Finishing Foam Pads

Finishing foam pads are the softest grade of foam pad. With a finishing polish they remove the light haze a cutting stage leaves, and they spread glazes, waxes and sealants evenly by machine. The range covers Lake Country, Chemical Guys HEX-Logic, Rupes DA, Menzerna, ShineMate and Autobead pads from 3.5 to 6.5 inch.

How to choose

• Softness: the fine pads (Rupes DA Fine, Menzerna Soft Cut, Autobead Fine Cut) keep a little cut for refining harder paint. The softest (Rupes DA Ultra Fine and the red Lake Country and Chemical Guys pads) are for a last pass on soft paint or for applying protection.
• Machine: Lake Country HDO pads are built for long-throw DA polishers; SDO pads for a standard DA.
• Colour: green is a soft pad from Lake Country and Menzerna but a heavy cutting pad from ShineMate, so buy by name, not colour.

Good to know

• Keep finishing pads for finishing: compound left in the foam puts haze back. Wash them after every job; see Pad Cleaning.
• Polishing oils can hide fine swirls. Before a coating goes on, wipe the panel with Panel Wipe & IPA to see the true finish.

Related: Polishing Pads, Medium Cut Foam Pads, Finishing Polishes, Glazes. Popular brands here: Lake Country, Chemical Guys, Rupes.