Are orbital pads color coded?

[kevincwelch]

I suppose the underlying question is whether some of these pads are interchangeable. For example, GG recommends the orange pads for cutting/polishing, the dark grey/black pads for finishing and the red pads for waxing/sealing.

There are other brands of pads, and I see similar color selections for similar treatments.

Other than the obvious shape and divots, is there any real difference between -- for example -- the Meguiar's orange pads and the Griot's Garage orange pads?

I bought a bunch of GG pads, and I think I want to use the Megs m105 and m205 polishes rather than the GG polishes. People here seem to think more highly of the Megs m105/205 combo. I really would like to avoid having to buy redundant pads if it's not necessary.

Thanks!

[Evan.J]

Those pads you see in the kit are Lake country CCS pads. the M105/205 combo is great and works well.

What are you working on and what are you trying to accomplish?

As always you will want to go with the least aggressive method to get you results so always do a test spot.

You don't need meguiar specific pads to use with the M105/205

[Mike Phillips]

There's no industry or universal standard.

I cover this topic in my how-to book and simply state that the best thing to do outside of starting a thread on this forum and asking questions live you've done is to study and research the pad line you're interested in or using.

Even manufacturer's use different colors for different types of pads, for example in the Lake Country CCS line of pads the blue is a very soft waxing pad but in the Lake Country Hydro-Tech line of pads the blue is a cutting pad.