I'm buying the new PX 7424XP. I'm not sure how many of what pads I should get. Right now, I am thinking this...

1 - Yellow
2 - Orange
1 - Green
2 - White
1 - Black (Glaze)
1 - Blue (Sealant)
1 - Red (Wax)

They are probably going to be the Lake Country 5.5" ones. I found them on sale for $40 for 6 pads.

Now my use for the PC is strictly personal, I have 4 cars in the household which will be detailed once or twice a year.

 

yellow will just make a mess of the paint, if you need to use something more aggressive than yellow, just get the purple foam wool pad. i would load up on white especially. it usually takes about 4 pads for each step, but obviously this can vary.

 

i used the purple wool pad and the orange and white for my compunds and the red for the sealant. I did the glaze by hand and the wax. results were pretty good

 

is wool really necessary? None of the cars are that bad in terms of swirls. Also, each one is honda so I know the paint is very soft

 

i respectfully disagree with redb00st about the yellow. i absolutely love it on a PC for medium to hard clears. it can make extremely quick work of major defects and or areas with a bunch of major defects, but, because it's a PC, it will not be easy to remove TOO much clear. yes, it will slightly haze no matter what compound you use and you will have to follow up with your favorite pad(s) and polish to refine, but it makes the somewhat time-consuming task of using a PC for true major spot correction easier, and is certainly without a doubt safer than using a rotary to get similar initial correction ability. i haven't tried the foamed wool because i am pleased with the CCS foam, and i don't think the pfw can possibly be as durable as a straight foam pad. but, alas, it has its fans and i understand that. the way i look at it is, try one. if it does what you want, then don't try the other. but atleast try one.

here are the pads i have in varying quantities. keep in mind i have makita 9227c as well as the PC.

yellow ccs 4"
orange flat 4"
green flat 4" (cyclo pad)
gray ccs 4"

all colors of 5.5 LC pads, but i still have colors i've not used and are still in the plastic.

on the PC, i use orange 5.5, white 5.5, green 5.5 and the 4" yellow spot buff the most. gray and red would be right behind them, along with the 4" pads corresponding with the orange/ white or green to hit tighter fit spots during the intial correction phase.

to give more info regarding frequency of use-

orange is my usual starting off point on medium to hard clears. the safe and slow nature of the PC means you'll have to make some passes and put some time in, but orange coupled with either a nice compound or possibly polish will get you started if the thing is a mess. i'll then jump to white and polish, then green or gray and polish...then red and polish. the way i feel is with a PC, it's not a bad thing to start out a hair more aggressive than you see on 'expert' videos, because the PC is so delicate and softcore vs. the rotary. i see these guys spending incredible amounts of time making a billion passes for their initial stage, and still doing the same refining steps after that i do and get the same result. whatever works for you i guess.

add'l info: on soft late-model honda paint, i stick with a PC for the most part (unless it's HORRIBLY etched). i use green alot for poli-seal application on softer cars that aren't terribly marred or in-between full details. poli-seal on its own isn't much of a corrective product at all, but when used with a green pad it seems to be just right for the in-between detail situations as i mentioned. a nice AIO and pad combo can be a time saver and crowd pleaser.

if the paint is beat up but not incredibly etched, i'll still stick with the PC and white pad at the most aggressive, then step up to gray then red.

as far as quantities, let me see, what is the easiest way to explain this-

for the most aggressive steps, when i'm using 5.5 pads, i seem to use more pads per detail than the later steps. like, if i start off with orange, i'll end up using up to 3 orange pads. the optimum products i use don't gum up pads. if i start off with white, i'd say 2 is the average. then, with green/gray/red, i use one almost always. sometimes when i'm using green for poli-seal i'll get some black from a sunroof trim or something on it by accident and then i'll switch to a new pad. i don't tape off the trim when doing poli-seal unless it's totally necessary and it can't be avoided.

 

well said, rule of thumb is youll need more of the aggressive pads. i have never had luck with the yellow pads, i usually just go over it twice with the orange pad instead of using the purple foam wool pad or the yellow pad.

 

my orange pad and the wool didnt really clog up at all using Poorboys SSR 2.5. But i dont think ill be using that anymore, i wasnt real happy with the results

 

My friend used the Poorboy's swirl removers and it takes more passes/work with those it seems. I am going to buy Meg's 205 and 105 for my swirl removing.

 

Try Menzerna used MEG's at my old job found it to be ok but I recommend the Menzerna lineup look at their line up to see what fits your needs.

 

ya im gonna get some 105 and than a menzerna kit with the SIP and the final polish, i think ill be much more satisfied

 

I looked at menzerna but couldn't figure out which one's I actually needed. I have a standard cleaning polish already (Poorboy's Polish) and everything I need after. I only need swirl remover stuff.

 

im warning you, if you try menzerna, youll probably wont use anything else anymore.

 

http://www.autogeek.net/menzerna-of-germany.html

I am guessing I need the intensive polish and final polish?

 

that's how i feel about optimum. it's like anything- you end up researching, and just have to go with one that seems to be the most popular because there are a couple solid choices available. i know menzerna has a huge following, but one thing i know about menz vs. optimum is that optimum has one polish and essentially one compound (hyper doesn't count). so, two products will do it all from a correction standpoint, just pick the right pad. but don't get me wrong, menz is hot fire on alot of people's lists.

 

SIP and 106FA and a yellow and orange pad should do 95% of the work for you. I'd say grab 3 or 4 of each pad. Waxes and Sealants you can use anything from grey down from LC.

 

BTW trial and error is going to give you your own personal comfort level with these products. builthatch can do the same job as me doing more or less steps using the same or different products it all depends on the operator and his or her skill level.

 

I'm gonna stick with Meg' s205/105. Its more in my price range. Plus I am getting the 12oz sample ones so I can learn with those.

 

just be careful with 105, the abrasives dont diminish and that **** cuts pretty darn well.

i totally agree with sip and nano with an orange pad...that should just about handle anything you throw at it.

 

Placed my order...

PC 7424XP, 1 yellow, 3 orange, 2 green, 3 white, 1 grey, 2 blue, 1 red
Meg's 105/205
XMT Pad Cleaner

I'll post results after my first "detail"

 

What website did you order the pads from?

 

www.autogeek.net

 

you can also use dawn power dissolver to clean the pads, that really bites into them and gets the soaked in polish out.

 

solid selection. you have a good mix there. keep in mind if you take care of these, they will last indefinitely.

btw, the red one is a total luxury item, but i had to get one too a while back, just to see how soft it was...and it is SOFT! i use it, but i know whatever i'm doing with it (absolute final polishing) i could easily do with the blue. fun pad to have though.

 

Same reason I picked it up. There was a special so I had to buy XX number of pads. I figured I would try 1 red for the hell of it, will be using it for my final wax.

 

i used the red to apply my sealant and it worked out great, man its a nice pad. Just tonight i used the Cobra Pad cleaner and it did pretty well i gotta say. Some of the pads are still a little discolored, should i try to clean them again or is this normal