Green Giant polishing pad from CMA

[lpquick]

Has anyone experienced the giant green polishing pad from CMA, claims to be a preferred polishing pad for some German cars like BMW & Mercedes.



A polishing pad for German

paints & clear coats.



I wondering if this pad is worth the money?



:nixweiss

[turborave]

me being a VW owner i would like to know too!

[Bill D]

I think Lake country mfr is the maker of these, German foam, assembled here

[lpquick]

No one used one of these pads, to say good or useless?

[Accumulator]

Nope, haven`t used it. I did *buy* one, but I haven`t used it yet. Whenever I used "thick" pads on the PC previously (Griot`s used to sell them), I found that they were *very* mild. I haven`t had the need for anything that mild so it just sits here looking more like a waste of money every day.



I dunno, it seems like a solution to a problem that few people actually have. Anyone genuinely feel that the "regular" polishing and finishing pads aren`t gentle enough? If so, then here`s the answer. If not, save your money.



I might use it on the XJS sometime, given its very soft SS lacquer. But on the Audis and the Mazda, it wouldn`t accomplish anything.

[imported_YouGottaBeLeaf]

Originally posted by Accumulator

I might use it on the XJS sometime, given its very soft SS lacquer. But on the Audis and the Mazda, it wouldn`t accomplish anything.



I`ve seen it mentioned in a few threads that Mazdas have harder clearcoats. Which years did they start doing this? I have a 1999 Miata and I don`t feel that the clearcoat is any harder than any of the other cars I`ve worked on yet.

[lpquick]

It would seem to be the perfect polishing pad for new vehicles!

:bounce

[Bill D]

I don`t know, sounds like a lot of hype to me. I`m almost certain Lake Country makes them and they dont make a fuss about them :nixweiss

[Accumulator]

YouGottaBeLeaf- Not sure when Mazda reformulated their clear. It was pretty hard on our `93 RX-7 (hard but brittle paint), but the stuff on the `02 MPV really is pretty good and tough. Regular washing with BHBs and only semi-annual polishing- it just amazes me. Given that it`s silver, anybody else would probably *not* bother polishing it even *this* year (you can`t see any marring unless you *really* look for it under certain lighting; it`s even OK under parking lot lights at night).



Maybe all those layers of SG has something to do with it. I can still feel the SG on the paint, so maybe it`s taking all the abuse. Though a similar regimen on a WRX resulted in far more marring than the MPV has ever had.



It wouldn`t be surprised if they use different paints on the Miata and the MPV. No idea *why* they would, but if every Mazda clear were as hard as mine, we`d all know about it. If I remember correctly, they even did some Miatas in single-stage.



FWIW, the replaced/repainted bumper cover on the MPV isn`t *nearly* as hard as the original paint. It`s "normal for a repaint", which is a *lot* softer than the rest of the vehicle.



lpquick- Well, maybe if the new vehicles didn`t have any marring. But even then I wonder what the big advantage (over other pads) would be. Like Bill D, I`m sorta tempted to see it as just marketing hype. But it might just be something that some people *like* using, in which case, cool :xyxthumbs

[RobD]

I use one. It`s a good pad which I use for final polishing, only. During my first use, I immediately noticed how well the thick GGPP absorbed the PC`s vibration. It`s a pleasant side effect. The GGPP does work well, I use it on my late model black Porsche with Menzerna FP(1). Besides struggling with the quick drying FP, the combo works. When using FP(1), I first spread the polish on the paint with an applicator, this ensures FP is distributed evenly on the GGPP when I place it down. With the PC on level 1, I work the FP with just enough pressure to keep the pad from spinning and continue till it nearly disappears. On some occasions, I still get some very slight micro marring (only seen under my inspection light) which disappear after sealing/waxing. I hope to try FP(2) soon. I understand it will not dry as quickly. Hope this helps.

[lpquick]

Thanks RobD, just ordered two, I know CMA has advertisement for selling, but they said something about those pads are becoming hard to find, since most if not all the German manufacturers are buying these pads exclusively. Current demand is higher than supply. I don`t remember reading anywhere that they make the pads themselves!

:xyxthumbs