Here is my review of finishing pads that we commonly use on this forum. It is based on personal experience and opinion, as I don't intend it to be (nor will I argue for it to be) the end all or even factual. I get so many PM's with questions regarding my product selection and choice, that maybe this can help some people out.
I have ranked them in order, from my favorite on down. I should say for the most part I use and enjoy all of the finishing pads (there isn't really but one bad one IMO, and its not that the pad is bad, it just doesn't work as much), so when it comes to this particular category, you cannot go wrong.
1) Meguiar's Solo Finishing Pad- In my experience with this pad, I have nothing to say about it that is negative. So far it hasn't acted up on any paint, it runs cool, and it finishes down hologram free on all paints so far. It also works equally well with water and traditional based polishes, glazes, aio's, and sealants.
Pro's: Works with everything on everything. Never "grabs" at the paint
Con's: None so to speak.
Conclusion: The best one I have in my bag.
2) 3M UltraFina Finishing Pad- The softest feeling of the bunch, and extremely fine, the UF pad is the least aggressive pad I have. It has a knack for finishing the most finicky paints hologram free. It works well with all finishing polishes, glazes, aio's, and has never been used to apply a sealant. I have had one experience (in over 50 cars) of it acting up on very soft paint, by grabbing. I switched to the
Meg's Solo pad, which did not grab at, (which is why it is number one)
Pro's: Extremely soft and great on softer paint.
Con's: Limited size in the USA, expensive
Conclusion: Accept for grabbing on paint once, the UF pad has been flawless on all paint types. But so has the Meg's Solo pad. Given the firmness and traditional style of the Meg's pad (the UF pad is waffle style, which I don't like as much) pad over this pad which is why Solo is #1.
3) Lake Country Gray Finishing Pad- The Gray pad is slightly firmer than the LC blue pad, and this makes it much more versitle as it never "grabs" at the paint. The gray pad breaks polishes down quickly, and the firmness of the pad allows it too work with sharper abrasive finishing polishes on most paint conditions. However, the gray pad can leave very light hologramming on some of the softer paints we work on (Ferrari, Maserati, Infiniti).
Pro's: Works extremely well on 90 percent of the cars. Nice finish, and tehe stiffness of the pad give a good "feel" between the rotary and paint.
Con's: Works extremely well on 90 percent of the cars. Leaves holograms on extremely soft paint.
Conclusion: Probably the first pad out of my bad because it works so well on so many paints. (I am slowly replacing this pad with the
Meguiars Solo, but I will keep one or two on hand. Killer on Porsche paint).
4) 3M Waffle Finishing Pad (Black)- A nice finishing pad that is slightly stiffer than the UltraFina pad. The top 4 are so close, IMO, that you cannot go wrong with any of them.
Pro's: Nice even application and smooth feel.
Con's: Can get a little grabby on soft paint with sharper abbrasive polishes. Large size limits usefulness with AIO's and sealants.
Conclusion: Great pad, just a shade shy of the top 3.
5) Lake Country Blue Foam- Great finishing pad on middle of the road paints. On soft paint (esp. Porsche and Maserati) this pad can get grabby in high humidity. On harder paints, its very soft construction requires a little bit of pressure to work sharper abbrasive polishes into the paint.
Pro's: Very soft construction allows pad to work well in tighter areas and over curved surface. Many sizes and types available (4 inch, 5 inch, 5.5 inch, 6 inch, 6.5 inch, 7.5 inch and 8.5 inch)/ (Beveled, Standard, CCS).
Con's: Very soft construction allows makes polishes extrememly soft paint grabby and harder paint very time consuming.
Conclusion: Great pad for most paint. Very soft and safe.
6) Meguiars 9006 Finish Pad- A nice, soft pad that finishes pretty well on most paints.
Pro's: Very soft and forgiving, though limited in size (6 inch or 8 inch) and out gunned in this contest. The Meguiars Finish Pad works extremely well with glazes, AIO's, and sealants.
Con's: No outstanding problems, just not quite as nice as the others.
Conclusion: The work horse pad, it does its job quite well but doesn't the recognition of the others.
7) Edge White Foam (100ppi)- The only pad I really don't like. While it works well on most paints, it grabs all over the place on very soft paint and requires longer working times on harder paints. Very similar to the Blue CCS pads, but worse behaved on extreme paints, I really have no need for this pad. I also don't like the feel of the double sided pad's central backing plate, as the pads just seem to stiff.
Pro's: Does the job
Con's: Hologramming on softer paints (grabby as well). I feel like this pad is just too soft to be used.
Conclusion: Not for me.
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