There is some truth to wetting foam pads period, especially if they are new or haven't been used yet in the detail. In my experience, I have found that the firmer the pad, the more beneficial it has been to completely saturate the pad, then ring the pad to remove as much water as possible. This in my experience has contributed to increased initial flexibility, especially when using a firmer pad i.e. orange.
Once the pad has been saturated then ringed as dry as possible, you can blot the pad with a MF towel for any more residual moisture and prime the pad with the polish compound you are going to be working with that pad.
On softer pads I use a Foam Pad Conditioner from Chemical Guys, bought it on a whim in a previous order. Two spritz's and ready to go.
The wetting step is completely optional, but I have found it makes firmer pads more pliable when first being used and resulting in improved comfort as they tend to hop/skip less. But it all depends on the surface being worked and product (polish, compound). Try it out and see how you like it.
*** Keep in mind wetting the pad is OK for "Diminishing Abrasives, but I would not recommend when using non-Diminishing Abrasives, due to potential clumping of the products abrasives, i.e. Meguiar's current line of polishes, compounds that was marked as non-Diminishing... i.e. M105 & M205....
Hope that helped :think2
On a side note, I've found that using a PC, I've had better success using smaller pads, i.e. 5.5" .. less vibration = more enjoyable experience.
