Dan, any chance you`ve written some of those in`s and outs? Why do you call them Hydro "Shreds" ?? 2nd time I see you say that. Do they work really fast, or something?
Aside from the PFW, I`ve ordered other LC pads including flats, HydroTechs, and Hybrids. Once I`m done with my move (next week) I`ll have time to start playing around with polishing again.
Amigo !
From their introduction, way, way, back, they would start to shred if used a lot and they got perhaps too hot, on a Rotary..
So, I gave them the new name..
I have a big cabinet full of all colors of flat pads and as pad technology improved, I found that with these L/C Hydro-Shreds, I could pretty much knock out anything with just the Cyan pad alone and still get great clarity and gloss from just the 1 pad...
You have to experiment with the compounds and polishes and find what works best for that paintwork in that temp and humidity, that day..
I have always preferred Menzerna over all the others because they work nicely and break down and are gone without a lot of issues... And it helps that they have been making these things for longer than anyone else, so they just might know by experiences what works best...
The only other company I have found that is newer and also works great is Optimum - their Hyper-Polish is especially nice and since it is non-diminishing, it will work until you decide to stop because the finish is at the level you want and the gloss is outstanding...
There are as you well know, a whole lot more new products out there and some older, very well established products already here.. Just try a few out and see what you and your machine, pads, and process relate to the best and keep at it until you decide you want to try something else..
I am just sharing with you what as worked really well on hundreds of vehicles over a decade, mostly German, some exotics, many American and Asian, a few British using the Cyan and sometimes Tangerine pads for correction...
To be fair though, they replaced the shredded ones for a long time, and by then, I just quit worrying about and refined my process to include this -
--- Keep the pad moist but not wet..
--- I spray a pad conditioner on it, rub it in a little with 1 finger to get it hopefully equal across the surface..
--- I keep just enough perhaps more than most, of the compound or polish on the pad so it doesn`t dry up too soon and stop the process it needs to finish cleaning and bringing back the gloss to the surface..
--- I initially use a lot of downward pressure on the Rotary to get all the things acquainted with each other and then as I am moving it across that spot, look at it and see how it is going... Is it clearing up and the finish is smooth and glossy? Stop there.. If not, continue on until the products are gone or almost gone..
--- For a Random Orbital, you need as much Pad Rotation as possible, so I would run it full speed and slow it down as the process cleans and polishes good.
--- For my Makita, I rarely use more than 1,000 - 1,200 rpm and prefer to stay on the low side, just use more pressure and let all the stuff work until it`s gone..
Good Luck !
Dan F
The posts are good and have info related to the OP.