Best Polishing Pads for Cars - Foam Pads Review Part 1

[@ForensicDetailing]

Ill drop part 2 tommorrow... lots on info on lots of pads... lots too sit through wont be for everyone sorry. I tried to shoot a very quick video summarising it but it suxed :(

[@adamperrett834]

Good, that's Monday teatime viewing sorted, can't wait.

[@garrytalbot3456]

Lots and lots of info, tricky to decide if you spend a load hoping they'll last longer or buy more budget priced items knowing you can but more of them but this has really helped to frame my future purchases I think. Thanks

[@Knards]

I have used Hex Logic for years. Love them

[@jonnyharris2724]

Honestly I dont care that your videos are long as they're never a waste of time and full of information, plus I dont watch tv anyways. Thanks for your hard work

[@Strike86]

Excellent video, can't believe I didn't find this sooner. I can confirm your findings about the Shine Mate and Chemical Guys Hex Logic pads - I have two 3" Shine Mate pads and the blue one warped quite badly after only a few uses. The Hex Logic pads by contrast are supremely high quality and seem to shake off almost any kind of abuse.

[@Ali_o.O]

Thanks for the full in detail review, another video would be great just recommending the best pads and value for money. Thanks again looking forward for your next videos

[@maxburg4817]

Great Sunday early evening viewing. I agree John, that the Rupes yellow and green are the go to pads for me. On the odd occasion when I need something aggressive like the blue, which generally cuts through pretty much anything. What I like about the Rupes is their microfibre pad range, which are very good as well. The plus, is using them with any of the Rupes machines and in particular the 5” 15mm throw machine which is a dream.

[@Rob.Coleman]

An epic watch but some great info, lots of pads I can rule out for the future. Big fan of the Hex Logic pads so can see me sticking with those for the foreseeable 👍

[@Elajas123]

Never clicked like so fast in my life! Great job as always.

[@Audittr2108]

Love the long vids. I just use the Rupes pads as I have their machines. Polished Bliss do the 150mm pads for £7 and you get 5% off if you order more than 3, so a decent price as it includes delivery. I find them good quality and were designed specifically for my machines. I would try something else if there’s was a decent saving but apart from the Chinese ones, there isn’t. The Chinese ones are useful for applying glazes and paint cleaners etc but for correction and polishing, it’s the Rupes pads all the way. The yellow with Perfect Finish is quite a combo👍

[@ForensicDetailing]

legend thanks chris. that a ripping price on the rupes. is that a deal or always that cheap?

[@Audittr2108]

That’s the regular price. I get all my Bilt Hamber from them too.

[@imafo]

Just in the right time! Great work! 👌 😊 Hope to see more heavy restauration videos. I realy enjoyed it.

[@Captain-Donut]

An absolutely great in depth review as always Sir. I find when training that guys just starting off should alway just go for an all in one type. So much to learn so confusing for newbies ........start small learn just a one step and learn paints ( clear coat ) first. Love your stuff. Love from Scotland

[@kostaskritsilas2681]

The Lake Country HDO pads are intended for use with long throw polishers (>8mm), to deal with the extra heat generated by the long throw polishers (doesn't mean you can't use them on other types of polishers). In Canada, they do come in a 3.5" size, in 4 grades.

[@ForensicDetailing]

do they really.. I do like these pads, that bodes well if LC make the 3.5 size because I really want the capability to pair them up.

[@rveewagen9829]

Lake country hd pads are superb quality , i bought them (in Germany) in all sizes (6,5” ,5,5” and 3,5”) . I personaly use only the blue and orange .

[@HEADBANGRR]

I'm considering getting the yellow, green and white pads. Great info thanks

[@gazgandalf4854]

Jon, I think it would be good to have a standard colour scheme for the various coarseness to polishing pads, e.g. like the traffic lights. It would help us amateurs to compare prices, quality and polishing/buffing performance too. But then again, if I order adult X-large clothing from China, I know that I am going to get something that fits a 10 year old - so standards will still fluctuate I suppose.

[@jasonmjonesuk]

Excellent overview John - I recently ordered the SPTA pads to give them a try and looking to get some HexLogic pads from In2D soon

[@kakashi99908]

This is why I woke up today

[@berczigabor]

I think the patterns on the pads' surface are more about branding and marketing than actual functionality and being somehow tuned to the compounds of that particular manufacturer. That said pads that have some (any) form of pattern on them tend to work better for most purposes in my experience/opinion, because they shift, move and mix the compounds more around on the paint and allow heat and hot air to escape more than pads with a fully flat surface. There are exceptions to this (for ex. jeweling or waxing, where a totally uniform and flat surface can actually be better), but generally, I'd avoid flat pads for cutting and general polishing purposes. I personally prefer the "hex logic" pattern, but others might work just as well, as long as they have crevices that can channel the hot air out and the compound all over the pad's surface. Anyway, great video, Jon, as always!

[@ForensicDetailing]

Im not sure I can notice the difference gabor. I think there are tipping points with the pads and overheating (sepcially on the DA's) and Im not sure if the tread designs lower it and help.. I honestly cant tell mate but I totally respect your opinion.

[@berczigabor]

Well, it's totally subjective, because it's not like as if I'd have measured airflow or even temperature swings with proper equipment or something. I just had this impression or "feeling", after using several otherwise seemingly identical pads with different types of patterns, that some pad surface patterns just work better than others - and I'm just trying to make sense of that (albeit possibly not objective) observation, by theorizing about what's going on there . But I might be just as well totally wrong about it.

[@saywhat9158]

Learned about applying too much (paint correction) pressure and over-heating [delaminating] pads the hard expensive way. Having the hole might have mitigated the quick destruction so will look for those for now on.

[@ianroblin2933]

Superb review Jon. I'm using the orange and white hexlogic pads. To use the shinemate smaller pads, what colour matches the hexlogic? As in, is the yellow sm the same as the orange hex?

[@keithhilton1564]

Awesome as usual the rupes yellow pad is brilliant for finishing. Off topic thanks for the car cut outs got sorted cheers.

[@c6z061]

Totally agree!

[@berczigabor]

Jon, SPTA offers a far wider range of pads than those shown in the video. They have "clones" of essentially all brand pad shapes/patterns (like CG hex logic, Lake Country dotted, Shinemate diamond, and of course the Rupes "cone slice"). They also have versions of the cone slice shaped pads you've shown that have none of that stiff black backing foam on them, but where the whole pad is made of the same type of foam. These pads come in 5 different coarseness/colors (red, orange, blue, black and green), even though I couldn't feel any difference in stiffness for my life between the red and blue pads. I've only tried the blue polishing and orange cutting pads so far, but they seemed to work very well for me, and their price is just unbeatable. Even if they last only half as long as the brand pads, they're still cheaper, because they come at the sixth of the price or even less. Oh, and these uniform material pads are available in several sizes, including 2/3/4/5/6/7 inch variants.

[@ForensicDetailing]

yer Ive used most of the range gabor. the pads are better than they should be for the price. with some of their other ranges I felt the cutting option was not quite agressive enough but Ive actually got decent results with the spta pads generally. but overall its great to have like a budget option out there for sure.

[@markmoore6264]

Fantastic video , can't wait for part 2 as I'm looking for some new pads .

[@lnsdetailingmechanical5440]

Ive been waiting for this review 👍👌very good amd in-depth analysis of the pads Jon

[@timclarke3097]

Gutted as well John about the quantum hex logic 3 inch.. come on John get in touch with chemical guys and get them made!!

[@kostaskritsilas2681]

Chemical Guys Hex logic pads are made by a company called Buff & Shine. Living in Canada, I don't know if Buff & Shine pads have a distributor in the UK/Europe. See Carzilla.ca as one reference on the Buff & Shine pads. Buff & Shine do make 3" Hex pads. I question the need for cooling holes on a 3" pad, as they will be generating a lot less heat than the bigger pads, even at the same RPM.

[@kostaskritsilas2681]

That is 3" pads with the Hex pattern.

[@mhawkins1975]

Great video just subscribed I’ve just bought a spta mini polisher with foam pads do I need to wet the padwith water before polishing?ive never used a buffer before

[@paulcarpenter4215]

Thanks Jon, some good advice there. I have the Lake Country Forced Drive pads for my Vertool polisher but haven’t bought a small da polisher yet as they are still,out of stock at in2detailing. I will probably get the hex logic pads for that unless Lake Country do a more suitable one.

[@matthewgibb2640]

Foam partner, recticel, technical foam services, gekatex and a few other european brands make the foam blocks, sometimes called butts. I believe that recticel belgium make the 3M range. Gekatex make the foam and cut the pads out of them. I buy in bulk from gekatex

[@glynjackson2155]

I maybe wrong here, but I think, the bubbles in a foam structure that you mention, are created by a chemical reaction in the foam manufacturing. Not by blowing bubbles.

[@ForensicDetailing]

I'd love to know if u can find out

[@hakman239]

You can get hdo in 3.5 inch the sdo are under £8 and are very similar

[@rattlehead85]

Nice video Jon. Iv’e always been unsure about the colour of the pads and their applications. I tend to use the hex logic 5 1/2” pads. Now I have discovered the moonlight ceramic coat and Gyeon wet coat combo I only really need a pad or two to use with Lime Prime and Lime Prime lite for the pre-prep. Which do you think? Yellow or Orange?? I was using a white pad but having seen this vid looks like I got that wrong lol.

[@ForensicDetailing]

lime prime on the white pad would be what I would start with.. you literally just want to whirl over the lime prime quickly (unless you specifically looking to do some correction with it). Its strong stuff dont use it in sunlight on hot panels.. and if you lay it out on the panel first work it immedietly but it will clean the panel really well.

[@harisyoung4110]

John, i just got my first da polisher its a shinemate 620.. just want to ask usually at what speed pro people always use while polishing/cutting ?

[@ForensicDetailing]

Spread speed one. Polish at 4 to 5.

[@ForensicDetailing]

Spread speed one. Polish at 4 to 5.

[@harisyoung4110]

@@ForensicDetailing Thank you mate

[@gurvyn]

What pad would be recommended for the ultimate compound and also ultimate polish? It’s my first time, would appreciate if can help me out

[@qnely]

Been watching your videos for a while now and must say I've enjoyed them all. Do you have any of the SPTA hex pads to check out? I'd be interested in your opinion.

[@ForensicDetailing]

not overly keen on them, amazing for the price but the cutting pads are too soft perhaps.

[@c6z061]

Hi john, does the shinemate green pad "feel* softer than their yellow pad? Not talking in terms of aggressiveness.

[@golders99]

A lot to take in, quality video as usual.

[@PeteyMcSavage]

The TORy

[@timclarke3097]

Great video as normal mate 10/10 👍🏻

[@M.E63]

I think the rupes pads are best value for money , £8 for 5” and £9 for 6” , lots of other brands out there now like tac systems and Koch chemie and storm pro and even auto finnese but rupes is the one to go for

[@everettekupsche4038]

I just got buff and shine blue course pads for a black Mercedes Benz car

[@1b0b]

does the absorption rate of open cell pad vs closed cell pad have any bearing on the effectivness in cutting and polishing as open pads will obviously absorp more polish?there are several factors to consider when choosing a pad eg pad material,pad construction,pad shape and paint type.

[@ForensicDetailing]

Hery there, yes bob it has to have an effect. But its probably an effect thats impossible to measure, or its one variable amoung 1000's. I think though as long as you get your film of polish over the panel and work that film, its something you can not worry about. If you get a really course wide pored open cell pad and its new and you stick some polish on it and place it on the panel you can see like the polish push into the pad and when you go to spread it theres less being spread then you wanted. But generally once you get going and the surface of the pad has picked up polish all over etc, its not really an issue. But you will find open cell pads clean up easier.. and if you do allow product in an open cell pad to dry in there it will throw never ending dust out next time.. so that soaking them after your done using a pad I think is important.

[@davidsosnak2968]

What about Koch chemia black finishing pads 23mm are they as good as rupes or better? I love koch

[@SuperDuncan67]

Great Video but no mention of the Lake Country Force Hybrid Foam pads for the forced rotation machines.

[@ForensicDetailing]

rotary and forced rotation up next in part 2 duncan I drop it tonight

[@SuperDuncan67]

Cheers, looking forwards to it.

[@xenofonpapanikolaou3278]

Better late than never! Love the shirt!

[@TruckerMatty93]

What pad would you recommend to use on a da combined with s20 black? Gonna use it on a Ford. I have the scholl pads but they're so expensive and ideally I need more than one pad

[@slabbyrider8665]

Which pad would you recommend to use with farcela G10 ?? I was thinking either orange or green then white to finish with autoglym srp. This is on a black golf with swirls and them horrible smudges you see in direct sunlight. Car actually looked great in direct sunset but sunrise looks horrendous.

[@pauloneill8912]

hi i have das 6 da and it came with Menzerna Heavy Cut Pad 1 x Menzerna Soft Cut Finishing Pad, now i have only used these pads about 5 times and the backing is breaking off onto the machines velcro plate, leaving no backing on half the pad and fluff stuck all over the velcro. any advise as to what im doing or if these pads are just bad

[@c6z061]

I like the Rupes pads. Yellow and white are the best. Green cuts and finishes great, but not durable at all. I like the Shinemate pads as well. Does the Shinemate Green have more cut than the Hexlogic Yellow?

[@ForensicDetailing]

I agree on the rupes green and the durability, did you notice the surface fluffing up as brewin? Id say yes the shinemate green is more agressive then the hex yellow.

[@c6z061]

Hey Jon, to be honest, I'm not sure what you mean as far as fluffing up in regards to this pad?

[@ForensicDetailing]

the surface kind of tears up a bit and goes fuzzy.. Ive only used that green for demo'ing and it did it quite quickly.

[@c6z061]

Forensic Detailing Channel yep, they definitely do that!

[@W15Garage]

Hi, Would you use the Meguiars ultimate compound with a cutting or polishing pad? Also would I have to use menzerna 3500 afterwards? Thanks!

[@SuperVitz]

Will I get away with using Megs UC with a chemical guys yellow and then following up with a Megs UP on a green pad?

[@RobOnMotors]

That megs stuff is full of fillers, you should try a better chemical like menz. I'd say the green was a bit much for a polish. Go for the one below

[@SuperVitz]

@@RobOnMotors really? Ok, I'm working on a budget and I've already got the megs stuff so I suppose I'll get the softer pad.

[@jimholden1176]

Great review John 👍 do you know when the mini polisher from in2detailing will be back in stock? You did a great review of it 👌

[@ForensicDetailing]

not sure mate, usually takes imran and week or so to restock. but ping them on FB he is really responsive.

[@forensicallydetailed5747]

Jon - purchased a DA 6 polisher from Slims Detailing - which pads would you recommend for a beginner with this equipment? Hex Logic? Not keen on cheap Chinese rip off's. Pads ain't cheap.

[@ForensicDetailing]

CG hex is a good starting pad. But I recomend Flex (purples to cut orange to finish. purple to single stage hard paint orange to single stage soft).

[@forensicallydetailed5747]

@@ForensicDetailing thanks man

[@robertdoyle1624]

Jon Have you tried the new Rupes wool pads

[@ForensicDetailing]

no mate

[@andrewnewton5893]

Just bought a 2009 bmw what's best compound as I'm new to da polishing and don't want to damage the paint thanks

[@ForensicDetailing]

hi there polishing kzbin.info/www/bejne/g3rCnmWohJKCpq8 products kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2jUZnhugN9gebs

[@rivolinho]

Any recommendations for a cutting compound and finishing polish to go with the Hexlogic Orange/ Yellow and White pads?

[@ForensicDetailing]

have a watch of best cutting compount and best finishing polishes rivolinho

[@Goose23JD]

Hi Jon After watching watching your channel on youtube decided to buy myself makita po6000c and rupes 5" backing plate as fit without any mods what combo pad/compound would you recomend for single, 2 stage and full works as I'm struggling being only 5mm offset but forced rotation Ps. you have best YT channel in uk by country mile keep up good work!

[@ForensicDetailing]

Flex purples mate. in2detailing sell them now. They are expensive but they are more durable than other pads and I love them for cutting and single staging. if you have mega soft paint you could single stage down with the flex orange. Its possible the flex purple may put machine machine in on mega soft paint but very very very unlikely the main reason I recomend the flex purples is because they finish out well for a cutting pad... ideal for single stage. If you want to go really mega cheap try the Zxizzer flat 12ml thick pads. the orange one for single staging.

[@bails1310fcjq]

Forensic Detailing Channel Sorry if school boy question, just about to finish my in2D basket, are the purple the same as ‘Flex Violet’ they have advertised? Want to use on DAS6 Pro and Sonax Perfect Finish.

[@Goose23JD]

Purple it is indeed the flex violet and orange is the new black lol

[@adamperrett834]

Nice one Jon, shirts a bit loud fella, had to turn my contrast down.

[@ForensicDetailing]

lol not half :)

[@golders99]

It's from his 1970's back catalogue (we love you Jon)

[@nikistefanovv]

Anyone has an opinion on the CarPro Royal pads range?

[@bpy4073]

At 31.45 why did you put on a green sleeved garment to fondle the pads?Great content as usual.

[@ForensicDetailing]

just shot all the overlays on a different day probably

[@hakman239]

Would you say the shinemate green is as course as the rupes green?

[@ForensicDetailing]

no m8

[@hakman239]

Forensic Detailing Channel do you know any other pads that are as corse as the rupes green looking for an alternative to the sonax red it’s same corse add rupes green but sonax only do it in 5.5 inch

[@wuzumaki]

You say that the Chemical Guys Quantum Hex are suitable for beginners becasue they are not so agressive in cutting, but are they suitable for hard paint on a BMW?

[@ForensicDetailing]

yes but you would go with their yellow to cut. but the hex log yellow is no where near as agressive as say the rupes green or the scholl concepts white spiders.. you will notice some heavy cutting pads are very very stiff and course. the yelllow hex is still reasonably soft and smooth.

[@wuzumaki]

@@ForensicDetailing I actually might go for the Rupes pads instead, because they are currently on sale in my country. Do you have any experience with using Rupes pads with Flex XFE DA? The pads are supposedly made for machines with long throw, so it should work well with a Flex DA that has 15mm throw?

[@ForensicDetailing]

@@wuzumaki I know the rupes pads.. big fan of the yellow and whites.. not a big fan of green and blue. it would be ok on the flex XFE.. but I would look at the Flex pads. You could try the rupes thin pads designed for the mille.. the problem is theres no green pad in that range and the blue is mega agressive.

[@wuzumaki]

@@ForensicDetailing I'm getting the white and yellow Rupes then. Flex pads are not sold in my country, so it's not really an option for me. My car is a 2018 BMW with very few scratches at random places and no swirls, so I'm not looking for any pads that are too agressive anyway.

[@jimholden1176]

Thanks John 👍

[@hakman239]

you tried orange or yellow hex with g3 preium would you still get good finish with them

[@ForensicDetailing]

not tired but it could work .. the orange hex again is a nice pad thats not overly agressive you can single stage with it most times no problems.. yellow maybe not ideal.

[@hakman239]

@@ForensicDetailing im just wanting a more agressive pad then the green on harder paint looking at buying that g3 premium

[@hakman239]

@@ForensicDetailing or mabey the moore orange looks like same cut as cg orange

[@clevo351]

Are there any paint thickness gauges on the market that can measure the clearcoat only?

[@berczigabor]

There are, but they cost a fortune. Like multiple thousands of dollars/pounds. They can measure each layer of paint separately though.

[@GregoryVeizades]

Yes, they exist for measuring industrial coatings and for manufacturing. But the thing is, they are stupid expensive and they do not work well for detailing and paint thickness measuring because even though you get to "measure" each individual coat, the margin of error on those machines is to large to have any of the data mean anything for us.

[@kieranhooper4227]

3 year old video and the pads are £8.95 for hex logic 5inch. Fast forward 3 years and they are £12.95. A 45% increase!!

[@ForensicDetailing]

True yer crazy inflation

[@James.O]

Does Noel Edmonds know you’re wearing his multi colour swap shop shirt?

[@ForensicDetailing]

my blobby in noels shirt :)

[@seabrew1]

pretty sure lake country HDO are open cell.

[@nicorallysport]

Me I love SPTA pads!, also for me SPTA & shinemate = identical pads!?. In fact, you never know who actually makes the pads!, I think a lot of brands are made in the same place, and just the brand changes !? (for at least those of good qualities!, the mediocre qualities I don't know.) SPTA = a excellent quality for less inexpensive!! Also, you take the SPTA HDO they are identical to the old version of lake country HDO!, I have the 2 I see no difference! 🤔 Except in the price! 😁 Another example, the SPTA diamond foam pads = identical to the shinemate diamond pads! Another brands like meguiar's, and are old versions of soft buff 2.0 pads, and the small 4 "pads (DA Power pads) lake country have exactly the same soft buff without mark on it! Etc., etc..

[@Dan-hq2js]

Do you ever reply you your KZbin comments.....

[@ForensicDetailing]

more than any other you tuber out there.. however each video is a feed of comments and the notification system in you tube tends to feed you only on the latest video. so you dont get notified for every comment. but also its volume. as a small to medium sized you tube channel I do around 1/2 a million views a month. I set aside time to make the videos, but if I want to reply to the comments I need to perhaps set aside a couple of hours every evening. you cant do that consistently year after year. so most channel you tubers dont reply to comments.. its very hard to. but you can see how much I reply to by scrolling through the comments of my videos and seeing my replies.

[@Dan-hq2js]

@@ForensicDetailing good stuff :) I left a comment about paint restoration on your alto video , was hoping you could help

[@Dan-hq2js]

Funnily enough I couldn't tag you on that video either, which is one of you're best :)

[@1974gladiateur]

My ex logic pads got destroyed really fast. I found them really cheap.

[@Vyker]

I buy from Imran because if Jon 😂

[@erikstrahle5356]

It's funny how you think some pads are cheap or expensive in Sweden they all expensive double the price what you pay for them in uk :(

[@ForensicDetailing]

if normal pad prices were up in the like 20-25 pound catagory I would just not use them because thats getting ridiculous erik. there must be ways you can find a source of quality pads and buy bulk and bring them in. I even bought a load of pads from the USA becase it was cheaper even with import tax than buying them in the UK. search for a solution and when you find one let people know in the swedish forums that you can get a better deal and then the market will go to where the value is and hopefully the local distributors will take note.

[@erikstrahle5356]

@@ForensicDetailing all detailing things are quite a lot more expensive then uk. I just checked and the cg hex logic pads are like 13 pound for normal 125 size. You will struggle to find a pad in sweden for under 10 that's 125 size.

[@ercan5117]

First of all before watching a 👍

[@davecouttsmusic]

Every time! If it's Jon, it's gonna be a great video!

[@ForensicDetailing]

thx guys

[@jaydc182]

Which nob rash disliked this???

[@ForensicDetailing]

ah its all good mate, to be fair I expect this one to be frustrating to most of the you tube audience because its way too long. decided a while back not to go a certain way with videos and to just do my thing..