Pad confusion best all around pads for 3401 Flex use

[Mike Phillips]

I've had my 3401 for a couple of years now and I have been using the LC CCS orange,white, and black pads with Menzerna products.

I am still kind of a newbie at polishing and with all the new pads being offered ie. LC CCS Smart pads,LC Hybrid pads, Thin Pro pads, Hydro Tech pads, Constant Pressure High Gloss Pads, Kompressor Pads, it gets a little confusing what to use....

Get the Lake Country 6.5" Hybrid Pads. You can do everything with Orange, White and Black. If you like to machine apply your waxes and sealtants get a Red Hybrid.


Down the road, get the Lake Country 4" Backing Plate Adapter Kit. This will enable you to burn and turn 5" Hybrids and 4" anything. This comes in real handy for thin panels and smaller pads on the FLEX 3401 makes the tool really easy to use. Larger pads help you to knock out large panels likity-split.

[Mike Phillips]

When you have some heavy cutting to do or if you detail boats with oxidized gel-coats then get the pad I show in this article.


Almost as fast as a rotary buffer but a lot safer - What is it?

[Mike Phillips]

Here's some pictures to show you all the Hybrid pad options....



Remember, thin is in only applies to free rotating DA polishers.

When it comes to direct drive polishers both dual action orbitals and single direction rotationals, pad thickness isn't and issue and in fact a thicker pad is what you want.

I'm showing the wide selection of Hybrid pads for both my Flex 3401 class and my Flex PE14 class at Detail Fest this weekend.



Wide selection of Hybrid pads

From the top down,

Gold Jeweling, Red Waxing, Black Finishing, White Polishing, Yellow Light Polishing, Blue Light Cutting, Orange Cutting.










This is also a great pad for the Flex 3401, it's the Lake Country 7.5" Electrified Wool Finishing Pad.

Although it's called a finishing pad it's still a FIBER pad and that means compared to foam more cutting.

7.5" Electrified Wool Finishing Pad





This is a combination that we'll be using in the upcoming Marine 31 Boat Detailing Class on April 18th.







With the addition of these two new Hybrid pads this pad system is one of the beat and most complete on the market for the Flex 3401 and the Flex PE14

[Mike Phillips]

And the only how-to book ever written for the FLEX 3401...






On Autogeek.net

How to use the Flex XC 3401 VRG Dual Action Polisher
For both Production Detailing & Show Car Detailing

[Mike Phillips]

My paperback book on the FLEX 3401 is now available as an e-book for fast easy download.



Only $14.95

Click this link to get your copy...

How to use the Flex XC3401 VRG Dual Action Orbital Polisher

[TTQ B4U]

Hey Red, the Lake Country Hybrid pads were designed for the characteristics of the FLEX XC3401. These pads used in conjunction with the 3401 are the bee's knee's. I too use this setup with the range of Menzerna polishes.
Lake Country Hybrid Power Finish Ultra Performance Pad System

Here is an article I put together a while back on extracting the maximum potential from this setup.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...brid-pads.html

As I make the move from standard to hybrid pads, as Mike noted in his post, almost anything can be done with Orange, White and Black. However, where does the corresponding match up take place? Is an Orange Standard Pad (medium cut) the same as an Orange Hybrid (heavy cut) or a blue says it's (light cut). Also, which of the hybrid pads works best for an AIO like HDSpeed which I normally use a Green pad for?

Thanks!

[WRAPT C5Z06]

The new lake country force pads look very cool. New design, same hybrid foam, with the addition of a new heavy cutting pad. I need to try these.

[TTQ B4U]

Down the road, get the Lake Country 4" Backing Plate Adapter Kit. This will enable you to burn and turn 5" Hybrids and 4" anything. This comes in real handy for thin panels and smaller pads on the FLEX 3401 makes the tool really easy to use. Larger pads help you to knock out large panels likity-split.

I was about to order the Flex 4-3/8" backing plate. Is that different than the Lake Country 4" Backing Plate Adapter Kit? If so, where can I get the latter of the two. I have a ton of standard 4" Lake Country pads that I'd like to still use but would they be too small with the 4-3/8" one from Flex?

Thanks!

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

However, where does the corresponding match up take place? Is an Orange Standard Pad (medium cut) the same as an Orange Hybrid (heavy cut) or a blue says it's (light cut). Also, which of the hybrid pads works best for an AIO like HDSpeed which I normally use a Green pad for?

Thanks!

Currently the Orange Hybrid pad is the most aggressive foam pad made by LC. The Blue LIGHT cutting pad is just a bit less aggressive than the standard yellow cutting pad from the CCS line. Below is a chart that lines up the pads and how they stack.
Lake Country All Wool & Foam Comparison Chart

Here is another chart just for the LC pads. Take note of Todd's response in block #2.
Lake Country Hybrid Aggressiveness Pad Chart

I would start off with the white Hybrid pad for AIO work. If that doesn't work then step up to the blue Hybrid pad.

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

I was about to order the Flex 4-3/8" backing plate. Is that different than the Lake Country 4" Backing Plate Adapter Kit? If so, where can I get the latter of the two. I have a ton of standard 4" Lake Country pads that I'd like to still use but would they be too small with the 4-3/8" one from Flex?

Thanks!

Yes those two plates are different sizes.

They both are listed at the bottom of the FLEX Power tool link on AG.
Flex Power Tools, Flex car polishers and buffers, circular polisher, dual action polisher, buffer, german car buffer, german car polisher, flex buffer