Product Review: Grit Guard Universal Pad Washer

Shane731

Shane731

Active member
Joined
Dec 25, 2009
Messages
3,498
Reaction score
0
OK, here's the thing. I bought this pad washer for one reason, and one reason only - I hate cleaning pads. And while the Grit Guard Universal Pad Washer is not advanced enough to do the job for me, it does make it one hell of a lot easier. Before, my "method" was to take my dirty pads, throw them in a bucket, leave 'em sit in the garage for, oh, a month or so, and then eventually clean them when I "got around to it". And by cleaning them, I mean sticking them in a bucket with DP Polishing Pad Rejuvenator, letting them soak for a little while, and then kneeling down on the ground and hosing them out one by one, then squeezing the water out and letting them dry for a couple days. Not exactly fun when you have 10+ pads to clean. Well, after seeing Mike Phillips demonstrate the pad washer in our detailing classes, I decided that enough was enough! Hobbyist or no, I was getting one. So I did. Tonight I was doing a little putting around on our 2000 Accord, using my polisher, so this gave me the perfect opportunity to use this tool and give you my thoughts on it. My method was as follows.

Process
1. Put a few gallons of water in the pad washer
2. Add one scoop of DP Polishing Pad Rejuvenator, mix around with hand
3. Put apparatus in the bucket, fill pad washer to appropriate level
4. Put on the splash guard
5. Prime pad in water
6. Clean pads on setting 1.5
7. Lift pads out of water (leaving in bucket), spin dry at speed 6



other products used


First up is Wolfgang Finishing Glaze on a white polishing pad (just used)


after cleaning (no PRS used)


Poorboy's SSR 2.5 on orange cutting pad (just used)


after cleaning (PRS used)


Now the ultimate test. How does it clean a pad that has had polish sitting on it for a while? This pad has been sitting in my garage for at least a month. It has either SIP or M105 on it, I can't remember which. I have 6 or 7 other pads just like it.


after cleaning (PRS used)


I did make a bit of a mess




Pros
1. Makes cleaning pads a whole lot easier
2. Makes pads smell nice
3. Pads will be dry a lot faster

Cons
1. Made a bit of a mess, perhaps a bit of a learning curve?

All in all, I feel that I made a good purchase. Granted, I did make a bit of a mess, and I did not use a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) :rolleyes:, but I think I'll get better at making less of a mess once I use it more. I was pretty impressed with the results. My pads were still slightly damp after cleaning, but I suspect they will probably be dry by tomorrow. Might have to get some Pinnacle XMT pad cleaner and see how that works with it. If you don't want to buy a pad washer but still want to clean your pads, you can come visit me and just borrow mine. :D I wish CEE DOG could do a review on the pad washer, but I don't know how to send him a sample of a pad washer, know what I mean? :p Anyway, that's my review. Thanks for looking! :xyxthumbs:
 
BTW, if you want to see some good videos on the pad washer, try the Junkman's videos on YouTube. I know he uses a lot of Adam's products, but the principles behind the pad washer are still the same:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMMKe2PPjY4]YouTube - The Pad Washer by Grit Guard - Pt. 1[/video]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyHD9nbhTJ0]YouTube - The Pad Washer by Grit Guard - Pt. 2[/video]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PKzvoiLLT8]YouTube - The Pad Washer by Grit Guard - Pt. 3[/video]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I068knq1Db0]YouTube - The Pad Washer by Grit Guard - Pt. 4[/video]
 
HA!! The junkman.... that guy is hilarious! Half the time I don't agree with what he says, but he's still pretty funny to watch now and then.
 
Excellent review Shane! :props: Thank you! I can't convince myself to get one of these. Partly because of how little I will get to use it and partially because my garage has limited space and I dont want to add anything more to it. I'm glad you got one though! It's great you don't have to hand clean anymore. :dblthumb2:
 
Boy, I started watching the Junkman...but almost 40 minutes of video?? I could only get through the first one and he didn't even clean a pad yet!
 
Thanks for the detailed review Shane. I guess it's worth the price but I can't imagine shelling out that kind of money.
 
Nice review Shane, with practice you will not make a mess!
 
Nice review Shane. I have been tempted to buy one as pads quickly load up on badly oxidized cars. I was thinking the pads might last longer if cleaned with the pad washer, instead of abrading the foam surface with the pad brush and terry towel.

Do you plan to clean the pads in the middle of a correction and keep using the same pad? Do you plan to rinse out the pads with fresh water to get the DP or Snappy out of the pads before drying and putting them away?

At $135, I can buy 15-20 pads for the price of the pad cleaner. Still kind of a struggle to justify for a hobbiest.
 
Kurt_s said:
Nice review Shane. I have been tempted to buy one as pads quickly load up on badly oxidized cars. I was thinking the pads might last longer if cleaned with the pad washer, instead of abrading the foam surface with the pad brush and terry towel.

Do you plan to clean the pads in the middle of a correction and keep using the same pad? Do you plan to rinse out the pads with fresh water to get the DP or Snappy out of the pads before drying and putting them away?

At $135, I can buy 15-20 pads for the price of the pad cleaner. Still kind of a struggle to justify for a hobbiest.
Click to expand...

No, the pads were too damp immediately after cleaning to use right away. However, they have been sitting in my garage since I did this test at about midnight or so last night, and I just checked and they are perfectly dry. Before, I used to have to put them outside in the sun, risk having crap from the trees fall on them, and they would need at least a day or two to fully dry (unless it was really hot, in which case it only took a couple hours). I don't plan to rinse the pads out with fresh water - DP Polishing Pad Rejuvenator is pretty slippery stuff, so you'd be able to tell if there was any left in the pad. When I felt the pads, they felt perfectly clean, no residual feeling to them as far as I could tell. Besides, when Mike Phillips used them in class, he said you could just take and use them right after cleaning (or as soon as they were dry). So rinsing them out just seems to be an unnecessarily added step. And while I agree that $135 is a bit steep, if you hate cleaning pads like I do, then it will pay for itself. IMO, unless Meguiar's or Lake Country or somebody comes out with a 5.5 inch machine washable pad (Meguiar's already has the 7 inch Soft Buff 2.0 pads, which are machine washable), then this is the way to go.
 
CieraSL said:
No, the pads were too damp immediately after cleaning to use right away. However, they have been sitting in my garage since I did this test at about midnight or so last night, and I just checked and they are perfectly dry. Before, I used to have to put them outside in the sun, risk having crap from the trees fall on them, and they would need at least a day or two to fully dry (unless it was really hot, in which case it only took a couple hours). I don't plan to rinse the pads out with fresh water - DP Polishing Pad Rejuvenator is pretty slippery stuff, so you'd be able to tell if there was any left in the pad. When I felt the pads, they felt perfectly clean, no residual feeling to them as far as I could tell. Besides, when Mike Phillips used them in class, he said you could just take and use them right after cleaning (or as soon as they were dry). So rinsing them out just seems to be an unnecessarily added step. And while I agree that $135 is a bit steep, if you hate cleaning pads like I do, then it will pay for itself. IMO, unless Meguiar's or Lake Country or somebody comes out with a 5.5 inch machine washable pad (Meguiar's already has the 7 inch Soft Buff 2.0 pads, which are machine washable), then this is the way to go.
Click to expand...

If I could clean pads in the pad washer and go right back to polishing, then I think that it would be very cool. I really don't like to stop polishing to clean pads when I run low, and the videos seemed to indicate that you could use them immediately after spinning the pads semi-dry. If I still have to let them dry, then maybe buying more pads makes more sense.

Unfortunately, buying more pads means cleaning more pads. A vicious cycle...

Do you think you get your pads cleaner with the pad washer or by hand?
 
CieraSL said:
IMO, unless Meguiar's or Lake Country or somebody comes out with a 5.5 inch machine washable pad (Meguiar's already has the 7 inch Soft Buff 2.0 pads, which are machine washable), then this is the way to go.
Click to expand...

The only pads I DON'T machine wash are the Meg's Soft Buff 1.0. Granted, I usually presoak them in some Snappy and rub them a little by hand first.
 
Kurt_s said:
If I could clean pads in the pad washer and go right back to polishing, then I think that it would be very cool. I really don't like to stop polishing to clean pads when I run low, and the videos seemed to indicate that you could use them immediately after spinning the pads semi-dry. If I still have to let them dry, then maybe buying more pads makes more sense.

Unfortunately, buying more pads means cleaning more pads. A vicious cycle...

Do you think you get your pads cleaner with the pad washer or by hand?
Click to expand...

Also bear in mind that my pads just sat in the garage overnight. If you happen to be polishing at night, you could just clean your pads, set them out to dry and they'd probably be ready to go the next morning. If you're polishing during the day, you could probably set them out in the sun for an hour or two and be good. Again, my pads weren't soaking wet after cleaning, just damp enough that I wouldn't have felt comfortable using them immediately.


BTW, I think my pads definitely came cleaner with the pad washer. :dblthumb2:
 
If that's a mess... don't come to my garage! LOL

Great review Shane. :props:
 
I have one of these and it works great when I use my rotary for pad cleaning, using a D/A hasn't proved as successful so far.
 
I also feel it works best with a rotary...plus it also allows you to spin them dry.


One piece of advice for anyone who buys one of these is to make sure you clean it out right away after you are done using it. :props:
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Or what happens?
Click to expand...

LOL, sorry.


It becomes very hard to get clean. Almost like all the polish residue eats into the plastic. I forgot to clean mine a few times and it simply will not come clean. The surface is whitish now and also has a rough texture. I'll try and get pics the next time I head back to my house. The same thing happened to my System 2000 pad clean except on that one it actually started to effect how well the spurs turned.
 
Shane,

Nice review and photos to support your comments. It's really nice to see when something works well someone steps up and writes a review on it..

Nice work! :xyxthumbs:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top