New: 1-Pad Polishing System from Lake Country

[Rob T]

Did they really feel the need to add CCS to the hydro-tech pads?

[C. Charles Hahn]

Did they really feel the need to add CCS to the hydro-tech pads?

I'm a bit disappointed too with the idea of having to use CCS with these; maybe offering some up without the CCS would be a good idea shortly after the product's initial launch?

[Bunky]

I bet the pads will cost more than one should think. A 4-in pad costs like $5 to $6 so I doubt it would be much cheaper since you have a certain amount of foam.

If you are running a shop where labor is well over $20/hr (burdened) then it does make sense to not spend a lot of time cleaning pads ($10 for a pad, $5 labor to clean, dry, etc) then it could make sense.

[cobraa]

Guys.. Have a solution of hot water mixed with lake country pad cleaner. let the foam soak for 1 hours. take your pad brush. agite them for 30 sec each pad. rinse them with water while squeezing them to remove residu and hop. Took 10 minutes to clean 6 pads.

A lot cheaper than buying new pads. By the way, a pad last me between 5 to 10 use.

[Toymachine2009]

I bet the pads will cost more than one should think. A 4-in pad costs like $5 to $6 so I doubt it would be much cheaper since you have a certain amount of foam.

If you are running a shop where labor is well over $20/hr (burdened) then it does make sense to not spend a lot of time cleaning pads ($10 for a pad, $5 labor to clean, dry, etc) then it could make sense.

That doesnt make any sense.. If I were running a shop buy a crap load of pads that you can use through out the day wash them at the end of the day and there clean and ready to go for the next day..

If you were to buy a set of disposable pads for EACH car that came through! say you needed 4 pads total per car each at $5 a pad. Thats $20 a car your investing in for pads.... you do 4 cars a day in that shop and you spent $100 dollars on pads just for that ONE DAY.... then need to pay for AGAIN the next day....


Why not get 30-40 good quality pads and use them ALL during the day and wash them in the evening and use them all over again...

[C. Charles Hahn]

I bet the pads will cost more than one should think. A 4-in pad costs like $5 to $6 so I doubt it would be much cheaper since you have a certain amount of foam.

Yeah, but remember the promotional material states they use 65% less material than conventional pads.

So if we take the logic that these are basically 6.5" pads, which are about $12 each, then each individual pad in the 1-Pad system should come out to around $4.20 each. That's a 6.5" pad for less than the cost of a 4" pad.

Of course that logic also doesn't take into account the fact that if people truly do use these pads one time and toss them out, both Lake Country AND its vendors stand to be more profitable than they are by selling traditional pads that get re-used multiple times EVEN IF they set the profit margin per pad lower on the 1-pad products.

This means they could actually sell the new pads for even less than 65% of the price of a regular pad, enticing people to use them as single-use products and boosting profits even more. So I wouldn't be shocked to see these come out with a retail price point of around $3-3.50 per pad.

If you were to buy a set of disposable pads for EACH car that came through! say you needed 4 pads total per car each at $5 a pad. Thats $20 a car your investing in for pads.... you do 4 cars a day in that shop and you spent $100 dollars on pads just for that ONE DAY.... then need to pay for AGAIN the next day....

That's why LC says they're marketing this to "high end" detailers who like to start with brand new pads for each correction detail they do anyway. If you're charging $300+ for paint correction only, $20 for pads isn't all that unreasonable. Especially if you consider that as a pad wears out, its correcting ability diminishes. If you are doing a full-correction detail, this will mean you may have to do more passes over the same section of finish -- and the job will take longer to do.

At that point, what's cheaper? New pads, or more wages paid to your employees?

[C. Charles Hahn]

Since it seems I missed the end of the edit window, I'll continue here:

The ONLY real concern I would have from a marketability standpoint is that they're creating a system of consumable items that may actually increase the amount of refuse generated by an active detailer who uses large quantities of pads. Not very eco-friendly.

However, I suppose the argument could be made that since these are being marketed to the type of people who may already be throwing traditional pads away after a single use, 1-Pad decreases the amount of "waste" by 65% over their current buffing system.

It's really a double-edged sword, this system. It will be interesting to see how well received it is once it actually hits the market.

[WestEnd]

Since it seems I missed the end of the edit window, I'll continue here:

The ONLY real concern I would have from a marketability standpoint is that they're creating a system of consumable items that may actually increase the amount of refuse generated by an active detailer who uses large quantities of pads. Not very eco-friendly.

However, I suppose the argument could be made that since these are being marketed to the type of people who may already be throwing traditional pads away after a single use, 1-Pad decreases the amount of "waste" by 65% over their current buffing system.

It's really a double-edged sword, this system. It will be interesting to see how well received it is once it actually hits the market.

These were my thoughts exactly. I like to keep the environment in mind and this seems excessive and counter progress from a company. However, if the high end detailer is tossing thicker pads on each job, then maybe its a gain. But I think it may encourage more waste for others particularly if the pads don't last as long with someone trying to reuse them.

If they are purchased only by those marketed to it may be a net gain and I would also guess the prices will not favor those considering reusing them, its a different mindset.

I put this logic in the group with the $ 10,000 carnuaba tin.

[arenared]

Did they really feel the need to add CCS to the hydro-tech pads?

Any plans for a DAS version? Crimson hydro-tech pads?

[The Pad Man]

We are going to see how this goes before adding more colors/foams to the lineup.

The CCS pattern on the Hydro pads works differently than a standard CCS pad, this is because the foam is much thinner.