Intermediate Pads

Two jobs, depending on the paint. On hard and medium clear coats, the average European or commercial finish, it's the one step pad. A daily driver with wash marks, light swirls and a bit of dullness doesn't need a cutting stage, and an intermediate pad with a one step compound removes that level of defect and refines the finish in the same set of passes.

On soft paint, it's the cutting pad. Japanese and Korean clears, and most resprays, mar easily under a firm pad, so a cutting pad creates as much haze as it removes and you end up chasing it with two more steps. An intermediate pad with a cutting compound gets the same correction with a cleaner finish, then a finishing pad clears what's left. Every brand names the grade differently, one step, medium, universal, intermediate, and colour codes don't carry across brands, so ShineMate blue and Lake Country orange are the same grade even though they don't look it.

On most cars, yes. Start with the intermediate pad and a one step compound on a test section. If the swirls are gone and the finish is clean under a torch, that's your combination for the whole car and you never touch the cutting or finishing pads. The three grade system exists for the cars that fall outside that, a neglected one that needs the cutting step first, or a soft dark paint that wants a finishing pad to get the last of the marring out.

Where you'll want more than one is quantity, not grade. A pad loads up over a bonnet, and a loaded pad hazes. Two or three of the same pad, swapped as they fill and cleaned with a pad brush between panels, does a better job than one pad pushed through the whole car. The pad refill kits are the cheap way to get there.

It depends on the paint and the job, and that's the strength of the middle grade, it works with all three compounds. With a one step compound it's the everyday combination, moderate cut and a clean finish on nearly any paint. With a cutting compound it becomes the cutting step on soft paint, or a way to get more bite on hard paint without the heat a firmer pad puts in. With a finishing polish it refines after a heavier step, or finishes on hard German paint where a soft foam stalls.

When you need to step up or down, change the compound before you change the pad. It's the smaller move, and one intermediate pad with two compounds covers most of what a cutting pad and a finishing pad would.

The picks at the top of the page show what's popular and what we reach for. Broadly, the ShineMate Black Diamond pads and the Lake Country HDO orange are the everyday foam, mid density, works on any dual action, suits most paint. The Koch Chemie Fine Cut pad sits slightly firmer and is a good match for harder paint or a heavier one step compound. The hybrid and SDO pads from Lake Country are the same grade in a thinner, cooler running foam for long throw machines. If you want more bite than foam gives at this grade, the medium microfibre and light wool pads sit in the same slot with faster cut and a bit more heat to manage.

Match the pad diameter to your backing plate, 5 inch pads for a 5 inch plate, 3 inch for a mini polisher, and get at least two. A spare is the difference between finishing the car and stopping halfway to wash a pad.