China Pads VS the Rest

custmsprty said:
Lake Country and B & S are made in the USA in their own manifacturing plants, the information is out there if you look for it. AG even recently posted a tour of the LC Mfg plant and their history. Seek and ye shall find. :o:o

Who We Are

Lake Country Manufacturing is a privately owned manufacturer of buffing and polishing products sold worldwide. Our products are sold to the Industrial, Paint, Body and Equipment (PBE), Detailing and Consumer markets through multiple distribution channels. We are driven by finding profitable solutions for our customers through the development of proprietary products and customized buffing systems. Lake Country currently holds 27 U.S. and international patents, which include the System 2000™ Padwasher, System 3000™ Padwasher, Scuff Ball™, CCS Technology™ and Tufted Foam™.

Buff & Shine:

Humble beginnings and the entrepreneurial spirit best describe the start of Buff and Shine Manufacturing in 1987. From a small Torrance California warehouse, the groundwork for establishing a business identity was started by the company owner.

As with any new venture, it wasn't easy, especially in this competitive industry. Over time however, good manufacturing people were brought in and one by one buffing pads were built, tested and marketed in the local region. Eventually, the buffing pad range grew in diversity and selection, with this growth came the recognition we were making products customers appreciated for their quality and consistency. Having this reputation allowed us to grow nationwide, even worldwide.

We are constantly innovating and improving our manufacturing processes, this reflects our ability to ship promptly and deliver products that are competitively priced.

Lastly, we believe in talking to you, we make every effort to address your questions in real time and promptly.
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My experience, when you go to a company's website, and they don't tout their manufacturing facility in the USA, and they don't tout "Made in the USA" on their products, they're usually not made in the USA. Such is the case with Lake Country. They do say on their website "we also have a deep knowledge of foam formulations and their buffing properties and currently source foams from manufacturers throughout the world."
 
chet31 said:
My experience, when you go to a company's website, and they don't tout their manufacturing facility in the USA, and they don't tout "Made in the USA" on their products, they're usually not made in the USA. Such is the case with Lake Country. They do say on their website "we also have a deep knowledge of foam formulations and their buffing properties and currently source foams from manufacturers throughout the world."
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I think it indicates that on the packaging.

I've also seen pictures of both companies shipments of the raw foam blocks that were to become pads. The foam itself is sourced from around the world, but it's assembled here.

That's as far as I know. Could be wrong.
 
chet31 said:
My experience, when you go to a company's website, and they don't tout their manufacturing facility in the USA, and they don't tout "Made in the USA" on their products, they're usually not made in the USA. Such is the case with Lake Country. They do say on their website "we also have a deep knowledge of foam formulations and their buffing properties and currently source foams from manufacturers throughout the world."
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One pad did mention German foam in the marketing description. The reference: http://www.autogeek.net/lake-country-beveled-pad-kit.html
 
Route246 said:
I use cheap pads (most or all of the foam sold today is made in China, right?) for applying paste (not liquid) wax. Applying paste wax (not polish) is a simple operation with the objective to apply it thoroughly, even and thin. Paste wax seems to clog pads and I don't really like clogging my expensive pads. Am I missing something with respect to paste wax?

BTW, I can't find any information as to the country of origin of Lake Country foam (not the assembled pads). I'm assuming all or part of the raw materials are sourced from China or Southeast Asia and not made in the US.
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Back to my original question, I use cheap pads for applying paste wax. It tends to clog pads and is a little difficult to clean and ends up using more pad cleaner than what the pad is worth in the long run. I don't feel like sacrificing a $12 pad for this and cheap pads are what I use for paste wax.
 
chet31 said:
My experience, when you go to a company's website, and they don't tout their manufacturing facility in the USA, and they don't tout "Made in the USA" on their products, they're usually not made in the USA. Such is the case with Lake Country. They do say on their website "we also have a deep knowledge of foam formulations and their buffing properties and currently source foams from manufacturers throughout the world."
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This pretty much explains Lake Country Manufacturing in their own words:

AG Newsletter
 
watai0102 said:
Yes, that really solved a lot of problems
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buy cheap pads and pay for it later, that should solve whether or not if you should buy them again. i've spent a lot of money on car care products over many years and i don't like to throw money away. quality pads are worth every penny. also, AG sells both lake country and buff and shine pads...
 
all these quality thin pads are available in different sizes ranging from 3" up to 6.5" which work really well with traditional pc-style DA's (also can be used on other polishers too). when you buy them here at AG, you not only support them but also the good people who work at these great companies which also provide customer service to back them up...

Griots Garage 5.5 Inch BOSS Foam and Microfiber Pads

Buff and Shine 5.5 Inch Flat Foam Pads

Lake Country ThinPro Foam Pad System

Meguiars 5 Inch DA Foam Discs
 
The way to save money on pads is to buy high quality, well performing pads, and look after them. Buy enough pads up front that you aren't overusing the pads (i.e. change them often, and have enough of each type on hand to allow you to do what you need to get done),don't over heat the pads, and clean them as soon as possible. Pads will last a long time that way. Over time, the cost difference between high quality pads and the el-cheapos won't be much of a consideration, and the high quality pads will most likely have given you much better results.

Another way to look at this is the exact opposite: what are the consequences of a pad failing? It doesn't matter if the car is yours or not, if a pad fails, it can be anywhere from having to redo a section to needing to repaint a panel. This is not to say that the high quality pads don't fail, because if you have spent any time on this board, you know that they do occasionally. However, the failure rate of the high quality pads is far, far lower than the el-Cheapos. Is it really worth that risk to save $3-5 per pad?
 
kkritsilas said:
The way to save money on pads is to buy high quality, well performing pads, and look after them. Buy enough pads up front that you aren't overusing the pads (i.e. change them often, and have enough of each type on hand to allow you to do what you need to get done),don't over heat the pads, and clean them as soon as possible. Pads will last a long time that way. Over time, the cost difference between high quality pads and the el-cheapos won't be much of a consideration, and the high quality pads will most likely have given you much better results.

Another way to look at this is the exact opposite: what are the consequences of a pad failing? It doesn't matter if the car is yours or not, if a pad fails, it can be anywhere from having to redo a section to needing to repaint a panel. This is not to say that the high quality pads don't fail, because if you have spent any time on this board, you know that they do occasionally. However, the failure rate of the high quality pads is far, far lower than the el-Cheapos. Is it really worth that risk to save $3-5 per pad?
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Very good point, but also look at the purpose, in my case I buy the china pads because I'm going to destroy it on purpose. It will be sprayed with an acid that will eat away at the backing glue and degrade the center of the pad. I don't want that to happen to my good pads so I buy the china ones in bulk to save me money in that way.

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Chinese made pads are often higher-quality than far more complex things like Chinese-made tools. ;)
 
I bought the China pads for projects that do this
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Maybe a way around that is to use any older, less than perfect pads that you already have with the acid, and order new pads for use with paint. This is of course, very dependent on how many of the older pads you have, and how many need to be used with the acid.
 
kkritsilas said:
Maybe a way around that is to use any older, less than perfect pads that you already have with the acid, and order new pads for use with paint. This is of course, very dependent on how many of the older pads you have, and how many need to be used with the acid.
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Well I is ALOT of pads for acid polishes, like I can easily go through a dozen on a weekend

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