Need help on pad/polish selection..

[BMW335i]

I am looking at the LC line, which seems like a good place to start. Does the backing plate matter?



I will be mainly polish light defects on my car (light swirls) and heavier swirls on my family cars. Also, I will use the PC to apply AIO's such as Prime or ZAIO to remove old wax/sealants.



I need ideas on what polish to start with. Do I need a finishing polish?



I am also looking to apply waxes with the PC 7424. What pad is best for this?



If you guys know a good thread where this info has been discussed already that would be great.



Thanks!!

 

[Accumulator]

BMW335i- This stuff *has* been discussed a zillion times but I dunno what thread would summarize it for you. So...



Which polish depends on how hard your paint is and how badly it's marred. If your BMW is anything like my '97 M3 it'll be hard as a rock, but some later BMWs are very soft so :nixweiss



If you're gonna use wax (as opposed to sealant), I'd recommend 1z brand polishes. Check out one of the numerous threads where I (and others) have discussed them. But these polishes leave some wax and stuff (some might say "fillers") behind so I wouldn't use an AIO afterwards lest something come back. If that's a problem, I'd probably go with Optimum or Menzerna instead.



"Finishing polishes"- the 1z MetallicPolishWax (or the Pro version called Metallic Polish) will leave a mighty nice finish that's always been good enough for me (and I like it better than Menzerna FP). So I wouldn't use the BF/menzerna finishing polishes (the ones for hard clear) unless you can get things basically *perfect* and want that extra 2% that most people could never see. Otherwise I don't think they'd be worth it *but* that's just *MY* opinion and I gotta admit I'm a big fan of the 1Z so maybe that colors my judgement.



Orange or yellow pads with aggressive products for major correction. Follow with white pads with a milder product. Then either white or a finishing pad for the final polish and the wax. Note that often polishing pads work fine for finishing if they're mild enough that they don't have any functional cut on your paint.



I've never found backing plates to be that big a deal but I like the "flex" plates, even though they don't really flex very much.



I use 4" pads for significant correction and the 4" pads fit into the wax cans so that can make them good for waxing too (though I usually use bigger pads when waxing by PC).