thanks for the tips. im aware the white isnt very aggressive, which is why i used it after the orange pad to clean up any micromarring left behind. white works great for very mild polishes. an inital use of a yellow pad on my paint just would not have been necessary. the combo of the 721`and the orange pad pretty well done the job for the 'heavy' areas.
taping the car off took me about 30 min. IMO, its time well spent. several products out there will stain trim. its cheap insurance and less hassle than to try and keep the pad off the black pieces. no residue left behind with the tape i use.