Monkey Pads Cobb pads

[alazo1]

I just did some test on a few I got today from Cobb. Only got the 400 and 1500 grit. I wanted to try a 2 step process.

Ran the 400's and did cut the marble. Went straight to 1500 and it was pretty sad. Went back and cut it with 400 again then this time I put polish powder in the 1500 and got an ok shine out of it. Problem is the clarity sucked. You can't compare the abrasive they put in these vs diamond pads.

The other side of the test area I ran 400 grit diamonds and powder polish. Much better results.

Part of my garage floor before.

Slurry from Cobb pad at 400 grit

Slurry from diamond

Diamond abrasives. Machine is a regular buffer with 50lb weighted driver

After Left is Cobb pad, right is 400 grit diamond and powder polish

Albert

 

[Larry Cobb]

Albert;

I commend you for actually doing the testing on the diamond floor pads
vs. the rigid diamond disks.

The diamond floor pads require using the 800 grit floor pad for the clarity you are seeking.
Here is the clarity of a similar marble floor I did with 400, 800 and 1500 diamond floor pads:

The best system for marble polishing is the heavy metal diamond driver along with the rigid diamond discs.

It is however, more dependent on a perfectly flat floor to eliminate the "window pane effect".
(Notice the effect between the stones)

It also costs more for the rigid diamond discs (about $192 for each grit required).

Diamond floor pads are ~ $75 per grit required.

Our experienced stone refinishers use both the diamond floor pads, and the rigid diamond discs (we supply both systems).

Thanks again for taking the pictures to illustrate the procedures.

Larry

 

[alazo1]

Larry, you have some mad skills. No way could I get my garage to look like that after the 1500 monkey. The 1500 left the stone not only with poor clarity but a dull look and lack of shine. Running the 800's would have improved clarity but not shine.

No offense to you because I do respect your opinion but saying that monkey pads may be a better alternative because of cost is equal to selling a guy a buffer instead of truckmount. Also 3 diamond pads are needed not 6. Decent diamond pads run as little as $12.00 a piece.

Good news is that I found a good alternative to the monkeys.

I went back and redid both areas with the 400 monkey (cobb pad). This step again did an ok job of cutting the floor. Compared to diamond abrasives I would say it is equal to an 800 grit. This will take out some scratches in the stone. I added an extra 25 lb to the machine making it a total of about 175lb. One thing to note is this floor is totally flat (no lippage) so I don't know if this would have caused picture framing.

I then polished the floor with a powder polish. For this step I used Diaglo which is a fairly mild powder mixed with Craftsman 5x. Advantage, it won't burn the hell out of the floor like the original Monkey people say. I also used a Gorilla pad instead of the 1500. Gorilla pad is an aggresive horsehair that does a great job at polishing.

2 step process and the results were a crapload better and much faster. Even my snobby critical stone ass was somewhat impressed.

The video is of the floor after this process. It's hard to capture the results. Some on the right side of the floor still had some orange peeling. This was because the previous test I had used the powder with the 1500. It would have needed more then a monkey can do to smooth the surface.

In conclusion. Buy a 400 grit cobb pad. A gorilla pad from your janitorial store and some mild polishing powder. Practice polishing and you'll get better results then the 5 step monkey pad. The polish will probably last longer when powder polishing as well. This is because of the Belby layer. I really don't know much about the Belby layer other then it's a good thing. You can search it in dirtygrout. The late Maurizio Bertoli talked about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUyJ1vLiz0o

Albert

 

[Larry Cobb]

No offense to you because I do respect your opinion but saying that monkey pads may be a better alternative because of cost is equal to selling a guy a buffer instead of truckmount. Also 3 diamond pads are needed not 6. Decent diamond pads run as little as $12.00 a piece.

Good news is that I found a good alternative to the monkeys.

I went back and redid both areas with the 400 monkey (cobb pad). This step again did an ok job of cutting the floor. Compared to diamond abrasives I would say it is equal to an 800 grit. This will take out some scratches in the stone. I added an extra 25 lb to the machine making it a total of about 175lb. One thing to note is this floor is totally flat (no lippage) so I don't know if this would have caused picture framing.

I then polished the floor with a powder polish. For this step I used Diaglo which is a fairly mild powder mixed with Craftsman 5x. Advantage, it won't burn the hell out of the floor like the original Monkey people say. I also used a Gorilla pad instead of the 1500. Gorilla pad is an aggresive horsehair that does a great job at polishing.

Albert

I said in my post above that the rigid diamond discs ARE the best system for obtaining the best polish.
I do think you need better rigid diamond discs than the $12 ones.

I also like polishing powder systems with the Gorilla pad, but they require masking and have acid components to contend with.
It takes a little practice to achieve the best results.

There is a place for all 3 systems in stone polishing.

Larry