Costs:
Lake Country: £6 – £8 each with a choice of nine
Meguiar’s: £15 – £17 each with a choice of three
Date of Review: 29th March 2020
The Sales Pitch from Meguiar’s:
Dual Action machine polishing has been a Detailer’s secret for years, it’s the fastest, most effective way to compound, polish and wax your car, truck or boat.
The Sales Pitch from Lake Country:
Conventional foam pads absorb polish too quickly. This reduces polish and pad performance because most of the polish is trapped below the working surface of the pad. CCS technology™ solves this common problem using strategic patterns of partially closed face.
- Slow Rate of Polish Absorption – CCS pockets gradually release polish as needed by the operator.
- Prevents Pad Skipping – CCS pockets reduce surface tension allowing operator to run pad flat on working surface.
- Creates less Heat – CCS pockets reduce surface contact resulting in less friction generated heat.
What You Get:
Meguiar’s will offer you a choice of three pads.
Lake Country will offer a choice of nine pads.
Product Description:
DA pads are the contact point of the product and the paint. The pad is designed to apply, spread and work the product to the paint.
Each of these pads is held to the backing pad via a Velcro hook and loop system. The backing pad that the pads are attached is the same plate so the pressure applied will be the same.
Instructions:
Press the pad onto the backing plate. Apply the product to the pad and use according to the manufacturers.
Test Comparison:
I have used wax remover on both pad styles and the results were startling. The Megs pad compared to the Lake product just filled up and collapsed. This was the same for a liquid wax application.
You can see the black Megs pad has lost all form and shape. The Lake on the other hand is still in full shape.
As a result the Megs pads are much flatter and clogged easily offering virtually no padding to the paintwork from the DA machine. The Lake pads on the other hand followed the contours of the panel perfectly llowing an easy use.
All three of the Megs pad products developed the same issues, they fill up with product and collapse. Even after washing the Megs pads don’t recover very well on the left. The Lake product looks like new on the right.
The Megs red pad while using some compound for a while started to break down and flick little particles of red sponge all over the paint I was correcting. They feel cheap in comparison to Lake. All of the Lake pads that I have used so far, stayed in shape, washed well and are ready for use again, all be it a little stained or discoloured now.
Results:
There is no doubt about the winner here: Lake Country squashes the opposition to nothing, (a bit like the megs pads). There is three choices for the end user with Megs pads, but there are 9 for LAke pads.
The cost of the Megs pads are twice that of the Lake pads and should be superior, this is certainly not the case. In this area of the market paying a lot of money for a Megs pad won’t get you a better pad. In fact I can buy two Lake pads for the same money and they will outlast the Megs pads without a question.
When the Megs pads are new they work well for a while, untill the product bogs down into the pads like I mentioned before. Once used and washed especially the black pad it felt on borrowed time. With the pads clogged I didn’t feel confident that there was a protective padding from the DA unit above the paint.
Rating:
Meguiar’s Pads – 4 out 10
Lake Country Pads – 9 out 10
Conclusion:
When buying the Meguiar’s MT320 unit it’s a really good machime and I like it. After I managed to wreck the first pad after an hiur or so I thought it was just me not using it correctly. The second lasted not much longer either. That’s when I went for the research and tried out the Lake pads. That’s not just a google search, that talking to people (detailers) who use these pads on a daily basis.
Remember the pad is the contact application to your paint. A disintegrating pad could mar your paint job.
You may think that 9 choices of Lake pad is over kill? Not really, simlly because each pad has a task and that pad does it well. Megs has three, much easier for the beginner to understand yes, but “Jack of all trades and master of none” saying springs to mind.
You pay your money and take the chance. Megs is easily available and in most shops. Lake Country you will have to look around for to buy.
In short:
Meguiar’s is the beginners choice.
Lake Country is for the semi pro and the professional choice.
Would I recommend; Meguiar’s – No. Lake Country – Yes.
Would I buy it again? Meguiar’s – No. Lake Country – Yes.