lee@glosshaus
New member
So I've used the same Lake Country pads with my kit for years, and I've found in the world of detailing that the "latest technology" is often just the newest fad. But talking to my friends at Lake Country and AutoGeek, I decided to try some newer pads that have been added to the spectrum by Lake Country:
Old Pad------------------------------Product-----------------------------------------------New Pad
LC Yellow Cutting----------> GlossHaus Foundation I Aggressive Polish <------LC Cyan Heavy Polishing
LC Orange Light Cutting----> GlossHaus Foundation II Medium Polish <------LC Tangerine Light Polishing
LC Orange Light Cutting----> GlossHaus Foundation III Fine Polish <-----------LC Tangerine Light Polishing
LC White Polishing----------> GlossHaus Glaze <-----------------------------LC Crimson Ultra Finishing
LC Black Finessing----------> GlossHaus Perfect Polymer <----------------LC Gold Ultra Finishing
LC Black Finessing----------> GlossHaus Perfect Carnauba <--------------LC Gold Ultra Finishing
All but the gold pad are their new(er) "H20" or "Hydrotech" pads. This mainly means they work well with water-based products and have a closed-cell design that keeps more of the product at the paint surface and offers (what are said to be) better results.
Some thoughts/comparisons/expectations:
Cyan Heavy Polishing: The closed-cell design is clearly visible on this pad vs. its counterpart, the open-cell LC Yellow Cutting pad. It feels firmer than the Yellow. Despite that, the texture feels less aggressive even though they are rated at the same, highest cutting level by LC (rating 6 - lower is more aggressive) of their foam pads. The marketing text promises less pad marring, which would be a welcome thing, and holding it in my hand I'm expecting great results. This is the pad I'm most excited about since it presents an opportunity for better final results and somewhat less risk.
Tangerine Light Polishing: The differences here are a little less obvious. Comparing the Tangerine to the Orange pad (both fresh out of the bag) the feel of the Tangerine is firmer and seemingly more aggressive even though it is rated one less step (8) vs. the Orange Light Cutting (7). I actually think this will be a good thing for my fine polish, and probably fine for medium, too. I'm thinking the hydrotech technology keeping the product working at the paint will mitigate the less aggressive nature of the pad (even if it doesn't feel less aggressive - even my wife thought the Orange cutting was softer).
Crimson Ultra Finishing: This pad actually feels a lot more like the Orange cutting pad when I hold both with my eyes closed. It is rated 11, again a step softer on Lake Country's scale than the White Polishing pad I usually use, rated 10. The Crimson definitely feels firmer to the hand than the White, but my guess is it isn't about how it feels to your hand, it is about how it works the product on your paint. I'm going to try it with the Glaze, but also play around with my Fine polish that is usually matched to the Orange Light cutting pad.
Gold Ultra Finishing: This pad has a very similar feel to the Black Finessing pad I've used, even if it also has a rating of 12 (the softest/least aggressive rating) vs. 11 for the black. My bet is it will be a little better with sealant, since the Carnauba wax has a really mild polishing component that will want that tiny bit of cut/firmness the black pad is rated for. This isn't a Hydrotech pad, just the softest wax pad of the line for Lake Country.
First I had to two-bucket wash the car with ONR - it was really, really dirty. The results:
[Cliffs: Hyrdo = Recommended!]
My iT hasn't been polished in the year I've owned it, and it is in pretty poor shape. It came from Oregon, where they use volcanic sand (i.e. pumice, and it is only loosely "sand" since it has a huge number of rock chips on the nose and hood) on the roads when it snows.
Here's the before: (the swirls are way worse than this, but I suck at taking pix - somebody PLEASE post a tutorial on taking good pix of swirls!)
Cyan: I love this pad! It has the most obvious difference vs. the yellow pad I normally use. It works more evenly and effectively, and definitely leaves a clarity you don't get with the yellow pad. It also seems to allow you a longer polishing time - the polish seemed to dry up less. I think less product should be used with this pad, and it probably requires one extra pad per car . I had to spur it with my fingers a bit more often than usual.
Tangerine: Works much softer than I expected, but retains a firm feel that I really like. I understand the step less aggressive rating here, but I think it makes a great alternative to the orange cutting pad. The firmness gives it a very predictable and controllable feel, and less pressure is needed on the buffer to work the polish. I think the net result is about the same as the orange cutting pad, but with better feel.
Crimson: I used Crimson with my Glaze, which is a jeweling polish, not a cover-up. I think I might prefer the white LC pad here, but it did a fine job. Even after working the pad, it still felt firmer than the LC white (which isn't necessarily a negative). I think it would work great with a fine polish, too.
Gold: I found this pad to be true to the most-soft rating, and it applied the Carnauba fine. I think I should have tried it with the sealant, which is a lot slicker to apply. It worked fine, but my first impression is the black is better for the carnauba which is a little stickier and wants a little foundation to burnish the wax into the paint. Very nice pad to have though, especially if you're working on something with soft paint.
After: (same spot)
Much better clarity. Still some work to do if I want to get all the scratches out, but I wasn't really trying to get perfection today (and on this car, that is a little bit of a giggle anyway). There was a LOT of improvement, and I think the Cyan pad especially let me get there with less effort than usual.
Overall, I'm really impressed. The Hydrotech pads and their firm feel let you work very predictably and progressively - I like it a lot. I'll be much more comfortable with the Cyan pad on my M635 than I am with the Yellow. I'm curious to see what the longevity of these pads is when used with medium/aggressive polishes. I think you'll need at least one extra pad for each step since they seem to cake a little more quickly, which will probably be helped once I tune in on the amount of product to use. Personally, I prefer to always have 2-3 more pads than I think I'll need on any given car anyway.
Old Pad------------------------------Product-----------------------------------------------New Pad
LC Yellow Cutting----------> GlossHaus Foundation I Aggressive Polish <------LC Cyan Heavy Polishing
LC Orange Light Cutting----> GlossHaus Foundation II Medium Polish <------LC Tangerine Light Polishing
LC Orange Light Cutting----> GlossHaus Foundation III Fine Polish <-----------LC Tangerine Light Polishing
LC White Polishing----------> GlossHaus Glaze <-----------------------------LC Crimson Ultra Finishing
LC Black Finessing----------> GlossHaus Perfect Polymer <----------------LC Gold Ultra Finishing
LC Black Finessing----------> GlossHaus Perfect Carnauba <--------------LC Gold Ultra Finishing
All but the gold pad are their new(er) "H20" or "Hydrotech" pads. This mainly means they work well with water-based products and have a closed-cell design that keeps more of the product at the paint surface and offers (what are said to be) better results.
Some thoughts/comparisons/expectations:
Cyan Heavy Polishing: The closed-cell design is clearly visible on this pad vs. its counterpart, the open-cell LC Yellow Cutting pad. It feels firmer than the Yellow. Despite that, the texture feels less aggressive even though they are rated at the same, highest cutting level by LC (rating 6 - lower is more aggressive) of their foam pads. The marketing text promises less pad marring, which would be a welcome thing, and holding it in my hand I'm expecting great results. This is the pad I'm most excited about since it presents an opportunity for better final results and somewhat less risk.
Tangerine Light Polishing: The differences here are a little less obvious. Comparing the Tangerine to the Orange pad (both fresh out of the bag) the feel of the Tangerine is firmer and seemingly more aggressive even though it is rated one less step (8) vs. the Orange Light Cutting (7). I actually think this will be a good thing for my fine polish, and probably fine for medium, too. I'm thinking the hydrotech technology keeping the product working at the paint will mitigate the less aggressive nature of the pad (even if it doesn't feel less aggressive - even my wife thought the Orange cutting was softer).
Crimson Ultra Finishing: This pad actually feels a lot more like the Orange cutting pad when I hold both with my eyes closed. It is rated 11, again a step softer on Lake Country's scale than the White Polishing pad I usually use, rated 10. The Crimson definitely feels firmer to the hand than the White, but my guess is it isn't about how it feels to your hand, it is about how it works the product on your paint. I'm going to try it with the Glaze, but also play around with my Fine polish that is usually matched to the Orange Light cutting pad.
Gold Ultra Finishing: This pad has a very similar feel to the Black Finessing pad I've used, even if it also has a rating of 12 (the softest/least aggressive rating) vs. 11 for the black. My bet is it will be a little better with sealant, since the Carnauba wax has a really mild polishing component that will want that tiny bit of cut/firmness the black pad is rated for. This isn't a Hydrotech pad, just the softest wax pad of the line for Lake Country.
First I had to two-bucket wash the car with ONR - it was really, really dirty. The results:
[Cliffs: Hyrdo = Recommended!]
My iT hasn't been polished in the year I've owned it, and it is in pretty poor shape. It came from Oregon, where they use volcanic sand (i.e. pumice, and it is only loosely "sand" since it has a huge number of rock chips on the nose and hood) on the roads when it snows.
Here's the before: (the swirls are way worse than this, but I suck at taking pix - somebody PLEASE post a tutorial on taking good pix of swirls!)
Cyan: I love this pad! It has the most obvious difference vs. the yellow pad I normally use. It works more evenly and effectively, and definitely leaves a clarity you don't get with the yellow pad. It also seems to allow you a longer polishing time - the polish seemed to dry up less. I think less product should be used with this pad, and it probably requires one extra pad per car . I had to spur it with my fingers a bit more often than usual.
Tangerine: Works much softer than I expected, but retains a firm feel that I really like. I understand the step less aggressive rating here, but I think it makes a great alternative to the orange cutting pad. The firmness gives it a very predictable and controllable feel, and less pressure is needed on the buffer to work the polish. I think the net result is about the same as the orange cutting pad, but with better feel.
Crimson: I used Crimson with my Glaze, which is a jeweling polish, not a cover-up. I think I might prefer the white LC pad here, but it did a fine job. Even after working the pad, it still felt firmer than the LC white (which isn't necessarily a negative). I think it would work great with a fine polish, too.
Gold: I found this pad to be true to the most-soft rating, and it applied the Carnauba fine. I think I should have tried it with the sealant, which is a lot slicker to apply. It worked fine, but my first impression is the black is better for the carnauba which is a little stickier and wants a little foundation to burnish the wax into the paint. Very nice pad to have though, especially if you're working on something with soft paint.
After: (same spot)
Much better clarity. Still some work to do if I want to get all the scratches out, but I wasn't really trying to get perfection today (and on this car, that is a little bit of a giggle anyway). There was a LOT of improvement, and I think the Cyan pad especially let me get there with less effort than usual.
Overall, I'm really impressed. The Hydrotech pads and their firm feel let you work very predictably and progressively - I like it a lot. I'll be much more comfortable with the Cyan pad on my M635 than I am with the Yellow. I'm curious to see what the longevity of these pads is when used with medium/aggressive polishes. I think you'll need at least one extra pad for each step since they seem to cake a little more quickly, which will probably be helped once I tune in on the amount of product to use. Personally, I prefer to always have 2-3 more pads than I think I'll need on any given car anyway.
