pad question for GG6

[ponzy]

I have a couple questions/suggestions i need to ask you guys, pls help :)

A.) What other pads would you recommend for cutting compound, finishing compound, sealant or wax pads.....

B.) I only have 1 DA Polisher - griots garage 6 - but id like to use 3-4 inch pads as well. I've researched some backing plates/adapters/pads too, and i came accross with these kit: CCS Spot Buffs 4 Inch Foam Pad Kit (http://www.autogeek.net/spot-buff-kit.html). Is that a very useable and efficient pads or its just good for value and less for efficiency.

For now i have griots polishes 1/2/3/4.... I planned to get optimum or megs compounds but i wanted to try my skills first using same brand of polishes so i wouldnt messed up my car(first time on da polishers and just tried klasse AIO (minimal to no cut when it comes to swirl removal on my honda accord royal blue pearl car.

Thanks everyone.....

Ponzy

[embolism]

yeah, KAIO is a great paint cleaner and base for KSG but it's not going to correct anything even on soft paint

depending on how bad your car is, most polishes will work. Have you considered the Menzerna line? It uses diminishing abrasives which tend to finish better on softer paint.

Power finish on 5.5 inch orange LC flats was all I needed to get the swirls out of my car. I followed it with Super finish on black as my finishing polish

with proper wash techniques, I'll probably only need super finish on white for my spring detail.

I also just picked up the 2 7/8 LC backing pad and Griots 3 inch orange and red pads so I can concentrate on the rear of my car which has some hard to reach spots. Might even try removing the emblems this spring.

[ponzy]

Thanks tim for the reply....... I was looking into that of 2 7/8" backing plate but it doesnt specify if it would fit on my DA GG6' 5/16 threads? I think its designed for a rotary lines and not on my kind of polisher... Any thoughts? Id like to take advantage of the vip pads as well so i could at least practice on them, weather permitting....

Thanks again,

Ponzy

Ps: will these meguire unigrit 3" prof backing plate (http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-unigrit-backing-plate.html) is the right one for the 3-4" buffing pads to put on my GG6?

[silvermesa]

I just purchased Griots GG6 DA at Thanksgiving and completed my first paint correction and detail two weeks ago. I am very pleased with the Griot's GG6 and Lake Country Pads.

I purchased the LC-43-125DA Lake Country 5" Backing Plate and used the 5.5" flat Lake Country pads in 2 orange, 2 white, 2 Black and 2 blue pads. In addition I purchased the LC-43-085DA 3.5" Lake Country Backing Plate for the 4" Lake Country CCS Pads in the same colors and quantities as above. The 5.5" pads took care of 90% of the vehicle. The 4" pads were handy for the small tight areas (bumper, pillars etc.). After completing the paint correction I have no problems with the above selection that other recommended to me.

By the way a Grit Guard Pad Washer was worth every cent in making life easier. As you are compounding along you need to clean the spent paint off of your pad from time to time and the pad washer was great!

I have no experience with the compounds you want to use. I used M105 with orange pad, M205 with white pad, Mezerna PO85rd with black pad and blue pads for sealant and wax.

Best of luck. The above backing plates install easily on the Griots machine.

[ponzy]

Silvermesa, care to share what car and color you did your first paint correction? Thanks....

[embolism]

Thanks tim for the reply....... I was looking into that of 2 7/8" backing plate but it doesnt specify if it would fit on my DA GG6' 5/16 threads? I think its designed for a rotary lines and not on my kind of polisher... Any thoughts? Id like to take advantage of the vip pads as well so i could at least practice on them, weather permitting....

Thanks again,

Ponzy

Ps: will these meguire unigrit 3" prof backing plate (http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-unigrit-backing-plate.html) is the right one for the 3-4" buffing pads to put on my GG6?

I don't think that bp is for pads, but sanding discs

this 27/8 bp will fit the 3" griots pads and will work on the GG6
3 Inch Dual Action Flexible Backing Plate, da backing plate, random orbital backing plate (http://www.autogeek.net/3inch-dual-action-backing-plate.html)

if you want to use 4 inch pads then I would get a 3.5 inch bp

[silvermesa]

Silvermesa, care to share what car and color you did your first paint correction? Thanks.... Ponzy,

My vehicle is a 2004 GMC Dually with 180,000 miles. It sits outside and has never had a paint correction in 8 years. It was in need!

M105 did 90% of the heavy lifting on swirl removal and it really lifted a milky haze or veil off the paint. M205 and Mezerna PO85rd refined the rest. Two coats of black fire wet diamond sealant and one coat of colinite 845 were applied. It was a lot of work especially on a neglected vehicle.

My buddy and I felt that the average person on the street would be pleased with M105 then topped with a wax it looked that good. If you decide to use it read about "the kevin brown method" of priming the pad. M105 was fairly easy to work with once you know that.

I was real pleased with Black Fire Wet Diamond Sealant. It is slick and wet looking. Colinite 845 topped over BFWD diminishes the wet look a bit but maybe increases depth a bit. My buddies black truck looked spectacular with the above combination. My white truck only shows it a dusk and not at mid day.

1037610377

[opie_7afe]

btw all the dual action/random orbital backing plates sold on autogeek have 5/16-24 threads. for a brand pick one that looks good to you they all do the same, but the backing plates with holes are for sanding discs with holes for a vacuum dust removal setup.the size backing plate for 4" pads would be the 2 3/4", 27/8", 3.5"

[ponzy]

Thanks all.....I could summarized the ans for my query and pls CORRECT me if i am wrong and feel free to add more infos:

A.) Pads commonly used are:

WOOL CUTTING PADS ---- mainly used for rotaries and often not advisable for DA(?)

MICROFIBER CUTTING PADS-- for severe oxidation, moderate to heavy swirl removal using products with orange pads; 2-4 pads per vehicle with recommended cleaning the pads per section/panel(?)

ORANGE -- foam cutting pad, applicable to use with meg105; menzerna power gloss(a little heavier than 105) or p085rd 3.02 or power finish; griots 1/2/3; optimum hyper compound spray/hyper polish spray/optimum comp 2/optimum polish 2. Again 2-4 pads per vehicle(?)

WHITE ----- for buffer swirl removal/ holograms using menzerna nano or micro or or super or final finish; meg 205; OPT finish polish, griots 3/4. 1-2 should be enough(?) Per vehicle

GREY ---- used similarly with WHITE PAD polishes but produces NO CUT AT ALL..
just for the purpose of REMOVING HAZE(?) --- menzerna PO85RD, super final polish; meg205; OPT finish compound 2; griots 4; klasse AIO; most 1-step AIO polishes; 1-2 per vehicle (?)

BLUE/RED ----- application of even ditribution of prewax cleaners and/or of wax and sealants i.e. collinite 845, pinnacle liquid wax, wolfgang sealant 3.0, griots best of show wax, klasse AIO as paint cleaner, klasse sealant glaze, dp policoat sealant etc

MICROFIBER BONNETS --- used and inserted on GREY PADS for removal of wax/sealants (but are optional and often not recommended for newbies like me :)



B.) Pretty much answered by TIM and MATT ----- KEYWORD is "DA BACKING PLATES with 5/16 threads"

Well, heres the next sets of questions:

1.)which one is better on DA application as to size and efficency and durability:
FLAT PADS ---
CCS PADS ----
KOMPRRSSOR ---- for rotaries

2.) LAKE COUNTRY versus COBRA or MEGUIRE or GRIOTS GARAGE or GENERIC(?)foam pads as to efficiency and durability? Or is there a chart of recommended pads for a specific compounds?

3.) When it comes to microfiber cutting pads: OPT versus MEGUIRE? which one is better for which compounds? Obviously for their own line of products but ive read somewhere thay both arent that durable at all, so it comes down to efficacy and numbers of cars done on a set of pads.

I know im comparing different sets of brands which could flame out hate on certain products/brands but i just want to know which are the ones used by most autogeekers(?) around here that they would recommend to newbies like me. Lets just say i would like to buy stuff out of an educated guess...and these suggestions and recommendations would help other newbies too seeking the same information...

And again, THANKS to ALL,

PONZY

[embolism]

few things:

KAIO and other paint cleaners are best used at speed 5 on the GG6 with white pads

black pads are the softest you need. Stick with low profile 5.5 inch LC pads or hydrotechs (7/8 inches thick)

microfibre cutting pads work best with SMAT polishes/compounds

I wouldn't use a machine to apply ksg. It needs to be put on super thin by hand such that you can't even see it after it's applied. Search for application methods and test your application/removal on a small area so you can get the hang of it before you do the whole car.

bonnets are more trouble than they are worth whether you are a newb or not...

[ponzy]

Thanks tim, i thought ht pads are for water based compounds only? Can it be used on DAT non water based compounds too? I hope theres a kit for those with backing plates included....