Need Clarification BADLY about pads!!

E

Elonheater32

New member
Do you guys (especially the newbies) ever get the feeling that you post a question for clarification, but then become even more confused after reading the replys!!!???? Well, thats me now!



I ordered a few items from Autogeek last night.



2 Grit Guards

1Z Einszett Perls Shampoo Premium Car Soap

Optimum Tire Shine

24 oz. Surf City Garage Clearly Better Glass Cleaner

Optimum Protectant Plus

Cobra Deluxe Combo Pack Microfiber Towels



This is what I am about to order on detailersdomain tonight



Menzerna Nano Polish PO106FF 32 oz

Menzerna Super Intensive Polish 32 oz

Some pads for my PC



What I need help with ONCE AGAIN is my pad selection.



The only use for a 4" pad is to take out moderate to heavy swirl marks so I figured I need only a cutting pad in the 4" size. I am looking at the CCS 4" pads on detailersdomain and it is saying that the yellow pad is the most aggressive so I am going to get two yellow pads to put on my initial polish. I probably should get 2 or 3 of these pads so I can have a fresh pad to do each third of the vehicle with.



Then I am going to purchase the 6.5" orange pad to apply my second polish since most of the swirl marks ... if not all will be out. At this stage, I will not need the extra heat produced by the abrasive 4" pad. I am going to purchase two of these pads so I can change it out halfway through the vechicle. Is my thinking right so far??



Also, I do not understand why people buy the other pads such as the black, white, red, green pads. Most waxes and sealants are applied and removed by hand. So....... what is the need for those pads?



For those of you guys that use the PC to apply sealant to the coat.... do you do it for for "optimal" results or is it just a time saving tool?



I have two problems if I buy the kit.

1) I need 4" and 6" pads and cannot afford to buy two kits...one of each size

2) I need more than just ONE pad of each color...most kits come with just one pad unless its the $100+ kits.



That is why I am probably going to buy the pads individually and need to know exactly which ones to buy to be most cost effective. Is my rationale right, or is there much more to it.... am I missing something?
 
well, with the 106ff you want to use a white pad or blue, grey. If you you buy the 6.5" pad kit from detailers domain, you can select which pads you want.
 
I typically clean/rinse out pads after every three panels or so, only using one pad per car. I only use multiple pads when i'm pressed for time. If you aren't in a hurry you can save by buying only one of each pad to start.



As far as pads go a 4" aggressive pad will cover your heavier correction, the 6.5" orange pad will cover the medium correction and a white 6.5" pad would cover the light finish polishing. I always like to finish with a white pad on softer paints, orange for the hard, both with FPII.



HTH
 
Elonheater32 said:
Also, I do not understand why people buy the other pads such as the black, white, red, green pads. Most waxes and sealants are applied and removed by hand. So....... what is the need for those pads?
Click to expand...



For a PC, all you really need is orange 5.5 for medium cutting, yellow 4" for heavy cutting, and white 5.5 for final finishing. The red, black, blue, green, etc tend to come in more handy with a rotary - sometimes one of those pads will finish down very nicely when another will not.



I like the no-cut "waxing" pads with a super-fine polish at higher than usual RPMS on a rotary - leaves a gloss that you will not believe.
 
Okay this is what I gather so far.



1)I definately need the 4" yellow pad (can I use this pad over the entire vehicle?) The car that I will be detailing the most is my Audi which is said to have a hard clear coat so I'm assuming I'll probably need to use the 4" pad for correction.



2)I need a blue or green 6.5" pad when I am using the 106ff in order to get the clean, smooth, shiney finish I want.



Now two questions.. If the SIP from the 4" pad leaves micromarring.... will a blue or green pad get it out using the 106ff? The green is a bit more agressive than the blue....... so I need to get the green in order to get the micromarring out or will the blue do fine?



Is it possible to get the same job done with an orange 6.5" pad that I could get done with a 4" pad. The reason I am asking is that it would save me money and I wouldnt have to buy an adaptor which seems like a pain.
 
Just when I thought that we were going somewhere we end up back here. Your job in life is to torture me isn't it.



:chuckle:



Here is what I know so far about your situation, your wife is buying you some detailing supplies for Christmas (She's a keeper), and you partially placed your order. You have decided to use Zaino product, but I also assume that you have some swirl marks in your paint, which is why you are ordering the Menz. Well let's see if we can get over this last hurdle for you.





OK back to the pads.





Elonheater32 said:
What I need help with ONCE AGAIN is my pad selection.



The only use for a 4" pad is to take out moderate to heavy swirl marks so I figured I need only a cutting pad in the 4" size. I am looking at the CCS 4" pads on detailers domain and it is saying that the yellow pad is the most aggressive so I am going to get two yellow pads to put on my initial polish. I probably should get 2 or 3 of these pads so I can have a fresh pad to do each third of the vehicle with.



Then I am going to purchase the 6.5" orange pad to apply my second polish since most of the swirl marks ... if not all will be out. At this stage, I will not need the extra heat produced by the abrasive 4" pad. I am going to purchase two of these pads so I can change it out halfway through the vehicle. Is my thinking right so far??



Also, I do not understand why people buy the other pads such as the black, white, red, green pads. Most waxes and sealants are applied and removed by hand. So....... what is the need for those pads?



For those of you guys that use the PC to apply sealant to the coat.... do you do it for "optimal" results or is it just a time saving tool?



I have two problems if I buy the kit.

1) I need 4" and 6" pads and cannot afford to buy two kits...one of each size

2) I need more than just ONE pad of each color...most kits come with just one pad unless its the $100+ kits.



That is why I am probably going to buy the pads individually and need to know exactly which ones to buy to be most cost effective. Is my rationale right, or is there much more to it.... am I missing something?
Click to expand...



Actually I use Spot pads(4 in pads) all the time and when I want to get into area that the 6.5 does not allow me to work in easily. If you plan on using Zaino I will make this simple for you. Get yourself the following:



  • LC 4" orange and yellow (always start with the orange first with SIP (least aggressive))
  • LC 6.5" orange and White (for Menz Finishing Nano Polish)
  • (Hopefully you have the 3.5" backing plate on order also)



As far as using the black, white, red, blue and green pad, each serves a particular focus in detailing. I use white to polish with mostly with (which is what you should use also) Menz Nano Polish. It gives a slight cut to where you can level out very fine marks with excellent finishing.



I use the other colors as well. For instance I used the black yesterday while applying a glaze. I use the green to apply AIO's on really stained paint and sometimes glass, and I also use it with Optimum polishes.



So where most choose to apply Zaino by hand, it can also be done by machine with the non-cutting pads like the black, blue or red. In your case however you should only need what I listed for you. Check out this chart to help you further for education on this. I hope that this helped. If not I know that you will ask more questions. :laugh:
 
I agree with Tim " For a PC, all you really need is orange 5.5 for medium cutting, yellow 4" for heavy cutting, and white 5.5 for final finishing. "



I would like to add that a grey pad for glazes and a blue for wax/sealers is handy, I use the PC for applying those much more often than trying to correct paint. oh - 6.5" pads- grey/blue
 
Elonheater32 said:
Is it possible to get the same job done with an orange 6.5" pad that I could get done with a 4" pad. The reason I am asking is that it would save me money and I wouldnt have to buy an adaptor which seems like a pain.
Click to expand...



I'm a newbie too. Orange is the most aggressive pad that I have. I have gotten out swirl marks and heavy spider webbing on a Jeep and a new Mercedes. I think that unless the paint is real bad you won't need the 4" yellow pad.
 
I'm with the others, get the 4" yellow, 5.5" orange and whatever size white for the final polish. You probably want a couple of each, but you should only need one per car. Also don't start right out with the yellow pad either. Chances are unless your car has really bad scratches you won't even need the yellow except on a few spots. Start out with the orange and SIP first. I would also suggest trying a black or whatever the color is for waxing. I found that I really like applying wax and sealant better with the PC. It's less taxing on my hand (my finger joints get sore) and I feel that I get better coverage and waste less wax.
 
themightytimmah said:
For a PC, all you really need is orange 5.5 for medium cutting, yellow 4" for heavy cutting, and white 5.5 for final finishing. The red, black, blue, green, etc tend to come in more handy with a rotary - sometimes one of those pads will finish down very nicely when another will not.



I like the no-cut "waxing" pads with a super-fine polish at higher than usual RPMS on a rotary - leaves a gloss that you will not believe.
Click to expand...

After using my PC for a while I agree 100%.
 
Thanks guys.... you rule! So I'm definately going to use my PC to apply Zaino after hearing from you guys.



I guess I will get this....



-1 yellow 4" pad just in case I have to detail something thats really bad

-6.5" pad kit (I cannot find any 5.5" pads!!)



I am assuming that the 6.5" pads have velcro on the back of them and for the 4" pad I will have to get a different backing plate. Am I right?
 
Autogeek has 5.5" low profile pads. I only have the orange right now, but I really like it versus the larger pads as it corrects better. Bob at Danase has 5" CCS pads. I have one of the orange ones of those also and it works good. Also Bob has 20% off through Christmas. I won't give out the code, but just join the forum and do a search for it :)



You will want a 5" backing plate for the larger pads and a 3" bp for the 4" pad.
 
Grimm, I like that 5.5" low profile pad too, AG has them on sale for 15 bucks for 6, tempting offer! How do like the CCS pads?
 
I only have the orange, and I honestly don't have a lot of experience with them but I think they perform pretty well the same. Definitely a lot better than the thick 6.5" LC pad that I have.
 
Sounds like your are on the right track!!! You are correct, you will need to get a 5 or 5.5 inch backing plate for the 6.5 inch or 5.5 inch pads and a 3.5 inch backing plate for the 4 inch pads. After using 6.5 inch pads initially with my PC, I would highly recommend the 5.5 inch pads. You can get 5.5 inch pads through AutoGeek. They are pretty cheap too. They have a sweet deal on 12 5.5 inch and 4 inch orange pads. You can find them in the New Stuff section. Here's a link for yah.....................Low Profile Orange Pad Bundle
 
3.5" backing plate with a 5.5 low pro LC orange pag (the ones mentioned above)

I use a 6" backing plate with a 6.5 LC pad and it seems to not bog down as much as with a 5" plate..I love the 5.5" pads much better!! remember, smaller pad on a PC, larger pad on a rotary (in most cases)



4" orange might leave you with no micromarring compared to the yellow and might take out just as much (with micromarring taken into consideration) because of the open cell vs. not as open (heat generation)
 
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