which pads to order?

Thenissanguy

Thenissanguy

New member
Joined
Sep 16, 2014
Messages
142
Reaction score
0
Im looking to order some pads right now that there is a good sale going on, just have a few questions.
I will be using these on my gelcoat rv. Also on some of my vehicles ( chevy , kia , toyota)
i will also be ordering the Flex 3401 and HD Speed
1. Which pad colors do i ? Which colors sound i double up on?
2. Whats the difference from the 6.5 and 5.5 ccs inch lake country pads? i know the 5.5 are thinner but will they make a difference?
3. Which pad cleaner is best
4. Am i missing anything?
 
Do not buy the CCS pads for the 3401 get the hybrids from lake country. Get the kit with a extra 4" backing plate for the 5" hybrid pads so you can use 5" and 6.5" hybrids. If your rides are in good shape the blue and white pads will be all you need for swirls and finish polishing. A 3401 will speed through a RV really nice with the 6.5" pads.This is the plate for 5" pads FLEX XC3401 Changeable Backing Plate System and these are the pads Lake Country Hybrid Power Finish Ultra Performance Pad System I hope this helps you make your choice.Also the HD cord is so nice and free today for the Elf promotion.
 
The 5.5" CCS isn't going to give you a safety margin for the back plate. The 6.5" will work just fine. The forced rotation 3401 doesn't have an issue moving 6.5" pads.

I don't know how strong HD Speed is, but I typically use cleaner waxes with white or black pads. You might want to consider the pink, orange, or yellow to help give it more cut, because the gel coat is tougher than typical clear coats.

I personally find the pink pads cut more than either the orange or yellow, and handle easier on the 3401. The CCS os a great pad line over all.
 
I'm waiting on more Buff & Shine Microfibers, cut and finishing. They have a thick foam body with a nice layer of Micro.
Those babies will cut, and give a little compression room for contours, without bottoming out like the thinner versions.
For pad cleaning, I use almost all of the liquid ones (diluted with distilled) & the powder soak (WG now BF), IMO they are about the same.
I use the powder with a brush in a soak bucket, when the pads done, I spray it with pad cleaner, brush it some then throw it in.
Clean them later when I have time, so the soak does it's work.
 
DetailTrail said:
I'm waiting on more Buff & Shine Microfibers, cut and finishing. They have a thick foam body with a nice layer of Micro.
Those babies will cut, and give a little compression room for contours, without bottoming out like the thinner versions.
Click to expand...

Yep, those are really nice pads too!
 
For the FLEX 3401 the HYBRID pad system with 5" pads are the best pads for the machine. They were specifically made for the 3401.

1. Get the LC backing plate system with the 4" plate that was mentioned above.
2. Get a combination of orange cutting and white finishing HYBRID pads for those two processes.
3. You can buy both the 5" and 6.5" with the above backing plates but the 5" seem to work the absolute best for the machine.
4. Meguires 5.5in Cutting pads will work wonders with the 4" plate also, makes for a heavier cut. Which might be needed on the Gel Coat or even the cars

Any other variances from the above may also work for you on the machine, but since you need likely 5-6 pads each type those mentioned in my post and another will definitely work just perfect for you. Like I said, Lake Country developed the Hybrid system specifically for the Flex 3401. I spent 100's on different size pads and pads before actually listening to others and working with this system. I don't even try anything else anymore, due to how well it finishes down for me no matter what type of paint I am dealing with.

Hope this helps and saves you some money
 
Is your RV still like new or do you have some oxidation? If the latter you may want to look at the LC 6.5 purple foamed wool pads. Mike Phillips has several threads recommending those for the 3401 along with the M31 AIOs. I have a houseboat (floating RV) and like that combo. I do want to get the hybrid pad set up to try on our cars though.
 
I have to agree with those so far saying the LC Hybrids. I absolutely love the Lake Country Hybrid pads with my 3401 and use both 5" and 6.5". I would strongly suggest a good inventory of 6.5" for the RV. I go from purple foamed wool all the way down to the black/red pads for just about every condition of work needed. I gradually built up an inventory of 6 packs in almost every color in both size diameters however understand that may be costly right out of the gate. I would suggest 2 6-packs with 4 orange, 4 white and 4 black.

And i have to thank Mike Ploesser (sp? sorry) at DedicatedPerfection for those pad recommendations. He was lazer spot on with those on the Flex!
 
wing commander said:
Do not buy the CCS pads for the 3401 get the hybrids from lake country. Get the kit with a extra 4" backing plate for the 5" hybrid pads so you can use 5" and 6.5" hybrids. If your rides are in good shape the blue and white pads will be all you need for swirls and finish polishing. A 3401 will speed through a RV really nice with the 6.5" pads.This is the plate for 5" pads FLEX XC3401 Changeable Backing Plate System and these are the pads Lake Country Hybrid Power Finish Ultra Performance Pad System I hope this helps you make your choice.Also the HD cord is so nice and free today for the Elf promotion.
Click to expand...

Puckman said:
I have to agree with those so far saying the LC Hybrids. I absolutely love the Lake Country Hybrid pads with my 3401 and use both 5" and 6.5". I would strongly suggest a good inventory of 6.5" for the RV. I go from purple foamed wool all the way down to the black/red pads for just about every condition of work needed. I gradually built up an inventory of 6 packs in almost every color in both size diameters however understand that may be costly right out of the gate. I would suggest 2 6-packs with 4 orange, 4 white and 4 black.

And i have to thank Mike Ploesser (sp? sorry) at DedicatedPerfection for those pad recommendations. He was lazer spot on with those on the Flex!
Click to expand...

thanks guys i will be ordering these hybrid pads once i get my gift certificate figured out! Now that i have been doing research on these pads i see great results!
 
Houseboater said:
Is your RV still like new or do you have some oxidation? If the latter you may want to look at the LC 6.5 purple foamed wool pads. Mike Phillips has several threads recommending those for the 3401 along with the M31 AIOs. I have a houseboat (floating RV) and like that combo. I do want to get the hybrid pad set up to try on our cars though.
Click to expand...

well i ordered the oxidation removal kit thats for sale on here and it comes with a wool pad and the M31 AIO. Maybe i should order another wool pad
 
Thenissanguy said:
well i ordered the oxidation removal kit thats for sale on here and it comes with a wool pad and the M31 AIO. Maybe i should order another wool pad
Click to expand...

Great to hear the pad choice!!!!!!! Definitely recommended. I spent hundreds on CCS, CG Octagons, Megs flat foam etc.... till I tried the Hybrid in 5". Perfectly awesome.

Menzerna FG400 might be the perfect product to use with the Orange cutting pad that will level the surface down while getting rid of the oxidation. Best all around compound I have used. But Megs 105 (if you wet it with a spray bottle while working it, it will go further and last longer) ( Menzerna uses diminishing abrasives in their compounds, Meguires uses for the M105 and M205 non diminishing abrasives, so for thiers a spritz of water will allow it to work for a longer time)

I would try your cutting pads and then a compound and work from there before spending a bunch of money for compounding phase. Test area in a few places ought to tell you what you need to know.

Remember------work clean as possible. Oxidation is dead paint on the surface, so when you remove that, your pad will become caked with it, so cleaning your pad (air nozzle sprayed against pad surface will clean residue off, or the specialty pad washers then air sprayed to remove water, or Mikes terry cloth rag while spinning the pad will do some cleaning) Once you find the pads that will work for you the best, just make sure you have 6-8 of each kind (specifically cutting and polishing) so you can swap pads and work clean as possible. Residue management will allow you to spend less time on the panels and also produce the best finish possible.

A lot of threads out there on residue management, and Mike P has talked about it a lot. But, its an RV, so absolutely perfect paint like on a show car is not likely your goal, just a good thorough cleaning and polishing.
 
When you use hd speed do not use ccs pads, or any closed cell pad.

That will cause the pad to gum up and not leave a consistent film of product on the panel.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
 
Joe@NextLevelDetail said:
When you use hd speed do not use ccs pads, or any closed cell pad.

That will cause the pad to gum up and not leave a consistent film of product on the panel.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

thank you ! i was thinking of using the ccs pad after the hybrid pads got dirty but not anymore! Saved me a headache!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top