Meguiar's South Africa

Hi baflightdeck,

Although I know which Shield Machine you refer to, can't say I have much experience with it. Generally however, am I'm sure it is relevant here too, you can separate the pads or bonnets as follows:

Wool and synthetic wool - for use with the more abrasive compounds
Foam - general polishing and light defect removal - Swirl X, Deep Crystal Polish and Scratch X should work fine with this one.
Cotton Terry - final step for inducing hi gloss - application and buffing waxes.

Generally, you can expect to use the foam bonnet most of the time.

Greg has given a good general rule of thumb for which pad to use with which product.

What I would suggest is that you read the thread linked below to see what is and what isn't possible with an orbital buffer so that you keep your expectations realistic.

The Traditional Orbital Buffer