Firefighter84

First off, new to detailing. Just learning about the proper ways to care for paint.

Most the stuff I own is from Griot's garage. I own their buffer with orange and red pads, machine polishes, various cleaners, sponges/mf towels, and more.

Seems like most detailers say to switch to a 5.5" pad vs the 6.5" standard pad? What is the reasoning behind this? Are griot's pads good compared to others? They only offer orange, black and red. Lake country offers all sorts of pads.

How do Griot's polishes compare to others like Meguiars, Menzerna, pinnacle etc...?

Trying to see how Griot's compares to others.

0Surf City Garage

I can't/won't speak to the griots pads or chemicals compared to others, but as far as the smaller pad size:

As pad size increases, correcting power diminishes slightly - so a 5.5" pad is going to have better correcting ability than a 6.5 or 7" pad. Essentially you're concentrating more of the machines power in a smaller area. 5.5" is a popular choice as it still covers a good amount of surface area and maximizes your polishing power. To get equivalent cut from a larger pad the machine speed needs to increase, but of course you can only turn the dial up so far.

Obviously you could go down even smaller to get even more correcting power, but polishing an entire car with something like a 4" pad starts to become a bit tedious and time consuming.

If you aren't working on heavy correction or don't need the additional cut then its really a moot point... but if you find yourself struggling to get defects removed with 6.5" pad and the machine at full tilt then jumping down to a 5.5" pad may be part of the solution (in addtion to choosing more aggressive compounds or better machines)

Firefighter84

Surf City, makes sense what you just said. Larger surface area gives the pad more to grab which slows down the machine.

Are 5.5" pads more common or cheaper than 6.5" pads?

0Surf City Garage

Thats kind of the concept, but not exactly. Has more to do with rotational speed based on diameter (a smaller pad spins faster to travel the same distance in the same time as a larger pad) but thats a whole other discussion.

The other concept to be aware of is pad height... the taller the pad the more of the mechanical movement of the machine is lost. Though it would be very difficult to observe with the naked eye you can almost consider foam as a kind of 'shock absorber' so the movement put out by the machine is dulled to a degree by the foam. Lower profile pads are preferred to translate as much of the machines movement thru the pad and to the surface you're polishing.

Neither is more or less common as far as availability - pretty much, if you step outside of the brand you're currently using you'll find lots of sites that carry a bunch of different sizes.

As far as whats preferred, I think you'll find that most people who know paint correction will use 5.5" as their 'go to' pad size, but honestly I've got pads in every conceivable size, shape, and density b/c you never know what you might need in a given situation.

Are you struggling to get correction currently or are you just asking out of curiosity?

Firefighter84

Thanks Surf City Garage for all this insight. I've only used my buffer a couple times with good results and trying to gain more knowledge since car care is something I'm enjoying.

I did work on a friend's car which was in very bad shape (dogs tried to get the cat food on the hood) and left scratches all around the car. I was able to use the griot's buffer with orange pad and polish 2 (Only have polish 2 and 3) to make the car more presentable but still left room for improvement. Now I have people asking me to detail their cars but right now I feel like I'm at the stage where a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

So I'm trying to see how the griot's products compare to others out there to see what I should be using. After looking at the autogeek.net forum, detailers there say to go with the 5.5 pads and backing plate vs the 6.5. Just trying to figure out why.

I appreciate everything I am learning, we all have to start out somewhere.

0Killrwheels@Autogeek

Your going to get a lot of different suggestions and often it really comes down to personal preference. Over time most that have used most of the entry level random orbitals (PC, Megs, Griots) find that they work well and correct even better when using a 5 inch backing plate, and 5.5 inch pads.

When you move to the Rupes, or Flex buffers they use forced rotation. They are not as pad dependent because of their power and design.

Many pads exist, and brands like Megs and Lake Country are considered some of the best. Yes they offer many more options in pads, but also note there are several different designs also. If you like the simplicity of just a couple options, look to the Hydro-tech pads.

Finally, as to the polishes. Most companies offer good polishes but they may not work as well on manufacturer A versus Manufacturer B's finish. The Vette has a harder finish to correct. Mernzerna, Megs, and Wolfgang have been well proven on most finishes and likely why they are offered most. If you choose another brand, follow their directions for best outcome and provide a review so others can measure your outcome.

0Surf City Garage

FWIW - Rupes isn't a forced rotation machine... not sure thats how you meant it Killerwheels, but it reads like you mean both the Rupes and Flex use gear driven rotation so just wanted to clarify for anyone reading.

Firefighter84

Thanks for all the insight everyone. I'll stick with the griot's polishes I have. I have some direction now in case I have to go to a more aggressive setup (5.5" pads and polishes). Here is a couple more questions:

As far as 3-4" pads go. Do they make an adapter plate for the griot's 6" buffer or would I be better off getting the griot's 3" buffer? (Anyone else offer a 3" buffer?) I noticed it can be tough to get the 6.5" pad into the smaller areas.

Stone Chip filling. Should I touch up a stone chip before attempting paint correction or after?

I have wg fuzion wax coming in the mail today so I want to clean up my Victory Red Z06 so it really pops. Do you wipe the car down with an alcohol spray after polishing or would I be better off washing the car again to get rid of the oils/residue from polishing? Leaning more towards the first one since I don't want the chance to introduce new swirl marks.

0Killrwheels@Autogeek

You are correct in that you should make sure all polishing agents and oils are removed, generally speaking. Sealants don't like the oils. Now Wolfgang Fuzion is a hybrid and doesn't mind the oils as it works well with all polishes. If you do decide to wipe down the surface, do so carefully with alcohol/water or a light wash.

Here's some additional backing plates that work with Griots, Megs, and PC buffers:

http://www.autogeek.net/backingplates.html

FASTOYZ

I am fairly new to polishing as well & have found that what is stated above to be very true. I first tried Griots pads on my Griots buffer with Griots polish. What I found is that on GM clearcoats (98 Silverado & 01 vette) the Griots polish just didn't achieve the clarity for lack of a better word that I was looking for in my clear coat. I then tried Meguiars M105 , M205 & swirl remover on lake country pads. & noticed a big improvement. Megs. just took more blemishes out & left the surface with more clarity. I would highly recommend trying this as opposed to what you are using now. Just my .02