A week in review - G35, Lifted Tacoma, Highlander, Stang, Xterra, CRV (42 pics)

"Yep, it goes: Car Wash -> Dawn -> Goo Gone -> WD-40 -> Lacquer Thinner in order of my gunk removal. With WD, just spray on, let dwell for 1-2 minutes and wipe away with a clean MF."



You dont use all those, just in the order of aggressive ness? Also how do apply the thinners, via MF?



Andrew
 
AZ Ferrari Man said:
So goo-gone is the least aggresive, and the thinner is the most aggressive? Are they harmfull to the clear?



Andrew
Click to expand...





Yes.



Only the lacquer thinner is potentially hazordous to the clear. It is an ultimate worst case scenario product.
 
**9/28/06 Update**



I was given permission by Eric Dunn at Lake Country to “let the cat out of the bag�. For this detail (and many others) in the past month or so, I used the new Lake Country CCS Pads ( http://lakecountrymfg.com/featured.html ). Thanks to Eric at Lake, he gave me a couple samples to test out prior to its official introduction. To date, they have only been used in the OEM market.



So far, I could estimate the use of these pads on at least 10 different vehicles. They come in various shapes and sizes, but I was using the 6� pads in 1� thickness. The cut levels I had were the Orange Cutting, White Polishing, and Black Finishing. I used them with a 5� Lake Country flexible backing plate. These combos were used on the rotary and PC at various speeds (mentioned in threads).



Here are the main things I took from these pads…





Pros

- Small diameter allowed for easy maneuvering

- Flat pad design allowed to equal contact, easy control, and complete polish coverage

- Dimples allowed for storage of extra polish. Basically, you’d buff your 3’x3’ area, for instance, and once the polish/compound went to translucent, but you still had a few defects remaining, you’d turn off the machine, and press the pad against the surface in various locations to “re-bead� the panel, and then continue buffing.

- Dimples spread out heat from friction allowing a more effective buffing pass. I find that with standard flat foam pads, it makes the surface so hot on the rotary after 5 passes with compound that I have to move to the next panel, wait for the initial to cool, then come back, ultimately wasting time. These dimples act like air cooling pockets keeping the surface only very warm, at max. I was able to do my standard 5 overlapping passes with Hi-Temp Extreme Cut, then switch off, “re-bead� with the CCS technology, and continue buffing until it was ready for a final polish.

- Lake Country pads, in my experiences are always of the highest quality. After 10+ vehicles, none of my pads have any nicks or cuts and the backing Velcro works great. For reference, I machine wash/dry my pads after each use.



Cons

- Honestly, I was hard pressed to find a con in comparison to other pads I’ve used (Edge, Meguiars, Lake Country Concaved), however, I wish I had the thicker version (1.5� I believe) to use with the PC. The PC, as any regular user knows, flattens out pads a bit and that little extra cushion would’ve been nice.







Just to end off, I like these pads so much that my standard Lake Country 7.5� Concaved series have been stowed away, probably for good. I don’t even bring them on the road with me anymore. The success rate with these has surpassed anything I’ve used and I will continue using them.



If you have any further questions, please feel free. Thanks.







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Hey Sean - thanks for the review. I calue your opinion on new products highly. It's interesting you're getting good durability out of these pads. Do you find you get good durability out of regular LC pads too? I was going to post a thread today about my issues with LC pads lately. I've had no less than 10 pads in the last 2-3 weeks either lose the velcro, or basically explode while in use. I've been treating them the same as I've been treating pads forever - useage and washing (machine wash, gentle, tide). I can't figure it out. :/
 
David: I would guess somewhere in the ballpark in the old ones (yeh I know, that helps a whole lot). I would call Eric at Lake Country in the morning. He should have pricing ready.





Kevin: Sounds like a defect to me. I still have my first LC pad (from Day 1 about 4 years ago). I beat the hell out of it, but the velcro is like new. The foam has chips from my inexperience and I don't use it anymore, but like I said, it's holding up.





(I think Eric's phone will be overflowing in the AM, lol).
 
Must have been the batch I got. I ordered 20 orange, 10 white, 5 grey and of those I would say half have had the velcro come off. Oh well, chalk it up to bad luck. Thanks again for the review.
 
Man I'm impressed with your work. In regards to the CRV interior (which my fiance just bought a 2006 and I know I have to maintain it to keep it clean) what type of steamer do you all use and is it easy for a newbie to learn? Thanks



Dave
 
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