Pad Sizes...One size does not fit all...???

C

Civicman86

New member
OK I'm looking to get pads for my PC. I tried to do a search but nothing really came up that answered my question totally.



What size(s) should I be looking at purchasing? Originally it looked like most people were using a 6.5" pad. But as I have done some research it seems pad size varies alot. Some people say use a smaller pad for corrections (produces more heat??).



I was thinking maybe a 4" Yellow , 6.5" Orange, and maybe a 4" and 7.5" (4" for smaller areas and 7.5" for the rest of the car) either blue or black pad for the last go over?



Note: I was looking at LC pads but thats mainly becuase I don't know the differences in any other brand, any notes on this topic would be appreciated too).



Also I guess I'm going to need different backing plates as well. The PC I bought from Mr. Vic has a plate on it (not sure the size off the top of my head, maybe a 5").



Thanks again for taking the time to read my noob questions. Maybe this will help some other noob people that are lurking and afraid to ask :bigups
 
check out the 5in. ccs pads from danase.com and create your own bundle of 6. i think the 7.5's might be a little too big for the PC.
 
Red4.8 and I have a PC and we went with 5" pads from danase.com. I wouldn't go woth anything to much bigger (7.5) just becauhse the PC probably doesnt have enough power for that big of a pad. I bogged mine down a time or 2 with a 5" so a 7.5 would probably do it a lot more. I know however a lot of people use the 6.5 so either way you ill be fine just a betterdeal with the pick 6 5".
 
I would stay away from the 7.5" pads, they are way to big for the PC. The 6.5" pads are as big as you should go. I personally like the 5" to 5.5" pads myself. They seem to make the PC better balanced, easier to control and I feel a little less vibration with them. The 4" pads are a good idea as well.
 
Yeah I am going to take advantage of that danase deal, thank you for posting about that!!!



So it sounds like I might get mabye 1-2 6.5 pads for the final polish run down, and some 5"-5.5" and some 4" pads for all the rest.



Also to confirm, is there more heat generated witht he smaller diameter pads (e.g. be more careful when using the smaller pad compared to a larger one)?
 
Civicman86 said:
Yeah I am going to take advantage of that danase deal, thank you for posting about that!!!



So it sounds like I might get mabye 1-2 6.5 pads for the final polish run down, and some 5"-5.5" and some 4" pads for all the rest.
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Good choice going with the pads from Danse.com, Bob Danies is a great guy. I have 8 5 inch CCS pads from him, 2 white, 2 green, 2 orange and two yellow. I also have a black 6 inch flat Lake Country pad from Danase to spread glazes and AIO's and I have a 4 inch cylco yellow pad with a 3.5 inch backing plate. Looking forward to spring to use them again.



Civicman86 said:
Also to confirm, is there more heat generated witht he smaller diameter pads (e.g. be more careful when using the smaller pad compared to a larger one)?
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A little more heat. The smaller the pad, the more concentrated the pressure you apply on the PC in a smaller spot. That is why you are getting more cut with the pad. So long as you keep the PC moving, you shouldn't create too much heat. Along the same lines, don't move the pad too fast or you will not effectively break down your polish. About 1 inch per second is recommended.
 
One more question. I have pretty soft paint (honda) so should i try to go with a orange pad for my first polish and see if that removes the defects? I'm afraid the yellow pads might be to strong. Any advice from someone who has been there before? :woot2:
 
Civicman86 said:
One more question. I have pretty soft paint (honda) so should i try to go with a orange pad for my first polish and see if that removes the defects? I'm afraid the yellow pads might be to strong. Any advice from someone who has been there before? :woot2:
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Something you will hear numerous times on here is to start with the least agressive method first. In saying that, the first time I polished my car, I started with a green pad which is between the orange and the white. It didn't make a dent on the swirls so I moved up to orange. Keep in mind, I have hard white paint. A green pad for you will probably be fine as soft as your paint is.



If you want, you can borrow one of my green pads to see how it does. If it is strong enough, then you can hang on to it till you are done compounding. Just let me know.
 
hmmmmmm, Interesting on the pad colors, I thought it was White then Orange in terms of agreesiveness. Maybe i need to invest in a Green.
 
bert yeah I might take you up on that one. I really don't think I'm going to need a yellow though so maybe Ill do a 2 orange, 2 green, 1 blue, 1 black. I think the yellow might be to harsh for my soft honda paint. If I do this I wont need the green on bert, Ill let you know when I finally make up my mind :-p
 
I just used the 5.5 inch low profile pads from AG with my PC (with Menzerna SIP and 106ff) and they worked perfectly!



I recommend smaller sizes over the larger (and thicker) ones. They work better for me.
 
Rob Tomlin said:
I just used the 5.5 inch low profile pads from AG with my PC (with Menzerna SIP and 106ff) and they worked perfectly!



I recommend smaller sizes over the larger (and thicker) ones. They work better for me.
Click to expand...



The AG LC 5.5 are nice as are the 5" LC CCS Danase Pads. Don't forget a couple white pads. Im not a big fan of the green pads, they are a different foam consistency and compress alot. I would say 1 yellow (rarely use on a PC, if you need this, consider a rotary, IMO), 2 orange, 2 white, 1 blue/black.



Smaller the pad, the faster it will spin on a PC. Larger the pad, faster it will spin on rotary.
 
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