I wanted to start a discussion around the Lake Country Hydro-Tech pads. Specifically how frustrated I am with their performance versus longevity. In my experience, they cut and finish well, but do not tolerate cleaning very well. I initially used degreasers and the GG Pad Washer on them, but that ate them up very quickly (chunks tearing off of the pad face, velcro backing coming completely off). I switched to somewhat milder methods, but these pads still decay quickly in comparison to say Phil's Uber's. I talked with Dan F. a bit and he uses a super-gentle cleaning technique but still has taken to calling these pads "Hydro-Shred". To open up the discussion, here are some questions: What methods do you guys use to clean them? How long do your HTs last? Has anybody contacted Lake Country, and what were the results? Has anyone been part of similar discussions on other forums, and did anything helpful come from them? :thumb:
I just submitted a message to Lake Country after I browsed their website and did not find anything at all on HT pads. Will post up their reply.
Shane, Have been trying to use these pads since they first came out, a few years ago. The Cyan and Tangerine Pads DO work great, correct and finish great, and take longer to absorb material, all of these attributes are positsive. I remember a lot of fanfare, a lot of advertising about them, the Lake Country Rep., involved, promises about how great they worked, etc., Well, I finally tried them out, and as you have already said, they worked great for me, but shredded pretty quickly, and I posted this at Detailed Image under the pads where they invite you to leave comments, and remember asking out loud, maybe these will work on PC's only, because they dont really work for very long on a Rotary which is what I correct with about 98% of the time. I also posted my issues with PAC and they offered to help for awhile, and then everything pretty much went silent about these pads. For a little while, the Manufacturer, Lake Country in Wisconsin, offered to help out through their rep who posted awhile, and then that all fell away, and pretty soon, the sellers stopped talking about these pads altogether. I finally saw a Disclaimer at Detailed Image saying that if you used these pads with the Kevin Brown method on a PC ( a lot of downward pressure, high speeds), or a rotary I believe, then you were not going to get replacements for them.. I tried to get some replaced through PAC a few years ago, and it was really challenging, as they put the responsibility on that Lake Country guy, and it took him quite a while to finally get me replacements, and I didnt even get all of them replaced. I decided it was too hard to do this so I just let it go. . I am still using the 3 colors years later, and they will all shred no matter how much I try to keep them moist, and not get heated up.. Even the Crimson one, which I only use to Jewel or apply an LSP will eventually start breaking down, but since its used with very little pressure or speed, it seems to last longer. Have experimented many ways to wash them and not hurt their obvious fragile composition, and after losing many through washing, I have been able to somewhat mitigate this by soaking them in a 5 gal bucket of water and Snappy Clean, then taking them out and carefully scrubbing the residue off with a medium-soft nylon brush, ,always being very careful, because if you brush too hard, well, that pad is now on the way to being a goner.. The Snappy Clean rinses out really easily, so you can squeeze the water out pretty easily and then run them up on a rotary at 3000, to help remove more water. Because of the non-reticulated foam they are made of,, they do not shed water easily, and always take a day longer to dry than regular pads, so you have to plan for that too. My frustration with these pads is that in the beginning, at the announcements of this breakthrough, no one said anything about them having shredding issues, or washing and then shredding issues, or not being able to use them with a Rotary, or a PC at a high speed. After a little while, a year or so, maybe, they came out with these pads as a 1-time pad in 6.5" I believe with a special backing plate, that you were supposed to use and throw away - now why would any Detailing Shop want to start doing that ?? It would have to be a big Production shop that had never-ending cars coming in, so that they could afford to use these once and throw them away. I just cant do that, I have to make everything I buy last as long as possible. So that idea was also a bust for me. I think PAC is selling that version of them too.Not sure if Detailed Image ever picked up that version.. So, thats all I have to say and know about this - hope somewhere along the way, Lake Country will pick up the microphone and tell us what they have been doing about this shredding issue, and perhaps have news that they have been working on them and are about to introduce the new improved, non-shredding version !!!! Good luck with this ! Dan F. Dan's Auto Detailing Bellevue, WA.
Wow Dan, thanks for your perspective. I actually didn't realize these pads went back that far. Sounds like LC has been dropping the ball on this issue for some time. I wonder if they have done anything other than point their finger at the distributor? Pretty poor customer service in my opinion.
I first spray Zep Citrus on mine at 3:1 using distilled water to dilute it. I then let them sit in the sink for a few minute to let Zep do its thing, then I rinse them out and then squirt Dawn on each of them and work it into the pad. After I have done that I fill up my sink half ways with hot water and place the pads facing down foe a few hours at least 3 or more. I then come back later and wash out each one with the hose sprayer on my sink and squeeze out any excess soap and product until everything is out of each one. Then let them air dry over night indoors, then store them away one they are fully dry. I use this method to clean al my pads each time and I have yet to have any issues with any of them including my Hydrotechs.
Cool Danny, thanks for the insight. Do you use HT w/ Rotary or DA? I don't doubt that your method works for cleaning them; it is too bad that it is so labor and time intensive.
I use them on both my Makita Rotary and PCXP, it does take time to get it done, but most of the time I am doing something else or resting so I dont mind, your only really cleaning them out for like 15 minutes or less the rest of the time is just soaking time.
I've tried and traded my hydro tech pads. If you use the KBM - they will rip in no time flat. LC came out with a thinner version to address that issue and maybe it's better. BUT, I've had more issues with LC than other pads. The CCS pads do not do anywhere near the hype they claim. The Kompressur pads - really - ever see or hear of any pro use these turds? I've had better luck with Megs and now with the 3D pads. I really like the MF pads, and hope to try the CG version one day, just got my car insurance (teen driver in the house) so my buying will be on hold for quite a while!
I think I am going to give the flat Hydrotechs a try and see if they conform to the curves better than the regulars, since I have not had any problems with the regular Hydrotechs.
