Megs on the right track for this one. Unless you're into super duper serious commercial detailing and doing all kind of cars with different type of paint hardness/softness/sensitiveness(?), all you'd need is just 3 levels of aggressiveness - cutting, polishing and finishing/waxing. You won't notice any major differences in aggresivenes in, say, the different cutting pads that LC produce, especially with a DA...maybe on a rotary but not much with a DA. I'd suggest you should concentrate more on the quality of the foam/pad. Now that, i can assure you, would make a whole lot of difference, even with a DA.

Btw, i think the picture there is the hydro pads, can't say for sure but i think LC traditional flat pads are more rounded at the edges. Maybe you should have a little Q&A chat session with Jeremy....he's in the kaki group

Yeah...for LC you can start with Orange//White//Black...those are the three basics. Start from there, get use to them then you can decide whether you'd need anything else in between. Black, blue, red & gold are said to be with minimal or no cutting power. I have the black, blue and gold. Personally, for applying sealants, I prefer black. The foam felts like it's a little denser and it doesn't absorb as much sealants as the other two. The blue and gold I use for finishing polishes (with a rotary).

Aaahh....pad sizes. This would heavily depend on personal preferences. Nowadays, 5" ~ 5.5" are my go-to pads (for both my rotary & LHR15) and sometimes I also use my Megs Soft Buff 6" pads. I also have a few 7" pads including the LC CCS curve and Soft Buff 2.0 (and a few others) but seldom use them anymore unless I'm doing some heavier polishing with a rotary. Even with the LHR15, I do feel more comfortable using the 5"~5.5" pads, and I also heard that some LHR21 owners here also like using smaller size pads. Also, I don't see/feel any *significant* differences (time and efforts) when switching my LHR15 to using larger pads with my LHR21 backing plate. My suggestion, start with the 5.5" and 3"~3.5" pads and go from there. Megs W68DA with a few Soft Buff 2.0 pads would be quite an investment. If you don't mind that then by all means go for it cuz it's fun to play around and experiment and it might suit your liking. But, I don't think they are 'necessary' purchases

u can use both backing plate interchangeably between LHR21 an LHR15.

LHR21 with LHR15 backing plate is more stable (my personal attempt)

however, LHR21 can seriously generate high heat because of the big throw.

[attachmentid=3980908]

my wax collection :

Zymol = very high gloss result

The Rock (first layer) + The Vintage (second layer) = best protection

Zymol - destiny, atlantique, concours = havent applied

mitchell & king - rannoch, armour = just received and yet to apply.
next collection :

Race Glaze Black label

Migliore Competizione / Presidentione

Hrrmm....where should I start....

Frankly, I haven't had that much of an experience with a 'traditional' DA to go into this level of details, except for the few occasions during DITs and visits to Osren and friends' places who got a DA. And I had also borrowed one (Megs G220V1) to extensively try it out and evaluate whether I should get one or not. After which, I decided against getting one mainly because my elbow couldn't take the vibration that it created....until the Bigfoot came out. Only then, with the Bigfoot, I was able to really try out all (or most) of the different types and sizes of pads that I have with me and below are my *personal* observations (in relation with your question).

It not about the size of the pads alone, it's about the size of the pad in relation to the size of the backing plate - i.e. the gap/spaces between the edge of the backing plate and the edge of the pad. This gap/spaces would influence the 'effective working/contact area' of the pad.

This is my own theory: Consider the LHR15 bp (125mm dia.) with Megs Wx006 pads (170mm dia.). There would be a space of 22.5mm on the outer edge of the pad which is not in direct contact with the backing plate. When you exert downward pressure, it would be evenly spread DIRECTLY under the backing plate but further than that the pressure would be reduced (due to the nature/softness of the foam structure). Switching the machine on, you'd see that the working of an ROB would create a virtual smaller circle (inner edge of the throw) inside a larger circle (outer edge of the throw). Now, imagine this outer circle with a 22.5mm radius of area in which the pressure is lower. Lower pressure means less effective 'cut'. So you'd have a 22.5mm of space/contact area whereby the working would be a little less effective than the rest. With a rotary, you can counter this effect by tilting the machine at an angle but with a DA (and especially with a large throw DA like the Bigfoot), the edge of the backing plate would get in contact with the back of the pad and eat through it like a saw (threw away 2 of my 3M green compounding pad because of this). So, with a DA when you reach the edge of a panel, you'd need to go over it so that the 'effective working/contact area' would reach those sections. But what would you do when you reach the edge of a flat panel with an upright panel right beside it?

I'm not sure whether my theory is sound or not (cuz I just figure out how to put it down in writing just now ), but if you notice those serious detailers in foreign forums, most of them are working with a DA with a combination of pads and backing plates which are *almost* the same size. Also, notice the design of Rupes pads whereby they designed the edge to be at an angle so that pressure would be distributed further, whilst still having that space between the outer edge of the pad with the backing plate for safety precautions. The very reason why I decided to get them.

So, in the end, does the above has any 'adverse' effect in the cutting/polishing ability? Well....not DRASTICALLY, but it's enough to make many of us enthusiasts and professional enthusiasts alike, preferring the smaller pads with a DA/Rupes....but well, of course...not just due to only the one reason stated above....there are many more....and just like iamsobloodysick mentioned, some of the other reasons are the smaller pads are much easier and nicer to use (without trying to squeeze my brain again for details and type another essay on why it's 'easier' and 'nicer'.... ).

Finally found this bucket....hahahaha...



Ngam2 for grit guard...



My collection still some not use yet..