quick way to prep sponges?

J

James Haylow

New member
New detailer here, working at a body shop.



I need to know if there's a sure-fire way of prepping a sponge before washing new paint. The paint line we use at the shop is the Sikkens MM brand, and i'm still surprised at how soft it is, even after a bake/48 hr cure time.



With most colors, it's not too bad. But we do have the occasional black job. Combined with the fact that it's so soft, even a piece of bark caught in the sponge will scratch it. Even the twin bucket setup is only going so far.



so, I need to know is there a way to flush the sponge out before washing?
 
Grout sponges are cheap enough its not even worth thinking about when it comes to brand new paint.
 
tom p. said:
Jim, welcome aboard!



Would you consider using something othe than a sponge?
Click to expand...



I thought about using a mitt, but those things love to hang onto gravel like it's no ones' business.



I even tried using the Autoglym sponges, and found those to be too tight of a pore size to flush out micro gravel. plus they just feel wrong in my hands. Is there a manufacturer out there that has a large size pore sponge?
 
Natural Sea Sponge – in the US sponges are harvested in the deepest waters of the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Tarpon Springs, Florida, where Greek divers go down as far as 150 feet to collect them. Natural sea sponges release soap and grit far easier and although they feel like dried out cake when dry they get ultra soft when they come in contact with water. They hold a vast amount of water and soap; they are my preferred wash media for delicate paint. Sponge should be thoroughly flushed with clean water and then rinsed again before first time use to expel any trapped sand or shell particles.
 
Put your grout/hydrophilic sponge on a flat surface and cut a diamond pattern into it. Make the cuts about half way through and a half inch apart. Then, before you get the sponge wet with anything else, dip it into soapy water. Good car wash soap will have components that make things slipperier, fill the sponge with that. Work the sponge, squeeze it out over and over, fill, squeeze, repeat.



Use a grit guard. Keep separate sponges for above and below the belt line. Rinse the sponge often and move it in circular pattern when it contacts the paint. Rinse, and, if you can, use air to dry the car. Look at the paint - see scratches - no, you don't. Finish drying the car and look again. At least then you'll know where your scratches are coming from.



Cutting the sponge creates columns of sponge that don't drive into the paint as hard as the whole sponge can because they don't have the same spring into the paint. Yes, over all the pressure is more or less the same but the peak isn't as high.



Robert
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top