Light cut pad - Heavy cut Polish

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bill57

New member
If I use Megs #2 with a white pad on my PC, would I get close to the same results as if I used (say) Megs #9 or #82 with an orange pad on my PC?
 
Noting that I don't use Meguiar's (abrasive) polishes much these days and I haven't used #2 since it was reformulated...



The combination is only as effective as its most aggressive component and it's only as *mild* as its *least* aggressive component. So you have to match the pad and product up properly for starters no matter what. It's generally best to pick the proper product for the type of work (e.g., #2 for real correction, #9/#82 for very gentle final polishing) and then use the mildest pad that'll get the job done.



With the exception of really aggressive cutting pads, the pad merely allows the product to perform in a certain way. Orange pads are right at the edge of contributing cut of their own vs. merely allowing the product to perform so they can be a special case. Sometimes they'll leave a ready-to-wax finish but it's not a sure thing and I always follow orange pad work with something milder (*always*).



I'd *NOT* use #9/#82 with an orange pad, too harsh a pad for those products; it'd simply be a bad match up and could very well lead to slight micromarring. IMO it'd be a case of the product mitigating the effects of the pad rather than the pad enhancing the effects of the product.



A more aggressive product (e.g., #2) on a milder pad can be a great combo; that's the way I tend to match my pad/product. If that doesn't do the job then switch to an orange pad, but #2/polishing pad is a good starting point. Do the correction with #2 using whatever pad you need and then do a quick follow-up (if needed) with the #9/#82.



Once you match the product to the pad in general terms, it's a matter of using the right level of aggressiveness for the job.
 
I'm not sure I totally agree. The orange pads are a special case IMO. They have a pore size similar to a softer polishing pad and the density to fully work and break down abrasives. They are quite versatile. I've used ZPC by orange pad and a RO and it left a LSP ready surface. Maybe a softer pad would have been a slight improvement. With an orange pad I think experimentation is needed.
 
wannafbody said:
The orange pads are a special case IMO....[and] I think experimentation is needed.
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Yeah, IMO the orange pads are kinda a wildcard and what happens will depend a lot on the paint (and products) in question. I don't think we're really disagreeing, just bringing up that old YMMV thing ;) I was being *very* general in that last post and just trying to steer bill57 away from the aggressive pad/mild product combo.
 
From what Patrick from Excel Detail told me (that white will support heavier / thicker products than gray) and from what I read elsewhere (that gray is not to be used with products that are abrasive) I conclude that one should not match more aggressive product with milder pad if difference between two is above certain "amount".



On the other hand Meguiar's sells just two pads on the gentler side of spectrum (polishing and buffing) and I have seen people use them for everything.



Any comments, please?
 
ZoranC- First, here's a disclaimer: it all depends on the paint and the products in question, gotta watch the generalizations and people have different standards of what's OK too. That having been said...



I seem to get by with far fewer types of pads than many people. For a *long* time I just used one (green) on the Cyclo and one (Griot's orange) on the PC. For ages the green was the only one they even sold for the Cyclo. I've added a bunch of different pads since those days, but it's not like I really *need* a really wide range of pads with the products/paint I'm dealing with.



Does the pad let the product do its work the way the user wants? Does the pad have any functional cut of its own (on the paint in question)? To me those two Qs are all that matters and sometimes the (truly, real-world-functional) answer to those Qs is pretty simple.
 
Accumulator said:
... gotta watch the generalizations and people have different standards of what's OK too. That having been said...



...



Does the pad let the product do its work the way the user wants? Does the pad have any functional cut of its own (on the paint in question)? To me those two Qs are all that matters and sometimes the (truly, real-world-functional) answer to those Qs is pretty simple.
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:idea Got it! :2thumbs: Thank you!
 
Thanks for the feedback, guys.

So, it's OK to use a mild pad with an aggressive polish, but not the reverse?
 
bill57 said:
So, it's OK to use a mild pad with an aggressive polish, but not the reverse?
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I know next to nothing, so my answer will be probably worthless and incorrect, but my guess will be that that would depend on how much pad itself contributes to the action. In that case answer would depend on which pad you have in mind. I heard that cutting pads have a contribution of their own, which is logical to me. But what about other, less agrressive pads? How much real world contribution there is from orange, green, yellow, white, if any at all?
 
Adamah said:
I disagree there. Its still only as mild as the most aggressive component. IE: AIO on a wool cutting pad.
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You're right, it all hinges on the *most* aggressive component; I really botched that one up :o Thanks for catching that and posting the correction.



ZoranC- As mentioned, the orange light cut pads are a somewhat special case; sometimes they contribute cut and other times they don't. IMO it depends on the paint, and that goes for many "polishing" pads too. The Cyclo green pad has functional cut on some paints but not on others.



*Generally*, and just *in my experience* most polishing pads like the Meg's 8006, the LC white, and the Griot's orange do *not* have any functional cut of their own, they just let the product work. I can't remember using *any* finishing pad that ever had any cut of its own.
 
Accumulator - Those that do have functional cut of their own depending on paint, is it because paint ends up being softer of the two, or ... ?
 
ZoranC said:
..[Pads] that do have functional cut of their own depending on paint, is it because paint ends up being softer of the two, or ... ?
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I *assume* so, but I can't say with absolute certainty (seems intuitvely obvious to me but it's not like I've never been wrong before, already been incorrect on this thread :o ).



I always assume that when something effects mechanical abrasion on something else it's because the one something is harder. That's a little over-simplified but I dunno if it's *too* much so to be valid here.



Some pads that might be hard/abrasive enough to cut/mar paint will be sufficiently buffered/lubricated by product, so it won't matter. But if a pad is soft enough it simply won't do *anything* to paint- the product has to do all the work. You can rub a dry (very gentle) finishing pad on soft paint and it won't mar it; do that with a Meguiar's 7006/burgundy cutting pad and you'll often/usually get micromarring; most "polishing" pads are in between these two extremes and that's where the lubricating properties of the product factor in.
 
Yeah, but the general abrasiveness of the pad should still work out the same way with regard to its (functional) cut. There are some weird situations that I can't explain though, like the way a Meg's 7006 will often leave a *much* nicer finish with the rotary than it will with a PC :nixweiss



IMO the biggest things with the rotary/PC difference is the way a mild pad/product combo can do some serious correction with the rotary and the way some pad/product combos that won't finish out without micromarring via PC *do* finish out perfectly with a rotary, at least if the user does his part.



Generally speaking, by rotary I'm even *more* inclined to work with mild (foam) pads if they'll allow the product to do its job.
 
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