Foam Pad dilemma

techaview

techaview

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Guys I have a dilemma on purchasing foam pad... Hope u guys can give your opinion...
Currently I have 3 colour hex logic 5.5", orange/white/black 1 each. Bought it together with I purchase my PC. I just receive my stuffs and and haven't not really start my polishing... Not sure if just 3 pads are enough. I am thinking of adding couples of pads. I have 3 options after browsing online...

Option 1 (total 12 x foam pads)
Set of all 7 colours for hexlogic 5.5" + 1 x white/orange to make 3 x orange and 3 x white for the all purpose cutting and polishing and I get all colours. But again do I really need all the colours?..
Total $67

Option 2 (total 8 x foam pads)
2 x white/2 x orange/1 x black hexlogic 5.5"
Just stick to the 3 main colours of hex logic
Total $44.15

Option 3 (total 8 x foam pads)
2 x white/2 x orange/1 x blue Lake country 5.5" foam pads
Mixture of both hexlogic and LC foam pads to try on... But my worry is consistency when polishing...
Total 53.72 if I get locally

Which option will u guys chose? I have all the items in the shopping cart. Just need a click to trigger the purchase... Thank!
 
I would go with option 2. Give you more of the pads that you need

Option 1 isn't a great idea like you said you don't need all the colors.
 
Evan.J said:
I would go with option 2. Give you more of the pads that you need

Option 1 isn't a great idea like you said you don't need all the colors.
Click to expand...

Will 13 bucks more justify for the additional 5 pads though I know I will seldom use it but they do come in handy if I need them...
 
I'm a complete noob to this area (as you are) and I've had my DA for 1 1/2 weeks now. Initially I got 3 sets of Orange/White/Black Hex Logic 5.5's. I only got Orange because I had a big job to do on my 99 F-150. My other vehicles probably will never see Orange. When I ordered something else 2 days later I threw in another White pad. Good thing too because I blew up one of my Whites! I think it got too hot combined with going over the gas tank ridge and poof!

But here is the real kicker. It takes 2 FULL days for the White pads to dry AND you have to clean them while you're working. Chances are you'll use more than single pad when polishing so having a second is a no brainer. And if you plan on working over a couple vehicles or a couple of days, well you'll need more pads.

Just to see what's what I ended up buying the 6 packs of LC 5.5's and they came in today. I got 5 Whites and 1 Black because you can wax the whole car with one pad. Tomorrow I'll start in on a neighbors truck and get a feel for the LC's vs. the Hex. It seems like the Hex is a better pad if only because the velcro on the back is actually 5" to match the backing plate where as the LC's are the full 5.5" This means I've got hard velcro sticking out from the pad and hanging over the backing plate. Everything I've read so far is that this is normal and fine but to a noob it looks awful scary. I'll find out tomorrow if it's much ado about nothing or not.

So bottom line, get more white pads as you'll go through them quicker it would seem.
 
InsaneDiego said:
I'm a complete noob to this area (as you are) and I've had my DA for 1 1/2 weeks now. Initially I got 3 sets of Orange/White/Black Hex Logic 5.5's. I only got Orange because I had a big job to do on my 99 F-150. My other vehicles probably will never see Orange. When I ordered something else 2 days later I threw in another White pad. Good thing too because I blew up one of my Whites! I think it got too hot combined with going over the gas tank ridge and poof!

But here is the real kicker. It takes 2 FULL days for the White pads to dry AND you have to clean them while you're working. Chances are you'll use more than single pad when polishing so having a second is a no brainer. And if you plan on working over a couple vehicles or a couple of days, well you'll need more pads.

Just to see what's what I ended up buying the 6 packs of LC 5.5's and they came in today. I got 5 Whites and 1 Black because you can wax the whole car with one pad. Tomorrow I'll start in on a neighbors truck and get a feel for the LC's vs. the Hex. It seems like the Hex is a better pad if only because the velcro on the back is actually 5" to match the backing plate where as the LC's are the full 5.5" This means I've got hard velcro sticking out from the pad and hanging over the backing plate. Everything I've read so far is that this is normal and fine but to a noob it looks awful scary. I'll find out tomorrow if it's much ado about nothing or not.

So bottom line, get more white pads as you'll go through them quicker it would seem.
Click to expand...

Mate thanks for sharing your experience. it is beneficial to me especially when i am deciding what pads to add on. Think i am getting more white after hearing from you. Maybe changing from hexlogic to LC since there is this drying issue with hexlogic.... cheers!
 
I have the hex logic pads, I think they are mostly hype. I mean they work, but the orange pad just doesn't feel stiff enough. Compared to the Meguiars compound pad, it is much softer. If the mercedes is the car you are detailing, you've got some hard paint to cut through. I would go with the cheaper priced Lake Country pads. And like Evan said.. go with something like option 2. You don't need all the colors of the rainbow, although it is nice when you lay them out and just look at them LOL! 2 compound, 2 polish, & 1 wax pad. Or even 3,3,1 respectively.
 
Is there really *that* much difference between the pads? The selection and varaity is staggering. It's almost as bad as the selection of waxes/sealants!

For my first-ever DA attempt I used Harbor Freight pads. They seemed to work well, but the cutting pad started to come apart by the end of the car I was working on. However, since I only spent $5 on the pad I wasn't too concerned.

Is there any advantage in switching to Meguiars/Lake Country/Hexlogic etc?
 
Desertnate said:
Is there really *that* much difference between the pads? The selection and varaity is staggering. It's almost as bad as the selection of waxes/sealants!

For my first-ever DA attempt I used Harbor Freight pads. They seemed to work well, but the cutting pad started to come apart by the end of the car I was working on. However, since I only spent $5 on the pad I wasn't too concerned.

Is there any advantage in switching to Meguiars/Lake Country/Hexlogic etc?
Click to expand...

Part of the problem with the HF pads on the HF DA is that the HF DA's backing plate is 6" but the velcro on the back of the HF Pad is 5 or 5.5". That means there is foam touching the backing plate. I bought one of each color just to try out on my 5" backing plate to see if they are indeed trash or worth the 4-$5. Using the 5 inch plate there is no foam touching the backing plate velcro so it would possibly eliminate the shredding problem I've read about.
 
A quick update. I used the Lake Country white pad today and was pleased with it's result and performance. If I were pressed at this time I'd say I'd would buy them again. I'll have to see how quickly these dry and how well they cleaned up but I have to say I did enjoy the flat surface.

I also used the HF Orange pad for the first time albeit as the pad under a bonnet to remove wax. The velcro on the pad was rather weak compared to the LC and HL but it didn't fly off the backing plate so... I think I'll try the blue pad tomorrow when I do the next panels of polishing to see how it works. The problem with all the other pads is that I have to order them online which means more time to ship plus shipping costs. If the HF pad works the same as the LC then not only do I save money but they are available locally. It really bites that brick and mortar can't stock these elementary items in the 8th largest city in the country.
 
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