# Lake country pads - talk to me



## smifeune (Mar 2, 2014)

Hi guys,

I currently have a collection of flexipads hex pads, some of them are starting to get a little worn now so starting to think about replacing.

I have just had a look at the lake country hydrotech pads, has anyone got any experience with these pads? how do they compare to flexipads?

What's the difference between the hydrotech and the ccs pads?

I have also just seen the shinemate pad collection on CYC, again, any views on these?

Cheers :buffer:


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## Steampunk (Aug 11, 2011)

smifeune said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> I currently have a collection of flexipads hex pads, some of them are starting to get a little worn now so starting to think about replacing.
> 
> ...


I haven't used Flexipads hex pads (Have used Buff & Shine / CG's), but can comment on the LC range.

Firstly, the CCS's are nice, fairly traditional open-cell foam pads; particularly in the low-profile 5.5" size. I find their dimples to be something of a gimmick, with little - if any - perceivable benefit in normal use, and I'm afraid that pad technology has moved on a long way since these first released... That said, they are quite durable and easy to clean (More so than their newer Hydro-Tech line.), and the Gold, Red, & White pads where always my favorites from this line. The gold is one of the softest jeweling pads you'll ever find. I still have the Red, which I find works well in some situations with Meguiar's #205...

My biggest problem with them was that Lake Country's velcro backing (Particularly the black velcro; less so the white.) had a tendency of shrinking over time, and turning the pads oval, but they still functioned. They were also a bit heat sensitive, and tended to collapse a bit during heavy compounding, but never suffered the slightest damage.

Performance-wise, the Hydro-Tech pads are a big step on. The closed-cell foam works MUCH better with certain polishes (Like Menzerna and Scholl) than the open-cell foams of the CCS, and the foam-grades themselves have a much broader cut/finish spectrum than their equivalents in competing lines like Buff & Shine. This makes for a very compact pad system... The low profile 'Rotary' HT pads sold by Polished Bliss are the ones you want to get; especially if you - ironically - own a DA. Their low height gives them a more efficient cutting action than the conventional-height pads, and significantly cuts down on vibration.

My only issues with the HT pads are (A) the Cyan cutting pads have quite poor durability, and (B) for awhile LC's suffered some quality control issues and a few of my HT pads where cut very evenly, although I have been assured by a distributor that these issues have been fixed. If you are interested in the Hydro-Tech line, I would recommend picking up the Crimson Finishing and Tangerine polishing pads in particular; for heavy compounding, you can find better pads than the Cyan from other lines today like Scholl (White Spider Sandwich) and CarPro (Flash) that offer massively superior cutting performance and durability.

These days, I mostly use Scholl Concept's foam pads. They're more expensive than most, but are the highest quality in regards to foam and cut I have found, and their Spider pads in particular are something incredibly special.

Hopefully this helps...

- Steampunk


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## smifeune (Mar 2, 2014)

Wow awesome information there. 
You are a fountain of knowledge. 
Thanks for the write up


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## Bigoggy (Sep 1, 2014)

Lake country ccs and scholl polish go great together. Work great on my car


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## ad_182_uk (Mar 2, 2014)

Steampunk said:


> I haven't used Flexipads hex pads (Have used Buff & Shine / CG's), but can comment on the LC range.
> 
> Firstly, the CCS's are nice, fairly traditional open-cell foam pads; particularly in the low-profile 5.5" size. I find their dimples to be something of a gimmick, with little - if any - perceivable benefit in normal use, and I'm afraid that pad technology has moved on a long way since these first released... That said, they are quite durable and easy to clean (More so than their newer Hydro-Tech line.), and the Gold, Red, & White pads where always my favorites from this line. The gold is one of the softest jeweling pads you'll ever find. I still have the Red, which I find works well in some situations with Meguiar's #205...
> 
> ...


Do they do low profile hydrotech pads in 4 inch diameter? If not whats the best closed cell alternative for use with DA?


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## GSVHammer (Feb 7, 2009)

ad_182_uk said:


> Do they do low profile hydrotech pads in 4 inch diameter? If not whats the best closed cell alternative for use with DA?


Just ordered yesterday, some LAKE COUNTRY - 3.5" HYBRID pads to try. Went for these as they match the 5.5 dics I use on my Vertool Forced Drive machine. The 5.5 pads I have are the thick ones.

There are newer thinner ones in both 3.5" and 5.5" range.



> Lake Country Force Discs are designed to operate more flexibly than traditional heavy duty discs. *Its low 11/16 "(1.75cm) profile* gives you the best feeling of handling, excellent control and excellent performance.
> 
> The Lake Country Force Discs hybrid foam is designed especially for small cells with a dense structure to hold the abrasive pad on the surface. The result is shorter machining time and more gloss as the abrasive remains on the work surface and does not absorb in the pad. For ease of use, the design of the sloping design at the back of the pad protects the backing plate from hitting the paint and consistently maintains the pressure on the pad.


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## ad_182_uk (Mar 2, 2014)

GSVHammer said:


> Just ordered yesterday, some LAKE COUNTRY - 3.5" HYBRID pads to try. Went for these as they match the 5.5 dics I use on my Vertool Forced Drive machine. The 5.5 pads I have are the thick ones.
> 
> There are newer thinner ones in both 3.5" and 5.5" range.


And these 3.5 hybrid pads are definetley lower profile than the same size hydrotech ones?


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## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

All the info you need HERE. :thumb:

Alan W


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## ad_182_uk (Mar 2, 2014)

cant get closed cell 3inch foam pads that aren’t less than 1 1/4inch thick then


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## GSVHammer (Feb 7, 2009)

ad_182_uk said:


> cant get closed cell 3inch foam pads that aren't less than 1 1/4inch thick then


3.5" pad with 11/16 "(1.75cm) profile. Just arrived today.


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## Steampunk (Aug 11, 2011)

ad_182_uk said:


> Do they do low profile hydrotech pads in 4 inch diameter? If not whats the best closed cell alternative for use with DA?


Apologies for not seeing this sooner...

LC does provide smaller sizes of the low profile HT pads, but I do not recommend them for two reasons. Firstly, even at their best, the smaller sizes of the HT pads had a tendency to collapse quite quickly under even moderate usage. Secondly, I stopped recommending LC HT pads altogether several years ago when I noticed LC's quality control falling, and the pads started chattering horribly and turning oval after the first few washings. Maybe LC's QC has improved again, but I was forced to find alternatives that I'm actually even happier with.

What sort of DA are we talking about? 8mm, long throw, forced rotation?

If we're talking about a standard 8mm throw DA (DAS-6, Megs, etc.), with a 3" BP, then the 90mm Scholl pads are without competition in terms of quality and performance in regards to foam. For long-throw, I'd stick with pads designed for these machines (Rupes still are the best I've found, though the Buff & Shine Uro-Tec Burgundy is pretty special.), and select polishes that work well with open-cell. These machines are very picky about pad/polish pairing...

Hope this helps. 

- Steampunk


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## rojer386 (Mar 15, 2008)

Alan W said:


> All the info you need HERE. :thumb:
> 
> Alan W


I have literally just posted a new thread asking about pads and then I find this. Brilliant document and answers many of my questions. :thumb::buffer:


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## ad_182_uk (Mar 2, 2014)

Steampunk said:


> Apologies for not seeing this sooner...
> 
> LC does provide smaller sizes of the low profile HT pads, but I do not recommend them for two reasons. Firstly, even at their best, the smaller sizes of the HT pads had a tendency to collapse quite quickly under even moderate usage. Secondly, I stopped recommending LC HT pads altogether several years ago when I noticed LC's quality control falling, and the pads started chattering horribly and turning oval after the first few washings. Maybe LC's QC has improved again, but I was forced to find alternatives that I'm actually even happier with.
> 
> ...


I did notice the 3in LC HT pads i have start to shrink around the velcro backing, making them an odd shape.

The mini DA has a 12mm throw.

I dont really want to buy other polishes as its menz i have and am used too. Just need some closed cell pads low profile pads to work the polish to its best.


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## ad_182_uk (Mar 2, 2014)

GSVHammer said:


> 3.5" pad with 11/16 "(1.75cm) profile. Just arrived today.


Ok this looks good. The link from Alan suggets the hybrids are closed cell as they talk about small and dense - although it also does not suggest you can them in the size your holding.

But ya do you have an exact link to a cutting / polishing / finishing pad?


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## Steampunk (Aug 11, 2011)

ad_182_uk said:


> I did notice the 3in LC HT pads i have start to shrink around the velcro backing, making them an odd shape.
> 
> The mini DA has a 12mm throw.
> 
> I dont really want to buy other polishes as its menz i have and am used too. Just need some closed cell pads low profile pads to work the polish to its best.


The interesting thing about those 3" & smaller long-throw DA's, is that - unlike on 8mm DA's - low profile isn't the solution to getting them run smooth and transfer energy. They actually don't run right with any 3-3.5" contact patch pad I've tried; they need the bigger contact patch of those heavily tapered 4" face pads.

Sadly, you're simply not going to find any great close-cell that matches the specs your machine needs. However, you could find open-cell that kind of acts like it's closed, and is compatible with Menz. I'd suggest the B&S Uro-Cell Burgundy, the Rupes Yellow, and the Rupes White. This is probably as close as you'll get to a good pairing. For heavier cut, you'll probably need the Rupes Coarse Blue Wool to stick with Menz, but there's a good chance it'll jerk you around the panel a bit.

Hope this helps.

- Steampunk


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## ad_182_uk (Mar 2, 2014)

Why do they sell 3in machines with 12mm throw if close to nothing works with them.

Would a 3in rotary machine be more suitable as this wont bog down?

The fg400 on mf disc with the 12mm 3” mini da had plenty of cut even on VAG hard paint i found.

Would just using 4in pad be an option?

Ill take a look at the rupes and uro-cell, are the rupes yellow and uro burgundy similar in cut and finish or does the burgundy have more cutting ability? I had looked into the uro finishing mf disc as well as an option?

While we are talking about pads, would the 5.5in hyrdotech pads be good paired with a rotary and menz polish? Assume it would be as simple as cyan - fg400 / tang pf2200 or 2500 / crimon - sf3500 or any glaze or prewax cleanser?

So basically keeping it simple i have the menz polishes, a rotary for 5/5.5/6 in pads - should i use the LC HT pads with this and will this cover what i need as a weekend warrior?

Then my 3” 12mm throw DA i have the megs mf cutting disc and need to decide on foam pads for that, perhaps from the ones you suggested above depending on any further thoughts.


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## GSVHammer (Feb 7, 2009)

ad_182_uk said:


> Ok this looks good. The link from Alan suggets the hybrids are closed cell as they talk about small and dense - although it also does not suggest you can them in the size your holding.
> 
> But ya do you have an exact link to a cutting / polishing / finishing pad?


I replied the other day in another thread that you had posted in. Here is the link from Clean Your Car.
The haven't any cutting or polishing pads in stock now because I bought what was left. I've been waiting on the polishing pads coming into stock for around 6-8 weeks. 
I phoned them 3 weeks ago and they said they have suppliers in America and Europe so stock levels should improve. Think it's all down to Covid-19 shutting things down at the moment.

I have the LC 5.5 Force Hybrid pads for my Vertool FD so wanted the matching pads (colour wise) for my in2detailing 12mm 3" polisher.

It would be nice if there was an industry standard for colouring the pads.

On short time for the next 4 weeks so I will be trying these out.


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## Steampunk (Aug 11, 2011)

ad_182_uk said:


> Why do they sell 3in machines with 12mm throw if close to nothing works with them.
> 
> Would a 3in rotary machine be more suitable as this wont bog down?
> 
> ...


Well, Rupes made pads/polishes specifically for their machines to solve this problem... Some of the aftermarket pads work quite well, too, but none have the jump on the subject like Rupes. Ideally, you need pads that have good edge stability (triangular shape) to keep the edge from collapsing (No square-cut pads), a 4" contact patch, and a cooling hole in the center for these sorts of machines.

MF pads made more with long-throw in mind (Rupes will be smoother, but B&S work well, too if you can stand some extra kickback) work better and last longer than ones made for short-throw (Meg's)... If you like that FG400 + MF combo for heavy cut, then you can do stick with it, but you'll end up destroying the Meg's pads faster than some of the other brands as they don't disperse heat as well. Personally, though, in terms of combining fiber pads with diminishing polishes, I think you'll find wool runs cooler and cuts/finishes better in this instance.

The Rupes Yellow is a polishing pad; something in the range of an HT Tangerine, or just above the CG's Hex White. The Uro-Tec (Sorry for the initial typo) Burgundy pad is a light cutting pad; something in the range of the HT Cyan, or just above the CG's Hex Orange. They have quite different cut levels.

MF (Or Rupes Coarse Blue Wool, ideally, if you want to stick with Menz.) for really coarse work, followed by B&S Burgundy for light cutting, followed by Rupes Yellow for polishing, followed by Rupes White for jeweling/glazes would be a good setup for your 12mm DA.

-

However... Rotary vs DA. Which makes more sense? Well, here's how I'd look at it:

Which one are you most comfortable using? Since you're not doing this every day, I'd pick the machine type that you can pick up and 'get in the zone' with the easiest, and then stick with that. Get a micro-DA and a full-size long-throw to go along with your mini DA, and ditch the rotary completely if the rotary isn't your favorite tool to pick up after a long time away. This will prevent you having to own too many redundant pad systems and products... However, if you really like working with your rotary and you don't have too much need for 1-step corrections, or applying glazes and pre-wax cleaners by machine, it makes more sense to go full-on rotary.

If you're already using your rotary as your main machine for correcting large areas, it also is the most sensible machine for correcting smaller ones, too... Unless you have a really big/heavy old-school rotary, I'd just get a smaller BP, rather than buying an extra machine. Most of the newer rotaries are nimble enough, and I can't think of a 'mini rotary' off the top of my head that gives you a proper trigger assembly for good control...

As for what pads I'd choose... No, I still wouldn't buy the HT pads for the rotary. I'd go for a modern, fine wool pad for the heavier cutting (Rupes, Scholl, LC Low Lint Knitted Lambswool, etc.), check out the Scholl flat foam pads for that middle range (Purple, Blue, and Orange... However, it's the orange that IMHO is the real must-have if you have wool and a decent selection of polishes.) - all closed cell so they work perfect with Menz, and maybe a soft high-PPI open-cell foam jeweling pad (Scholl Black Waffle, Rupes Rotary White, Flexipads Cream, etc.) to help make finishing out on contours a little easier.

Hope this helps... :buffer:

- Steampunk


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## ad_182_uk (Mar 2, 2014)

Ok nice. 

The pads needing a tapered edge makes sense and it definetley sounds like its the pad/machine combo thats causing poor/inefficient results for me based off whats been discussed.

My rotary is a massive old school heavy ass thing so i only use it on horizontal panels. Tend to pair it with hexlogic white / orange / black and does the business in a few passes.

So i have never used wool but i may look at some uro mf discs then the burgundy and 2 rupes pads to pair with my DA then. Do these all have the tapered edge and go from 3in backing to 4in contact?


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## Steampunk (Aug 11, 2011)

ad_182_uk said:


> Ok nice.
> 
> The pads needing a tapered edge makes sense and it definetley sounds like its the pad/machine combo thats causing poor/inefficient results for me based off whats been discussed.
> 
> ...


Because you've got a 'mixed set' (Rotary for horizontal only, and then a 3" long-throw for everything else.) it sounds like you'll be adding a new machine at some point. Either a lighter, more modern rotary, or a bigger long-throw DA.

The Uro Fiber MF's are not 3 into 4" tapered; it's why I said they're going to buck around more than the Rupes MF's. The rest are of the right dimensions.

Hope this helps.

- Steampunk


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## ad_182_uk (Mar 2, 2014)

Steampunk said:


> Because you've got a 'mixed set' (Rotary for horizontal only, and then a 3" long-throw for everything else.) it sounds like you'll be adding a new machine at some point. Either a lighter, more modern rotary, or a bigger long-throw DA.
> 
> The Uro Fiber MF's are not 3 into 4" tapered; it's why I said they're going to buck around more than the Rupes MF's. The rest are of the right dimensions.
> 
> ...


Quite possible. Nothing in the pipeline yet though.

The uro mf's came and worked okay, the burgundy pad is very stiff and seems to just absorb polish or work it very quick (i was working with fg400)

The two rupes pads work nice.

All do seem much more suitable overall than what i was using before though.


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