Which LC pads to get for AIO detail jobs

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buzz123

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Hi,

There are so many types of LC pads and don't think all are necessary. Any suggestions as to which I should carry for jobs using AIOs?

These sort of jobs are for the majority of people who just want their car to sparkle and shine (production detail).

As a side note: I'm not interested in promising swirl mark or water spot removal, but if they ask/I suggest it, they can pay extra for my time and effort. So if they do want this service, what pads would you go for? I use megs ult compound and ult polish as well as menz pg1000, pf2500 and uf5000 for swirl/water mark removal.

Also how many pads would you carry for a job on a sedan such as a holden commodore?

Thanks! :)
 
well first i want to say im not a pro here. I dont think some of the products you mentioned are AIOs. they are more like polishes they dont protect.
I just did someones car that was in pretty bad shape and used xmt 360 with a lake country white hybid pad. the car came out nice. with the products you mentioned you will have to apply a wax which would be more work.
 
buzz123 said:
Hi,

There are so many types of LC pads and don't think all are necessary. Any suggestions as to which I should carry for jobs using AIOs?

These sort of jobs are for the majority of people who just want their car to sparkle and shine (production detail).

As a side note: I'm not interested in promising swirl mark or water spot removal, but if they ask/I suggest it, they can pay extra for my time and effort. So if they do want this service, what pads would you go for? I use megs ult compound and ult polish as well as menz pg1000, pf2500 and uf5000 for swirl/water mark removal.

Also how many pads would you carry for a job on a sedan such as a holden commodore?

Thanks! :)
Click to expand...

First, as the other poster mentioned, the products you mentioned aren't AIO's in my experience.

Second, AIOs come in (at least) two broad classes: 1) no abrasive AIOs such as Klasse, Zaino or Werkstat Prime; 2) Abrasive AIOs such as Optimum Poli-Seal or Duragloss 501.

Using a Porter Cable, on Abrasive AIOs, I use the white CCS pads. On non-abasive AIO's I use the light green CCS pads. There isn't a lot of difference between those pads, however. As always, YMMV - especially if you use some other polisher.

Regards,
<TED>
 
A true AIO is what the others has mentioned, It will to, certain degree, correct your paint and protect it at the same time. With your inquiry, it seems that your refering to a 1 step polish, am i understanding it right?
For pads, i use lake country white ccs pad or tangerine hydrotech pads, white flat pads will do also, i also have a yellow rupes pad for a 1 step polish application. Usually you will be using 2-3 pads per car.
 
Kitoy22 said:
A true AIO is what the others has mentioned, It will to, certain degree, correct your paint and protect it at the same time. With your inquiry, it seems that your refering to a 1 step polish, am i understanding it right?
For pads, i use lake country white ccs pad or tangerine hydrotech pads, white flat pads will do also, i also have a yellow rupes pad for a 1 step polish application. Usually you will be using 2-3 pads per car.
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Yes, you are right. I'm looking for a one step clean/polish/protect system instead if using my menz stuff. I want to reserve my menz gear for corrections and charge more fo the service.

I'll up sell then customer for a finishing sealant after the one step process.

So basically 2-3 white pads per car? Any advantage in a higher cutting pad just in case the paint is quite oxidized and/or swirled? Or should I be forgetting about promising swirl removal and leave that for a multistage process?

I've had a few suggestions on AIOs. They are xmt 360, colorx and HD Speed. As I've not had any experience with the any AIO I can't afford to experiment with each one to determine which is best to cover a good spectrum of paint conditions. Mainly working on 75% DDs and 25% garage queens.

Any other suggestions on AIOs?
 
I like 5.5" Lake Country Flat pads, I have two of the orange,white and black finishing pads.
Great for All in One, well they work for any type of polishing.
 
buzz123 said:
These sort of jobs are for the majority of people who just want their car to sparkle and shine (production detail).

As a side note: I'm not interested in promising swirl mark or water spot removal, but if they ask/I suggest it, they can pay extra for my time and effort.
Click to expand...

IMO you should be using an orange pad for what you are doing. It's going to give you more cut to get the car "sparkly" faster, and for the market you are describing the finish will be fine. I like the Hydro-Tech tangerine pads, but someone mentioned the LC Hybrid pads, in that case the blue or perhaps white would be more equivalent.
 
Meguiars D151 is another good AIO. I also use White or Green on the majority of my AIO applications but occasionally have had to use an Orange.
 
dcjredline said:
Meguiars D151 is another good AIO. I also use White or Green on the majority of my AIO applications but occasionally have had to use an Orange.
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Unfortunately we can't get D151 in Oz, even the Meguiars online Australian store doesn't have it listed. I'm leaning more to Durogloss 501 as my first venture into AIO.

As a side note, apart from saving time, is there any other benefit in using a black pad for applying waxes/sealants as opposed to applied manually?
 
tedj101 said:
2) Abrasive AIOs such as Optimum Poli-Seal or Duragloss 501.
<TED>
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Ted--I believe it's been pretty well established that 501 has little to no abrasiveness to it. I think Richy has stated any abrasiveness comes from the pad used.
 
I've always had great success with LC CCS white and orange pads for one steps.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AG Online
 
I've taught a class on how to do production detailing faster using the Flex 3401 and AIOs or one-step cleaner/waxes for the last two years.


Mobile Tech Expo 2014 - Class Schedule

Mike Phillips said:
Class 1 - How to Use The Flex 3401
9:00-9:45am
Room: Curacao 3

For both production detailing as well as, and show car detailing. There are a lot of tool options available for making money detailing cars. Each type or category of tool has its strong points and its short coming.

In this class you will learn how to turn the Flex 3401 Forced Rotation Dual Action Polisher into your own money making machine for doing both production detailing and show car detailing.

Buffing out the fender skirts of a 1957 Chevy Bel Air with the Flex 3401
1957_Belair_Mike_Phillips_019.jpg
Click to expand...





Also cover this topic in my detailing boot camp classes.


The answer to the question is....

Question: Which LC pads to get for AIO detail jobs.

Answer: The softest pad you can get away with.
​

The softer the pad the nicer the finish results will be. Remember, using a cleaner/wax or AIO means DOING ONE STEP to the paint and when using a cleaner/wax part of the cleaning or abrading comes from the pad.

  • The more aggressive the pad the higher the risk of leaving micro-marring in the paint.
  • The softer the pad the lower the risk of leaving micro-marring in the paint.

So the goal is to use the softest pad you can get a way with and you won't know which pad this will be until you do some testing.

Also remember the idea behind doing a one-step production detail is to make the paint shiny, not remove all the swirls. So you can use a lot less aggressive pad to meet the goal while still complying with what you promised your customer.


I explain in detail the issues with doing one-steps in this article,


High quality production detailing by Mike Phillips


Black_Tahoe_Production_2_Step_008.jpg



:)
 
G'day Mike,

Thanks for the links and info. I'll go through your article and quite possibly during work tomorrow, lol, much appreciated!

Cheers
 
I did an Audi A7 last fall that was really swirled out. He was a customer at the wash where I work, and two of the brushes have the old school bristle brushes. Needless to say, his poor car was a mess.

He didn't want to pay for the full paint correction, but wanted me to try something "simple". I ended up using a white LC CCS, Meguiar's #66 Quick Detailer (man, I love that product!) on my PC, and the car came out beautiful! My coworkers at the was were even complimentary when he came thru for his last visit (he had an account).

I also did a one step on an 08 Mercury Mountaineer. For that job I used a green LC CCS on a $50.00 Craftsman 5" d.a. sander, and Meguiar's White Wax. Turned out just fine. :)
 
HD speed is a great AIO and contains a great sealant called Poxy. I use a black or green B&S pad. If im going for more correction,, I use a white and the use a quick show gloss over it.
 
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