I picked up a Porter Cable Porter Cable 7346SP random orbit buffer, and now need to chose some pads to use on my car.

My Maxima has a lot of swirl marks and oxidazation, my Mustang has light swirls. I was going to use Lake Country pads.

I wanted to buy their 3 pack, so which of these three are generally the most used?

Purple Foamed Wool - Rated 6 - Heavy cutting
Yellow - Rated 5 - Cutting
Orange - Rated 3 - Mild Cutting
White - Rated 2 - Polishing
Green - Rated 1.5 - All in One Pad
Black - Rated 1 - apply protection to the prepared paint surface, layering sealants
Blue - Rated 1 - slightly softer then the black

I was thinking of going with an Orange, White and Black. Also typically what size is the best size to use? My porter cable came with a 6" backing plate with counter balance, so I was thinking of just going with the 6.5" pads, otherwise I will need to get a smaller backing plate as well.

Thanks

 

When I bought pads, they too were LC pads. 6.5" are a pretty common size. I bought yellow, white (must have IMO) and a blue (all 6.5"). People say that yellow is a gnarly pad, but it's really not. I hit my G a month ago with a yellow pad and it came out gorgeous with my Griot's Garage Random Orbital. White is pretty generic for applying polishes, but I never got around to using the blue. Maybe if I decide to apply glaze to my G, I'll try it.

I think the color combo you chose is just fine though. If the orange won't give you the results you're looking for, bump it up to a yellow. Good luck and let me know if you have anymore questions.

 

Any pad size will work but in general I recommend the 5" backing plate and 5.5" pads to go with it. Here is a general guide for what each pad does:

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

For your situation I generally recommend the orange pads with a medium polish like the Meguiar's Ultra-Cut Compound M105 and the white pad with a light polish like the Meguiar's Ultra Finishing Polish M205. After that a black or blue pad can be used with a sealant or liquid wax.

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

Greg @ DI

 

hey Greg,

is the white foam pad that comes with the porter cable any good?

i already purchased pads for cutting/polish/sealant but just wondering about the one it came with .

 

A couple years ago I bought the complete detail kit from Griots Garage. There buffer works great, I use their orange 6" foam pad for cleaning after the clay process. But that's where I leave there products, then I use my ZYMOL concourse wax and micro towels to finish my painted surface. This is how my coupe got the name SLICK....Gary