Best way to wash PC foam pads and PC speeds

Briane · 01-09-02, 11:58

Any tips or tricks for washing these things. I tried mild detergent soap (ivory) and warm water. Hard to know how much I should be getting out of it.

Also on my PC 7336 it has the numbered settings but I did not see anywhere where the RPMs = the numbered setting. The 3M website suggests 1800 RPM for most applications but I am not sure how that translates to the numbers. Any tips?

TIA

bretfraz · 01-09-02, 12:16

I wash my pads by hand in the kitchen sink using a little bit of Tide or similar. It does take quite a bit of hand-washing to get them totally clean. Rinse thoroughly and spin dry on the PC.

Perhaps Greg (Carguy) can answer to the speed settings. He has lots of PC 'sperience.

Short Cut · 01-09-02, 02:46

I wash my pads by hand in the sink with Dawn dishwashing soap and warm water. After the sink has a few inches of the water/soap mixture I put the pads in there and mush the foam up and down a few times so it fills with the water/soap mix then I let it set for at least ten minutes and sometimes overnight. Then I rinse them well in a sink full of plain water. The plain water will allow you to see when the pads are rinsed clean then I just squeeze out the excess water and allow the pads to airdry.

I've used my PC with SMR, FI II and AIO and I set it at 5. For applying wax I set it at 3 or 4. Don't be afraid to experiment. With a mild abrasive like SMR I don't think you could do any damage if it was set at 6 but I don't like all the vibes the machine puts out at that speed.

Lone Wolf · 01-09-02, 05:19

I wash them the same as Short Cut. Biggest thing to remember is to AIR dry them. I was told by Terry (CMA) that if you dry them in the machine the velcro will be more likely to become un-glued from the pad.

JasonC8301 · 01-10-02, 02:28

I wash the pads in the sink with warm water and dawn. I then rinse them with warm water, then with cool water. I air dry them.

As for the speeds, the 1800PM is for the rotary buffers. These machines produce a lot mroe heat than orbital and dual acion buffers because they rotate in a fixed pattern.

The PC oscillates. This reduces heat and makes it a random pattern. The PC goes from 2500-6000 OPM.

Shortcut makes a very good point, his post offers a ballpark of speeds for polishing. I do not wax by PC though, I still lvoe to hand wax. Experiment.

I used the PC with FI II at setting 3 and medium-heavy pressure to spread, 4-5.5 at light pressure to work, and 6 with the machines weight to get more polishing action/break down some of the abrasives in FI II.

Carguy's review on 3M SMR 2.0 gives a very good outline of polishing with the PC.

Jason

Blake · 01-10-02, 10:17

My understanding was that Meguiars recommended you don't wash their foam pads. ??

Len_A · 01-13-02, 06:55

Quote:

Originally posted by Blake
My understanding was that Meguiars recommended you don't wash their foam pads. ??

Yea, that's true. Meguiar's doesn't recommend washing their pads at all. I have no idea why. They say to use a dry, clean stiff bristle paint brush, and put the PC on a slow setting and use to brush to "clean" the excess product off the pads.

I've washed mine anyway, with dish soap and warm water. Like bretfraz said, it's a bit of work. Rince them in warm water, and then let wring out the excess water and let them air dry.