Dr_Pain
Certified Finest Installer
Here are a few things you may or may not know about me:
When I say I am notoriously hard on my pads, I usually have to factor in the cost of at least 2 pads in my paint correction because one will invariably collapse in the center (from over heating)and one will fly off the machine as I am spinning it with the pad brush while cleaning it on the fly, because of velcro adhesion failure.
Over the years I've tried CCS, hybrid and waffle pads from many manufacturer and always tend to come back to the LC flat pads. I am not opposed to changing my ways but I had not found something that I was happy with. With my Rupes the LC flat pads are the KING! but on my Flex 3401, they are a pain to control unless you hold the polisher just right. At an angle, the polisher will want to walk. I do prefer working with the Rupes on polishing but sometimes you need a little more cutting power, but not so much that you need a MF cutting disc or a wool pad which seems to favor the Flex. I was happy to recently review the CarPro Flash Pad which has found its way to be my new Go-to for heavy cutting (and now AIO.... see review CLICK HERE!, but I haven't seen anything that got me excited in the light cutting since finding the LC flat pads (that means a long time).
Enters the Scholls Concept Spider pad. Interesting look that reminds me of the Kompressor pads (which I never liked), but what intrigued me was the toted benefits
According to the manufacturer:
" The Spider Sandwich Pad line is a new generation of intelligent polishing pads which combines the advantages of foam with the cooling features of natural lambswool pads. Its calibrated three-dimensional surface results in a higher cut and better endurance of abrasive particles. The foam gives a higher air circulation, creating less heat generation when polishing, allowing the speed of the machine to be increased to reduce polishing time. Best of all, paired with the correct polish, the finishing ability of even the heavy cut spiderpads is incredible making one step jobs a reality in many cases!"
Did you see all those tantalizing words? Was that pad specifically designed for me?
Here is what else they say about it:
Features:
Superior polish residual control
Increase Surface Contact
Less Heat Generation
Specifically designed to compliment the Scholl Concepts range of Compounds
High Quality Foam Material and Hook & Loop Velcro
Made by Scholl Concepts in Germany
Suitable for Dual Action Polisher (and also works excellent on "long throw" Dual Action machines.)
They call it an Intelligent Pad. I sure hope it is not smarter than me
Polishing Directions:
Fasten pad to machine taking care to securely center it on your backing plate
Follow polish dependant tips regarding speed, pressure, and amount of polish
When polishing, clean your pad after each section with your Foam Pad Brush before applying a couple more drops of polish for the next section.
Easy as pie!!!!!
So on to the project! I did do a Show and Shine on this mustang, so feel free to see the results in its full glory! Before proceeding to the polishing I did take some PTG reading! All was good!
Being satisfied that it was safe to polish, I did do a test spot as per directions. I centered the pad to my Flex 3401, primed the pad using Mike P's technique and went to town
As you can see in the polishing residue all those individual fingerling were working jointly during the polishing process. There was no dusting, there was no slinging, there was no walking....... and there was no real heat to talk about!!!!
Loading the pad up again was as recommended (and check out the result of 4 passes)
Did it perform as described???Here are a couple of 50/50 for your amusement
My Impressions:
Where normally I would fight my beloved flat pad, this pad was a dream!! It literally felt as if I was operating the low vibration Rupes but with the benefit of force rotation. Had I entered the Twilight Zone??? I could not find one fault to the adjectives the manufacturer used to market this pad. It was smooth, it cut very nicely, it did manage the residual very well and unbelievable enough left the pad and surface nice and coolish. The same machine with an LC pad, doing 6 slow passes with medium pressure would have left the surface unbearable to touch, but not the Spider Pad!! I called my son over 3 or 4 times to let him touch the pad. I know they say the pad is design for Scholl Concepts compounds however I had to give it the old College try with my normal go-to and I was happily surprised. The velcro backing did not fail and the pad did not fly off while I was brushing it on the go.
I did try doing a torture test (ie. using only the same pad to do the whole car) however I had to change the pad after doing a little less than 1/2 the car. There was no way I could clean it "on the fly". Talking about cleaning, it did look a little beat up after the abuse I put it through however as you can see below, it cleaned right up, with no extra effort.
If I had to give this pad a grade, I would grade it as a solid 7/10!!
I definitely want it in my arsenal and am very likely to buy them again, however I want to see how much abuse before I dedicate too much $$ in changing my pads to this better pad!
- I love polishing with Orange LC flat pads
- I love Menzerna polishing compounds
- I hate cleaning pads
- I am NOTORIOUSLY hard on pads!!
- I love working slow and multi-passes which tends to create overheating issues (and pad failure)
When I say I am notoriously hard on my pads, I usually have to factor in the cost of at least 2 pads in my paint correction because one will invariably collapse in the center (from over heating)and one will fly off the machine as I am spinning it with the pad brush while cleaning it on the fly, because of velcro adhesion failure.
Over the years I've tried CCS, hybrid and waffle pads from many manufacturer and always tend to come back to the LC flat pads. I am not opposed to changing my ways but I had not found something that I was happy with. With my Rupes the LC flat pads are the KING! but on my Flex 3401, they are a pain to control unless you hold the polisher just right. At an angle, the polisher will want to walk. I do prefer working with the Rupes on polishing but sometimes you need a little more cutting power, but not so much that you need a MF cutting disc or a wool pad which seems to favor the Flex. I was happy to recently review the CarPro Flash Pad which has found its way to be my new Go-to for heavy cutting (and now AIO.... see review CLICK HERE!, but I haven't seen anything that got me excited in the light cutting since finding the LC flat pads (that means a long time).
Enters the Scholls Concept Spider pad. Interesting look that reminds me of the Kompressor pads (which I never liked), but what intrigued me was the toted benefits
According to the manufacturer:
" The Spider Sandwich Pad line is a new generation of intelligent polishing pads which combines the advantages of foam with the cooling features of natural lambswool pads. Its calibrated three-dimensional surface results in a higher cut and better endurance of abrasive particles. The foam gives a higher air circulation, creating less heat generation when polishing, allowing the speed of the machine to be increased to reduce polishing time. Best of all, paired with the correct polish, the finishing ability of even the heavy cut spiderpads is incredible making one step jobs a reality in many cases!"
Did you see all those tantalizing words? Was that pad specifically designed for me?
Here is what else they say about it:
Features:
Superior polish residual control
Increase Surface Contact
Less Heat Generation
Specifically designed to compliment the Scholl Concepts range of Compounds
High Quality Foam Material and Hook & Loop Velcro
Made by Scholl Concepts in Germany
Suitable for Dual Action Polisher (and also works excellent on "long throw" Dual Action machines.)
They call it an Intelligent Pad. I sure hope it is not smarter than me
Polishing Directions:
Fasten pad to machine taking care to securely center it on your backing plate
Follow polish dependant tips regarding speed, pressure, and amount of polish
When polishing, clean your pad after each section with your Foam Pad Brush before applying a couple more drops of polish for the next section.
Easy as pie!!!!!
So on to the project! I did do a Show and Shine on this mustang, so feel free to see the results in its full glory! Before proceeding to the polishing I did take some PTG reading! All was good!
Being satisfied that it was safe to polish, I did do a test spot as per directions. I centered the pad to my Flex 3401, primed the pad using Mike P's technique and went to town
As you can see in the polishing residue all those individual fingerling were working jointly during the polishing process. There was no dusting, there was no slinging, there was no walking....... and there was no real heat to talk about!!!!
Loading the pad up again was as recommended (and check out the result of 4 passes)
Did it perform as described???Here are a couple of 50/50 for your amusement
My Impressions:
Where normally I would fight my beloved flat pad, this pad was a dream!! It literally felt as if I was operating the low vibration Rupes but with the benefit of force rotation. Had I entered the Twilight Zone??? I could not find one fault to the adjectives the manufacturer used to market this pad. It was smooth, it cut very nicely, it did manage the residual very well and unbelievable enough left the pad and surface nice and coolish. The same machine with an LC pad, doing 6 slow passes with medium pressure would have left the surface unbearable to touch, but not the Spider Pad!! I called my son over 3 or 4 times to let him touch the pad. I know they say the pad is design for Scholl Concepts compounds however I had to give it the old College try with my normal go-to and I was happily surprised. The velcro backing did not fail and the pad did not fly off while I was brushing it on the go.
I did try doing a torture test (ie. using only the same pad to do the whole car) however I had to change the pad after doing a little less than 1/2 the car. There was no way I could clean it "on the fly". Talking about cleaning, it did look a little beat up after the abuse I put it through however as you can see below, it cleaned right up, with no extra effort.
If I had to give this pad a grade, I would grade it as a solid 7/10!!
- PROs
- It cut better than my LC flat pad;
- Managed the heat better than anything else I had seen (except for the Flash Pad);
- I could use it on the Flex without fearing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome;
- It managed residue very well;
- and cleaned up easy as pie.
- CONs
- What I did not like as much is that I could have used the LC flat pad a little longer on the car before having to swap it (unless it failed lol!). This in itself is not enough to justify the 7/10.
- The main reason why I gave it a 7/10 is because of the cost. @ $27 for one pad, I could have bought 3 orange LC Flat pads. It well surpasses the LC flat pads in terms of performance but I need to see about longevity before pronouncing myself 100% about the cost.
I definitely want it in my arsenal and am very likely to buy them again, however I want to see how much abuse before I dedicate too much $$ in changing my pads to this better pad!
