Ok this is what I want to accomplish. I have a newer Audi that has a coating on it for about six months that I want to polish and remove the coating so I can put on a different coating. Second I have a my wife 2012 (Black) Toyota Camry that needs a good one step polish or more then I want to coat her car as well. I will be using Jescar Micro finishing polish on the Audi and the Sonax perfect finish on the Camry. I will be using a PC 7424 DA with 5 inch backing plate.My question is what LC Thin pro pad would be best for each car.
Lake Country Thin Pro pads
- Thread starter bd28
- Start date
I would also go with the white thinpro pads. Think that the Camry black paint could be to soft for the orange thinpro pads and Sonax Perfect Finish. Then it's the Audi paint if it's almost defect free with maximum a light wash indused swirls you could be get away with the white thinpro pads and Jescar finishing polish. If you have the budget consider to get both the white and orange pads. Maybe others can shaim in on how orange thinpro pads are finishing on softer black clearcoats. If you have problem with getting the defects off if any on the Audi paint. I would test perfect finish and the white pad and see if you get a little more correction from it. It's just on the edge between the white and orange pads which will work the best. Depending much on the defects and the level of correction you are expecting.
dlc95
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- May 18, 2013
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In my experience, once the orange is wet, it's very close to the white in terms of smoothness, and density.
PaulMys
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- Jan 14, 2014
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I'm glad to hear someone finally say this.
I Thought I was crazy. Test spots (initial contact with orange pads and the 3,4,5 dots of your liking, circle...... doesn't matter) seemed to cut great on the wife' s Jeep. Then after a panel, less so it seemed.
dlc95
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Yeah, I really, really dislike that foam. Gives up the ghost for cutting, requires very heavy pressure to have an effect on the paint, resists rotation more than other dense pads. The pore size / density / composition just doesn't work for me at all...
I do like the white for AIO, but prefer the B & S black, which is more aggressive than the LC.
I remember when I washed my pads after a job. I used the Orange LC, and green B & S. When I was running my thumbs over them to clean the out, the green was still very coarse feeling compared to the orange. I thought I was crazy too! I had my GF, and Mom do the same to get their opinion, and they both said the green was more rough.
Then I put them to test on the paint, and the green killed the Orange every time. I remember one job I came back from a break and tried the orange... Took that thing off immediately, and put the green one back on.
The green is sold as a polishing pad, but I believe that is because it was widely recommended to use a lot of downward pressure with the random orbitals emerging on to the scene. Back in the rotary days, the green was a "cutting" pad. Sometimes medium, and sometimes light. Adams had it positioned as their heaviest cut in their line, while the orange (Buff and Shine) was light cut...
The green requires way less downward pressure, runs cooler, spins well, "scrubs" the paint, and accommodates panel contours very well. To me, I no longer fight my instincts, and just buy what works best for me.
I still have and use the beautiful Hydrotech pads for my diminishing abrasive liquids, but for my SMAT Megs, I just need the green and blue Buff and Shine pads.
Finick
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- Jul 31, 2017
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I’m gonna have to give these buff and shine pads a try when my megs foam pads inevitably wear out.
I enjoy using them, but I just hear such great things about the buff and shine pads.
Plus it would be nice to have something that’s along the lines of a heavy polishing pad. Like the maroon uro-tec pad.
Do you have experience with the megs foam pads? If you do; how would you equate them in aggressiveness to the B&S offerings from either the uro-tec or flat pad lines AG carries?
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Desertnate
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- Aug 5, 2013
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Not sure of the color of the Audi in question, but I agree. I tried to do a simple "refresh" polish of my black pearl VW and the white pad with SONAX 04-06 didn't cut it. It cleaned the paint and made it shiny, but didn't touch any of the light swirls or marring which accumulated since I polished it out the last time about 18~20 months ago.
Figuring Audi and VW use same/similar paint, it will take a compound on the white pad or possibly the polish on an more agressive pad. Even then, this only works in a very well maintained vehicle. It the Audi has been neglected it will take a more agressive approach and possibly a two step correction.
Don't get me wrong, I like the Thin Pro's and have both the Flat and Thin Pro pads in my arsenal, but I keep both orange and white around for a reason. I also swap out between the two kinds of pads depending on the shape of the surface being worked.
dlc95
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I was just sent a sample of the UroTec pads, and from what I can tell, they're very similar to the Rupes pads.
Megs maroon cutting is very similar to the maroon UroTech, but a little more aggressive.
DaveT435
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- Jun 23, 2012
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That's what I was thinking lol Audi paint is probably one of the hardest paints out there. If your not trying to correct anything, just remove the coating you would be ok with that setup, depending on what kind of coating. You did say just polish off the coating but after 6 months is the paint really perfect, or near perfect??
Finick
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Thanks for the heads up. I’ll have to try the maroon pad I have with a polish sometime and see how it does. It just feels very coarse so I’ve always assumed it would leave some heavy marring behind.
I’ve always just used the yellow polishing pad, which I really enjoy. It just seems very delicate at times
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dlc95
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Thanks for the heads up. I’ll have to try the maroon pad I have with a polish sometime and see how it does. It just feels very coarse so I’ve always assumed it would leave some heavy marring behind.
I’ve always just used the yellow polishing pad, which I really enjoy. It just seems very delicate at times
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Totally depends on the paint. I had one guy I worked with do one half of a black Chrysler 300 with the maroon Uro-Tech and Menz 2500, and it was hazed up when he was done.
I used a green B&S with M205, and it was very clear.
We were actually removing rotary swirls.
I don't believe he was working the abrasives down all the way though.
The yellow always seems to finish down very well.
- Thread starter
- #16
Yes, new polisher not in the budget. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Keep a compound and atleast 2 mf pads handy just incase you need more cut.
Mike Phillips
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- Dec 5, 2022
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Probably won't work as my experience is Audi has very hard paints.
BUT - you never know what you can do until you try. Car manufacturers are always changing to new paint systems, so it's a really bad idea to make generalizations.
In fact - I have an article on making generalizations AND Audi paint. It's 7 years old but just as accurate today as the day I wrote it.
Audi Soft Paint - Making Generalizations about Hardness and Softness
Can you do a Test Spot on the hood or trunk lid using what you already have and let us know what happens?
The grey ThinPro pads are very aggressive but don't "feel" good when buffing due to their stiffness. But they are aggressive for "foam".
The new RUPES Mille blue foam pads are also very aggressive, might consider getting the blue Mille pads and the Mille compound.
Me?
I'd be doing some testing to see if the paint is hard or soft before I started plunking down money on pads and products that may or may not work.
If I was there - I'd do the test spot for you and then dial in a system that works on your car.
Mike Phillips
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- Dec 5, 2022
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The lowly test spot
It is the Test spot that tells you if the paint is hard or soft or somewhere in-between.
Actually, it's the Test Spot AND EXPERIENCE and your memory, that is remembering how paint on different cars reacts when doing the test spot that tells you if a paint is hard or soft or somewhere in-between.
Everyone wants a graph or a chart? There will NEVER be a graph or chart. Start today by remembering how paint reacts when you do a Test Spot and lock that into your memory.
From the guy that wrote the definition for the term,
Test Spot
Test Spot - The story behind the story...
It is the Test spot that tells you if the paint is hard or soft or somewhere in-between.
Actually, it's the Test Spot AND EXPERIENCE and your memory, that is remembering how paint on different cars reacts when doing the test spot that tells you if a paint is hard or soft or somewhere in-between.
Everyone wants a graph or a chart? There will NEVER be a graph or chart. Start today by remembering how paint reacts when you do a Test Spot and lock that into your memory.
From the guy that wrote the definition for the term,
Test Spot
Test Spot - The story behind the story...