Can't get my wax pads clean

pingable

New member
So after two days and 2/3 rinses/soak with hot water/dawn, these wax applicators are not getting as clean as I want . The one that looks/appears the cleanest has NXT on it. The one with the whiteish haze has Meg #16 on it. I washed these immediately after use so it's not as if the product *set in*



Any advice/tips on getting these real clean



app.jpg
 
Im in the same boat as you are!



Ive used APC..washed in the washer...soaked for hours and nothing. They come out clean because there is no residue left in the pads, but they stay stained. It doesnt hurt its effectiveness, but I feel your pain. I cant stand having stained pads. Ive come to the conclusion that after a few uses im just going to toss them out. I get mine for (4) for a dollar at Big Lots so its nothing big to me.
 
I get the same thing from my paste waxes. I finally just stopped worryijng about it and it's never caused any problem. No micromarring from the dried product, if that's what you're concerned about.



At the start of each session, I try to scrape/knock/otherwise dislodge as much dried product out of the pad as I can. Sometimes this *does* produce a bit of wax dust. Then I massage a bit of wax into the pad to "prime" it. I then scrape off any excess with a plastic razor blade and start waxing. No problems.
 
Give Murphey's Oil Soap a try, it has worked great for me and rinses SOOO much easier than DAWN or many GPCs.
 
I haven't ahd any problems getting my pads clean with the following technique:



-Soak overnight in a a bucket of hot (nd I mean hot!) water with a decent amount of dish wash detergent.

-Remove from soak next day and massage more dish wash detergent into pad.

-Rinse 3/4 times under warm running water.



My pads come up as good as new after doing this, however I've never used paste wx on them as I find it easier to do by hand.



Ben
 
The cool thing about applicator pads are that they're not expensive. With my black truck, I won't take any chances. I throw the pads away and buy some new ones.
 
For my PC pads I usually just get my hose and blast the pad for 1 to 2 minutes. That gets a majority of the product out for me. I then usually rub some dawn in them under hot water and wring them out. Everytime I put my PC pads in the washer they lint up. For hand applicators I just throw them in the washer with my other towels.
 
JohnnyDaJackal said:
For hand applicators I just throw them in the washer with my other towels.

Agreed. My hand applicators go in the washer with my towels. I've never had a problem with them not getting cleaned properly and leaving residue on the towels.



Ben
 
JohnnyDaJackal said:
For hand applicators I just throw them in the washer with my other towels.



This is exactly what I do when I am washing my cotton towels. I just hit them with some Simple Green and they come out good as new.
 
Toss the pads in the washer and dryer . . . a little soap, hot/cold rinse, delicate cycle. Don't add fabric softener. Allow to air dry - VOILA . . . pads will look like brand new.
 
Foam Pad Care / Washing:

Clean foam pads soon after use, if left saturated for extended periods of time the foam will deteriorate; extend the useful life of the foam pads by periodic cleaning. Snappy Clean (properautocare.com) is a citrus pad cleaner in powder form; empty the contents of one packet into a 5-gallon bucket of water. As your foam and/or wool pads become caked with residues, just peel them off your polisher and place them into the bucket to soak. Put a clean pad on your polisher and continue polishing.



A word of caution when using foam pads, check the pad face for residue build-up, when loaded with dried product they have an abrasive action that could be detrimental to the paint finish. Clean residue from pads often with a soft horsehair or soft nylon brush as metal may damage the foam

JonM
 
Thanks for all the tips. I'll try some out.



I have given it 2 seperate HOT Water Dawn Soaks and Rinse immediately after use and they still were not clean. I even *squeezed* the residual wax prior to the initial cleaning with plenty of water rinsing and after each dawn soak/rinse, I did the same.



With that said, I gave it a third soat overnight with some citri gel and water and the pic displays the final results.



The pads that you see are not the *pads* that some of ya'll are thinking. These are not 6-7" pads. These are the viking foam applicator with the big blue foam handle.......
 
Try Lestoil. That's what I use. Lestoil will actually remove grease stains from clothing. It doesn't smell very good but it's very effective.
 
This may sound funny, but let it sit for a week or so. I used the Sonus MF and pad cleaner in a bucket of hot water. I left it over night, and changed the water in the am. Then forgot about it for about a week. I changed out the water again and let it sit overnight again and checked it in the am, all was good. Threw it on the PC on 6 and spun off the excess water.
 
I found a great product to clean the pads quickly: Oil Eater solution (sold at Costco) in warm (not hot) water. I used an old tupperware bowl.



Method is simple: place pad in solution and agitate/compress pad for just a minute or 2. Rinse thoroughly with cold water. Done!



The degreasing action of Oil Eater dissolves the wax quickly and does not hurt the adhesive on the pad. I've used this method 5-6 times on a Meg's pad with no problem.



I think Oil Eater has another brand name too.
 
I use Era spread directly over the face of the pad and carefully message it in to a nice lather. Then I soak them in a buck odf Era solution. Make sure to squeeze them a bit to wash the solution in and out. Wait a few hours then rinse well. This has worked well with both Viking pads and LC PC pads. I usually only do this for stuff that don't come out with dawn.
 
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