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Author Topic: REVIEW - Carpro Flash Pad  (Read 6247 times)

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Offline Merlin

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REVIEW - Carpro Flash Pad
« on: March 05, 2015, 10:36:02 AM »
It has been a little while since I've done a review on a detailing product so I thought it was about time to do one. Although this product has already been reviewed by other folks I wanted to throw in my personal two cents. The Carpro Flash pad was released in August 2014 and has been very well received in the detailing community.

We are all looking for that next product that gives better results, faster and easier. My go-to swirl remover pad was the Meguiars microfiber discs. The downside is they constantly clogged and were semi-difficult to clean. IMHO The Carpo Flash pad is more aggressive than the Megs MF discs. It is easy to clean with a Foam Pad Brush or on-the-fly with a terry cloth towel. The Flash pad has become my new go-to correction pad. Clean often.

In the past I have tried multiple "correction" pads with mixed results. To name a few they were the Lake Country "yellow" CCS foam, LC Kompressor series, Surbuf R series buffing pads and multiple hybrid flat wool and microfiber pads. (I try to avoid wool if at all possible.)

Here are a few words from the Carpro Website...
"Manufactured in France, the CarPro Flash Pad is made of a unique aggressive reticulated polyurethane foam which cuts through defects in a flash!  Incredibly it accomplishes this heavy defect removal without leaving behind holograms.  Armed with only a Dual Action machine the amazing Flash Pad is capable of providing more cut than a typical rotary polisher setup and finishes down much better! "

Yes, the Flash Pad cuts like crazy on a Dual Action machine PC, HF, GG etc. even more on a Rupes LHR21ES or Flex 3401 and they leave a pretty nice finish. Although the Flash Pads were designed for a cutting compound, many folks have achieved great results with Reflect (which is a finishing polish) for removing overspray etc..



This is one very stiff feeling pad.
It is suggested to wet and then spin dry the pad to make the foam a bit softer before use. I personally mist it with a bit of water but I really don't see much difference in softening the pad.

Be careful removing the pad from the backing plate.
The velcro is firm on the pad. It grips hard and could tear the velcro loose on the backing plate. The good news is you don't have to worry about pad separation from the velco or the backing plate while in use.

Be sure and prime the pad before the first use.
Apply a small amount of compound/polish to the entire surface of the pad and press it in with your fingers before you first use the pad. After that you only need a few pea/dime sized drops per panel.

A (very short) obligatory 50/50 video.
CarPro Flash Pads - Meguiar's M101 - Rupes LHR21ES



Pictures by Dr. Pain

Just a few small drops

Another obligatory 50/50 shot


Features:
Extreme Cut!
Extremely Durable
Reticulated Polyurethane Foam
Bevel profile
High Grade adhesive backing
Velcro backing

Polishing Tips:
Fasten pad to machine taking care to securely center it on your backing plate
Follow polish dependant tips
Avoid overworking an area and do not hold pad still in one place
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.

Pictures by Merlin
A one month old 2015 Ford Explorer. The pillars were more difficult than the paint.

I was able to achieve a 95% correction with M101 and a 3 1/2" Carpro Flash Pad.


Carpro Flash Pads are available in 3 1/2", (my personal favorite) 5" and 6 1/4" sizes.

Feel free to add your experiences or to ask questions. Thanks for viewing.
« Last Edit: March 05, 2015, 10:40:02 AM by Merlin »

Offline Too Stroked

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Re: REVIEW - Carpro Flash Pad
« Reply #1 on: March 05, 2015, 11:30:19 AM »
Hmmm, interesting. How well do the pads clean up when you wash them? Any special washing instructions?

Offline Rollingrock

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Re: REVIEW - Carpro Flash Pad
« Reply #2 on: March 05, 2015, 11:19:44 PM »
That is a nice review sir. Thanks for posting this and with such detail.

I have zero experience with any CarPro products but that finishing product looked like ti had a long ass working time with good results.   I do like a cutting pad and product combo that is almost a 2 in one product.   Makes multi pass work nice yet easy on the paint. 


Again, thanks for the review. 

Anyone else?

Thanks for visiting the Cafe, come back often.  There's always something new!

Offline sscully

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Re: REVIEW - Carpro Flash Pad
« Reply #3 on: May 22, 2015, 11:33:25 PM »
I know I am to be kneeling at the alter of Carpro but I just do not see it myself.

1st with reflect, which is really no different to me than Poorboys ProPolish.

Now with the Flash pad.

I have been going over the truck a section at a time, and the flash pad in 5" is not a marked improvement over a LC orange pad.

I have been removing a winter's worth of snow removal and ONR cleanings, so there is plenty of marring to work with.

It is not that the flash pad is bad, but the stiffness of it makes for slow / poor defect removal in concave body sections.

The area just below the fill door on my 2006 F150 SCrew is a good example.

This creates an area that the pad just does not conform to, and after 2 passes the marring in this area showed no signs of improving.

I changed to an Orange LC pad ( still using M101 ) and the defects were out in a single pass.
- I was also using M101 on the flash pad as well.

Comparing anything heavy polish / cutting to the Megs MF "cutting" pad is not a good comparison in my book.
I did the write up on the Megs MF pads vs the OPT MF pads, and found the Megs MF "cutting" pad is between the OPT cutting pad and the OPT polishing pad.
- Megs calls the MF pad used in the 2nd step a finishing pad, which is fairly accurate.  It is about PC black pad on the agressive scale.

It did work well on the hood, but at least as fast ( if not faster ) was an OPT Cutting MF pad.

I did get a set of Flash Pad in 6" to do the sides of mom 7 dad's RV this summer, which is acres and acres of flat surface in white.

If you have a need for doing a lot of correction on flat surface or convex surfaces it should do the trick, if you don't already have an orange pad.

Sorry, I know the new hot thing is CarPro but from the 2 products I have tried so far, I would call them an also ran or me too product.
- I'm ready to get kicked in the twing and berries for my review....
Steve

 


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