Review: LC pads (not 56K friendly)

[Grimm]

OK, so I just received my LC 5.25" CCS Orange pad from Danase a couple weeks ago and had the chance to try it out this afternoon. I wanted to see what kind of a comparison I could get with the regular 6.5" pad. I also threw in the yellow 6.5" pad that I got over Christmas and hadn`t used yet. The test subject is my black 2003 Bonneville. The work area was the hood that I had repainted two months ago, so it was unprotected, and of course swirled for free by the body shop.



For the process I taped off three areas in the center of the hood, all about 18"x18" square. I had two sections side by side (referenced as Left and Right) and one section below and centered between the other two (referenced as Bottom). For the bottom section I used the Yellow pad, for the right I used the regular orange pad, and the left was the CCS pad. I then did two separate applications of Optimum Hyper Compound on all three sections, making six perpendicular laps. Then I followed up with Optimum Polish on all three sections with a regular LC 6.5" White pad.



I`m not sure if the hood was just that bad, or if I need to give the steps more working time, but none of the sections came out where I was totally happy. But I did come to my own conclusion that the CCS pad was the best of the three. Below are some pics with a few comments. I had a hard time getting good pictures, so I apologize, and hope that they are somewhat worth wile.



This shot is before I did any polishing. As you can see, it`s in rough shape.

http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/8273/p1000967he2.jpg



This one is the bottom section after the first pass with OHC on the yellow pad. It was a good start, but still a lot of swirls yet. It`s hard to see, but you can just make out some little circular squiggles on the left side of the picture. The yellow pad was really bad at leaving this stuff all over the entire section. I`m assuming it`s because of the aggressive cut of the pad.

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/5640/p1000977vc7.jpg



This is the section with OHC on the regular orange pad. This one also left a lot of squiggles, though not quite as bad. Also had quite a bid of swirls yet.

http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/720/p1000978co2.jpg





This picture is the left section with OHC on the CCS pad. It clearly looked the best after the first pass. It came out with less severe swirls, and none of the squiggles.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/8836/p1000980ki4.jpg



Here we are back to the bottom section after the second pass. Looking better on the swirls, but still some of the squiggles left.

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/2069/p1000981ef1.jpg



Next is the right section, again the swirls are better, and most of the squiggles were gone.

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/6654/p1000983qp5.jpg



Here is the left section, looking very nice after the second pass with some minor swirls left.

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/8528/p1000994ba5.jpg



Here we are at the bottom section again after the pass with Polish on a 6.5" white pad. This section just wasn`t coming out very well. It obviously looked like it should have had a pass with an orange pad on the second go around. The polish cleaned it up pretty good, but just wasn`t going to get rid of the squiggles.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/1264/p1010010lh4.jpg



Here we have the right section after polish on the white pad. The light strip on the left side is the area that was taped off. This section looked much nicer than the bottom, but still not happy with it.

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/5276/p1010028zh2.jpg



And here is the last section after polish. Comparing the picture with the above one doesn`t look much different, but seeing it in person, it looked noticeably better. It`s not 100%, but I think with a little extra time in each step hopefully it would be there. Again the area in the right of the picture is the strip that was taped.

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/5320/p1010026qb9.jpg

[kleraudio]

very nice review! Perfect timing too, i was contemplating buying the 5.25`s from danase, i think i will now!



Jim

[imported_Nimble]

very nice review! Perfect timing too, i was contemplating buying the 5.25`s from danase, i think i will now!



Jim



You should, Bob @ Danase hooked me up with 2 org, 2 wht, and a yellow last week. I also ordered some 4* body shop medium and light cut compounds to try with them. I`ve heard they work well. The only curious thing is that the yellow "feels" softer than the the orange?? Kind of weird, but I`m sure it`s still more agressive than the orange. Also, the 5.25" are quite small, a 5" backing plate barely covers the pad, good for defect removal.

[kleraudio]

yea thats what im hoping for, i have a 5" BP so I am looking forward to trying it out, are the CCS pads low profile??



Jim

[Grimm]

I just measured them, and the regular pad is 1.25" versus .75" for the CCS pad.



I also used the 5" BP and it worked great. There is almost no overhang of the pad, so it actually makes it easier to center I think. And the foam may be denser because even though it`s not as thick as the regular pad, it didn`t seem to compress much. The only thing I see is that you would want to be careful on curves and such so that you don`t rub the edge of the BP on the paint.

[kleraudio]

sweet so they are low profile as well, looking forward to trying this thanks to your post!



Jim

[imported_Nimble]

Quite low profile IMO.

[kleraudio]

thats what i like to hear :xyxthumbs



Jim

[mbkintner]

The only thing I see is that you would want to be careful on curves and such so that you don`t rub the edge of the BP on the paint.



I`m getting read to place an order for some of these. In general, the size is a plus but what you`ve listed above is a concern. I wonder how the 5.25" CCS pads would work with a 3.5" BP? Do you have one to try?



Mike

[Grimm]

Sorry, no I don`t. But I don`t think I would be too concerned about it. You would probably have to have a very steep curve to have a problem. The one thing I was mainly thinking about is it might not move as fluidly from a flat surface through a curve. I didn`t think of that until now, I should have tried it. My hood has high spots on the sides, and the 6.5" pad is nice because with the pressure I put on it, the edges curl up so when I go up against that edge where it rises, it makes a nice smooth transition.

[SilverLexus]

I`ve tried a number of pads and the Lake Country are my favorites. I like the Variable Contour ones a bit better than the CCS for work with Z-PC though.

[imported_Nimble]

I`m getting read to place an order for some of these. In general, the size is a plus but what you`ve listed above is a concern. I wonder how the 5.25" CCS pads would work with a 3.5" BP? Do you have one to try?



Mike



I have tried the 5.25 ccs with a 3.5 bp and it doesn`t fit all that badly. I never buffed with it, but just physicaly attached them to try it out. If you think about it, a lot of guys run a 5" bp on 6.5" pads, so 5.25" and 3.5" is only 1/4" difference.

[HenrikP]

How would you compare the new CCS 5.25in package to the Edge 2k 6in package on the PC?

[imported_Nimble]

How would you compare the new CCS 5.25in package to the Edge 2k 6in package on the PC?



Both good, both work, both have supporters, both have doubters. Best on the market though, so you cannot choose wrong. The LC has a much lower cost of entry though. You can pick up a 6 pack of multiple colors at Danase for $39 and a 5" bp for $15, and you`re set.