You're welcome, thanks for the great feedback

Glad it helped!

Perfect, the video is doing its job :)

Great feedback Matthew! Side note: A lot of times B-pillars are actually a different coating than clear coat, so sometimes its best to be least aggressive on them.

Glad it was helpful!

Good luck with it :)

Thanks for the great feedback Jeff! Out of interest have you seen Kelly's demonstration of the System 4000 pad washer? In it, he shows how HDO pads can be easily cleaned - it's worth watching the whole video, but this link will take you to the exact section: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/a9eKoJlo2Z2VlKs.html

The LC 4000 pad washer fixes that. Love mine. One of the best investments I've made. Love their pads!

Thanks for the feedback :)

Thank you very much!

Will do!

Thanks! :)

My 2004 Z06 has been compounded by The Wolfgang Twins (Orange CCS/White) three times using FLEX 3401. I’m pretttty sure My clear won’t take another compounding. I’m due for a re-coat(CSL-EXOV4 in October 2020). So that’ll likely be done in the fall. Thanks for a terrific video. We can always learn more!

Modern Jaguars are typically pretty soft :)

See around 6:10 min mark for example. Kelly talks around 11:00 mark about what worked for this specific scenario

Yes, as long as you apply enough pressure too. Your cutting rate is a function of the 'abrasiveness' of your pad and compound, the 'speed' of the machine tool and the 'pressure' being applied.

We recommend using a heavier foam pad while maintaining your compound of choice. Possibly a Microfiber pad may do the trick based on your experience with a medium foam pad.

@@LakeCountryManufacturing brilliant. Thank you for your reply.

Scangrip, lots of places sell them.

Let's assume you mean 21mm, not 210mm. Yes you can use the Blue HDO pad with that, although it may be more aggressive than you need. Perhaps start with the Orange HDO first and see how that goes. Polishes and compounds are just 'liquid abrasives' of varying aggressiveness, and as detailers trying to work efficiently we need to select the appropriate level of 'cut' for the task at hand. If you're working with particularly soft paint or very minor defects you'll require less cut, and so sometimes a gentle finishing polish/pad will actually do all you need. Give it a try :)

@@LakeCountryManufacturing Thanks very much.Yes.21mm.Getting in the world of detailing step by step.

That's something we've heard a lot, but it never gets old. Thank you!

A pass is "however many times it takes you to get the use out of the compound." This will vary from pad to compound to car to size of area being worked on etc, so we prefer not to be overly prescriptive. Compounds have the most cut when they're fresh from the bottle, so at the start of a pass is when you can work the hardest and get the most correction done. Continuing the pass for longer will help diminish the compound more, allowing you to adjust your speed and pressure and refine your result further. On a black Honda, if it's got soft paint, you may find it's tricky to refine a cutting compound down far enough to leave professionally satisfying results (not impossible, just tricky). If that's the case, I recommend you use your cutting compound/pad to remove defects and then STOP refining further with it - there's no point, even if there's a little haze (orbital) or light holograms (rotary) leftover. Switch to the refining pad and let that finish the job! Tips for refining: 1. Make sure you are working cleanly - no dust, dirty edges, clean microfiber towels etc.. 2. Take your finest polishing compound and use it to fully (but finely) prime the whole polishing pad face. 3. With your polisher, be sure to WORK the polish to help the abrasives diminish. That means use a little MORE pressure and HIGHER machine speed to begin with, and gradually reduce both to normal levels over the course of your pass, as the polishing liquid turns clearer. Take your time.

@@LakeCountryManufacturing thank you for the detailed reply, very helpful!

Hi Steve, we don't recommend any specific compounds or polishes just to remain neutral on that matter since there are so many great options to choose from. The product used was a medium grade compound.

It was Oberk.

Hi Nico, it's possible / common to find some panels react differently. It would be strange if one front wing was soft and the other one was hard, but (for example) bumpers on many cars tend to be more resistant to polishing than the rest of the bodywork. Also if there has been any aftermarket paintwork / repairs, this would cause variation. It's been a while since I polished a Mk2 Focus RS but I don't remember it being particularly unusual... sorry I can't be more helpful from here!

I'm not sure where in the video Kelly says this but maybe he said 'compound or polish' - in the UK there isn't really a distinction, liquids are called 'cutting compounds' or 'polishing compounds' whereas we know other places will just use 'compound' to describe a cutting liquid, or 'polish' to describe a (finely cutting) finishing liquid. Either way no, it's not a type of wax!

Oberk Supreme Cut

There is no way to tell definitively just by looking, and you will come to learn with experience, but in general: Modern clearcoats tend to be softer than they were 15+ years ago. Very few modern clearcoats are hard compared with 15+ years ago - some manufacturers used ceramic clearcoats with a higher density which were extremely tough, but even the average was harder than the average from today. In my experience, basically no cars made since about 2015 have 'hard' paint. Very new cars with lots of swirls tend to mean it's going to be fairly soft paint. Older cars with not many swirls suggests it might be a tougher surface. This is all partly why random orbital polishers have become so popular in recent years. Since they now have larger orbits (15 or 21mm, compared with 8mm like they used to be), RO polishers can offer much more cut than they used to, and tackle heavier tasks. At the same time, we've seen paint surfaces gradually get softer in general. So: you've got orbital polishers getting stronger, and paint getting softer. As these factors have converged, the need for the ultimate cutting power of a rotary has gradually diminished...* *Arguably! There are plenty of guys and girls out there who swear by rotary for all circumstances, and we're not here to tell everyone what they have to do! That being said, at our UK facility we covered this very situation with a pro detailer who was 'rotary-only' late last year, and once he understood how to use a random orbital properly (and how it avoids many of the drawbacks of rotary work) his words were "I can't believe I've been wasting my time for 10 years...."

@@LakeCountryManufacturing thanks for your advice ! 👍

You're correct! Lake Country is proudly based in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin USA. That's also where our products are made, however we have a growing international presence which is why we have invested in our UK training center (and the people in it). Kelly Harris is a world-renowned industry figure and we brought him on board as our Global Director of Training last year. The facility he led at KDS Keltec (with Jay Broom) makes for a perfect training / development / research center, a unique asset that we've also brought into the LC family to help us move forward. There is a lot of content in the editing stage right now that shows how the workshop has been adapted recently, but for some further context (and to learn more about what KDS Keltec was all about) please take a quick look back to 2019: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gqeSaMajmbOmj2w.html

Bingo! lakecountrymfg.com/detailbay/avoid-big-mistakes/