Jeff Laughhunn said:
I was perusing the Meg's videos tonight. Two things said by Barry, that caused me to re-think what I thought I knew...
1. Meguiar's #7 "gently polishes out microscopic swirls".
Hmmm... I thought this product was merely oils. If there _is_ any polishing going on, would this be a mechanical result of the buffing with the applicator/removal towel's surface?
The cleaning action, or abrasive action comes from your application material, (foam, terry cloth etc,) which when working together with the action of your hand, PC, or Rotary buffer, creates a
polishing action.
The oils in #7 act to lubricate and as such, buffer the polishing action of your material against the finish.
Consider this, if your were to take only a piece of terry cloth towel, and rub it aggressively against your car's finish, you would undoubtedly instill scratches.
Take that same piece of terry cloth towel and add some #7 Show Car Glaze, and now you are able to
polish the paint to a smooth, clear, high gloss. (Of course you could instill scratches if you rub to hard, but it wouldn't be the #7 that was scratching the finish it would be the terry cloth under force.
Does that make sense?
2. Meguiar's machine pads should "never be washed". "Simply tap the pad with your hand to remove any residual, or clean the pad with a towel".
Hmmm... Maybe this explains why several of my Meg's pads have separated from the Velcro backing, as I insist on sticking them in a sink with dish soap, then rinsing/wringing after each use?
I'm not sure I'll get an answer to either of these, but just thought I'd offer them to the forum for possible discussion.
Jeff Laughhunn
Meguiar's never recommends washing our SoftBuff foam buffing pads. That said, I know a lot of people do it because it's one of the only ways they know of to clean the pad.
2 things
1) The foam buffing pads being used today on Porter Cable dual-action polishers are foam buffing pads primarily designed for use with a rotary buffer.
Sure, you can apply some Velcro to the back, make a backing plate with a 5/16 auger, and slap this combination onto an air powered D.A., (Like Meguiar's was doing as far back as the early 1980's), or an electronic version borrowed from the wood furniture business, the PC, aka the Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher, and
Yes... it works, but with issues, primarily those of cleaning, and sometimes falling apart.
Because the rotary buffer uses a direct drive motor, your product, (compound, cleaner/polish/pure polish/cleaner wax), is continually
spinning outward, not inward, thus the only cleaning issue is one of cleaning contaminants off the surface, or reshaping tatty pads using either a wire brush, or a piece of #40 grit sanding paper.
With the PC,
a wrench is thrown into the machinery.
The motor on the PC spins and oscillates at the same time, this dual-action motion, tends to
impact, or drive your choice of product upwards, and
into the pad. While the PC motor does spin in a rotational direction, it is not a strong enough rotation to cause your choice of product to spin out in the same way the rotary buffer's direct drive rotational motion does.
Thus, after using the PC for a little while, say a hood, fender, part of a door, the pad begins to
load up. This loading up of product continues until your pad is saturated with product.
Thus the question...
"How do I clean my foam pads?"
One way, is to put the PC foam pad on a rotary buffer and bring your rpm's up to your rotary buffers maximum speed. (Do this in a safe area or you will spray the wall, or car with product, you'll for sure get some on your person).
But... not everyone owns a rotary buffer. Now what?
Most people resort to,
a) Washing by hand in the sink with warm/hot water and dish soap
b) Throwing the foam buffing pads into the washing machine with some Tide and cross your fingers and hope for the best.
Option A, is a safer bet than option B, but neither are recommended by Meguiar's.
What to do?
Were working on a solution.
Mike
