Ordering my first set of DA pads- which colors/quantities would be most useful?

T

ten39

New member
I'm going to be making my first major product orders as a newbie Autopian within the next couple of days. My debit card will not be thanking me.:chuckle:



I have a PC DA which has sat unused for the couple of years I've had it since purchase, and I'm thinking I need to buy some different pads for it. The starter kit it shipped with came with ~7" Sonus pads (orange, green, blue) and a ~4.75" flexible backer plate. From my readings on the forum, it seems the Sonus pads I already have are close to worthless due to the diameter. So like the title says, I'm going to be ordering some 5.5" LC CCS pads (the backer plate should be fine, I assume).



ADS currently is running a sale on these pads for $39.99/6 EA, which seems to be the best deal I've found for a larger quantity pad order. Which pads and what quantities would give me the most use and flexibility for heavy/moderate correction, all the way to jeweling and maybe AIO application (I'm presuming I'll do any LSP by hand)?



Here are the LC CCS pads and my (amateur) thoughts:



Yellow: 0 EA- No go, scares me a bit (unfounded?).

Orange: 2 EA- Moderate correction, 2 EA for the potential of going back and forth between polish combos on the same car.

Green: 0 EA- Don't hear much about these in use on the forum.

White: 2 EA- Light correction, 2 EA for the same reason as on the oranges.

Black: 1 EA- Jeweling and AIO use on hard paint?

Blue: 1 EA- Jeweling and AIO use on soft paint?

Red: 0 EA- Again, don't hear about these much on the forum, and I'm guessing most LSPs are easier done by hand.



Would this be a good combo to maximize utility/dollar?



TIA for your $.02.:up
 
I don't think you'll need FIVE of each. How often do you polish and correct paint? I bet if it's just your car and someone else's and you polish once or twice a year, two pads of each would suit you fine. I'd avoid the large pads and stick to 5.5's and 4's. Maybe grab one 3.5" PFW. Also, try the flat pads first. CCS tends to hide polish, so it doesn't consistently break down all at once. Flat is more predictable and consistent with polish.
 
That is very similar to my first order, I got 2 Orange, 2 White, 1 Black and 1 Red. It was kind of a toss up between the Red and Blue. Plus I am only working on my two vehicles and not doing this a job. If I were I would have bought more white and black.
 
What products are you going to be using and what are you going to be using them on?



Yellow pads are fine as long as you are conscious of what you're doing, but you don't need them unless there is a lot of correction required.



The white LC pad is what we use for glaze, which is an ultra-fine polish and gloss-enhancer before going to wax/sealant.
 
I'm wondering the same thing....staying tuned for answers.



I just received my first 7424....got it gently used from another member and it came with 3 LC pads...an orange, a blue, and a black.
 
I'd get *only* 4" pads for correction. Even light correction. That's the only way I get anything done with either of my PCs and I've been using them for nearly 20 years now. Dunno how you guys with 5.5" pads do it :nixweiss



Here's my $0.02 on the most common pads for the PC-



4" pads:

  • Wool (from Edge/CycloToolmakers)- NOT unless you have a specific reason and know why. VERY aggressive, especially the yellow ones

  • LC PFW- Good for serious correction, possibly the best choice for most people doing this via PC. They wear out very fast

  • Yellow- NOT unless you have a specific reason and know why

  • Orange- Yeah, get a few of 'em. The thicker ones are best IME

  • Green (Cyclo brand)- I like these a lot! They're a bit thin though

  • White- Yeah, get some of these. I prefer flat pads over the concave ones. But *I* generally prefer the Cyclo green instead

  • Black- Yeah, good for use with the M105/M205 twins

  • Blue- I dunno...I think you can live without them unless you have a specific reason why they'd be right
  • Red- I suppose you could use them for LSPs/etc. but eh...get these in a larger size.



Larger pads:



  • Griot's ~6" orange- Very diff from most orange, good for AIOs

  • LC White- good for nearly-nonabrasive work, but only in the rare cases where the Griot's is too harsh

  • LC Black- OK for AIOs but I prefer the more open/porous pads. Good for LSPs

  • Red- Good for LSPs

  • Gold- Supposedly best for sealants (no first-hand experience yet)
 
Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I'll try to answer some of the questions/thoughts in the thread.



-The products I plan to use at this point would include 105, 205, PO85RD, KAIO, DWG, a yet TBD sealant, and Natty's Red (that I'll probably be doing by hand anyway). Not all of these products at once on one vehicle, obviously, just trying to round out all my options for personal/family/friend hobby-level detailing duties.



-I can't say I'm a real big fan of the pockets molded into the product side of the CCS pads either (even with no experience with the DA yet, I can understand the concerns on this design), but when it comes to completely flat 5.5" pads the options seem to be limited.



-I am also ordering a 2 pack set of 4" LC Orange pads along with the backer, so I think I'll only order one of the LC CCS Orange pads.



-I don't think I need 20+ pads (5 of each choice?) to handle the correction and maintenance of half-a-dozen cars spread over months of time, but maybe I'm wrong.





Anyways, here's my pad breakdown at current time, and what I plan to use them for. Correct me if I'm wrong or misinformed on any of these, please.



2 EA 4" Orange- spot or heavy correction with 105

1 EA 5.5" Orange- medium correction with 105

2 EA 5.5" White- light correction with 105, also for 205 general use

1 EA 5.5" Black- PO85RD

1 EA 5.5" Blue- glazes, sealants, waxes

1 EA 5.5" Red- same use as blue, as far as I can tell



To be honest, at this point the intended use of the red and blue pads still confuses me a bit, since if I understand correctly they don't have any bite, and are meant for glazes, sealants and waxes. Perhaps it's a user preference sort of thing. Maybe they both have a different feel under a DA.



:think::think::think::think:
 
There is a lot of unnecessary pads listed so far...



If I had NONE and I was buying enough to do ONE CAR at a time, then re-wash them all, this is what I would buy:



6 - Orange 4" Cutting pads

2 - White 4" Polishing pads

3 - Orange 6.5" Cutting Pads

3 - White 6.5" Polishing Pads

1 - Black 6.5" Finishing Pad





Cutting pads are the most important because you do the most correcting with them, they gum up the most, and you want fresh ones! For maximum cutting I use 4" pads 90+% of the time. 6.5" pads only if I am doing a large panel and the swirls are not *too* bad.



Polishing pads are for finishing the polishing after cutting steps, so you need at least 2 to finish an entire car, if not 3. Better to get 3. 6.5" is plenty for finish polishing.



And 1 black pad just in case you want to finish out PERFECTLY or apply wax.



That is the perfect shopping list, IMHO. All Lake Country pads, the 6.5" pads must have the black velcro, NOT white. the 4" pads all have white velcro.



Hope this helps!

Tyler
 
Added my opinions to your list:





ten39 said:
Anyways, here's my pad breakdown at current time, and what I plan to use them for. Correct me if I'm wrong or misinformed on any of these, please.



2 EA 4" Orange- spot or heavy correction with 105

- Please get more than 2!!! You will want at least 4, because they get gummed up with paint, debris, and anything else you're compounding off.



1 EA 5.5" Orange- medium correction with 105

- Get at least 2 or 3, same deal as above, they get gummed up when you're compounding or cutting!



2 EA 5.5" White- light correction with 105, also for 205 general use

- 2 should be enough, as long as they are high-quality.



1 EA 5.5" Black- PO85RD

- Good to have 1. Just in case.



1 EA 5.5" Blue- glazes, sealants, waxes

- Useless



1 EA 5.5" Red- same use as blue, as far as I can tell

- Useless



:
Click to expand...



I've never used a 5.5" pad but size-wise it would be nice, as long as the velcro is attached VERY well. And make sure they are very high-quality pads!!!!



I've never found any that hold together like the Lake Country 6.5" pads, not the 6" pads. 6.5" only. THe black velcro on the back WILLNOT come off.



I've been using the same 6.5" cutting pads for many years, they have seen 50+ hours of use each, and not a single one has even worn at all, except me and my stupidity of using a screwdriver to get the polish crud off! Just clean them with dish-soap in the sink and rinse/dry thoroughly.



Hope this helps!

Tyler
 
ten39 said:
To be honest, at this point the intended use of the red and blue pads still confuses me a bit, since if I understand correctly they don't have any bite, and are meant for glazes, sealants and waxes. Perhaps it's a user preference sort of thing. Maybe they both have a different feel under a DA...
Click to expand...



IME most of the zero-cut pads *are* interchangeable. It's only in odd cases where it makes a functional difference.



Some products work better/worse with pad having more/fewer pores but it's hardly ever a big deal. Personal preference is probably the biggest thing here; I, for instance, generally prefer more porous pads when working with AIOs and glazes (though I usually do glazes by hand) and tighter/less porous pads with LSPs.



If you want to do sealants by machine, I'd sure look into the LC gold pads. Otherwise I'd do sealants by hand; I simply cannot get as thin an application using a machine (but I've never tried the gold pads either).
 
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