Lake County pad comparisons... Flat vs. H20 vs. CCS

Custom Care

Custom Care

New member
Ok, I've been reading up and trying to do my research on purchasing some new pads and I could use a little help. Can someone please help me differentiate between the different types of pads. From what I can tell the H20 pads are made to work with liquid products and help reduce product use, it also seems like alot of people are getting alot of use out of the tangerine pad.

I currently have the G110v2 with the stock 6" backing plate. I plan on getting 6"-6.5" pads with the plans of upgrading to a Rupes in the near to immediate future. I will be focusing on "production" details mainly focusing on using something as a AIO then applying a LSP on top. I'm budgeting about $150 and am looking at getting a decent varietry of pads but wanting to make sure i get enough of the "main" ones to be able to at least switch the pad once or twice per vehicle and I won't have the need to be doing more than 1 vehicle between washes.

Currently looking at getting a 6 pack of flats, 6 pack of CCS, and a couple MF pads, looking at Megs but have not decided. Any help or information that will assist in getting an order together is greatly appreciated.
 
I would honestly invest in a 5 Inch backing plate and get some 5.5 pads, the DA's don't correct as well with that big of pad. Plus you would have better control which then leads to better production & work :D (my 2¢) I have no experience with H20, but with the other two flat pads win over CCS anyday in my book.

I'd go with..
1x - 5" Lake Country Backing Plate
3x - 5.5" LC Flat Orange Pad
3x - 5.5" LC Flat Black Pad
3x - 5.5" LC Flat White Pad
2x - MF Pads (opt)
(Looking at megs... megs has a lot of products! haha. What product of megs??)
 
colinpd137 said:
I would honestly invest in a 5 Inch backing plate and get some 5.5 pads, the DA's don't correct as well with that big of pad. Plus you would have better control which then leads to better production & work :D (my 2¢) I have no experience with H20, but with the other two flat pads win over CCS anyday in my book.

I'd go with..
1x - 5" Lake Country Backing Plate
3x - 5.5" LC Flat Orange Pad
3x - 5.5" LC Flat Black Pad
3x - 5.5" LC Flat White Pad
2x - MF Pads (opt)
(Looking at megs... megs has a lot of products! haha. What product of megs??)
Click to expand...

The reason I plan on sticking with 6" pads is for compatibility when I upgrade to the Rupes and then at that point I will throw a 3" BP on the G110 and get the corresponding pads for that. And I was referring to the Megs MF pads, sorry for the confusion on that one.

Any particular reason you prefer flat over CCS?
 
Custom Care said:
The reason I plan on sticking with 6" pads is for compatibility when I upgrade to the Rupes and then at that point I will throw a 3" BP on the G110 and get the corresponding pads for that. And I was referring to the Megs MF pads, sorry for the confusion on that one.

Any particular reason you prefer flat over CCS?
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i just wanted to add my 2 cents worth. the pads for a rotatory and the ones for da are two different things.when i switched for using rotatory buffer all the time to d/a, i like using my d/a a lot now. lake country mf pads imo are better than the megs i am still having problems with megs mf pads. i have yet to have trouble with the lake country padsjust my 2 cents
 

Flat vs. H20 vs. CCS

I have and use all three types of pads.

CCS: The CCS and flat pads are basically the same except for the CCS "dimples". The dimples hold on to extra product and also help to reduce some of the heat build up. Overall though these are my least favorite pads.

Flat: The flat pads are some of the best and most durable pads out IMO. The keep the product on the surface and continue to work. They also last a very long time for me. One of the best options IMO.

H2O: These pads have some of the best cut and finish out there, But the durability is lacking. Thus why they have the nickname Hydro-Shred pads. If you can afford to buy them more often and like / want the cut and finish they provide, they are a great choice.

Megs MF: I love the MF Cutting pads. They are my go to for compounding when using a DA. I have not used any other brands though. I found something I liked and the worked and I have stuck with it. To me MF for rotary is not needed, and doesn't really make sense with how MF pads work and cut...



Size: As other have said I would suggest going with 5 - 5.5 pads for your DA. The 6" pads just don't work as well. Now you noted that you wanted to go with a Rupes in the future. You need to decide what size as the 15 will use the 5 - 5.5 pads. If you are going with the 21 you may want to try the Rupes pads first before buying anything else.
 
TroyScherer said:

Flat vs. H20 vs. CCS

I have and use all three types of pads.

CCS: The CCS and flat pads are basically the same except for the CCS "dimples". The dimples hold on to extra product and also help to reduce some of the heat build up. Overall though these are my least favorite pads.

Flat: The flat pads are some of the best and most durable pads out IMO. The keep the product on the surface and continue to work. They also last a very long time for me. One of the best options IMO.

H2O: These pads have some of the best cut and finish out there, But the durability is lacking. Thus why they have the nickname Hydro-Shred pads. If you can afford to buy them more often and like / want the cut and finish they provide, they are a great choice.

Megs MF: I love the MF Cutting pads. They are my go to for compounding when using a DA. I have not used any other brands though. I found something I liked and the worked and I have stuck with it. To me MF for rotary is not needed, and doesn't really make sense with how MF pads work and cut...



Size: As other have said I would suggest going with 5 - 5.5 pads for your DA. The 6" pads just don't work as well. Now you noted that you wanted to go with a Rupes in the future. You need to decide what size as the 15 will use the 5 - 5.5 pads. If you are going with the 21 you may want to try the Rupes pads first before buying anything else.
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Great response (as expected) Troy!
 
I guess I am closer to the Mike Philips theory on MFs: "my favorite foam pad is the clean one closest to me." I've used CCS, Constant Pressure, Hydrotech, Hybrid, Hex Logic, Cobra, Flat, etc. And, while there no doubt differences, they aren't dramatic - at least the way I polish. With a standard DA, I apply enough pressure to flatten out any pretty pattern on the face. The color is more important to me than that pattern. But I am a hack. ;)

The open cell pads are more durable.

MFs OTOH my clear favorite is Megs followed by LC and then Opti. Granted my time with those pads is in that same order.
 
Custom Care said:
The reason I plan on sticking with 6" pads is for compatibility when I upgrade to the Rupes and then at that point I will throw a 3" BP on the G110 and get the corresponding pads for that. And I was referring to the Megs MF pads, sorry for the confusion on that one.
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I believe there is a 5" backing plate available for the 6" Bigfoot. I think I remember reading somewhere that it runs about $40.

Folks that have been around a while have a collection of pads. Rumor has it at one time someone on here had over 300 pads.

colinpd137 said:
I would honestly invest in a 5 Inch backing plate and get some 5.5 pads, the DA's don't correct as well with that big of pad. Plus you would have better control which then leads to better production & work
Click to expand...

To get you started, I'd suggest a 5" DA backing plate, a 6-pack of LC 5.5" flat pads 2-orange 2-white 1-black 1-blue and Megs M101

IMHO Your DA, a 5" BP, 5.5" LC orange flats & Megs M101 will effectively remove your swirl issues & leave you with a very nice finish.
 
Thank you all for the informative replies I'll be placing an order today with a 5" BP, and 1 or 2 6 packs of LC 5.5" pads may even throw a couple H2O's in there to test them out, some Meg's MF's, and a quality pad cleaner.

Thanks again for all the help and advice and I'm sure the wife thanks you as well from helping me choose not to blow another $500 on equipment when I'm only doing my first "paid" detail this Friday.
 
Custom Care said:
Thank you all for the informative replies I'll be placing an order today with a 5" BP, and 1 or 2 6 packs of LC 5.5" pads may even throw a couple H2O's in there to test them out, some Meg's MF's, and a quality pad cleaner.

Thanks again for all the help and advice and I'm sure the wife thanks you as well from helping me choose not to blow another $500 on equipment when I'm only doing my first "paid" detail this Friday.
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Welcome, Custom Care -

I have had years of experience with all the pads listed above, and have settled on the Lake Country Hydro-Tech Cyan and Tangerine versions as my "go to" pads in the 5.5" size for my Rotary.

These guys really correct nicely, and finish down incredibly clear and swirl free. However, their weakness is that they tend to shred after a bit, hence the name I coined for them years ago - "Hydro-Shred" :)
Their big selling point many years ago was - imported European foam, etc.., so guess we can blame it on the Europeans? :)

In any event, they are a little more expensive than the normal Lake Country Flat pads, which I also have, along with microfiber pads, but you just have to decide if you want to or can justify the higher cost.

Unlike other pads like the Flat version, the Hydro-Shreds will start to break up into little tiny pieces of Cyan all over the place and then you have to decide at what point are you going to chuck them into the can..

Good luck with your research !
Dan F
 
Stokdgs said:
However, their weakness is that they tend to shred after a bit, hence the name I coined for them years ago - "Hydro-Shred" :)

Dan F
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Dan !!! I knew that I was familiar with whomever coined that phrase I just couldn't remember who it was thanks. I always want & like to give credit to those that are due it. Thanks again
 
Stokdgs said:
Welcome, Custom Care -

I have had years of experience with all the pads listed above, and have settled on the Lake Country Hydro-Tech Cyan and Tangerine versions as my "go to" pads in the 5.5" size for my Rotary.

These guys really correct nicely, and finish down incredibly clear and swirl free. However, their weakness is that they tend to shred after a bit, hence the name I coined for them years ago - "Hydro-Shred" :)
Their big selling point many years ago was - imported European foam, etc.., so guess we can blame it on the Europeans? :)

In any event, they are a little more expensive than the normal Lake Country Flat pads, which I also have, along with microfiber pads, but you just have to decide if you want to or can justify the higher cost.

Unlike other pads like the Flat version, the Hydro-Shreds will start to break up into little tiny pieces of Cyan all over the place and then you have to decide at what point are you going to chuck them into the can..

Good luck with your research !
Dan F
Click to expand...

:bigups
 
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