Meguiar's - Caring for DA Pads?

[norahcrv]

I used all my Meguiar's PC pads this weekend and would like to clean them up prior to storing them for next time.
There is dried product residue and product staining. What is the "Officially Blessed by Meguiar's" method?
Thanks,
Norah

[6']['9]

i clean them thoroughly w/ dishwashing liquid and rinse them out very well then either let them set dry or use the rotory to air dry them out. dont wring them or put them in the washer or let them sit in water too long. Staining is common on all pads so might as well get used to it

[Mike Phillips]

I usually remove my pads after I'm done with them and place them in a closed cabinet.

The next time I go to use them, I first clean them on a rotary buffer at the highest RPM setting while running a nylon brush against the surface. This is what works the best for me.

If you don't have a rotary buffer, then here are some more methods. The below was taken from another post that asked about excess product build-up in foam pads after using on the PC

question about product buildup

Build up of product in foam pads when using the PC is a common problem. It could be an indicator that your using too much product, but it also happens just from lots of use.

The problem is that the foam pad is a product originally designed for use with a rotary buffer. The direct drive action of the rotary buffer tends to cause excess product to sling out of the pad because of centrifugal force. The oscillating action of the PC tends to push product up into the foam pad resulting in pad saturation.

One way to remove excess product is to place the foam pad on a rotary buffer and bring the rpms up to the highest speed, this will help to expel the excess product out of the pad. You of course need to own a rotary buffer to do this and you should also do it outside, away from anything you don't want product splatter on.

Another method a friend of mine told me about is to place the foam pad in an absorbent terry cloth towel and the roll the foam pad up into the towel and squeeze it, thus expelling the excess product out of the foam and into the towel. You can also just hold a clean, dry towel into the foam pad and absorb some excess product out of this way.

Another way is to let the foam pad dry, and then tap the foam pad with your hand aggressively, this will knock the dried product out of the pad.

A way to remove excess product that has built up on the surface of the pad is to allow the pad to dry, and then scrape the excess product off the surface of the foam pad using a nylon brush like a toothbrush.

A suggestion for saturated pads is to let them sit upside down on a clean, folded towel so that any excess product in the foam will tend to move towards the towel, out of the foam, versus sitting it up right where the product will migrate to the Velcro backing.

This is a problem for everyone that uses the Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher no matter who's foam pads they use.

Here's another I've read about,

Store wet, upside down in a sealable zip-lock bag is an option that I have heard some people use. This way they don't actually dry out and because they're upside down, your product doesn't soak into the velcro backing. I don't like this method, I don't think it's a recommend method from Meguiar's, I just thought I would pass it on.

Hope this helps...

Mike

[norahcrv]

My problem wasn't product buildup - at least not that I noticed, but rather a desire to have clean pads for my next go-round with the PC.

And not owning a rotary, I think I'll use a combination of your recommendations as follows:

1) Tap the pads upside down on a paper towel to bring the product to the face of the pad.
2) Brush excess product off the face of the pad with a toothbrush
3) Wash the pad in dish soap and rinse thoroughly
4) Pat / Blot with paper towels til damp
5) Allow to air dry pad side down on more paper towels & switch to on edge when almost dry
6) Store in unsealed bags til next time

How does this sound? Am I "breaking any Meguiar's rules"?

Norah

PS - I'll try to get used to the staining, but I want them as nice looking as my car!!!!

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by norahcrv
My problem wasn't product buildup - at least not that I noticed, but rather a desire to have clean pads for my next go-round with the PC.

I knew that but most/all of the things I posted applied to cleaning pads whether saturated or not. I was just trying to copy and paste something I wrote previously to save some time on typing...

And not owning a rotary,

I figure that too, most people don't. I don't know how I could live with out one. Sometimes I think a company could market a cheap rotary buffer, not for buffing out cars, but for cleaning foam pads. Call it foam pad cleaner! (It just happens to look like a rotary buffer). I've even known people to borrow a neighbors rotary just to clean their foam pads and that's all they ever used it for.)

I think I'll use a combination of your recommendations as follows:

1) Tap the pads upside down on a paper towel to bring the product to the face of the pad.
2) Brush excess product off the face of the pad with a toothbrush
3) Wash the pad in dish soap and rinse thoroughly
4) Pat / Blot with paper towels till damp
5) Allow to air dry pad side down on more paper towels & switch to on edge when almost dry
6) Store in unsealed bags till next time

How does this sound? Am I "breaking any Meguiar's rules"?

Norah

PS - I'll try to get used to the staining, but I want them as nice looking as my car!!!!

Norah,

Looks good except for #3

3) Wash the pad in dish soap and rinse thoroughly

Meguiar's doesn't recommend washing our foam pads. I realize some people do this and don't experience any problems, but as a company, we don't recommend it.

Mike

[forrest]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips


One way to remove excess product is to place the foam pad on a rotary buffer and bring the rpms up to the highest speed, this will help to expel the excess product out of the pad. You of course need to own a rotary buffer to do this and you should also do it outside, away from anything you don't want product splatter on.

Mike

Hey Mike - try placing the pad on your rotary, and holding the pad end in a bucket, pad side down, and perpendicular to the ground. Run it up to speed, and all the sling-off will go into the bucket.

Rinse and dry the bucket afterwards.

[EdLancer]

My problem wasn't product buildup - at least not that I noticed, but rather a desire to have clean pads for my next go-round with the PC.


My yellow, white and grey LC pads never stain and comes out like new everytime. I just use dishwashing detergent in luke warm water in a wash basin and let the pads soak for 30 minutes, then with the pad facing up compress it with the palms of your hands to have the water force out any product out of the pad, compress it dry as you can let dry facing down on a ventilated bottom like a caged shelf and turn facing up 12 hours later to let any mositure to evaporate.