being a natural material, its microscopical nature will always be inconsistent and to a certain extent, unpredictable.
A 200x magnified image of the wool fibre of our yellow medium pad.
Why use natural wool then? The answer is quite simple, and is linked to the surface of the material, the fibre structure. Natural wool has some irregularities on the surface, that are called cuticles, while a synthetic fibre is perfectly smooth, and today it is not possible to duplicate those cuticles in an artificial material. The cuticles of natural wool help the pad cut more, since their presence makes the surface microscopically rawer and more aggressive. In a Rupes wool pad, most of the material is natural, mixed with a part of synthetic acrylic to make the pad smoother and prevent an excessive pad drag that would make the job of polishing too difficult.
A 200x magnified image of the wool fibre of our blue coarse pad.
Another factor that can be modified to adjust the cutting power of a wool pad is the woven string. The more the single fibre is woven, the more of a cut you will achieve. Particularly for a wool pad dedicated to random orbital polishing, weaving is important because the stress that the pad receives, due to the presence of continuous change in direction of the movement is very high. In order to prevent a short durability 200x magnified image of wool fiber of the pad and too much linting, it is important to have an optimal and accurate weave and connection between fibres and substrate. When manufacturing wool pads for rotary polishing, the structure is simpler because the movement is more constant and consistent, since it always occurs in the same direction.
The third variable is thread length. A longer thread provides less cut, because it creates a thick cushion that reduces the friction between fibre and paint. Shorter threads instead tend to stay more erect, vertical and in this way, their action on the surface is faster and more intense. This element is similar to a carpet, when a carpet has thicker depth of fibres, it is softer and gentler to our feet, whilst when it is thin it feels rougher.
Rupes wool pads are the result of a long engineering process that have considered these factors and other variables, to give to our customers the state of the art technology and the best possible results.
