[roger1]

It would be good if you don't have to go to anything more coarse than 1000 with your color sanding. Also, I've always stuck to color sanding by hand with the old 3M rubber blocks. Other than way back when I tried the 3M Trizact several years ago, I've never had the nerve to try color sanding with a D/A with coarser paper but I know it's done.

Denim pads last a long time if you treat them right. I can do a whole car with 1 or 2. You might not get that life out of them as you are getting a feel for how to use them. Do you have a rotary with a soft start and a variable rpm knob? You need one with those features with these pads. You also want to use one with a side handle at the front rather than a top bar.
You can get these pads in both 5 1/4" and 3". I rarely use the 3" ones but have tried them. If there's an area where I need to polish that I can't get to with the 5 1/4" pad, I most likely can't with a 3" pad either since they should only be used flat. So, I switch to a wool bonnet and do it the old fashion way. The Menzerna 400 works well on those too so I use that instead of the old 3M products.

Since you can't find hook and loop backing pads for a rotary in 5 1/4". I bought a 5 1/2" one and shaved the edge down to 5 1/4" by spinning it and holding sandpaper on the edge. I just noticed that the CarPro website says the pads are 5 1/2". Maybe they've changed them since I bought them last.