**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 completed these two beasts a couple weeks ago but just have a few minutes now to post the results, I hope you enjoy.
I was contacted about two months ago from an owner of a large shed and gazebo construction company. Him and his partner (owners) both have F-series pickups that they use for a fair amount of work. He said they were in pretty rough shape and wanted to have them cleaned up. Due to our extremely busy schedules, we set a date for about 1.5 months ahead.
When I got there, the weather was shaky all day, but he said "They need to get done". Having agreed on a 9am start time, I pulled in around 8:45am to setup. He had pulled in a few minutes prior, so I set up and planned to begin.
Having started right around 9am, I went to town on his truck as he alerted me the other would be there soon. As I had just finished up the interior, the gentleman then told me, "We are out of here by 5". I asked him if there was a little leniancy and he said only a few minutes. I cranked down.
He also mentioned that "just get the main stuff done if thats what had to happen". I wasn't about to half-a$$ anything, so I made the decision to have a working lunch planned strategically around drying the second vehicle. I scarfed down a PB&J on oat during that time and quickly guzzled a vitamin water. With each step, I had to make sure there were no guessing games. Each step (since the vehicles were so trashed) got a quick test spot, then I continued at a very quick pace. I truly cruised through these trucks.
Although I wish I could've had another 30 minutes with either, I was still very happy with the turnouts, as was the owner. He said he'd have me back again and try to strum up some more business for me.
Less talk, more pictures, my finals (identical for both) were:
Interior
- Vacuum entirely (long process)
- Oxi/APC mix to clean entire interior
- APC to clean jams
- Steam/Extract
- Zaino Z16 to protect
- Stoner's Invisible Glass on glass/gauges
- Zaino Z8 in jams to seal/gloss
Exterior
- Dawn wash
- Zaino Z18 Clay with Dawn wash as lube
- Zaino Z-PC via rotary and LC White Polishing Pad @ 1500 rpm
- Zaino Z-PC and #0000 steel wool on chrome
- Zaino Z5 Pro (ZFX'd/Z8) by hand
- Zaino Z8 wipedown
- Zaino Z16 on tires
- CD-2 Engine Detailer in wells
F-250
Before
After
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 completed these two beasts a couple weeks ago but just have a few minutes now to post the results, I hope you enjoy.
I was contacted about two months ago from an owner of a large shed and gazebo construction company. Him and his partner (owners) both have F-series pickups that they use for a fair amount of work. He said they were in pretty rough shape and wanted to have them cleaned up. Due to our extremely busy schedules, we set a date for about 1.5 months ahead.
When I got there, the weather was shaky all day, but he said "They need to get done". Having agreed on a 9am start time, I pulled in around 8:45am to setup. He had pulled in a few minutes prior, so I set up and planned to begin.
Having started right around 9am, I went to town on his truck as he alerted me the other would be there soon. As I had just finished up the interior, the gentleman then told me, "We are out of here by 5". I asked him if there was a little leniancy and he said only a few minutes. I cranked down.
He also mentioned that "just get the main stuff done if thats what had to happen". I wasn't about to half-a$$ anything, so I made the decision to have a working lunch planned strategically around drying the second vehicle. I scarfed down a PB&J on oat during that time and quickly guzzled a vitamin water. With each step, I had to make sure there were no guessing games. Each step (since the vehicles were so trashed) got a quick test spot, then I continued at a very quick pace. I truly cruised through these trucks.
Although I wish I could've had another 30 minutes with either, I was still very happy with the turnouts, as was the owner. He said he'd have me back again and try to strum up some more business for me.
Less talk, more pictures, my finals (identical for both) were:
Interior
- Vacuum entirely (long process)
- Oxi/APC mix to clean entire interior
- APC to clean jams
- Steam/Extract
- Zaino Z16 to protect
- Stoner's Invisible Glass on glass/gauges
- Zaino Z8 in jams to seal/gloss
Exterior
- Dawn wash
- Zaino Z18 Clay with Dawn wash as lube
- Zaino Z-PC via rotary and LC White Polishing Pad @ 1500 rpm
- Zaino Z-PC and #0000 steel wool on chrome
- Zaino Z5 Pro (ZFX'd/Z8) by hand
- Zaino Z8 wipedown
- Zaino Z16 on tires
- CD-2 Engine Detailer in wells
F-250
Before
After
Before
After
.
