How do you clean your pads?

J

John M.

New member
I was wondering how all of you are cleaning your pads that dont have a pad washer. I will be getting some pads soon and was curious.

Also, when you dont have an air compressor what have you found as the best way to clean the pad on the fly? Just the terry cloth or micro fiber against the pad? I will be getting the PC 7424XP with the pads if that makes any difference. Thanks guys, and anything else helpful you can think of is good to know also! :)

John
 
I keep a bucket (with a lid) in the garage filled with dissolved pad cleaner and a bit of Silicone Remover and APC added to the mix. As soon as I'm done with a pad, I toss it in the bucket. Then the pads are rinced in the sink, spun dry, and ready to go on the drying shelf. The liquid lasts me about a month polishing every few days.
 
I usually don't clean pads on the fly, because I probably have 40-50 pads. When I do mobile details I take at least 15 pads with me.

For cleaning, I spray the pads with Purple Power APC (fairly saturated), let soak for 5-10 minutes, then hand wash in a sink of warm water and Dawn Dishwashing soap.

Rinse thoroughly, then air dry. Clean and ready to go.:biggrin:
 
Like bigmikela, I too use Snappy Clean. Works like a charm on my orange and white pads that have been used to polish a vehicle. It works great on my black pads that have been used to apply a glaze. The only thing that I'm less-than-satisified with is how it works on my red pads that I've used to apply a synthetic sealant with. Those, I tend to use bigmikela's "fingernail" method :p on but they still don't come as clean as I would like.

-J
 
I spray them down with Meg's Super Degreaser and massage them with my thumbs. Then I hit them with the hose, toss them on the rotary and spin them dry while hitting them with the air compresor.
 
I have a five gallon bucket that I have filled with water and snappy clean. If a pad gets clogged I just toss it in there for a few minutes, take it out and rinse it, and spin it until it dry enough to use again. Sometimes while using it, I'll spin it and clean it with a finger nail brush. After I'm done polishing the car I'll just toss it into the bucket again and let it soak overnight. The next day I'll take it out, rinse it thouroughly and spin it dry. I'll then leave it out for a couple of hours until it's completely dry and put it away.

It sounds kind of ghetto, but it works well for the meantime until I can buy a pad washing system. I just bought some more pads so hopefully I can take out a fresh pad and keep polishing, instead of having to go through all of that.
 
Thanks guys! So on the snappy clean, how long do you keep the bucket filled with the solution? Do you just clean your set of pads and then empty it and open a new one for each detail?
 
I pour half a packet of snappy clean into a 5 gallon bucket and fill it up about halfway (maybe a little more) with HOT water. As I'm detailing a car, I'll throw the used pads in there, agitate them with my fingers and fingernails, and let 'em sit for maybe 30-45 minutes or so. I'll then take a pad out, rinse it off with clean water and place it on my Flex or Porter Cable to give it a whirl and dry it out some. I'll then take it off, still slightly damp, and let it sit until dry.

When I'm finished (usually after dirtying up anywhere between 6 and 9 pads, depending on the amount of work needed to be done to the vehicle), I dump the snappy clean and clean out the bucket so it's ready for next time. I do detailing on the side and never do more than one car a day, so I've never had a chance to try using the snappy clean/water the next day. However, just from what it looks like when your done with it, I don't think I'd attempt it. I recommend just making a fresh mixture for each day.

-J
 
I've kept a bucket of snappy clean for a week with no problems at all. FYI, I also had a pad from PAC sitting in that same bucket, soaking, for five days with no issues whatsoever. At first I thought I might have ruined the backing on the pad but upon close inspection once it dried, it was fine. Good as new. :)
 
Jokeman said:
I spray them down with Meg's Super Degreaser and massage them with my thumbs. Then I hit them with the hose, toss them on the rotary and spin them dry while hitting them with the air compresor.
Click to expand...

+50000.

I started doing this several years ago when I would be on the road detailing for a week at a time and go through all 50-60 pads I carry. I LOVE Meguiars Super Degreaser for this.
 
Awesome! I may have to give the super degreaser a try as I just got some of that a while back and havent had a chance to use it yet.

What about cleaning on the fly for those of you who dont have a million pads :D Eventually I will just grab a new one but for the time being, would you say to just use a micro fiber or terry cloth against the pad while spinning?
 
John M. said:
Awesome! I may have to give the super degreaser a try as I just got some of that a while back and havent had a chance to use it yet.

What about cleaning on the fly for those of you who dont have a million pads :D Eventually I will just grab a new one but for the time being, would you say to just use a micro fiber or terry cloth against the pad while spinning?
Click to expand...

Dillute the Degreaser 10:1. I find it works best with a two bucket method, lol.

Dunk the pad in a bucket of the wash water and massage so that it is completely wet. Then spray 10:1 solution of Super Degreaser on the pad (liberal amount) and massage into the pad thoroughly. Let soak for 15-20 seconds, then dunk back into the wash water and massage to quickly release the degreaser.

As you can imagine the wash bucket will become cloudy very quickly with removed polish and degreaser. That is why a final rinse in a second bucket is used, to remove any residue from the first bucket.

Ring it out thoroughly before placing it in the second bucket and rinse. Then wring out and spin dry!

As for cleaning the fly, I have three tools I use. One is a nylon brush for foam and 'purple' wool pads, the second is a spur (for wool pads) and a cotton terry towel. If there is a lot of polish load on the pad, then I dig my finger (with the towel wrapped around it) in the center of the pad and and press into while pulling my finger to the outside (with the machine spinning). If I am using a polish then tends to cake on the surface of the pad I will use either the brush or the spur to clean the surface, and use the towel as necessary.
 
I am a huge fan of SC however it doesn't come close to touching my red pad with som FMJ on it. any thoughts? I have not tried any degreaser yet.
 
BMAC said:
I am a huge fan of SC however it doesn't come close to touching my red pad with som FMJ on it. any thoughts? I have not tried any degreaser yet.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately FMJ and Blackfire Wet Diamond (similar polymer technology) do not rinse well out of pad's. (Imagine how well they bond to your paint!).

I would keep the red pad as a dedicated pad for FMJ application.
 
Luster said:
I usually don't clean pads on the fly, because I probably have 40-50 pads. When I do mobile details I take at least 15 pads with me.

For cleaning, I spray the pads with Purple Power APC (fairly saturated), let soak for 5-10 minutes, then hand wash in a sink of warm water and Dawn Dishwashing soap.

Rinse thoroughly, then air dry. Clean and ready to go.:biggrin:
Click to expand...

Exactly what I do and it seems to work fine. :thumbup:
 
Dawn power dissolver for me works great, thought I posted on this here already?? anyway it gets out all the residue of Wet Diamond off of my pads or applicators everytime.

Cheapness if bought at Wal-mart(fyi).
 
I have been cleaning my pads that has been used for the m105 and m205 with great success. But this weekend i tried for the first time to apply the bfwd by machine with a gold pad instead of by hand and worked out great. But how would you guys clean that pad??? I tried my usual purple power in the sink, but that wet diamond sealed the pad! lol i cant wash it out. Would you guys wash your gold pads or just keep using it?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top