Machine polishing pads 101

sidibear

Going with the flow.
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Nov 5, 2008
Messages
2,367
Reaction score
809
Points
113
Location
Birmingham UK
Which one to use for what and at what speed?

Not after a "hex logic are better than 3m" type thread, just a squidgy , soft , firm, which one for restoring paint, applying glaze,wax, polish etc.

Thanks.
 
You didn't say whether rotary or DA. I have a DAS 6 DA polisher so bear that in mind.

Depends what you are looking to tackle, serious scratches or just to spruce up. The pads are expensive and I am all about value for money so I don't have many. I have:

1 x Hex Logic 5.5" white pad
1 x Hex Logic 5.5." orange pad

I also have, 1 x Lake Country 6.5" white pad - I find this too big TBH and prefer the 5.5" pads.

With these I use: Meguiars #105, Meguiars #205 and Dodo Juice Lime Prime. I've rarely used the 105 (got it to fix a clear coat scratch), used the 205 a bit and probably used the Lime Prime the most. As the Meguiars polishes provide different cut depending on pressure, I find they work well with the few pads I have.

That's my limited experience but I would recommend the Hex Logic pads. They seem good all rounders.
 
  • Like
Reactions: xpoweruk
Thanks Scotty, kind of thing I was after.

So soft pads for fine stuff and harder pads for seriously removing stuff?
 
So soft pads for fine stuff and harder pads for seriously removing stuff?

In general that's true, here's the but.... you can use the polish and pad combo to achieve different levels of "cut". The combination of the two determines the harshness. The Meguiars polishes I have are designed so that you can use them with different pads to get different cut and as I said above the cut is also determined by how hard you press.

So, for example, I have used Meguiars 105 (heavy cut polish) in combination with the white Hex Logic pad to get a "medium" cutting effect. The advice is always to start with the least aggressive combo and work up! So I can do this:

Megs #105 + Orange pad = heavy cutting action
Megs #105 + White pad = medium cutting action
Megs #205 + White pad = light cutting / refining action

Dodo Juice Lime Prime is designed to be used before wax so has a different purpose hence I only ever use that with the white Hex Logic pad.

You can see how aggressive a polish is using the handy cut and gloss bars on Polished Bliss's website, click on the Specification tab...

Meguiar's Ultra Cut Compound (#105) | Meguiar's Car Care & Detailing Products
Meguiar's Ultra Finishing Polish (#205) | Meguiar's Car Care & Detailing Products

Hope that helps. Detailing Word is the place to head for all you could ever need to know. Plus the usual holy wars about what's the best way to do things. :)

This is handy bedtime reading... Machine Polishing by Dual Action Polisher - Full Guide - Detailing World
 

Similar threads

Replies
5
Views
783
Replies
9
Views
1K
Replies
6
Views
1K
Replies
15
Views
2K
Replies
5
Views
1K
Deleted member 21388
D