Captain311

iTrader: (1)

Hey guys i bought a PC 7424 two months ago because I was getting a little tired of doing everything by hand but what i'm confused about now is what foam pads to buy. I've read a couple post about it but I fee like the options are endless so its left me confused still. I honestly feel like i'm back to square one because I dont know where to start when buying foam pads for the PC buffer. If someone could post a link as to what pads to buy to get a complete detail done and why they're the best pads to buy like a cutting pad, buffing pad, polishing pad, etc, that would be great. Thanks for the help.

LeX2K

Take a look at this page it breaks down what the various pads are used for. On my car I started out with the white pads, and used the green pad for my final pass. It really depends on how much correction your paint needs, post pics if you can or describe what condition the finish is.

FYI my cars finish was in good shape just mild scratches, on a car that needs more serious correction I would have gone with an orange pad and a harsher compound.

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

I've used orange Lake Country pads and white Lake Country pads to complete a heavily damaged car. Its more technique and proper pad to polish matching than anything really

You can get pads from Detailed Image, Detailers Domain, Autogeek, and other places

Greg@DI

Our detailing guide (polishing section) should provide some more information that you are looking for. If you need help selecting the right pad here is a brief overview of some pads:

Surbuf R Series - Heavy Cutting Polishes
Yellow and Purple Foam - Medium to Heavy Cutting Polishes
Orange and Cyan - Medium Cutting Polishes
Green - Light Cutting Polishes
White and Tangerine - Polishing Pad for Light Polishes, AIO
Black and Crimson - Fine Polishing Pad for Glazes, Sealants and Liquid Waxes
Blue - Ultra Fine Polishing Pad for Liquid Waxes and Sealants

Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll be happy to help.

Greg @ Detailed Image

UDel

If your car does not have deep swirls and scratches and the finish has been well maintained you can get away with white larger pads, you can generally finish down with a white pad and fine finishing polish or you can go with something less abrasive like a blue pad to finish with. For a car with deeper swirls, scratches, water spots you will want to go with orange 4 in pads and a good cutting polish.

jj14

Thanks for this link (very informative). For my SO's 4 year old RAV4 (black) that sadly hasn't been well maintained (washed at "soft touch" car washes - ugh), has some swirls, webbing type of imperfections and a few minor scratches, should I use the following products?

Polish
* Cutting polish (Optimum Hyper Spray Polish or Poorboy's World Super Swirl Remover 2.5)
* Meguiar's Ultra Finishing Polish M205

Pads
* Green very light cutting pads for cutting polish
* Black finishing pads for ultra finishing polish
All this will be done using PC 7424XP with 5 inch backing plate (5.5 inch pads)

The scratches are puzzling - the RAV4 is black, and I can see white color where the scratches are. But when I pass my fingernail over it, I can't feel the scratch at all. Does this mean that this can be fixed by polishing? Or will I need to get the paint repair kit from Toyota to fix this before I detail it?

I'm fairly new to detailing, so could you provide guidance on whether the following steps are right?
1. ONR for cleaning (2 bucket/grit guard) - using microfiber covered foam for wash, drying each panel after washing)
2. Claybar - lubricated with ONR (double concentration than what was used for cleaning)
3. Polishing - steps above
4. Opti Seal Paint sealant - applied by hand

embolism

I think you will be surprised at what finish you can get out of the Hyper Spray and you may not need the M205 at all.

best to do a 2x2 test spot to see which pad/polish combo works best on the paint though...

jj14

Thanks! That's a good suggestion. Should I still use both the pads? or just try the black finishing pads initially? (just unsure whether the black ones will be able to get rid of the scratches and swirls)