Good Basic Rotary Pads/Compounds?

B

BQuicksilver

New member
Well, I've decided to learn to use a rotary on our beater Camry's many scratches, swirls, etc. I have almost zero time with one and understand I'll likely make some errors. I've read every post of the rotary useage stick, and it was very helpful...as well as having a semi-pro friend walk me through his technique. He recommended 3M and Car Brite products.



My question is what would be a good set of starting pads and compounds? I have the Chicago Electric with 7" backing plate, and the pads with it seemed VERY cheap, though the unit itself wasn't too bad.



I'd like to buy quality products here, but don't need the top-tier stuff as I'm sure my technique would more than offset any small tweaks potentially gained from the very high end stuff.



I may get a PC7424 in the future. Should I try to get a smaller (5"???) backing pad for my rotary and share double duty with my pads between the two?



I'm thinking 3-4 compounds and 3-4 types of pads is about what I'm looking for.



Thanks In Advance!
 
We switched to the Edge 2K system last year. I really like the flexibility of switching the 6" pads between the PC and Makita. You are going to get a bunch of difference responses. If you like the velcro back pads, then we really like the Lake Country 6.5" which we used before switching over to Edge.



Walter
 
I have the same polisher, not top shelf by any means but the price was unbeatable and I thought I would use it once, to remove wetsanding scratches. I like it well enough that I haven't picked up my 7424 since. I am not very patient, and the rotary works faster.



I never did use the pads that came with the polisher; I simply don't trust them. I have Lake Country pads in yellow, orange, and white, and a backing plate from CMA. 6" I believe.



I don't have the latest polishes, but I tried Menzerna Intensive Polish with Clearkote's Red Machine Glaze mixed 50/50; worked beautifully. Others have reported great results with the latest Menzerna polishes, especially Super Intensive Polish.



Have fun!
 
Wow, my head is certainly spinning right now. I never knew paint work was such a science until coming here.



I did a little reading on the edge 2k stuff. It looks like a great idea. Any downsides such as inferior pads or high pad cost? So this system works with both the PC and the rotary 5/8" units?



as far as polishes go I'd like to purchase something that can be found locally in the event that I run out. I've always been a Meguiars fan and end up coming back to them about every time I stray. Are their rotary products decent? Do you have to buy separate compounds for hand and rotary work?



Sorry for the 20?, this is suprisingly complicated.
 
Hey BQuicksilver, Megs makes some pretty decent polishes, 80, 82,83,and now 84 and 85. If you can get them locally they would be a good bet.



If you have no choice but to order I would go Menzerna. it would be hard to run out and not know it as the bottles come in 32 oz. sizes...



Jim
 
Read up on Optimum products, you could get Hyper Compound and Polish and take care of all your correction needs with 2 products, because they are pad dependant. I use Edge pads myself, you could get yellow, green and blue and maybe a wool one - yellow or green and be set. Price it out, you'll save some $$ and have a system that works well together - in my opinion of course. This will get you prepped for the last step product and they are dozens of those, and there's the sealer vs carnuba wax debate, but whatever, if you get the prep right, that's the main thing. Me? I like Opti-seal.
 
BD- you can't go wrong with the optimum line in my experience...hyper compound with the right pad will get just about any job done, and optimum polish finishes really nicely. I started with megs pads and didn't like them, then got the lake country 6.5" pads and haven't really searched much farther, they are pretty nice.
 
I'd get Edge's setup with yellow wool, green wool, green foam and blue foam pads for starters. Yellow wool on the deepest of scratches, green wool for swirl removal, green foam for maintenance polishing and blue foam for finishing to perfection.
 
themightytimmah said:
I'd get Edge's setup with yellow wool, green wool, green foam and blue foam pads for starters. Yellow wool on the deepest of scratches, green wool for swirl removal, green foam for maintenance polishing and blue foam for finishing to perfection.
Click to expand...



That reply in itself helped e a ton. Im always getting lost with the variety of colors, manufacturers, and uses. Thanks. And I love my Makita for all my rotary work!
 
themightytimmah said:
I'd get Edge's setup with yellow wool, green wool, green foam and blue foam pads for starters. Yellow wool on the deepest of scratches, green wool for swirl removal, green foam for maintenance polishing and blue foam for finishing to perfection.
Click to expand...



That sounds like a good setup. I think I'll do exactly the same.



Now to find the right compounds....:up
 
BQuicksilver said:
That sounds like a good setup. I think I'll do exactly the same.



Now to find the right compounds....:up
Click to expand...



Presta Ultra Cutting Creme Light for the wool pads, hands down - stay away from Menzerna SIP it doesn't play well with Edge's pads.
 
Hey Tim , I had some serious problems with SIP and Edge pads yesterday, why dont they work together??



Also, what do you think of 106ff with Edge pads?



Thanks Tim,



Jim
 
If ti's not too much trouble, could you guys spell out the appreviations on this thread for me? Thanks, I'm just not here enough to know the lingo yet.
 
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