What polishing pads are you using on your WRX?

gunz4me · 06-06-2019, 10:18 PM

I was just wondering what polishing pads everyone was using to correct their paint? I have some dealership imperfections that I want to get off my car and I have some Buff and Shine Microfiber pads, which historically are too aggressive for softer clear coats. I also have some Lake Country Smart Pads, which work great on softer paints. Finally, I do have some Lake Country foamed wool pads, but I would prefer to not use those if the WRX clear is as soft as I remember on my 2012 WRX.

My car in question is a 2019 Dark Gray WRX.

I'm almost out of the Optimum Hyper Twins, but I do have some Griots Garage Fast Correcting/Perfecting cream along with some Megs 105/205. I believe I can make any of those compounds and polishes work. I should have enough Gloss coat to cover the car after the correcting and IPA wipedown.

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sebhockey · 06-07-2019, 09:19 PM

I have a 2016 STI in the same color, and depending on the depth I change what I'm using.

I typically use a combination of the following: Meguiar's microfiber cutting pads, Lake country foam cutting pad (yellow), along with Chemical Guys foam pads which range from cutting to jeweling. The CG guys pads react just like the Lake Country pads and color coded the same in my experience. For polishes/compounds I use Carpro Clearcut, Fixer, Essense (coating primer) and sometimes Chemical Guys VSS.

For most the car a light polishing pad (Lake Country white or CG white) along with a diminishing polish will remove almost anything without much effort and finish off nice. Before I started using Carpro Essense I was happy with finishing with just that prior to coating. For compounding I found a foam cutting pad with whatever compound I'm using is great for most areas and just add a bit more compound for troublesome spots. I typically save the mf pads for really bad spots or coating removal.

dingobite · 06-12-2019, 12:01 AM

Ive had some luck with the green pad ive almost never touched my car far as polishing it so im not much help.

I plan on useing rupes bigfoot coarse wool pad very soon its meant for soft paints.

Jjules22 · 06-12-2019, 09:53 AM

I've always kind of used lake country ccs I believe it was, orange with a compound followed with a polish with the white and then finished off with red or blue with a glaze and generally would apply any sealants or wax by hand following how the air flows over the car from front to back passes. To keep it short the results honestly are all in the quality level of the product you use. Once you start using higher end detailing products you can really tell the difference not even with how it looks afterwards but how easy it is to work with and remove etc.

Scooby921 · 06-12-2019, 05:09 PM

Paint on my Porsche is also quite soft.

Pads Used:
Lake Country CCS orange and white
Chemical Guys Hex-Logic green and white
Lake Country microfiber cut and finish
Rupes green and yellow

Compounds / Polishes Used:
Wolfgang Uber and Total Swirl Remover
Menzerna SF3500
Rupes Quarz and Keramik

Best finish to date has been the Rupes system with Quarz on the matching green pads and Keramik on the matching yellow pads. I've not tried the Rupes compound and polish on the LC or CG foam pads, but did use it with the LC microfiber pads. Foam results are better on the soft paint.

Scorpius · 06-29-2019, 12:34 AM

Lake County CCS pads and Wolfgang Uber Compound and Total Swirl Remover are my go to detail items. I use a Flex 3401 polisher.

phobos8 · 07-17-2019, 05:27 PM

+1 on the CG hex logic pads.

I went through a car wash this winter behind a truck and it absolutely wrecked my paint (13 WRB). Here's what I ended up using:

Chemical Guys Clean Slate wax stripper
CG Hex Logic orange and white
CG V34-36

It came out pretty good with just the above so I didn't end up using V38/black pads very much. You probably will want to spend more time there if you have darker paint than WRB.

06-06-2019, 10:18 PM	#1
gunz4me Scooby Newbie Member#: 305130 Join Date: Dec 2011 Chapter/Region: South East Location: LFT Vehicle: 2019 WRX Dark Gray	What polishing pads are you using on your WRX? I was just wondering what polishing pads everyone was using to correct their paint? I have some dealership imperfections that I want to get off my car and I have some Buff and Shine Microfiber pads, which historically are too aggressive for softer clear coats. I also have some Lake Country Smart Pads, which work great on softer paints. Finally, I do have some Lake Country foamed wool pads, but I would prefer to not use those if the WRX clear is as soft as I remember on my 2012 WRX. My car in question is a 2019 Dark Gray WRX. I'm almost out of the Optimum Hyper Twins, but I do have some Griots Garage Fast Correcting/Perfecting cream along with some Megs 105/205. I believe I can make any of those compounds and polishes work. I should have enough Gloss coat to cover the car after the correcting and IPA wipedown. * Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

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06-07-2019, 09:19 PM	#2
sebhockey Scooby Newbie Member#: 138957 Join Date: Jan 2007 Chapter/Region: MAIC Location: Chesapeake, VA Vehicle: 2016 WRX STI Limited DGM	I have a 2016 STI in the same color, and depending on the depth I change what I'm using. I typically use a combination of the following: Meguiar's microfiber cutting pads, Lake country foam cutting pad (yellow), along with Chemical Guys foam pads which range from cutting to jeweling. The CG guys pads react just like the Lake Country pads and color coded the same in my experience. For polishes/compounds I use Carpro Clearcut, Fixer, Essense (coating primer) and sometimes Chemical Guys VSS. For most the car a light polishing pad (Lake Country white or CG white) along with a diminishing polish will remove almost anything without much effort and finish off nice. Before I started using Carpro Essense I was happy with finishing with just that prior to coating. For compounding I found a foam cutting pad with whatever compound I'm using is great for most areas and just add a bit more compound for troublesome spots. I typically save the mf pads for really bad spots or coating removal.

06-12-2019, 12:01 AM	#3
dingobite Scooby Specialist Member#: 82391 Join Date: Mar 2005 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Lou. ky Vehicle: 08 OBP Sti	Ive had some luck with the green pad ive almost never touched my car far as polishing it so im not much help. I plan on useing rupes bigfoot coarse wool pad very soon its meant for soft paints.

06-12-2019, 09:53 AM	#4
Jjules22 Scooby Newbie Member#: 503156 Join Date: Jun 2019 Chapter/Region: NESIC Vehicle: 2016 Sti Dark Grey Metallic	I've always kind of used lake country ccs I believe it was, orange with a compound followed with a polish with the white and then finished off with red or blue with a glaze and generally would apply any sealants or wax by hand following how the air flows over the car from front to back passes. To keep it short the results honestly are all in the quality level of the product you use. Once you start using higher end detailing products you can really tell the difference not even with how it looks afterwards but how easy it is to work with and remove etc.

06-12-2019, 05:09 PM	#5
Scooby921 Merci Buckets Moderator Member#: 88606 Join Date: Jun 2005 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Michigan Vehicle: 2018 Grand Cherokee Velvet Red Pearl	Paint on my Porsche is also quite soft. Pads Used: Lake Country CCS orange and white Chemical Guys Hex-Logic green and white Lake Country microfiber cut and finish Rupes green and yellow Compounds / Polishes Used: Wolfgang Uber and Total Swirl Remover Menzerna SF3500 Rupes Quarz and Keramik Best finish to date has been the Rupes system with Quarz on the matching green pads and Keramik on the matching yellow pads. I've not tried the Rupes compound and polish on the LC or CG foam pads, but did use it with the LC microfiber pads. Foam results are better on the soft paint.

06-29-2019, 12:34 AM	#6
Scorpius Scooby Specialist Member#: 370806 Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Northern Indiana Vehicle: 2019 WRX/STI DGM 2016 WRX/STI ISM	Lake County CCS pads and Wolfgang Uber Compound and Total Swirl Remover are my go to detail items. I use a Flex 3401 polisher.

07-17-2019, 05:27 PM	#7
phobos8 Scooby Newbie Member#: 333410 Join Date: Sep 2012 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: missouri Vehicle: 2013 WRX Hatchback WRB	+1 on the CG hex logic pads. I went through a car wash this winter behind a truck and it absolutely wrecked my paint (13 WRB). Here's what I ended up using: Chemical Guys Clean Slate wax stripper CG Hex Logic orange and white CG V34-36 It came out pretty good with just the above so I didn't end up using V38/black pads very much. You probably will want to spend more time there if you have darker paint than WRB.