Lake Country CCS pads - how to video?

[fju2112]

I'm a newbie to using a buffer for paint correction on my black 2014 Benz E-class. I've been using the same tips a nice reseller of Mothers products gave me over 15 years ago (Ray from Waxstation.com, now defunct). I've only ever detailed by hand but I noticed swirls in the paint shortly after I bought this car in 2017, but with 3 kids, job, etc. I never invested the time in attempting to fix it, just hide it a little with qd spray and occasional claying/waxing.

I have a Griot's Garage 6" orbital buffer, and just ordered some orange Lake Country CCS pads, and some white ones. I have Mothers Rubbing Compound for the orange and Polishing for the white pads. I have seen that with the CCS pads it seems you apply some dime sized "dots", and other videos where before you buff you actually press the product lightly onto the paint from the pad without the machine running. (I will be doing the Mothers Clay Bar treatment after a wash before I begin using the machine.)

What I can't find on here or YouTube is an instrutional video on how to use the pads from start to finish: priming the pad (is this necessary? how do I do this?); applying product to it (how much?), I'm assuming I need to use a quality microfiber towel to buff out any excess product, but do I let rubbing compound & polish dry to a haze the same way one would do with a wax, or not? - and of course using the compound & polish itself with the buffer, especially in difficult corners or edges, near headlights & glass, etc.

Mothers has some videos online showing their lead chemist applying the compounds I reference above with an orbital buffer and it looks pretty straightforward. But as I've been using these forums the past few days to do research, I keep seeing references to other prep work, like conditioning the pad, or agitating a pad to ensure it doesn't stay matted, etc. etc. I probably missed a thread that explains all of this, so I apologize in advance if that's the case.

I did find this video which is helpful for how to begin:

Circular / Rotary Polishing Guide: remove swirls, scratches, & oxidation with a rotary polisher. foam pads, backing plate, lake country, professional,

Thanks in advance for any help this newbie can get!

[fju2112]

I also just realized that the CCS pads seem best designed for a dual action polisher. So should I cancel those and go with the regular flat Lake Country pads instead?

[glen e]

Thie CCS PADS will work fine on your buffer, don’t overthink this. There is a good buffer video on the “how to detailing” videos above, just watch that. polishing is really not a hard thing at all just put a few dots on the paint, put a few dots on the pads, leave the buffer off and spread the product around, turn on the buffer to medium speed and on a 2 x 2 section, go very slow back-and-forth/up-down a couple times, then wipe it off and take a look at your work. If all your defects are still there do it again, if all your defects are there after that, do it again, if all that if the defects are still there, well, you get my drift. I think the orange pads are too strong for any paint with an orbital, I like a medium pad and just keep going over the spot until it looks like I want it to look. Change the pad every couple panels, I use about three pads to do a car. Just my two cents.

Also I would never use a rubbing compound on a car, it’s just too abrasive for me. I’d rather make many passes with a medium product to get the job done. Meguires ultimate compound works really well if the surface is really screwed up, otherwise I use something like blackfire one step if you’re just trying to get rid of swirls and minor imperfections.

Also if you’re a real klutz don’t underestimate the effectiveness of having somebody polish the car for you, and then you put on the sealant. Polishing really needs to be only done once a year.

[fju2112]

Thanks Glen - helpful tips!

The CCS pads are on their way, and while it seems flat would work just fine, I'm going to try this out with the orange and white CCS pads on my Benz's black paint. I'm told Benz paint is hard, and there are significant swirl marks and some scratches, so I'd rather err on being slightly more aggressive than I need to be if it means less passes and the overall job turning out right without me having to figure out new pads and repeat the entire process. This car is a daily driver and I can't see doing this even once a year; it's more a project for me that I've tried to carve out time to research and then dedicate to the actual job. It sounds like I'll be okay with what I've ordered, but you'll surely be hearing more from me either way after I try this stuff!

[fju2112]

Wow - it's been a long time but I finally, finally got around to using all this stuff. Yesterday I used the Griot's random orbital after a good wash and clay bar treatment - I used the Mothers Rubbing Compound w/ the orange pads then the Finishing Polish with the white pads. Finished with Mothers Reflections Advanced Wax. I did all the painted surface as I haven't done this level of detail since I bought the car in 2017.

I noticed on the problematic areas - the tailgate area of the trunk where there are some surface scratches; the hood; the trunk lid - I can still see swirl marks after all that and most of the fine scratches that were there. There were a lot of light scratches that didn't magically disappear - not that I expected them to, but I went over a few areas twice, increased the speed of the buffer when I did it, etc. just to be sure. Not sure what I did wrong, or maybe I used the wrong combo of pad/stuff? Try something different next time; any suggestions...?

It's possible the swirls and fine scratches didn't disappear entirely but there was still a good deal of improvement, and I'll take another good look today. I'm attaching the only picture I was able to take to get a good look at the scratches; also took a couple of the hood but the swirl marks didn't come through on that angle.

tailgate.jpg - Google Drive

[fju2112]

Glen, after reading your most recent reply again, I think what I need to do is be more vigilant and just use finishing polish next time w/ the white pad on the finer scratches, go slow, go over them multiple times, see if that helps. The max # of times I went over any given area was 2, and reading your post again that may not be enough.

The paint still looks better than it has since I bought it!

Mike had also commented on another thread that for areas with the 3M film I should go light and stay away from using the rubbing compound, which I did (used white pad/finishing polish only). Not sure it made much of a difference as the 3M film is old and at certain angles it shows. I may explore having it removed and new film applied. There's plenty of pitting on the front lower end of the car despite the film (seems some of it goes all the way through), and I am not into using touch up paint, but I think the hood and fenders/mirrors could benefit from a refresh.

Next up: need a good glass polishing pad and polish to use w/ the buffer to remove the gunk from the windshield and polish up the glass panorama roof, and a good sealant recommendation!

[opie]

The max # of times I went over any given area was 2, and reading your post again that may not be enough.

Two passes is not enough.

You need to make a minimum of six section passes in your roughly 2 ft by 2 ft area that you're working

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[opie]

How to do a Test Spot and then buff out your car! Video Explanation by Mike Phillips start with this to dial in your process before moving on to buff out the entire vehicle

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[fju2112]

To clarify: I did at least 3-4 passes per section initially, then went back and did the same (sometimes more than 3-4 passes) on the second attempt...I did not just pass by the area once and not go back over it - sorry if that didn't come through clearly on my post. And still, I feel I didn't give it enough attempts. Now that the car is waxed I'll prob wait til early fall to try again.

[opie]

Then it sounds like you need to be more agressive.

And my understanding is the benz clear are on the hard side. No first hand experience just what ive read. Good luck

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