Mike Phillips
03-18-2014, 07:56 AM
Flex 3401 - How to clean your pad on the fly (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/77784-flex-3401-how-clean-your-pad-fly.html)
There isn't a way to clean your pad on the fly like I show in this article for the Porter Cable and tools similar to the Porter Cable, (free spinning drive mechanism), but what I show below will get the job done.
How to clean your foam pad on the fly (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/20135-how-clean-your-foam-pad-fly.html)
The big picture is to have a way to get "most" of the gunk that builds up on the face of your pad off the pad and to do this QUICKLY so you can get back to work.
That's what the words on the fly pertain to. That is doing the task quickly so you can get back to work buffing out a car.
The only time the car is getting buffed out is when the pad is against the paint.
Make sense?
The gunk that builds-up on the face of your pad is,
Spent product
Removed paint
Just like you wipe the residue off the paint after buffing out a section you want to remove this same type of built-up residue off the face of your pad.
Why it's important to clean your pads often... (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/28755-why-s-important-clean-your-pads-often.html)
Here's how to clean your pads on the fly when using a Flex 3401
Cotton Terrycloth Towel
I demonstrated this in my Flex 3401 Class at Detail Fest so while this class was taped live, there were people standing in front of me during the cleaning demo so all you see are their backs.
Basically, fold a towel into a ball and hold it tightly against the pad as it spins. Here's a screenshot from my power point presentation.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/749/Clean_Pad_On_Fly_Flex_3401c.jpg
Note: You want to use terry cloth towel for this, like a wash cloth or a hand towel as the characteristic of terrycloth is the fibers are more stout than soft gentle microfibers that make-up microfiber towels and you need this stoutness to help clean the gunk off the pad.
Nylon Pad Conditioning Brush
You can also hold a nylon pad conditioning brush against the face of the pad with the machine turned on but if you push very hard at all it will tend to tear up the foam.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/749/Clean_Pad_On_Fly_Flex_3401d.jpg
What I do instead is simply brush the face of the pad with the pad conditioning brush with the machine turned OFF.
Still does a good job and doesn't tear up your pad.
Pad Conditioning Brush (http://www.autogeek.net/padtool.html)
:)
There isn't a way to clean your pad on the fly like I show in this article for the Porter Cable and tools similar to the Porter Cable, (free spinning drive mechanism), but what I show below will get the job done.
How to clean your foam pad on the fly (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/20135-how-clean-your-foam-pad-fly.html)
The big picture is to have a way to get "most" of the gunk that builds up on the face of your pad off the pad and to do this QUICKLY so you can get back to work.
That's what the words on the fly pertain to. That is doing the task quickly so you can get back to work buffing out a car.
The only time the car is getting buffed out is when the pad is against the paint.
Make sense?
The gunk that builds-up on the face of your pad is,
Spent product
Removed paint
Just like you wipe the residue off the paint after buffing out a section you want to remove this same type of built-up residue off the face of your pad.
Why it's important to clean your pads often... (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/28755-why-s-important-clean-your-pads-often.html)
Here's how to clean your pads on the fly when using a Flex 3401
Cotton Terrycloth Towel
I demonstrated this in my Flex 3401 Class at Detail Fest so while this class was taped live, there were people standing in front of me during the cleaning demo so all you see are their backs.
Basically, fold a towel into a ball and hold it tightly against the pad as it spins. Here's a screenshot from my power point presentation.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/749/Clean_Pad_On_Fly_Flex_3401c.jpg
Note: You want to use terry cloth towel for this, like a wash cloth or a hand towel as the characteristic of terrycloth is the fibers are more stout than soft gentle microfibers that make-up microfiber towels and you need this stoutness to help clean the gunk off the pad.
Nylon Pad Conditioning Brush
You can also hold a nylon pad conditioning brush against the face of the pad with the machine turned on but if you push very hard at all it will tend to tear up the foam.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/749/Clean_Pad_On_Fly_Flex_3401d.jpg
What I do instead is simply brush the face of the pad with the pad conditioning brush with the machine turned OFF.
Still does a good job and doesn't tear up your pad.
Pad Conditioning Brush (http://www.autogeek.net/padtool.html)
:)