Polishing pads?

I have some Turtle Wax hybrid solutions coming in the mail, and I'd like to know which pads to buy to use the hybrid polish and wax. I have a 7" polisher/sander that I normally use for buffing my boats, but I cant seem to get it to stay put, it wants to wander all over the place with the cutting compounds I normally use. Will the polish act the same way? is it the pad that I'm using for buffing? Id like to avoid made in china as well, I dont mind paying extra. I see on Amazon that Chemical guys have some made in USA pads, but I dont know which to get.

On another note, is there such a thing as polishing pads for random orbit sanders? my RO sander can be slowed down far more than my big 7" polisher and I figure it would be easier to handle

 

I discovered that, as an amateur, the only real polisher I could be trusted with was a random orbital polisher. In the hands of an occasional-detailing owner, a heavy-duty rotary polisher will burn through auto paint in a nano-second. I selected the Porter-Cable 7424 random orbital polisher with a 5.75" hook-and-loop backing plate for using 6.5" foam pads. The PC7424 has a handle threaded perpendicular into the head that allows a two-handed hold. The polisher market segment has moved on to better, more powerful, more expensive choices since then, but the PC 7424 still gets the job done for me. Search the detailing threads for more polisher reviews.

Once you have a real polisher, Lake Country makes a family of excellent foam pads ranging from compound cutting to wax application that have hook-and-loop, easy-change backing.

https://www.lakecountrymfg.com/category-products.aspx?CategoryID=55

 

Welcome to the rabbit hole. It goes deep. First off if you want to buy a da then get a griot g9 beast product out there for $150. I would also recommend lake pads. Depending on the paint condition will determine pad but if you just want to polish use the black one. Don’t use the buffing pad you are using. Also plan on buying a couple pads and switching them out every couple panels. Also I’d recommend some pad cleaner so you can keep em going. I would recommend using a dual action on the paint.

 

I’d jump on one of the many detailing threads in this forum tons of info already posted. Be careful you’ll get sucked in.

 

I use a rupes yellow pad and sonax perfect finish to finish!

 

Toyotas are known for soft clear coat so less is more when it comes to polishing them.
Check out Apex Detail on youtube he's the best no nonsense detailer with many polishing and product videos.

 

This was a reply from@Pudge about lake pads

Next time you buy pads, try the HDO line from LC. I like them a lot better than the CCS line.

 

Thanks a lot guys. I got the hybrid line of products becasue of the “rabbit hole” thread, but didn’t want to hijack anymore so started this. It seems the consensus is that I should get a da polisher. This is a shame as I spent good money on my rotary, but I’ve already noticed my paint is thin, so don’t want to ruin it. I guess this polish is super mild, more of a wax than a polish. But I catch your meaning about going easy on it. I plan on using it once or twice a year, the spray wax the rest of the time after washing.

 

Rotary buffers are good tools in the right hands, e.g. professional detailers and body shops. Rotary buffers can do heavy-duty work like removing orange peel or severe oxidation from large flat areas much faster than the typical DA.

 

I use it for the boat and it makes quick work of cleaning oxidation off of 25 foot hulls, but I’ll get a da for my truck and motorcycle.

 

So I’ve been looking all evening at da polishers and learning...I am doing my best to avoid Chinese made things, does anybody know of a modestly priced no frills da polisher that isn’t made in China? I don’t care about any other country.

 

Griot's

 

Order the g9 lifetime warranty 6 month satisfaction warranty. Best bang for your buck if you plan on keeping it. Idk where it’s made the company is based here in the states.

 

https://www.griotsgarage.com/product/g9+random+orbital+polisher.do?sortby=ourPicks&from=fn

 

Look at the Griots G9

 

Ok it’s official that 3 in a row for the griot machines.

 

I just looked them up and it seems their chemicals are made in USA but the machines are made in China.

 

Is there a power head available to put onto my rotary polisher?

 

Griots G9 is good quality made by humans directly on the other side of the globe.

 

Every time I'm out in public sweating under a surgical mask, fogging my glasses, and using an ever-present disinfectant towel to wipe every thing I touch, I'm reminded of why I'm thinking exactly like you. Every one of us needs to be thinking like this, and remembering the 70K+ Americans that aren't going to see their family again.

 

This a a product just like your iPhone that was made with Chinese parts. Has nothing to do with Covid19. I know these are hard times we all are dealing with. We all need each other whether we like it or not. If China makes a vaccine for this virus, are you going to feel the same about them?

 

I would love to support the Taiwanese, Hong Kong or vietnam or india, its not a racist thing, its an anti chinese communist party thing. They have 2 canadians held hostage who are likely to be executed. I work in manufacturing so I have a vested interest in buying non-chinese. It's my money and i choose to avoid made in china when feasable.

 

The USA does not need China. At best, they are an untrustworthy source of cheap labor, and that is quickly changing as the Chinese grow affluent. China has demonstrated that they can not be entrusted with the manufacture of USA strategic materials, healthcare goods, or pharmaceuticals. (Fight a coronavirus with Chinese-controlled materials and drugs? ) China, and the Chinese Communist Party, is not the world's friend. They desire to rule the world both economically and militarily.

If they were a friend to the world, they would have shut down all international travel from Wuhan when they shut down all domestic travel from Wuhan. Instead, a half million people eventually left Wuhan to infect Europe, USA, and eventually, the entire world. A paranoid conspiratist might conclude that their actions indicate: (1) a hopelessly naive belief by Party officials that the virus would die-off or be absorbed harmlessly into the world's population, (2) a deliberate effort to profit from world infection regardless of life lost in other countries (some evidence of this in their subsequent actions), or (3) this is a trial-run of a bioweapon first-strike to see how the USA, and the world, could respond if China decides to shortcut world domination by using Bio-Conventional warfare. Consider that nuclear war obliterates valuable infrastructure and renders the land area uninhabitable for a century or more. There's more at stake here than being able to buy the absolute cheapest iphone possible.

If China gets an effective vaccine before the USA or Europe, it will be because they stole the technology before human trials.
Now, back to the originally scheduled program.

 

Now what about the pads?

 

Whatever DA polisher I get I will be getting 5" pads (based on some videos I watched last night), not sure of colour or brand. The colour codes and purpose of the different pads is still over my head, I'm getting there. What softness or colour do you guys suggest for what is described as a super mild polish/wax product

 

‘Those are also made in China...

 

The pads I mentioned in the OP are made in the states, my turtle wax bottles say "made in usa" on them as well. I'm not even american.

 

Assembled in the USA. They buy those rolls of material from someone. Not trying to stir the pot, but almost all roads lead to China.

 

Like I said, I'm doing my best. This wasn't meant to be political.

 

‘Just observations man, I ain’t running for anything.

I have always used 3M for everything and anything related to polishing. Pads and compounds included. 35 years in the collision industry, specializing in Porsche, BMW, Mercedes and Audi (Certified by all four). Not playing the high dollar card here, but expectations were always high and 3M’s compounds always delivered. Boutique waxes/compounds were always being offered as the next best thing, but always compared themselves to 3M.

If you want to learn how to buff/polish OEM paint you should find a body shop (I know, ask around, they are not created equal) near you and ask for a scrap fender/door (possibly Toyota) and practice on that. Buffing/polishing mistakes can be costly.

While you are there, ask what products they use to detail vehicles. I guarantee the guy that is warranting that paint job for as long as you own the vehicle has some valuable information.