Ok, I was able to detail the hood on my wife's mustang last night and now I need to know the proper way to clean the pads. These are the Meguiar's pads, the Polishing pad, the Cutting pad and the Finishing pad.
Also, I was wondering if I followed the correct steps in use of the pads. I used a P/C with the speed set to 4 for all applications but I am not sure if I was aggresive enough as there are still some fine scratches showing. I also have not seen it in the daylight yet so there may be some that are visible under sunlight that were not visible last night.

Here are my steps in the detailing of the hood (plan to do the rest of the care tonight or tomorrow night).
1. wash
2. Meguiar'sClay Bar using Quik Detail spray
3. Meguiar's Swirl Remover (#9) applied using Cutting pad and removed by hand
4. Meguiar's Show Car Glaze (#7) applied using Polishing pad and removed by hand
5. Meguiar's NXT wax, applied and removed by hand
6. Meguiar's Hi-Tech Yellow Wax (#26) applied using finishing pad and removed by hand.

Here are some before and afters: Before and after
These were taken with a digital so they are not the best. I have taken some with a SLR that I hope will show the differences better. I will post these as soon as I get the film developed.

 

I believe the pads should just be lightly brushed and that is it and store them in a zip lock baggie.

Instead of using the swirl remover in the initial step you could have used Maguiar's DACP.

The glaze may have removed some of the swirl remover as well.
Swirl remover is probably closer to a glaze.

I would stick with a true polish first, follow with either #9 or #7 (not both). and follow up with either NXT or #26 (again not both).

You may want to polish on a higher speed to break down the polishing agents and apply more pressure in bad areas.

 

While everything is an opinion, I'm going to offer mine as some may read it and take something with them...

I think your procedure is dead on minus following #9 with #7 (it's probably a fairly unnecessary step). Further, if you achieved the results that you wanted, you did exactly the correct procedure. As I'll probably say later in this post, 'there's no perfect blanket answer to every problem'. I disagree with starting with Dual Action Cleaner Polish (DACP)(#83). DACP is a more agressive compounding product that is more difficult to work with in that it contains a greater degree of Meg's diminishing abrasives. DACP and a DA aren't the easiest to work with as I have found that the DA simply can't generate enough heat to help activate the oils and such in the product. DACPIf you were using a rotary, I might change my opinion. Also, it's important to note that each individual problem might call for a very unique answer. DACP, #9, #85, #84, #82 etc... may or may not be an answer. DACP 'could have' been used but always... always... always start with the least agressive product and work upwards. It's hard to fix paint that you've worked through because you went too agressive too quick.

While very similar in nature, compounding and polishing are too different procedures that require different products and levels of agressiveness in my opinion.

Unrelated note:
Just a touch of personal experience after experimenting with numerous products today while attending a Meguiar's training class out here in Irvine (I'm sitting in a DoubleTree Hotel as we speak after just getting out of class), I found that Speed Glaze gave a much more effective cut of the final very small grade swirls and spiders on the rental vehicle that we're experimenting upon. Further, I found that the #84 was a better product for this particular vehicle than the #85. As you may have guessed, this rental is thrashed from a paint perspective... different products work better in different environments too. There's no blanket answer.

I could go into the Meguiar's mentality on cleaning pads but, I'm going to preach from personal experience as I don't think a brush or spurs (wool pad) do an adequate job of removing excess product. Again, there's no perfect answer here but, I prefer Murphy's Oil Soap while the pad is still wet. Take a small droplet of MOS and apply it to the middle in your kitchen sink. Knead the MOS into the pad to release your chemical and then rinse VERY thouroghly. I stress the word VERY! While not recommended by Meguiar's as they must 'bubba-proof' many items that they release to the public as there are numerous folks out there that simply abuse something and then expect compensation, I've been successful with this method.

NXT and #26, while not necessary, provide me, personally, with a deeper more lush final product on my chestnut colored King Ranch. NXT, by itself, left a bit too much gloss without the depth that I loved from a classic carnauba. Is it a 'must' to top NXT with #26? Heck no. Did it provide me, personally, with a difference in depth and overall appearance in my opinion? Yes. Will it provide added protection? Yes. With that in mind, I don't think it's a bad step. Again though, is it necessary? No.

I know I tossed out numerous products that you never mentioned but, I feel its important to share my experiences today with the full span of the 80 series products, wet sanding, and polishing as well as past and recent experiences with some of Meg's polishes (and compounds). It's certainly not meant as a flame... just a personal opinion based on past personal experiences (many of which were experienced as recently as today).

By the way... the before and after on the scratch is VERY impressive. Great job!!

RP

 

I posted this in the other thread, but I just tried the Snappy Pad Cleaning powder from Lake Country, and it works wonders.

I mix one packet per 2.5 glas of water. Once I am done using the pad, I toss it in the bucket for 15 to 25 min, rake it with my fingers, and then rinse in hot water. Just like new for 90% of the things I use on them. I still keep them in order to use them for the next product the next time, but I have some I can't tell what I used on them the last time.

RP - Question on Polish vs Glaze with you beign there, most other manufactures call these 2 different things. I have been testing the #81 followed by I do believe it is #7, with good results. I have not compared a #81 - #26 combo against #81-#7-#26, that is next.

If you could get the line from Meguiars on this, as they seem to blur some of the Polish - Glaze usages, with the 2 being different usage reason.

thanks