# Scholl Concepts polishes and pads



## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

Damon (and tdm), I know you were interested to see what I thought of the "other bits" that I was gong to include in this review, since this machine features heavily on their site, but....I decided to separate the two.

Suffice it to say, their pads (except the wool one) are VERY mediocre. It pains me to say so, but I couldn't get them to do what I needed, consistently.
As you'll have seen from the Civic here - Unloved Nighthawk Black Pearl Civic - I used to fantastic effect their S17 polish and wool pad, but no matter what polish I used with their Orange and Black Waffle pads, I couldn't get the refinement or cut I expected to.
On a Porsche, I used the Orange with their S30 on the roof - worked fairly well - but as soon as it was transferred to the rear 3/4's and along the shoulder area of the doors, the combo failed to do anything, bar leave signs of itself in the paint!
Switching to 3M UF and a 3M waffle pad - a perfect result ensued.

Similar story with their blue pad - within a couple of sets, the pad looked like it was 6 months old, and only fit for the bin, and that was after use on flat panels only.

So, ready to junk the whole lot and forget about it, on Thursday I was drafted in to help get a newish Merc started, and having just received my big bundle of pads from Ben (Rubbishboy), I cracked open the S17 with the Turquoise pad (Liquid Shine system), and aside from the multitude of deep RiDS, the combo was superb.
Again, like the wool and S17 combo used on the Civic, under natural daylight indoors, it looks like a brilliant 1-step process, which should save time for those owners that only want to pay the cost of a part correction detail.

Therefore, the position I find myself in now, is one where I think the polish(es) are good, but the foam choice for their pads is well......dire. The wool pad, for me, is the star of their offerings, and I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending it and pulling it out and using it myself, but those foam pads will be getting binned sharpish.
I was looking forward to testing the Spider pad, but with no A15 polish (a polish & wax/sealant product) to use with it, I couldn't validate how effective it was - again, thinking this could be the perfect 1-step polish for part corrections, and maybe even foregoing the need for an LSP.

The one or two downsides to S17, is/are that it dusts (not as badly as 3M FC+, but enough to be a detraction) from within the pad, not on the paintwork, and with their own pads especially, it will clump up severely - as I found when using the Edge pad brush, and noticed with another water-based polish I've used extensively.
Again with the pads, they seem to hold water, after rinsing/washing out, more than any other, which often results in terrible sling until the heat generated has dried them out - and S17 isn't the easiest of polishes to remove when slung!

All in all, I would, and still will use S17, but generally more often with their wool pad, but not exclusively.
Their foam pads however, I'll leave for others to strain their patience with, but will get some A15 to see how good a combo it and their Spider pad make. So I've not written off every foam pad they do.......at least not just yet.

Such a shame and a pity I couldn't be positive or even enthusiastic about Scholl's foam pads, but I just didn't get them - point in case, helping Ronnie with his Range Rover, where I broke out the S30 with the Orange pad, and it done diddly squat - still a bloody hologramed door 
Switching to the waffle pad - bingo! But even then, I had to use more pressure than I was comfortable with.
That scenario, for me, sums up the frustrations I had at trying to make head or tail of the pads with their own polishes, and also what annoyed me, because I wanted them to work.

Try the polishes - they can and do work, but even though I've put you off them, try one or two of the pads yourself. Maybe it's just me - a bad workman blames his tools, as the saying goes.

A big thanks to SPAutopia for providing me with the bits and bobs to trial - I'll speak with you soon about this.


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## Porta (Jan 3, 2007)

Great review. And I must say that I don´t like their pads as well and compared to the liquid shine they are just ****e..

S3+, S17 and S30 are just awsome but it take some times to learn how to use them.


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## tdm (Feb 2, 2007)

nice honest review pjs, thankyou. 1 step polishing seems to be quite popular at the moment so s17 could gain quite a few friends.


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

Good review Phil.
I used the Orange pad on the 335 BMW I did over the B/Hol weekend it lasted that job and that was it! For now I prefer my Megs polishing pads..
Polish wise the S17 isn't as 1 step as I'd like, the S40 and S40 do as they are supposed to do.
The S03+ (dont think you tried that) is in a similar vein to FCP but dusts far less and seems to be water, not oil based. Downside is cost compared to most polishes but the way it works is great.


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

Thanks guys.

Have a full LS system pad set, and the purple and red polishes, so we'll see how they compare to the 3M FC+ and UF.
Might get some S03+ as well as the A15, and see what the craic is with it.

What's the main difference between S30 and S40 - have you found you S30 to leave evidence of its usage, and had to resort to S40, or are they much of a muchness?

Oh, and speaking of the LS stuff - their backing pad seems very impressive (only had about 30 mins with it), and I'm not one to get overly expressive on a backing plate!
If you're in need of a new 125mm BP, try that one instead of the 3M or 3M "equivalents".


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## Porta (Jan 3, 2007)

S17 is, IMHO, similar to many other medium compounds such as Menzerna SIP, Mark Uno and etc. But I like the short working time and it will give a good cut with a wool pad.

Regarding the S30 and S40. S30 is something like Menzerna PO106FA, but with a much shorter working time. S40 is more like Menzerna PO85RE5, IE oily and with a long working time.

S17 with a finishing pad is a very good one stepper, but I also like RD3.02 as a one stepper as well.

This is a Lexus I did with Scholl S17, Scholl black waffled pad and a rotary

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=98178


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

S40 Phil I use on cars where I want to "finish" the paint off, its already good but needs that _something_ to really make it shine. Used it on a C63 Merc this year.
S30 is for light swirls etc and its perfect for that.


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## Spautopia (May 23, 2009)

Interesting report Phil - the S17 really performs well as you say but it's a shame you've struggled with the pads. Sometimes less is more with the S17 - you only need a tiny amount of the stuff to get the finish you are after. A common problem is that people apply too much. Don't know if this was the case here but might be worth considering.


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

I don't believe that was the issue, but with the blue pad not fairing well after a few sets, it was hard to ascertain if it was user error or the pads being simply not good enough.
Similarly the instance over S30 with their black waffle, which Scholl recommend not to use, yet it gave the result needed when pressed into operation, and pressed being a most apt turn of phrase.
As I said above, I pains me to have to be negative, but I have to be both honest to myself, and the community here.
I don't mean to do you out of potential sales, and I hope others will still try the pads, and see if it is a personal technique thing, or if there is a common thread, which if the case, means you can *maybe* get Scholl to look into.
Certainly the foam used isn't great anyway, since it retains too much water, even after spinning.

I'd accept to a degree, there's probably some user error involved, since I may've worked the polish longer than it would seem I should've, but it's not the easiest of bottle designs to extract a small amount from - not with it being more liquid than 3M, and the larger opening - if the less-is-more approach is called for.
So maybe it befalls Scholl to provide info on how much is considered sufficient, as well as reduce the size of the hole/make the product thicker to aid the user get the required amount out.
That of course presumes the abrasives don't break down fine enough to effectively "jewel" the paintwork, in which case the amount that does come out isn't too much for a longer working time.

I'd high hopes of being able to announce the Scholl stuff as a bit of an undiscovered gem, but the sad truth is I've been bitterly disappointed, until I'd tried the S17 with the LS pad, and then it showed it's true potential to me - and that was with my normal amount, and long working, or at least I think it'd be deemed long.

Anyway, I hope my negative impressions of the pads can result in something positive in the long run via Scholl directly or yourselves.


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