Nic,
Depends....
If you apply a lot of pressure with a 4000 Abralon pad you will have a different surface than OOB. Usually the 4000 OOB is a very quick touch of the 4000 pad to smooth the top of the peaks a bit...but not too much....
So a 4000 OOB would be stronger than a 4000 applied with a decent amount of pressure...as the peak and valleys would be greater than the 4000 with a lot of hand pressure..
Hope that makes sense..
--------------------
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.