How do YOU clean your foam pads

Christopher

Christopher

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Just as the title suggests. How do you clean off your foam buffing / polishing pads after use? How do you store them? Any home-made solutions? If you have any 'special' ways, now is your time to shine!

Share away!:xyxthumbs:
 
I'm afraid my way isn't very special at all :(
GritGuard.jpg


I store mine in a rubbermaid plastic storage container gotten at walmart. Someone on here had a really cool, circular, plastic container that they stored theirs in (Maybe Corey??) and it looked awesome.
 
DP pad cleaner, 5 gallon bucket, and a pad cleaning brush.

Got my containers at Wally World too. Were super cheap so I bought 4. They're huge, enough for 4 wide 3 deep in 6.5in pads, stacked 3 high. Locking lids and side handles for when you have to go mobile.
 
Grab some DP Pad Rejuvinator ... soak, dry, and store in ziplocks, its just that simple.
 
1.- I have a bucket with my DP water premixed before I start the job
2.- After I'm done with a pad I spritz it a time or 2 with XMT pad cleaner
3.- Let it sit for 30 sec. to 1 min (while I put a new pad on my machine and some polish)
4.- Throw it in the bucket
5.- Repeat
6.- At the end of the day I get my Edge foam pad brush and scrub them for a moment.
7.- Then I put them under a running hose and squeeze and absorb repeatedly untill the water being squeezed out is pure.
8.- Let air dry on grit guards in a non dusty place for a few days.
9.- When putting them away I take one in each hand and bang them together once just in case theres a smidgeon of dust that landed on them.

I probably spend a lot more time then I should but I'm a bit OCD on getting them pure.
 
I clean with dawn power dissolver and store in here

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In the case of foam pads with WGDGPS in it, a hell of a lot of Dawn! You put in enough soap for three sinks full of dishes in a two gallon bucket and it eats it up. The suds are gone in seconds!
That stuff is a serious PITA.
 
Silverstone said:
In the case of foam pads with WGDGPS in it, a hell of a lot of Dawn! You put in enough soap for three sinks full of dishes in a two gallon bucket and it eats it up. The suds are gone in seconds!
That stuff is a serious PITA.
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Suds don't really matter as much as lubrication. But I find myself adding some Finish Kare 118 Shampoo to my Dawn to keep the lubrication/suds up. It's a great shampoo :props:
 
Silverstone said:
In the case of foam pads with WGDGPS in it, a hell of a lot of Dawn! You put in enough soap for three sinks full of dishes in a two gallon bucket and it eats it up. The suds are gone in seconds!
That stuff is a serious PITA.
Click to expand...
That is a hard core acronym 0.0
What does it stand for?:confused:
And what do you mean by the suds are gone in seconds - fill me in on what you are getting at
 
XMT pad cleaner. Few sprays, some quick kneading with the fingers and run under hot water. Pads always come out like brand new.
 
Dubbin1 said:
You can but its not recommended as its hard on the DA.
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I see, thanks! I will use my rotary to spin dry the pads then lol.
I use 6.5 inch pads for both rotary and DA. (flex LK and newest version of GG6)
 
I clean my sink first, then i clean my pads in the sink after it sits in DP pad rejuvenator for about 15 minutes. I spin it almost dry and let air do the rest overnight. In the morning when it's completely dry i put them back into my 1 gallon zip loc bags.
 
I prep a bucket with hot water and Snappy Clean, spray the face of the pads with Pinnacle pad cleaner and work it in. Then they go in the bucket to soak, squeeze/absorb under water, above water, under running water. Then they go to the washing machine for a light cycle. Then left to air dry, once dry they go into unzipped Zip-Locks and into the Rubber Maid drawers.

Christopher said:
That is a hard core acronym 0.0
What does it stand for?:confused:
Click to expand...

WGDGPS- Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant

As far as difficulty cleaning it from a pad... that's mostly the reason why I apply wax/sealant by hand. If I do apply by machine, it takes a couple washes to get perfectly clean again.
 
How much area do you cover before having to change out pads? Do you continue over the entire vehicle, regardless of size, with the same pad? How do you know if/when it's time to change to a new pad of the same type?
 
GTaylor said:
How much area do you cover before having to change out pads? Do you continue over the entire vehicle, regardless of size, with the same pad? How do you know if/when it's time to change to a new pad of the same type?
Click to expand...

I go through 3-4 pads per product on most cars.
 
Christopher said:
That is a hard core acronym 0.0
What does it stand for?:confused:
And what do you mean by the suds are gone in seconds - fill me in on what you are getting at
Click to expand...

Normally you put the dawn in a bucket and wash away with plenty of sudsy soap. When there's WGDGPS in the pads you slosh the pads in the soapy water and the suds (and soap) are neutralized in seconds. It just feels slimy. So you dump the water, fill up a new bucket of suds, and the same thing happens! It's a real PITA to get the sealant out. It requires a LOT of Dawn!

PITA = Pain in the ass.
 
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