Why it`s important to clean your pads often...


ANYTIME you`re abrading the surface whether you`re using an aggressive cutting compound of an ultra fine polish, you have two things building up on the face of your buffing pad...

  • Spent product
  • Removed paint



You need to remove both of these substances from the face of the pad and the panel you`re working on before you apply fresh product. If you don`t,

  • Adding fresh product to spent product and removed paint adulterates the fresh product, it also dilutes it.
  • Buffing with a dirty pad will be more difficult.
  • The product will cake-up on the face of the pad.
  • The product will become gummy on the paint and hard to wipe off.



How to clean your pads and other options to make buffing clean again...

  • You can scrub the face of the pad with a nylon brush like a pad conditioning brush or even a nylon toothbrush
  • If using a Dual Action Polisher or a Rotary Buffer you can clean your pad on the fly with a terry cloth towel
  • You can wash your pads in a bucket of water
  • You can wash your pads in a sink under running water
  • You can wash your pads in a pad washer
  • You can switch to a clean, dry pad
  • You can switch to a brand new pad



I just buffed out half the hood on an oxidized 1959 Cadillac and used the technique along with a nylon brush and it works adequately enough to allow me to work clean and get back to work quickly.


That`s the whole idea behind cleaning your pad on the fly... you can remove a majority of the spent product and removed paint and then get back to running the buffer... buffing out an entire car already takes a l-o-n-g time... stopping to do some kind of pad cleaning procedure that isn`t quick and easy keeps you from buffing on the paint.


Fast methods include,
  • Pad Washers
  • Cleaning your pad on the fly with a terry cloth towel
  • Using a nylon pad conditioning brush
  • Using a Spur if you`re using a wool pad on a rotary buffer



Slow methods, (they might work well but they take you away from buffing on the car)
  • You can wash your pads in a bucket of water
  • You can wash your pads in a sink under running water