According to the Megs site: "The red polishing pad is ideal for use with waxes, glazes and sealants. Meguiars' exclusive foam cell structure improves airflow, while the foam cutting action removes moderate surface imperfections without leaving swirl marks created by lesser pads."


I'm a bit confused about this red "cutting" pad versus the yellow "polishing" pad. What exactly is the difference between 'cutting' and 'polishing' ? I saw this pad at the local car megastore and was contemplating whether to get it or not.

Furthermore, how do I decide whether to use a yellow vs red pad to be used with, for example, M105 vs M80 polish?

 

This depends on which red pad it is. There is a "soft buff cutting pad" and a "soft buff 2.0 cutting pad".

The older version is only good for use as a frame for microfiber bonnets. Worthless for actuall use on paint. People (including myself) felt that it was too stiff and the cell structure was too small and would cause more swirling than it was worth.

The 2.0 was reworked because for obvious reasons. I got some to demo right after they came out. While it's now safe for use with a D/A, I've tried it with D151, 83, and 80 and didn't see much of a difference between it and the yellow polishing pad.
That's just personal oppinion of course as always.


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Sounds like your just starting out. I would shy away from any red "cutting" pad. These pads are used for a more aggressive job. I would stick to the yellow pad "polishing" for the products you listed. Jolly is the man so he would know.

 

I would never use the red pad on a da.

All you need is a polishing and finishing pad from megs and you're good. I prefer to change the chemical rather than have 3295148 different pads to experiment with, but some people do that and that's what they like.

All i have are megs pads. I have some PFW but eh.

You need to use flat lake pads with anything that has none diminishing abrasive if you want lake pads imo.

 

Ok, further research indicates that some folks had bad luck using the Red pad with the D/A. One gentleman on another forum stated that Red pad created a haze on the car finish, but fortunately, was corrected using the yellow pad with the same polish. Looks like I'll be sticking with the yellow pad for now since I have a D/A.

BTW, the red pad I saw at the car megastore was W7006, it didn't say 2.0 so I guess it's version 1.

 

Simply put, the red will offer a faster and much more aggressive 'cut' versus that of the yellow pad. Because of that higher cut, it will, in a quicker fashion, cut through problems but, at the same time, you risk the introduction of more problems that will have to be corrected with a lighter cut pad/product combo.

In a nutshell, I'd not recommend utilizing the red pad with any product on the DA. In my personal opinion, the red pad (and higher cutting varieties such as wool) should only be utilized with a Flex or a true Rotary.

-RP-

 

When I bought my Meguiars DA I got 2 FREE Lake Country CCS Red Ultrasoft Wax/Sealant 6.5 inch Foam Pads with the DA.

Items can be confusing sometimes since a red pad does not always mean red cutting pad.