pad vs polish

[pman626]

What happens when you mix and match polishes with pads....

for instance, using a medium cut orange pad with a finer polish like Ultimate Polish ?

Will that result in hazing?


I know you can use softer pads with more aggressive compounds to fine tune the cut.
But what about the reverse.... using cutting pads with less aggressive compounds?

[fly07sti]

Really depends on the paint of the vehicle. Let's say you're working on a GM truck with hard clear and just want to one step the paint to get 60-70% of the defects out. Using a firmer pad with a finer polish might just be what you need.

[cardaddy]

Same thing as the reverse side of that coin. :)

With the exception of the Lake Country yellow heavy cut pad, almost all the rest (I'd reserve the red and gold for only polishes) can be used with whatever product you are wanting to use. It's working out which combo does what that is where the art of it comes into play.

This is why dealers (generally) make crappy detailers. They have one guy with a big rotary, a couple 3M products and a big ol' wool pad. Correcting wet sanding, he'll use heavy cut and that wool pad. Finish polishing, he'll (hopefully) switch to a polish (although most likely a polish/glaze) and use the same wool pad. Sure... some have a foam pad, but they don't have 6 different levels of cut in their pads and learn to use them with various compounds and polishes. And in all honesty, that's not only what separates them from what paint correction detailers do, but the fact that they simply DO NOT have the time to put into the job like we'd do. This is why I've had referrals from body shops, simply because they are in a different environment, (often one that has a max of 2~3 hours to do a vehicle inside and out, top to bottom front to back) where I'd spend 20 to 30 even upwards of 40 hours on one.

[conman1395]

I find with non-diminishing abrasives like those found in Meguiar's and HD compounds and polishes perform exceptionally well with different pads to get the level of cut needed while finishing well. I have not tried to experiment nearly as much with my Menzerna polishes (PF2500, SIP1500, SF4500).

[dlc95]

Absolutely. I do this a lot with Ultimate Polish actually.

From Rupes blue microfiber cutting pads, to orange Lake Country CCS.

[lawrenceSA]

Same thing as the reverse side of that coin. :)

With the exception of the Lake Country yellow heavy cut pad, almost all the rest (I'd reserve the red and gold for only polishes) can be used with whatever product you are wanting to use. It's working out which combo does what that is where the art of it comes into play.

This is why dealers (generally) make crappy detailers. They have one guy with a big rotary, a couple 3M products and a big ol' wool pad. Correcting wet sanding, he'll use heavy cut and that wool pad. Finish polishing, he'll (hopefully) switch to a polish (although most likely a polish/glaze) and use the same wool pad. Sure... some have a foam pad, but they don't have 6 different levels of cut in their pads and learn to use them with various compounds and polishes. And in all honesty, that's not only what separates them from what paint correction detailers do, but the fact that they simply DO NOT have the time to put into the job like we'd do. This is why I've had referrals from body shops, simply because they are in a different environment, (often one that has a max of 2~3 hours to do a vehicle inside and out, top to bottom front to back) where I'd spend 20 to 30 even upwards of 40 hours on one.

:iagree::dblthumb2:

[pman626]

ok, I'm still a novice. so now I'm wondering,
will a medium cut pad with Ultimate Polish give the same results as a softer blue polishing pad with Ultimate Polish?

I just used a cutting pad with UP and lighter pressure, and it looks shiny enough. I can't really tell the difference.

Is there supposed to be a difference in finish quality?

or does the cutting pad simply just give faster results?

Other than more stiffness, the cutting pad feels about as gritty as the blue foam pad. feels soft enough to my skin.

[builthatch]

Other than more stiffness, the cutting pad feels about as gritty as the blue foam pad. feels soft enough to my skin.

yeah feel is a tough gauge for pads. can be totally unreliable. for instance, Buff & Shine yellow pads feel softer/less aggro than their orange pads, but the yellow are in fact more aggressive.

[dlc95]

ok, I'm still a novice. so now I'm wondering,
will a medium cut pad with Ultimate Polish give the same results as a softer blue polishing pad with Ultimate Polish?

I just used a cutting pad with UP and lighter pressure, and it looks shiny enough. I can't really tell the difference.

Is there supposed to be a difference in finish quality?

or does the cutting pad simply just give faster results?

Other than more stiffness, the cutting pad feels about as gritty as the blue foam pad. feels soft enough to my skin.

What make and model pads are you using, specifically?

If you use a medium cut with UP you could run into the potential for getting "pad haze". In time, your eye will develop to the point of being able to see the difference. The blue pad should "bring up the gloss". Each step is sequential, because when you chopped the swirs during the cutting process, you're doing the exact same thing during the polishing process, but instead of easily visible swirls, you're refining defects that are all but indistinguishable.

[pman626]

What make and model pads are you using, specifically?

If you use a medium cut with UP you could run into the potential for getting "pad haze".


ahh. thanks. That's what I needed to know.

I use no name brand pads. One is a harbor freight blue polishing pad.

another is an orange light medium cutting pad from ebay.

One of these days I'll have to do a half/half and compare the blue and orange pads.

[Ccrew]

I use no name brand pads. One is a harbor freight blue polishing pad.

another is an orange light medium cutting pad from ebay.


In all honesty, they could be the same and just different colors. That's why you'll see most people here stick with a brand/system, so they know for instance that orange is cut and white is medium and red is jeweling. When you start to hodge-podge you have to remember what color coding the different brands use and sometimes you really don't know. Or like me where I'm old, I forget!

[dlc95]

ahh. thanks. That's what I needed to know.

I use no name brand pads. One is a harbor freight blue polishing pad.

another is an orange light medium cutting pad from ebay.

One of these days I'll have to do a half/half and compare the blue and orange pads.

Is the orange pad stiffer than the blue?

[pman626]

orange pad is less compressible than the blue.

The blue is labeled as a polishing pad. Harbor freight has an orange one that is for compounding.

6 in. Polishing Foam Pad (http://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-polishing-foam-pad-60309.html)