Pad question Cyclo/Edge vs LC

[PerroneFord]

Ok,



So I am beginning to build up my arsenal of pads. Until recently, I had been using a borrowed 7424 with Griots red and orange pads. When I decided to buy my own 7424, I decided to go with the edge system so I could jump back and forth from 4" pads to 6" pads.



So far I have:



1 Edge Wave 6" - White

1 Edge Wave 6" - Red

1 Edge Flat 6" - Green

1 Cyclo 4" - White

2 Cyclo 4" - Orange



My intent was to try to get 4" cutting pads for correction and I feel that is done. I wanted a medium or light cut pad and I think I have that in the Green Edge pad. And I wanted some final step pads and the Edge 6" white takes care of that.



The surprises to me were that I thought the Cyclo white would be similar to the edge white, but it`s not. The Cyclo is MUCH softer. Maybe the softest pad I`ve ever felt. The Red Edge pad is intended as a finishing pad and it`s nice and soft, but not as soft as the Cyclo white.



So here`s the question



Is there a chart somewhere that compares the Edge, LC, and Cyclo pad cutting or softness? It would be very helpful for future ordering (and so I am not forced to buy one of each in every combo! And it would be helpful for comparing to all the users out there who are using LC pads. Right now I am wondering if the LC Orange is as stiff as these Cyclo orange pads.



Thanks for your thoughts.

[Accumulator]

SCoach- Interesting that you find the Cyclo white so soft. Yeah, it`s supposed to be their "finishing" pad but some of us would use those scare-quotes because it often behaves a little more like a *VERY* mild polishing pad. Huh...wonder if they`ve changed them any since my last order :nixweiss



Most finishing pads have no cut of their own. While different in some ways they`re usually pretty similar in that regard. Different products work better/worse on some of them due to the little differences though (e.g., porosity).



The orange Cyclo is supposed to be like the orange Edge. AFAIK these are roughly similar to the LC orange...or close enough for most purposes as they`re all "light cut" pads that will generally require a milder follow-up. I have too many orange light cut pads from different makers to keep `em all straight, but despite minor diffs they all basically behave the same.



Note that the Griot`s orange, although rather firm, is *NOT* the same kind of orange pad. The Griot`s is *MUCH* more gentle than the orange light-cut pads, at least IME. I find it to be a good (if gentle) polishing pad and those things last forever (as do the red Griot`s waxing/finishing pad).



Don`t go by just how soft a pad feels; there are other considerations that affect how it behaves, including porosity. Perfect example: the mild Griot`s orange pads.



I haven`t used my Edge pads enough to speak authoritatively about them. But I`ve heard (from CycloToolmakers and others involved in the business) that the Edge and Cyclo foam is the same but as you`ve noticed this is *NOT* true of the white ones.



The green 4" Cyclo pads seem a little milder than my Edge green waffle pad but *more* aggressive than LC white, but they`re all polishing pads. Not sure where your *flat* Edge green fits in. The Griot`s orange is an even milder polishing pad (using Griot`s polishes with a green Cyclo pad instead of the Griot`s pad can be a real eye-opener!). Then the Cyclo blue, which I haven`t tried yet.



Polishing pads (aggressive to mild): Edge green (v?.?), Cyclo green, LC white, Griot`s orange, Cyclo/Edge blue, Cyclo white.



But I dunno if any/all of these differences are functionally significant except at the ends of the spectrum.



I could ramble about this stuff forever...I have too many pads and there seem to be a lot of subtle differences between them. If there`s anything I can try to answer specifically let me know and I`ll at least take my best guess.



But here`s a Q for you: how do the red Edge and the red Griot`s compare? I like the red Griot`s wax pad...no cut, works well (pores don`t clog up), lasts forever. Never tried the red Edge one though.

[PerroneFord]

Thanks for the comments Accumulator. Seems interesting to note my results with the 6.5" orange Griots pad and Megs UC and how impressed I was with it. Now I find out that my green Edge flat, and my Cyclo orange will both have significantly more cut!



I can`t answer your question yet because I just got the Edge Wave red pad today. I may give it a shot in the next few days and give you my thoughts. I can say that the Griot`s orange didn`t impress me all that much. It caked up badly all the time for me. I can`t wait to see how these new products compare.

[Accumulator]

.. Seems interesting to note my results with the 6.5" orange Griots pad and Megs UC and how impressed I was with it...[q/quote]



Classic case of a mild pad working well with a fairly aggressive product.

Now I find out that my green Edge flat, and my Cyclo orange will both have significantly more cut!

There seem to be a zillion variations of "green foam" these days, but yeah I`d expect those two to cut a lot more than the Griot`s orange.

]quote]I can`t answer your question yet because I just got the Edge Wave red pad today. I may give it a shot in the next few days and give you my thoughts. I can say that the Griot`s orange didn`t impress me all that much. It caked up badly all the time for me. I can`t wait to see how these new products compare.

Did you mean to say the Griot`s *RED* pad? IF so, I usually use mine with liquid waxes instead of pastes, these seem to work better with the Red Griot`s pad`s tight porosity.

[PerroneFord]

No, I meant to say Griot`s orange pad. The 7424 I borrowed from my friend was purchased from Griots, and it had the orange and red pads. I have used Megs Cleaner Wax (consumer line), Poli-Seal, and Ultimate Compound. All seemed to cake up quickly.

[Accumulator]

No, I meant to say Griot`s orange pad...

OK, thought so

I have used Megs Cleaner Wax (consumer line), Poli-Seal, and Ultimate Compound. All seemed to cake up quickly.

Some of that might be just the learning curve (using too much product, not wiping/cleaning the pads often enough). I`m not familiar with Poli-Seal, and I`ve never used the Ultimate Compound (have used M105 though), but not every pad is a good match to every product even when the combo *sounds* like it oughta work.



FWIW, Meg`s cleaner wax never seemed all that machine-friendly to me anyhow.

[PerroneFord]

I used the Megs cleaner wax because it`s all I had at the time. I stepped up quickly after that.



Cleaning the pads was CERTAINLY an issue as the Griots kit only comes with a single orange and a single red pad. Not the best if you`re trying to do a whole car! Using too much product was something I also did early on. By the time I understood what I was doing, I was having less problems. My Ultimate Compound application went rather smoothly as long as my surface temps were decent.



I am going to be moving to the Poorboy`s line of products in large part because of their ability to be worked in full sun. Very important to me here in Florida working mostly outdoors.



So looking at my pad collection thus far, I am wondering where to go next.



I have 2 4" orange pads which I think will be just fine for the cutting I`ll need to do. I have 1 6" green pad which will likely become my compounding pad. I should probably get one or two more of those. I don`t have any blue pads and I`m not sure if I want to move in that direction or not. I have one 6" white and 1 4" white pad and I had intended to use these for LSP products. I also have one red Wave pad and that will likely be used for carnauba application or layering.



I guess what I need to understand now from Edge users is whether or not it makes sense to buy into either blue or white pads now. In general, I will be using the small orange pads for cutting and correction. Then moving to larger pads for the body panels, and small pads for tight spaces.



In general, I think most of my work will be either AIO/Compound + AIO/Compound + AIO + Carnauba.



The Orange/Green seems to take care of my compounding. The Red will do for the Carnauba. It`s the AIO step where I am trying to get my ducks in a row. I can either do that with white, or I can do that with blue. What are you other guys doing?



It might be nice to have some blue pads for mild polishing only. Something like SSR2.5 or Intensive Polish.



Love to hear your thoughts Accumulator. Like to hear from SuperBee also and anyone else using the Edge pads regularly. Remember I am on a PC, so I`m probably going to stay with the foam pads.

[Accumulator]

SCoach- I`m probably not gonna be of much help now...I just accumulate lots of pads and I use whicher seems best (and if that doesn`t work I try something else).



I like to use the Griot`s orange with AIOs, or some other light polishing pad that doesn`t leave any micromarring. I prefer the greater porosity of these pads over a finishing pad and I also like a little firmness.



I do think you`ll need some other polishing pads to use in between the compounding and the AIO, something along the lines of a LC white or the Cyclo green.

[PerroneFord]

I think the Edge blues are going to be the "go to" pads. They are rated just this side of the white pads. I think I`ll grab a couple of those in 6" maybe 1 in 4" and another compounding pad. That should be enough for me to handle any polishing scenario I am likely to see.



Thanks for your help. I guess I was trying to cut a few corners but that`s just not going to work out.

[SuperBee364]

Accumulator is definitely the man to listen to when it comes to Cyclo pads. I haven`t ever used them so I can`t comment.



It`s always nice to have a wide selection, though, because it seems like (eventually) you`ll end up using most all of them. Well, except for heavy cutting foam. I never have a use for those, but that`s just me.



I like having various levels of aggressiveness in pads for defect removal, but once that`s done, I do stay with no bite pads for the rest of the steps.



I`m kinda anxious to hear more about what you think of the 4" cyclo pads. I`ve been thinking about getting some of them.



I do love my Edge pads, though. I just wish their future was assured. It`s kinda hard to recommend them to peeps not knowing what 3M has planned for them.

[Bullitt]

I just picked up a PC a couple of weeks ago and ordered LC pads(Orange,White, Blue, Grey). This is my first experience with the LC pads. I`ve always used Edge pads for the rotary and the Cyclo pads for the Cyclo. I have over 50 White Cyclo pads and the are the softest i`ve ever felt, not much different than the Edge pads though. In my experience so far the LC orange pad is much different than the Edge orange. The LC has much more give to it, and the Orange Edge I find to be a brick and useless with a rotary, but that`s just me. I was glad I had my Cyclo green on hand because they have a little more bite than the LC white and that came in handy this past weekend.

[PerroneFord]

Thanks for jumping in, both of you.



SuperBee, since the (flat) 6" foam pads for the Edge are limited to Yellow, Green, Blue, and White, and I can`t see any reason for the yellows, it really narrows down a lot. Basically, green for compounding, blue if you want an intermediate step and white for no-cut.



There are more options with the cyclo. The white for no-cut makes great sense. For cutting the Orange pad makes sense. The questions then, are what to have for intermediate steps. Honestly, this is semantics. These small pads will only be for hard to reach areas, or small areas like door jambs, bumpers, etc.



I really feel, at least on the PC, that you can get it done with 4" wool, 6" Green/White, and 4" Orange/White if you have suitable abrasives. Similar to sanding. You just change the grit, not the applicator. Keeps things simple and consistent.



Hopefully, I`ll get to try these theories in coming weeks. I am going to re-do my hood on my car soon for a test. I`ll at least get to try the soft pads for that as the car was compounded less than a month ago.

[Accumulator]

I have over 50 White Cyclo pads and the are the softest i`ve ever

Huh :think: Softer than LC black/dark gray? Yeah the Cyclo whites are soft but I just never thought of `em as *all that* soft. But other than porosity/product match-up I guess it doesn`t really matter since most all these finishing pads are zero cut (functionally-speaking).

There are more options with the cyclo. The white for no-cut makes great sense. For cutting the Orange pad makes sense. The questions then, are what to have for intermediate steps..

I like the white 4" Sonus pads when I want something a little more gentle than the Cyclo green. I`d rather use a flat pad, but they still work OK.

Accumulator is definitely the man to listen to when it comes to Cyclo pads...

Thanks, but actually, I bet Anthony Orosco knows a lot more about them than I do.

[Bullitt]

[QUOTEHuh Softer than LC black/dark gray? Yeah the Cyclo whites are soft but I just never thought of `em as *all that* soft. But other than porosity/product match-up I guess it doesn`t really matter since most all these finishing pads are zero cut (functionally-speaking).



][/QUOTE]



Accumulator, The pads I have are from Rightlook.com, that could be contributing to the difference in softnest but I dunno for sure, I just know my white pads are very soft. Just went out and felt my LC grey next to my Cyclo(Rightlook.com) white and the white are much softer. Could just be the batch I received.:nixweiss:nixweiss

[Accumulator]

bullitt21- Thanks for confirming that difference. I`ll keep it in mind if/when I ever need to buy more pads. Huh...just when you think you have such stuff all figured out....