Pads ALCHIMY7

• Products: Pads in 6", 5" and 3".
• Manufacturers: ALCHIMY7.
• Packaging: Sold individually.

Description:

We already know ALCHIMY7 for the quality of its preparation products as well as for its polishes from the Correcta range (P1000, P3000, P7000).
Today, we will focus on the polishing foam range that the brand offers, with a fairly comprehensive lineup comprising 5 different levels of aggressiveness. The full range will allow users to tackle very deep defects at one extreme, all the way to applying machine-applied glazes/waxes at the other.

Presentation:

The Alchimy7 pad range comes in 3 standard sizes (6", 5" and 3") with 5 different colors to offer a wide and complete abrasiveness spectrum.




Note that the conical profile necessarily results in a different size between the base and the working face of the pad. For example, a 5" pad measures exactly 127mm at the base at the velcro side for attachment to the backing plate (edge to edge) and 140mm at the working face for correction.




The first thing to note is how easy it is to remove the pad from the backing plate — the velcro is much less aggressive than on models from RUPES or FLEXIPADS in particular, where with hard pads you tend to have to bend the pad to remove it while forcing against the foam. First good point.

Build quality is excellent, with a clean cut offering a slight peripheral chamfer to address body panel edges.
Also appreciated is the chamfered recess at the base, providing a safety margin so the backing plate does not come into contact with the bodywork in case of imbalance.

Furthermore, depending on the pad color, the foam ranges from soft to very hard, with a density comparable to that of RUPES on its models. For example, an Alchimy7 UH (grey) pad is the equivalent of a UHS from RUPES.





On the small 3" models, the slight outer chamfer is particularly appreciated, especially on concave shapes where you need to angle the machine slightly to polish correctly.



Finally, one last remark about the hardness of the "Hard Cutting" models such as the grey (UH) or even the green (UC): the difficulty always encountered when approaching very concave shapes such as 911 fenders. Indeed, the pads are not very flexible and the contact surface is limited to the two peripheral arcs, hence the absolute necessity of switching to a softer foam or switching to a smaller backing plate or smaller machine. This remark also applies to RUPES models (UHS or blue) or FLEXIPADS (White).
This improves with the blue H foam.





Comparison with the competition:

We chose to compare the Alchimy7 pads with what we consider to be the current references: RUPES and FLEXIPADS.

Regarding overall thickness, ALCHIMY7 and RUPES have made the same choice of approximately 25mm foam, whereas FLEXIPADS with their X-Slim models in particular have opted for a reduced foam to limit friction and provide a better feel of the surfaces. FLEXIPADS also offers thicker foams when needed.





Where the difference lies is mainly in the edge cut, with a wide chamfer for FLEXIPADS and a small-radius chamfer on ALCHIMY7. RUPES offers a clean conical cut with no notable chamfer. The latter allows addressing edges under better correction conditions, but in return, peripheral wear will occur very quickly and the slightest contact with an external relief will directly result in fraying of the foam and eventual destruction of the pad. ALCHIMY7, on the other hand, offers the ideal compromise with a chamfer — albeit a small one — to achieve correction without sacrificing the pad in case of error.



The comparison photo below gives a better sense of the benefit of such a cut, but it requires tilting the machine very slightly to feather the edges compared to RUPES pads, which allow flat correction right at the edge.



Second remark on the cutting angle of the pad offered by ALCHIMY7, which is much less open than the RUPES. As a result, a projected working surface of 140mm is obtained for a 5-inch ALCHIMY7, whereas exactly 146mm is obtained with RUPES. In the end, with this choice of a reduced surface — just like the FLEXIPADS X-Slim — more pressure is concentrated on the area and therefore better correction efficiency. Finally, the photo below also shows that the foam density of ALCHIMY7 is slightly higher than that of RUPES.





Pad/polish combinations for Alchimy7:

ALCHIMY7 offers 3 polishes (excluding Renov'7) in its Correcta range: the P1000 (Compound), the P3000 (Intensive) and the P7000 (Finishing). This choice of a limited but ultimately sufficient offering will allow for different combinations thanks to the 5 different pad colors available.

Indeed, in purely theoretical terms, hard pads are generally paired with compounds, intensive polishes with intermediate foams, and finishing polishes with soft foams. This would give:

- Pad UH (grey) / Pad UC (green) --> P1000

- Pad H (blue) / Pad M (white) --> P3000

- Pad UF (red) --> P7000

Note however that this list is not to be followed to the letter. Indeed, in certain cases, for example for heavy correction but with very curved shapes (typically the rear fenders of the 911) one may choose to use a Pad H (blue) with a P1000.
Conversely, for a "single step" approach such as "Car Staging", one may opt for a Pad M (white) with a P3000 in order to achieve a very good correction/finish ratio on a forgiving paint color.

You can therefore always mix intermediate choices, but never mix the extremes (hard pad with a finishing polish or finishing pad with a compound), otherwise you lose all effectiveness in terms of the final result sought (pure correction or pure finishing)...


Conclusion:



This presentation of the Alchimy7 pads already allows us to appreciate the build quality offered by the brand, with the best features visibly borrowed from current references while always offering a small improvement.
Worth noting is the quality of the velcro — neither too strong nor too soft — allowing efficient pad removal without twisting it.
The complete range will allow tackling the hardest clear coats thanks to the Hard foams (comparable to bricks such as the well-known white Menzerna pad).

Quality pads therefore — the durability of these pads compared to other references still needs to be tested, which will happen very soon...

Advantages
+ Perceived quality.
+ Velcro.
+ Complete range in terms of foam hardness.
+ Price compared to RUPES.


Disadvantages
- Durability to be verified.
- Price compared to FLEXIPADS.