Lake Country SDO, Scholl Polishes, open vs closed cell

[rover137]

Hi all

I’m relatively new to detailing and have been doing some more reading and research and came across something I was hoping i could get some clarity on.

Firstly, apologies if I’m mentioning brands that aren’t sold here, I am in Aus and a lot of the products available here I cannot get.

I attempted to polish my black Hyundai Nline with a 12mm throw DA with orange LC SDO pads and a few different Scholls polishes. I ended up going with the S30+ as this finished down very well and also did a fair bit of correcting.

I though I’d knock it back a notch for my next time around and ordered some black SDO pads and S40. Now I was reading around a few forums and many say you can’t use open cell pads with S40 as they absorb too much and will clog up the pad. I have been research a bit about open/closed pads with use of DAT polishes like Scholls. Does anyone have any knowledge of these combos? The S30+ seemed to work really well with the orange SDO.

I also came across someone saying S40 is too abrasive for a black SDO pad. This doesn’t make sense to me as S40 is one of the finest polishes around, and the black SDO is a very fine finishing pad?

thanks all!!

[Mike Phillips]

I cover open cell versus closed cell in my how-to book.

Here's the short answer. Just stick with open cell. The wear better or "last longer" and the idea that a closed cell pad will NOT absorb product as fast as open cell sounds great on paper but in the real world, it's of no matter. Plus, once a closed cell pad becomes saturated with liquids - because the cells are closed or sealed with a membrane, they are much harder to clean.

[rover137]

Hi Mike

Thank you so much for your reply! I will have to buy that book I think!

That makes sense and I did read about some of those things.

Is open cell ok for DAT polishes? Ie do they take longer to break the abrasives down? I assume that as long as you work clean (which should be practiced anyway), then clogging them up is neither here nor there.

Do you know if the LC HDO/SDO pads are open or closed? I tried your ‘blow air’ test but I don’t have any other pads to compare them to. I’ve tried to find the specifications with data sheets etc but I can’t get a clear determination! I am leaning towards them being open from what I’ve read.

It’s odd that Scholl recommend closed cell pads with their polishes, I’m sure people have had great results with open cell pads.

Cheers!

[The Guz]

The HDO pads are great pads. The SDO pads are also pretty good. They work fine with DAT polishes. I have used them with Sonax Perfect Finish, Scholl's S20 Black and CarPro Reflect. These are some of the DAT polishes that I have that I can think of off the top of my head.

Check out Sandro on Car Craft Detailing. He covers pads on his youtube channel and he uses Scholl's every so often. He is in Australia.

[rover137]

The HDO pads are great pads. The SDO pads are also pretty good. They work fine with DAT polishes. I have used them with Sonax Perfect Finish, Scholl's S20 Black and CarPro Reflect. These are some of the DAT polishes that I have that I can think of off the top of my head.

Check out Sandro on Car Craft Detailing. He covers pads on his youtube channel and he uses Scholl's every so often. He is in Australia.

Thanks mate! I guess you can find all sorts of views and experiences online and in this industry.

I didn’t think there would be any issues with these combinations. Can I ask how many section passes you do with the S20? I tried this with an orange SDO pad but it marred my paint pretty bad. Ultimate Polish also marred it, but the. S30+ had good cut and finished pretty good. I suspect my paint is pretty soft, that’s why I have ordered some black SDOs and S40 to go over it again.

Sandro is a legend! I’ve had a few chats with him and watched most of his videos. Great guy who is extremely knowledgeable in his field.

[The Guz]

I used it with 4-5 section passes with S20 on a Rupes yellow pad and orange HDO recently. The cut and finish was very good other than some areas that were a bit finicky.

It does sound like your paint is on the soft side.

[rover137]

I used it with 4-5 section passes with S20 on a Rupes yellow pad and orange HDO recently. The cut and finish was very good other than some areas that were a bit finicky.

It does sound like your paint is on the soft side.

I did 4-5 passes as well with the orange SDO and got marring. Working area quite small - bit over 1 x 1 foot. Was just checking as I had a thought I may not have broken down the s20 enough but I think it is just my paint. I tested different speeds/passes etc but just couldn’t get it work well for me. Ult Polish marred the paint even worse believe it or not. 4-5 passes with the same technique and S30+ cleared up all marring and almost gave me complete defect removal on areas it was used on alone. This is all with a 12mm throw, 5” backing plate DA.

Do you have any experience with the black HDO/SDO? I think they are the same foam, just missing that other bit which increases ergonomics/durability? They are meant to be a very soft pad but shouldn’t have any issue breaking down a very fine finishing polish?

[The Guz]

I have only used the microfiber, blue and orange HDO pads. I have used the orange SDO pad as well. The difference is the interface pad on the HDO. Other than that they are the same foam material. Soft paint can drive us crazy.

[Eldorado2k]

The HDO pads are great pads. The SDO pads are also pretty good.

What are the differences as far as use experience between the 2 pads?

[rover137]

I have only used the microfiber, blue and orange HDO pads. I have used the orange SDO pad as well. The difference is the interface pad on the HDO. Other than that they are the same foam material. Soft paint can drive us crazy.

I was thinking of getting the HDOs but given they are 3 times the price of the SDOs here and i only do my own car I went with the SDOs.
it was not the best paint to learn on, but I am a lot more confident now!
I heard that sometimes soft finishing pads can actually not finish as good on soft paint, for e.g the orange being better for soft paint than the black. Have you found this?
thanks for all your help and for clearing up those things for me!