in the old machine shop I worked in (E**ON) I remember we also had green and white (white was super fine I think). We also had brown pads that were stiffer and fairly co****....I remember one of the old Germans there used to call them "Bear-Tex" pads..... .
Red=scuffing primer areas that are hard to reach Gray=scuffing clear coated parts that are hard to reach (wheel lips on collision jobs) white=ultra fine (I've never had a use for them yet) Not sure how they convert to floor polishing, haven't done that yet either.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Commercial/Care/Products-Services/Product-Selector/ http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...K010I4TPNS203825_nid=BGZGD18SKFbeQR6D20MTVTgl
When I had my floor scrubber, I used black pads. They were the co**** ones, because I was scrubbing overspray from floor tile in my spray booth.
The white ones work good for cleaning overspray off of gl*** and chrome. Otherwise stick to the co**** red and fine gray.
The most agressive, of the "normally used" Scotchbrite pads, is the brown one........................Can't help on the florr scrubber part, as I gave up janitorial work LONG ago.....
I know that is what 3M says, but I don't buy it. Put a new grey scotch brite in one hand and a new piece of 600 sandpaper and tell me they are even close. To me a grey pad feels more like a 280-320.
Hey guys I am a 3M Rep here in Detroit. Thanks for the interest in our produsts. Here's how it breaks down 7445 (gold) =clear blend scuff pad= prep for blends, good for metallics and pearls, easy buff back, clear prep adhesion 7446 (maroon)= primer prep scuff = prepping e-coat on new panels,door jambs, underhhod, provides good primer adhesion 7448 (grey)= use for prep of colorcoat areas and easy blends ( i.e. non metallic, pearl ) provides optimum color prep adhesion I hope this helps- you can also check your paint companies P sheets to see what they reccomend. Also something to remember is with the new waterbased paints you should go up with your abrasive grades ( if you were sanding primer with 400 move up to 500 - 600 ) Thanks again for using 3M
I use the 2" and 3" scotchbrite discs and the colors to girt are as follows. Brown- Co**** (80-100grit) Red- Medium (180-220grit) Grey- Fine (280-320 grit) Blue- Very Fine. (400-600 grit)
FWIW, Sheet from Mercer Abrasives [made in England] that came with scuff pads I picked up from a swap meet vendor says: Light Green - Non abrasive for scouring and general maint White - Non abrasive for polishing and light cleaning Grey - Ultra fine silicone carbide abrasive for fine hand cleaning and finishing Maroon - Very fine aluminum oxide for basic cleaning and finishing Green - Fine aluminum oxide for removing rust or corrosion Black - Medium aluminum oxide for heavy duty cleaning or fast action finishing Tan - Co**** aluminum oxide for stainless steel aluminum and for stripping Ed
Red is for everyday dishes, green for pots & pans.......on a more serious note the green ones will scratch gl*** if used agressively, for real
I found maroon is best for taking a scratch out of flat clearcoat, still not perfect... Gray will give it sheen, green will leave scratches, is what I found.
Just like sdandpaper, the product dulls with use. But I agree, it starts ourt co****r than they claim. Although it shortens the useful life of the product, sometimes I dull Scotch-Brite on a piece of steel plate before using it.