New guy's Questions about using products and Meguiar's foam pads & wool bonnets

I am new to detailing with a polisher. I recently bought a Hitachi SP 18VA rotary polisher/sander to do my own two cars at home.

I thought I'd researched well enough and bought a great polisher, and I may have... but now I'm reading about the dual-action polishers, and how the rotary polishers can burn the paint in the hands of a beginner. So, needless to say... I'm cautiously optimistic about my new polisher.

As many of you already know, the Hitachi doesn't come with a standard size backing plate for using bonnets and pads for detailing. The one that came with the unit was a hook & loop 6.5" backing plate.

I only discovered this once I began to shop for pads and bonnets. I had already ordered 2 Makita hook & loop wool bonnets that look to be like they will fit on the backing plate that came with the Hitachi. I'd planned to use these for wax removal and polishing initially.
Then I stumbled upon Meguiar's "Soft Buff 2.0" series of pads while shopping on the internet. These looked to be perfect but... I had to order a different backing plate for the Hitachi. This is how I discovered Auto Geek... and bought the 6" Meguiars Mirror Glaze W68 Rotary Backing Plate that will fit on my Hitachi. This hopefully will allow me plenty of options in buying commonly found 7" pads and bonnets.

I plan to use this 6" Mequiar's W68 backing plate with the following Mequiar's Soft Buff 2.0 pads:
Here's a list of the products I have on hand to do the job:Other products I have laying around in my garage that may (or may not) be useful:
So my confusion lies in the application of the product and use of each pad.

• Am I to use the pad to apply the product only, then buff it off with the wool bonnet?

Or...

• Are these Mequiar's foam pads designed to lay the product down and remove them as well?

• Are there set rules as to how much product to use when applying to the foam pad (or do you apply it directly to the paint on the car?)

• Do the amounts of product differ from compound, to polish, to sealant... or are they pretty much the same?

My sense is that they are only for applying the product (i.e. - compound, polish, sealant, etc.)... but want to make sure before I jump into it.

Here's the other thing... the wool bonnets I bought... the Makita ones that supposedly fit the Hitachi backing plate that came with my polisher... When I measured the back of them where the hook & loop portion is... the hook & loop circle measured out to approx. 6" diameter... whereby the recessed area around the hook & loop circle was more like a 7" diameter (and the outside part of the wool bonnet was like closer to 9")

• Question: Rather than switching out the backing plate from the Meguiar's W68 to the Hitachi every time I want to buff off some polish or wax with the wool bonnet, do you think it would be safe to try and attach the wool bonnet to the 6" Mequiar's W68 backing plate, even though the outside of the wool bonnet is nearly 2" larger in diameter?

It sure would be nice to be able to use the Meguiar's W68 backing plate for the Makita wool bonnets I already bought. I just don't want to risk the thing flying off and breaking something if it isn't meant to work on that backing plate.

Thanks so much in advance for taking time to read my post and answer my quesitons. Your help is greatly appreciated!

Best wishes!

Thanks guys for your response...

I've been mulling this whole thing over the last 24 hours and although I'm fairly competent with power tools and such, I decided I didn't have the TIME to adjust to the learning curve of a rotary machine for now.

So, I "bit-the-bullet" as they say... and am returning the Hitachi machine. I usually don't give up this easily, but bottom line is - I just need my Expedition detailed NOW... I don't have time to fart around practicing on old car panels, and such - though someday I would still very much like to learn how to use a rotary machine properly - just not now.

Nick here at Auto Geek was kind enough to set me up with the FLEX XC3401VRG Orbital Polisher kit... should be on it's way here very soon!

Thanks again for all of your input... I'm sure I'll have other questions down-the-road about something or other... but for now... I think I'm well on my way!