I'm gonna go nuts trying to figure out which pads to get!! HELP!!! :)

B

bast525

New member
Ok... so here I am almost three weeks since buying my Porter Cable, and I haven't done ANY correction on my car yet as I still have not been able to figure out what pads I need!! So a week ago I ordered some Meguiar's 7" Soft Buff Yellow pads to go with the 6" backing plate that came with the PC, based on a discussion I had with a Meg's employee, who recommended using the 7" yellow pads with Ultimate Compound and then finishing with the yellow pad and Swirl X (both of which I also purchased).



Then everyone here pretty much agreed that 7" is way too much pad and I need to go with something smaller. Well... much as I do like Meg's products and their pads seem very nice (raised lip around edge for easy centering, and can be machine washed), their next smallest pad is a 4" pad. If they made this pad in a 5.5" this post wouldn't even be necessary... but alas....



Anyways, the car is a 2007 Mazda 3, red, with light swirls and light water spotting. I will be sticking with the Meg's Swirl X and Ultimate Compound, and I will be waxing by hand. Ok THESE are the selections I have narrowed it down to, in order of preference, if I can please reach some kind of consensus/majority vote so I can finally place an order and actually get some work done on my car?!



- 4" Meguiar's Soft Buff Yellow 2.0 on 3.5" Lake Country flexible backing plate (again, I do really like these pads, and if you guys think I should go with a 4", I'm thinking these are the way to go)

- 5.5" Uber Green Polishing and/or Blue Final Polish pads from Detailer's Domain on a 5" Lake Country flexible backing plate (can also get these in 4" and use with the 3.5" backing plate)

- 5.5" Lake Country Hydro-Tech Tangerine Ultra Polishing pad, CCS orange pad, or flat orange pad on 5" LC backing plate (can also get these in 4" and use with the 3.5" backing plate)

- 5" Meguiar's Micro-fiber cutting pad (the Meg's employee recommended very strongly to NOT get these unless I get their complete MF system, which I'm not going to do, but I see a few people here saying the MF cutting pads alone worked great on a 5" backing plate on a PC DA with Meg's 105 or something similar)



I am a little leery of the LC pads as some people here said they got some bad ones recently, but if you guys think I'd have nothing to worry about, I know they *used* to be THE way to go. So anyways, there's my list, and these are what I want to select from, either ordering from Autogeek or Detailers Domain. I'd really like to order from Autogeek as I've ordered with them in the past and had great experiences. I just need a final vote so I can get these puppies ordered and get my car looking great again!
 
I've read that name around here a few times too. I guess I'm in my comfort zone with trying to limit my choice of stores here.... I had a great experience with Autogeek and would like to order from them again if possible.
 
bast525- I wouldn't *expect* to need the Meg's MF cutting pad for that paint; I'd plan to do the serious correction with 4" cutting pads (either Meguiar's or something from Cyclo Toolmakers ).



You could probably use a (milder) 5.5" pad for the final polishing.



If you do think you need the MF pads, people I trust say they work fine with other non-diminishing abrasive products.
 
I'm strongly considering taking my chances with Lake Country and going with the Hydro Tech tangerine pads
 
bast525 said:
I'm strongly considering taking my chances with Lake Country and going with the Hydro Tech tangerine pads
Click to expand...



For what, the final polishing? Which size(s)? I wouldn't want to try the aggressive correction with those, at least not in the larger sizes. THey'd probably be a good choice for the milder work though.
 
Accumulator said:
For what, the final polishing? Which size(s)? I wouldn't want to try the aggressive correction with those, at least not in the larger sizes. THey'd probably be a good choice for the milder work though.
Click to expand...



I was hoping I could use the 5.5" tangerine pads as sort of a one step pad. Since I only need very minor correction, I figured the tangerine and Ultimate Compound followed buy either swirl x or ultimate polish, then wax by hand. Should I step up to the blue cutting pad with ultimate compound for light swirl and water spot removal, then tangerine and swirl x/ultimate polish? Or can I get away with the tangerine for light correction AND achieve a good finish with them?



Edit: if I go with the hydro-techs, would it be better to go with the 7/8" "low profile" pads, or the 1 1/4" standard thickness pads?
 
bast525 said:
I was hoping I could use the 5.5" tangerine pads as sort of a one step pad. ... Should I step up to the blue cutting pad with ultimate compound for light swirl and water spot removal, then tangerine and swirl x/ultimate polish? Or can I get away with the tangerine for light correction AND achieve a good finish with them?
Click to expand...



Not having used those pads, or worked on your paint, I just can't say :nixweiss I think you'll have to try a given combo and just see how it goes. It can take a few tries until you get everything dialed in for a specific car.



Edit: if I go with the hydro-techs, would it be better to go with the 7/8" "low profile" pads, or the 1 1/4" standard thickness pads?
Click to expand...



Again, I can't say as I've never used the HydroTech pads and I have little experience with the low profile pads (really only use such things in 4" IIRC).
 
I just did a black Mazda 3 yesterday with light swirls and acid rain spots. I used my lc ccs pads... granted I don't use the products most people on here use... I used AM BC2 with a green pad, and it made easy work of that mazda.
 
One of the things I like about the hydro techs that the ccs don't have is the rounded edge. The speed 3 has a lot of curvy surfaces and I like the rounded edge to smoother on the curved transitions.
 
bast525- As per the title of this thread, I think you *are* gonna go nuts over this stuff! Heh heh, thirty-odd years ago you woulda found your choices in foam pads to be *VERY* limited, and ya know what....you woulda bought what was available and you woulda done fine ;)
 
Accumulator said:
bast525- As per the title of this thread, I think you *are* gonna go nuts over this stuff! Heh heh, thirty-odd years ago you woulda found your choices in foam pads to be *VERY* limited, and ya know what....you woulda bought what was available and you woulda done fine ;)
Click to expand...



I wouldn't know about 30 years ago, but I know that 15 years ago choices were very limited on foam pads... I think 3m owned the market back then!! There really are way too many choices these days... but with all the technology that goes into them all, I dont think you can really make a bad decision!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top