**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.
---------------------------------
I had the pleasure of working on this beaut last week and just had a chance to post it up now. I want to thank Dino (Deanski) for the referral on this car. My second 997 C4S, these cars just stun me every time I work on them. I usually find my times increasing with Porsche's because I am gawking too much
.
Anyway, this car was in pretty nice shape. It has in the ballpark of 3000 miles and the owner is rather meticulous. He said it wasn't clean because he knew I was coming
. He was very inquisitive to how to properly clean his car and I was happy to give him some tips to keep the defects down.
Regarding the condition of the car, it had very low levels of bonded contaminants (garaged all the time) and the swirls were pretty minor. A couple panels had some holograms on them (dealer prep) and the soil content was moderate. I tackled the interior vehicle and brought the entire to 99%+. I started with the interior:
-Vacuum
-Zaino Z9 to clean
-Zaino Z10 to protect
-APC 10:1 to spot clean mats
-Zaino Z8 in jams
Engine
-APC cut 10:1 and multiple towels to hand clean the engine
-CD-2 Engine Detailer to dress
-Final wipedown with a dry towel
Exterior
-Dawn wash
-Zaino Z18 Clay with Dawn wash as lube
-P21s Wheel Cleaner for the wheels (x 2 on front)
-TOL Tire Cleaner cut 50/50 for tires/wells
-Zaino Z-PC via PC and LC White Polishing Pad @ 6 (x 2 in a couple areas)
-Zaino Z-PC by hand and #0000 Steel Wool on exhaust
-Zaino Z6 wipedown
-Zaino Z5 Pro (ZFX/Z8) by hand on paint, glass, wheels
-Zaino Z8 final wipedown
-Zaino Z16 x 2 on tires
-CD-2 Engine Detailer in wells
Before
After
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.
---------------------------------
I had the pleasure of working on this beaut last week and just had a chance to post it up now. I want to thank Dino (Deanski) for the referral on this car. My second 997 C4S, these cars just stun me every time I work on them. I usually find my times increasing with Porsche's because I am gawking too much
.Anyway, this car was in pretty nice shape. It has in the ballpark of 3000 miles and the owner is rather meticulous. He said it wasn't clean because he knew I was coming
. He was very inquisitive to how to properly clean his car and I was happy to give him some tips to keep the defects down.Regarding the condition of the car, it had very low levels of bonded contaminants (garaged all the time) and the swirls were pretty minor. A couple panels had some holograms on them (dealer prep) and the soil content was moderate. I tackled the interior vehicle and brought the entire to 99%+. I started with the interior:
-Vacuum
-Zaino Z9 to clean
-Zaino Z10 to protect
-APC 10:1 to spot clean mats
-Zaino Z8 in jams
Engine
-APC cut 10:1 and multiple towels to hand clean the engine
-CD-2 Engine Detailer to dress
-Final wipedown with a dry towel
Exterior
-Dawn wash
-Zaino Z18 Clay with Dawn wash as lube
-P21s Wheel Cleaner for the wheels (x 2 on front)
-TOL Tire Cleaner cut 50/50 for tires/wells
-Zaino Z-PC via PC and LC White Polishing Pad @ 6 (x 2 in a couple areas)
-Zaino Z-PC by hand and #0000 Steel Wool on exhaust
-Zaino Z6 wipedown
-Zaino Z5 Pro (ZFX/Z8) by hand on paint, glass, wheels
-Zaino Z8 final wipedown
-Zaino Z16 x 2 on tires
-CD-2 Engine Detailer in wells
Before
After
