FLEX Rotary Pad Size

[CU2MIKE]

Hello everyone, I recently decided to upgrade to the FLEX rotary package deal from autogeek.net, which consisted of a 7 inch backing plate + three 8.5 inch pads. I was trying to do paint correction on a friend's Acura TL-S today, and was not able to remove clear coat scratches (those pesky spider web scratches?) Here are the materials i used:
Lake Country 8.5 inch CCS Orange pad w/ Menzerna IP. Speed set @ 1500RPM.
Lake Country 8.5 inch CCS White pad w/ Menzerna PO85RD. Speed set @ 1200RPM.
Lake Country 8.5 inch CCS Grey pad w/ Menzerna Sealing Wax.

My question is this, do you guys think the pads are too big? Is that why I was not getting any results? Would a 5.65 inch rotary backing plate fit 6.5 inch Dual Action pads? (Pads are also Lake Country CCS, just in 6.5 inch instead)

I do everything by the book I believe. Prime pad with pad conditioner before buffing, tilt the buffer slightly so the pad is at an angle, no more than 2'x2' at any given time, horizontal/vertical passes until the IP is clear. It is quite discouraging for me not seeing any results, and I really enjoy making cars look good and their owners happy.

Please help! Thanks so much everyone!!

[Pristine Image]

It sounds to me like you jumped in and did the whole car in one go. Did you happen to do a test area first? If you hadn't, it could be that you actually did take out some of the swirls but you have nothing to compare it to so you think you didn't remove any of the swirls (spider webbing) at all.

I'm not familiar enough with rotaries or Menzerna products to give you advice on those but perhaps a second round of polishing on the swirled panels would result in less swirls. I've done this before where instead of getting a more aggressive product or pad I just made a second pass to get out more of the remaining swirls.

Edit: Welcome to AGO!

[CU2MIKE]

I actually did PO85RD with whit pad first, 3 horizontal passes with 3 vertical passes between them. I think i worked the polish enough? It was done in the garage during a fairly cool day (between 75-80). And yes I did do a test area, did not notice anything being removed. I did, however, made it so shiny that the pearls in the car were "popping out".

And thanks for the warm welcome!

[OvertimeDetail]

?????? P085rd is a very fine polish, you won't take out any swirls with it. P085rd is used to jewel the paint i believe

[CU2MIKE]

I've seen people work magic with PO85, you'd be surpirsed!
but IP didnt work either, which i thought was strange. IP worked fine when i had my UDM with 5.5 inch pads......
So do you guys think my 8.5 inch pads are too big?

[ICEMAN]

I've seen people work magic with PO85, you'd be surpirsed!
but IP didnt work either, which i thought was strange. IP worked fine when i had my UDM with 5.5 inch pads......
So do you guys think my 8.5 inch pads are too big?

i think the pads are too big. I would go with 6.5" at the biggest. 5.5 is a nice touch. i may be upgrading to the leightweight Flex rotary and using 5 or 5.5" pads. maybe 4" on the Cyclo. still deciding. i need to start cutting down my polishing time, without losing quality. im currently using the 7424XP DA with 6.5" pads. Takes too long to cut, especially since i like to use Menzerna.

[CU2MIKE]

im currently using the 7424XP DA with 6.5" pads. Takes too long to cut, especially since i like to use Menzerna.

6.5 is too big for a DA, I had an UDM and i was using 5.5 inch pads for big panels, and 4 inch pads for small, tight spots.
thanks for the input though! You've confirmed my suspicions, i currently have 6.5s on order,hope it turns out well...