Everything on a Lake Country pad comes down to its grade, from heavy cut to final finish. Find the pad or compound you already use in the tables below and read across to the Lake Country match. If your brand is not listed, use the match by grade table near the top. It works for any pad or polish on the market.
People come to Lake Country from all sorts of pads and they tend to ask the same two things. What is the equivalent of the one I was using, and which pad goes under my compound. So here it is in one place. If you want the full rundown of every Lake Country pad and what it does, that lives in the Complete Guide to Lake Country Pads. This page is just the cross references.
"Equivalent" here means closest match by cutting grade, not an identical product. Foam density, cell structure and finishing characteristics vary between manufacturers, so a matched pad may still feel a touch firmer, softer, or finish slightly differently on the paint than the one you are used to. Treat these as your starting point, then adjust up or down a grade if the result is not quite what you expected.
The Colour and Grade Key
Read this first and every table below makes sense. On Lake Country foam the colour is the grade, and it means the same across the SDO, HDO and CCS lines.
| Colour | Grade |
|---|---|
| Blue | Cutting |
| Yellow (CCS) | Cutting |
| Orange | Polishing |
| White (CCS) | Polishing, restocks weekly |
| Black | Finishing |
| Purple foamed wool | Heavy cut |
Match Any Pad or Compound by Grade
The one to use if your brand is not in the tables below. Work out the grade of the pad or polish you have, then read across. It holds for any brand, because every pad sits somewhere on this scale.
| Grade | Foam | Fibre | Wool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy cut | Blue | HDO Fibre heavy cutting | Purple foamed wool |
| Medium cut | Yellow CCS | HDO Fibre | Low lint lambswool |
| All in one | Orange | MF OSP one step | |
| Polishing | Orange, or White (restocks weekly) | MF OSP one step | |
| Finishing | Black | Microfibre black finishing |
Coming From Another Pad Brand
Rupes microfibre
| Rupes | Lake Country | Grade | Why this match |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.MF80H / 130H / 160H | HDO Fibre heavy cutting | Coarse, heavy cut | Both sit at the top of their range for aggressive first-stage cutting |
| 9.MF80M / 130M / 160M | MF OSP one step, or Orange | Fine, polishing | Both sit mid-range, below the heavy cutter and above the finisher |
| 9.MF80S / 130S / 160S | Microfibre black finishing | Ultra fine, finishing | Both are the softest, final-stage pad in the microfibre lineup |
Koch Chemie pads
| Koch Chemie pad | Lake Country equivalent | Why this match |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy Cut Pad | HDO Fibre heavy cutting | Both are the heaviest cutting pad in their respective ranges |
| Fine Cut Pad | Orange polishing | Both sit at the light polishing grade, a step below cutting |
| Micro Cut Pad | White polishing (restocks weekly) | Both are the softest, most refined polishing grade on offer |
| Polish and Sealing Pad 126mm / 150mm | Yellow CCS | Similar light cutting grade suited to a combined polish and seal pass |
| Lambswool non pilling natural polishing pad | Low lint lambswool | Both are natural wool built specifically to shed less lint |
Meguiar's
| Meguiar's pad | Lake Country equivalent | Why this match |
|---|---|---|
| DMC DA Microfiber Cutting | HDO Fibre heavy cutting | Both are dense microfibre built for the heaviest correction stage |
| DMF DA Microfiber Finishing | Microfibre black finishing | Both are the soft finishing fibre pad used after a cutting stage |
Buff and Shine
| Buff and Shine | Lake Country | Why this match |
|---|---|---|
| Uro-Tec Coarse Blue | Blue cutting | Both are the heaviest cutting grade in their foam range |
| Uro-Tec Maroon | Yellow CCS cutting | Both sit as the second cutting stage, below the heaviest grade |
| Uro-Tec Blueberry | Orange polishing | Both are pitched as the heavy polish and all in one grade |
| Uro-Tec Yellow | Orange, or White polishing (restocks weekly) | Matches the light polishing grade used to refine after a cut |
| Uro-Tec White | White polishing (restocks weekly) | Both are the softest polishing grade before final finishing |
| Uro-Tec Black | Black finishing | Both are the final, softest finishing grade in the range |
| Uro-Fiber cutting | HDO Fibre heavy cutting | Both are dense microfibre built for fast, heavy correction |
| Uro-Fiber polishing or finishing | MF OSP one step, or microfibre black | Comparable fine microfibre for a lighter cut or a final finish |
| Uro-Wool | Purple foamed wool, or lambswool | Both ranges offer an aggressive foam backed wool and a natural low lint option |
Using a brand that is not here, like 3D or Maxshine? Match it on the grade table above. A cutting pad is a cutting pad whatever the label, and the colour tells you the rest.
Which Pad for Your Compound
Work out the cut level of the polish you are using, then read across. This holds for any compound brand, because grade is grade.
| Compound | Foam | Fibre or wool |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy cut | Blue | HDO Fibre, or purple foamed wool |
| Medium cut | Yellow, or Blue | HDO Fibre |
| All in one | Orange | MF OSP one step |
| Polishing | Orange, or White (restocks weekly) | MF OSP one step |
| Finishing | Black | Microfibre black finishing |
These pairings are a starting point, not a rule. Paint hardness moves everything. On a soft clear you can often drop a grade, on a hard clear you go up one. Do a test section first, read the result, then commit to the panel.
Sizing and Backing Plates
Lake Country pads come in three sizes. Match the pad to the backing plate, not to the panel.
| Pad size | Plate |
|---|---|
| 3.5 inch, tight areas and corners | 3 inch |
| 5.5 inch, everyday panels | 5 inch |
| 6.5 inch, big flats | 6 inch |
SDO suits a smaller plate and a cooler run on a car. HDO is the pick when you want the extra durability. Not sure which plate your machine takes? Tell us the polisher and we will sort it.
Cross Reference Questions
Use the match by grade table. Work out whether your pad or polish is a heavy cut, medium cut, polish or finish, then read across to the Lake Country pad. Grade is grade whatever the label on the box.
The Rupes yellow medium microfibre lines up with the Lake Country MF OSP one step, or the Orange foam if you want to stay on foam. Both sit in the polishing range. The White CCS foam pad is also a polishing grade match, and stock comes in weekly if it is showing sold out.
Yes. For an all in one, reach for the Orange foam, or the MF OSP one step fibre pad if you want a bit more cut in a single stage.
Because you have a choice of material. Foam is more forgiving and finishes easier, fibre and wool cut faster. On harder paint reach for the fibre or wool option, on softer paint the foam is plenty.
No. Those are builds and face patterns, not grades. Match on the colour, then pick SDO for an easy everyday pad, HDO for durability, and CCS if you want the dimpled face that meters the polish.
Tell us the pad or compound you are switching from and the machine you run, and we will give you the exact Lake Country pad to grab. For the full rundown of every pad, read the complete guide.
Shop Lake Country Read the complete guideRelated: all buffing pads, polishing compounds and backing plates.