Which pads I need to apply Meguiars Ultimate Compound/Polish/Liquid Wax ?

[mbison]

Just bought meguiars Ultimate Compound, Polish and Liquid Wax along with some mediocre DP. Which pads I need to apply that stuff on my paint?

[Scott's 62]

If you are using the Meguiars pads you would want to use the yellow polishing pad with the ultimate compound. the polish you use the black finishing pad and the wax you would use a separate finishing pad. Its a good idea to have 2 or 3 of each pad to have on hand.

[Nicholas Winn]

This is a great thread to look at for information on pad selection:

D/A Buffing 101

[Kluski]

That is a great write up for D/A buffing. Is there is a similar write up for doing it by hand? Right now, I can't afford a nice D/A and the backing plates so it is by hand for me. I only see two applicator pads on Meg's site and not sure of the difference. Should one particular pad be used for Swirl-X and a different one for UP and a third for NXT?

[Murr1525]

By hand, you really just want the yellow foam applicators for everything.

Now, you would want clean ones for each product, and a couple spares incase you drop one.

[Kluski]

Thanks, but now I am a little curious. Why are there different pads for the machines but only one type of pad for hand?

[Michael Stoops]

A very aggressive pad, when used by hand, will usually scour the paint. Some pads, even when used by machine, can still create some hazing but it's usually a much more uniform haze when created by machine and therefore easier to correct. That said, we do make a small hand pad with a hook & loop attachment system that accepts our 4" pads so you could, in theory, have three different pads for hand application. In most cases you probably still wouldn't want to use the red cutting pad this way, but on very delicate paints this technique of having a backing pad for your applicator can greatly reduce the incidence of marring, fingertip pressure points (cheetah spots), etc.