How many pads do I need?

[jzuniga01]

I finally got a polisher, it is Griot's Garage. So my questions is how many pads should I get so I can work on my SUV? It is a mid size SUV (05 Dodge Durango). Also what kind should I use? I will be using UC and Swirl X. Swirls are moderate.

[Mike Phillips]

A good average would 6 pads...

If the paint has a lot of swirls, then get

3 orange light cutting pads
2 white polishing pads
1 gray finishing pad


That would be a good minimum start.


If you call our Tech Line and describe the condition of the paint they can help you select just the right pads for your project.

1-800-869-3011

[jzuniga01]

am I going to use swirl x with the finishing pad?

[Mike Phillips]

You can use SwirlX with either a polishing pad or finishing pad, the way I was suggestion was with a polishing pad.

Use the UC with the light orange cutting pad
SwirlX with polishing pad
Wax or paint sealant with the finishing pad


You say your swirls are "Moderate", and that's kind of subjective but if you like, you could get

1 light cutting pad
4 polishing pads
1 finishing pad

Use the light cutting pad for any areas that are really bad
Use the polishing pads for most of the vehicle with the UC, save one or two for the SwirlX and save the finishing pad for your wax or paint sealant.


The bigger point is this, you need a few different types of pads so you have something to test with when first starting out. You want to use the least aggressive approach when working on your car or even a customer's car as the idea behind this is to remove the defects while leaving the most paint on the car.

You can't figure out which pad/product combo will work best till do some testing and you can't do any testing without some pads to test with.