Review - SONAX Paint Polishing Foam Pads

**The Guz** · 10-16-2017, 03:59 AM

Disclaimer: Meghan sent me this product to review. Thank you Meghan for sending these out to me.

Product: SONAX Paint Polishing Foam Pads

Price: $14.99

Quantity: Sold Individually

I put them to use when I corrected my car back in June of 2017. Brief background. I had my 99 Pontiac Grand Prix repainted a year ago this month. The entire car was repainted.

So I received my car with rotary holograms and swirls on the entire paint. I had not done any paint correction. Around 7 months without any type of correction upon receiving it. The good thing is the paint is silver so it hides defects pretty well. But when I saw the defects I would always cringe and be like the paint should not look this bad.

Ok onto the review of these pads. The pads come in different options and different sizes. Meghan sent me the 5.5" sizes that I would pair with the Rupes LHR15 MKII.

Pad Descriptions:

SONAX Red Dual Action Hard Cutting Pad - 143 mm

SONAX Red Dual Action Hard Cutting Pad is a hard, thin, and finely pored pad used for abrasive polishing of scratched and weather vehicle paintwork. The hole in the center of the pad provides good ventilation while in use and prevents both your pad and the backing plate from overheating. Manufactured using a specialized open cell foam, SONAX Red Dual Action Hard Cutting Pad prevents the product from slinging from your pad. The white hook & loop backing is firmly secured to the foam face, and will not rip or tear during use. Use the SONAX Red Dual Action Hard Cutting Pad with SONAX CutMax Cutting Compound or as the first step to flawless paint.

SONAX Red Dual Action Hard Cutting Pad measures 5.5 inches and can be used with a 5 inch backing plate.

SONAX Yellow Dual Action Polishing Pad - 143 mm

The SONAX Yellow Dual Action Polishing Pad is used to finely perfect the paint after compounding, or if your paint just needs a medium polish. The hole in the center of the pad provides good ventilation while in use and prevents both your pad and the backing plate from overheating. The white hook & loop backing is firmly secured to the foam face, and will not rip or tear during use. Use the SONAX Yellow Dual Action Polishing Pad with SONAX Perfect Finish to achieve a clear, shining finish.

SONAX Yellow Dual Action Polishing Pad measures 5.5 inches and can be used with a 5 inch backing plate.

Prior to me using these pads I took a trip to a local detailing shop where there was Sonax reps demoing the new Sonax CC36 Ceramic Paint Coating. While I was there I was impressed with the Sonax polishes that were used for that demo. I ended up walking out with an 8 oz bottle of Cut & Finish and an 8 oz bottle of EX 04-06 finishing polish.

These are examples of the type of defects I was dealing with on the entire car.

I paired the red cutting pad with Cut & Finish and the yellow polishing pad with EX 04-06.

After a few passes this is what the paint looked like on the trunk which was my test area.

Full view of the trunk area. The same process was repeated around the entire car with various other pads as I only had these two pads from Sonax and these two are not enough to work on a mid size sedan.

Final thoughts:

These pads did what they were designed to do. The foams seem to be of durable quality. They fit the backing plate of the Rupes LHR15 MKII just fine and would fit various other tools with a 5” backing plate.

The red cutting pad has a real dense feeling to it. It is a stiff pad. It does become a little softer as it’s used with the heat generated from the polishing process. It reminds me of the green Rupes pad. The pad offered a great cut and finish.

The yellow polishing pad is softer than the cutting pad. The yellow foam reminds me of the Rupes yellow foam. The pad offered a great finish as part of the two step polishing process. The defects were too deep for the yellow pad to get everything out but for lesser defects this pad would work well for a one step polishing job.

Overall both pads performed very well. I can not comment on the longevity/durability of these pads as I have only used them on few panels on my personal car.

The pads cleaned out fairly easy. The red pad is best cleaned under warm water. It allows the pad to become easier to work with. The yellow pad had no issues with cold water.

I don’t have a con for these pads.

The only thing is that with so many pad options on the market these can be forgotten. But they work well and are another great option.

I would recommend giving these a try. Same goes for the polishes.

Thanks for reading

Video review of the pads for those that are interested.