Table of pad foam types and colours

ColinM

New member
I recently decided I wanted some new pads which turned out be be a more complex decision now than a year ago becuase of all the new products. After searching through Autopia fourms for a few hours I think the table below is a pretty good starting guide to whats available for the PC. Feel free to comment on changes I should make.



Code:
MANUFACTURER	MED CUT		LIGHT CUT		POLISH		LIGHT POLISH	FINISH

Propel		Orange		Yellow		Green		Blue		Grey

LC Classic	Yellow		Orange		White		-		Black

LC Hi-Gloss	Yellow		Orange		White		-		Black/Red

Sonus DAS		Orange		-		Green		Blue		-

Sonus SFX		Yellow		-		White		Blue		-

Meguiars		Burgundy		-		Yellow		-		Tan

Edge 2000		Black		Yellow		Green		Blue		White

Wolfgang		Yellow		Orange		White		Gray		Blue

To figure out what products to use with what pads, find the polish abrasiveness from this thread by Beanbag.

Then check below to see what type of pad to use for that grade.

Finally look at the above table to see what make and colour of pad you need -

MED CUT - grade 5,6,7

LIGHT CUT - 4,5,6

POLISH - 2,3,4

LIGHT POLISH - 1,2

FINISH - Waxes or Sealants



I have deliberately missed out heavy cut pads and polishes from 8-10 because I think they are for Rotary or wool pads only.



Here are some places I found that sell the above pads.

Propel - www.exceldetail.com

LC Classic - Discontinued ?

LC Hi-Gloss (Constant Pressure) - www.properautocare.com/hi612infopaa.html

Sonus DAS - http://autopia-carcare.com/sondas.html

Sonus SFX - http://autopia-carcare.com/sondas.html

Meguiars - www.autogeek.net/mg64.html

Edge 2000 - www.autogeek.net/edge20006.html

Wolfgang - www.autogeek.net/vcpad.html



Here are some manufacturer websites for more info -

Propel, Lake Country, Meguiars, Edge, Sonus ?
 
Very nice job, I like the link to the different pads you provide also.



The only mistake I see from glancing at it is the Meg's finish pad is Tan, not Grey.



Your chart will be a big help to a lot of members who are getting confused with all the new pad choices.
 
Great Chart.... it really helps me out with some questions. The only thing I was thinking was maby above each pad type also place what product the pads are generally used for.... such as AIO, SSR 1 SSR 2.5, #80, S100, etc.... I think this will help everyone including myself about asking what pad to use for which product..... hopefully someone will do this... thanks
 
FerrariVDUB said:
The only thing I was thinking was maby above each pad type also place what product the pads are generally used for.... such as AIO, SSR 1 SSR 2.5, #80, S100, etc



Thats exactly what I tried to do but I guess its not very clear.



If you want to know what products to use with a Polish pad (e.g. Propel green) then look at products in the abrasive list under grades 2,3,4.



There you will see AIO is a grade 2, SSR1 is a 3 and #80 is a 4. So all would work with that pad. Obviously you will get more swirl removal with #80 than AIO on that same pad so you can guess the results quite accurately. Also from the list SSR2.5 is a grade 6 so it should be used with a Light or Medium cut pad for best effect. S100 is a pure wax so a Finish pad is best for it.



Using that system everyone can help themselves without creating a gigantic unmanagable list/table of what products work with what pads.



I will edit the first post a little with clearer instructions.
 
That is a great chart for the newbies. I wish that would have been there last week when I was looking for pad information. Awesome job!



JJ
 
ahhhh..... i guess i didnt see that other chart you were talking about with the products abrasive list... now that I have seen this everything is more clear..... believe it or not this chart has helped me and now I know what and how many pads I am going to order...... there was just so many posts with random pads and products that I was getting myself confused... this has helped alot and I think everone should just relpy and keep this tread at the top and there will be no need anymore to ask what pads to get, and what they are good for..... once again thanks, and looking foawrd to seeing this post grow.....
 
Table of pad foam types and colours (+ recommended polish grades)



ColinM well thought out information , chart and vendor addresses .

JonM
 
This is the single greatest table ever!!!! Maybe that's an overstatement, but great work nontheless. Thank you.
 
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