Clean Machine:
The pads mostly used by quite alot of us are the Advanced Foam pads in 7.5 inch. Here is the link:
Advanced Foam Pads
The correct backing plate can also be found here as well:
Backing plate for 7.5 inch pads
You really need the three: Yellow, White and Grey.
Or you can also get these "Finger" pads which work very well with the PC:
Finger foam pads for the PC
These too are 7.5 inch, so the backing plate mentioned above works with both types.
As for care, after polishing, wash in warm water by hand with some Dawn or other cleaners such as Megs APC+ in a bucket used just for cleaning pads. Work the soapy water though them one at a time and rinse often, then let them sit in the pail overnight if possible. Rinse really well and squeeze as much water out of them. Let them air-dry. Do NOT use a washing machine for pads, the velcro will start to seperate from them.
Once you have your first set of pads and find the best polish that works for you, I then dedicate one pad per product. I wash them, dry and store in a ziplock bag and mark each pad what I use on it.
Enjoy the PC, you'll love this thing!
Regards,
Deanski