Cleaning Pads with the Flex 3401 and the Grit Guard Universal Pad Washer

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Cleaning Pads with the Flex 3401 and the Grit Guard Universal Pad Washer


Someone asked me if the Flex 3401 could be used with a pad washer to clean pads. We were doing some testing today in the garage and while I was out their cleaning up after the testing it's protocol to clean the pads so I snapped some pictures showing the results.

The GGUPW worked great with the Flex 3401 to clean the new Hydro Foam Pads. The



New, clean pad

Used, dirty pad

After about a minute in the pad washer on speed 1-2 on the Flex 3401

Clean as a whistle!

Close-up

After cleaning the pad, to remove the water simply lift the polisher up while the pad is still in the bucket with the snap ring lid closed and bringing the speed up to sling out the excess water.

Next, open the lid and lift the pad out of the bucket and close the snap lid. Then place the face of the foam pad on the mini Grit Guard Extension and again bring the speed of the polisher up while pushing downward and you'll remove the majority of the remaining water in the pad.

The Grit Guard Universal Pad Washer worked great with the Flex 3401. The pad is now drying and will be ready for use tomorrow.

The pad wash is works so well at cleaning pads that once you use it one time as you start any complete buff-out you'll wonder how you lived without it. When trying to create a good finish or a show car finish it's vital to work clean and that means cleaning your pads often.

While there are work-arounds for getting caked-on residue off the face of your buffing pads, nothing comes close to the cleaning ability of a quality pad washer. This is especially important if you're doing compounding work as compounding tends to remove a lot of paint of the car as compared to light polishing and your choice of compound will always work better if your pad is clean.


:xyxthumbs:

 

[DonMTV]

Hi Mike, thanks for the quick review of this Pad Washer. I have been debating whether or not to buy it. Back in the early Spring it was a VIP special, but I didn't have any money to purchase it.

I have DP Polishing Pad Rejuvenator powder to soak my pads in, but I have seen Pinnacle XMT Polishing Pad Cleaner spray. What is the difference? Does one work better then the other?

What did you use for cleaner in the Pad Washer?

I have some older pads that I have cleaned, but haven't gotten rid of the polish color out of the pad, and thought of getting the GGUPW to help me clean the pads.

Thank you so much,
Don

 

[Pats300zx]

I bought one a while back on the VIP special. I need to try it out one of these days lol

 

[Buckskincolt]

My birthday is coming up quick.......I need one of these for sure.

 

[Rsurfer]

Nice review on the pad washer, but how did the Hydro pad work out?

 

[Phalcon51]

I'm curious what you think of the Flex 3401. How about an in-depth review?

 

[Steven C]

Have both 3401 & pad washer .The are awesome the pad washer is the best thing I purchased I saves so much time after & during the detail . If you clog up a wool pad 3 or 4 sprays in put in clean and keep going same thing with foam . Real time saver I Love my 3401 . I use the XMT spray to clean my pads. :xyxthumbs:

 

[Jimmie]

Saw it in action at DFIII. It was an impressive demo. Wish I had one and will someday pull the trigger to buy it.

 

[Meghan]

Pad Washer will pay for itself after a few uses. You can really extend the life of your pads by properly cleaning them. Mike used this pad washer this past Saturday while detailing the Bel Air and it made a huge difference in the amount of time it saved.

 

[2003 GMC Denali]

May I see one of these Pad Washers all taken apart ?

If I had an AG Pail with 4 Grit Guards in it... all stacked up in it... and maybe a little chunk of Foam cut in a round shape, placed somewhere in the middle of all 4 Grit Guards to provide the springy feeling, could I duplicate the cleaning action of the AG Pad Washer ?

 

[2003 GMC Denali]

I also like the idea of using an old Buffer or Drill to clean the Pads.

The idea of getting a Water and Soap Solution inside of my nice new Buffer doesn't appeal to me.

I see a Flex being used in the Pictures above... and is there any harm in using the nicest Buffing-Machine made, to splash around in a Water Bucket ?

 

[2003 GMC Denali]

I'll post this question in one other thread, OK ?

 

[belcherm58]

Pad Washer will pay for itself after a few uses. You can really extend the life of your pads by properly cleaning them. Mike used this pad washer this past Saturday while detailing the Bel Air and it made a huge difference in the amount of time it saved.

Gotta get a pad washer. It's on top of my to do list.

 

[Meghan]

May I see one of these Pad Washers all taken apart ?

If I had an AG Pail with 4 Grit Guards in it... all stacked up in it... and maybe a little chunk of Foam cut in a round shape, placed somewhere in the middle of all 4 Grit Guards to provide the springy feeling, could I duplicate the cleaning action of the AG Pad Washer ?

I will take pictures of the "guts" of it today for you, there is a spring load middle piece that is the key element to cleaning the pads.

I also like the idea of using an old Buffer or Drill to clean the Pads.

The idea of getting a Water and Soap Solution inside of my nice new Buffer doesn't appeal to me.

I see a Flex being used in the Pictures above... and is there any harm in using the nicest Buffing-Machine made, to splash around in a Water Bucket ?

I have never seen water splash up in this thing, water stays down in the bucket.

 

[Meghan]

A forum member was nice enough to post this link with photos.

http://www.gritguard.com/index.php/catalog/product/gallery/id/7/image/8/

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

May I see one of these Pad Washers all taken apart ?

If I had an AG Pail with 4 Grit Guards in it... all stacked up in it... and maybe a little chunk of Foam cut in a round shape, placed somewhere in the middle of all 4 Grit Guards to provide the springy feeling, could I duplicate the cleaning action of the AG Pad Washer ?

Here's a cutaway view from the GritGuard.com website. There's a series of 4 spring loaded water pumps that pump water into the pad, wool or foam and flush out any residue as the pad spins over the grit guard grill.

There's a series of 4 spring loaded water pumps that pump water into the pad, wool or foam and flush out any residue as the pad spins over the grit guard grill.

 

[TurboToys]

thats a really good design.... someone took some time in creating that.

 

[Kilgore]

Question about rinsing pads after using the GG pad washer,

I have a new GG universal pad washer which I haven't used yet. I read all the info I could find on the threads here and watched some of the videos, it looks like it's gonna be great, I can’t wait to try it out. I hate washing pads by hand especially rinsing and wringing them out over and over until the cleaning solution is gone. I have used XMT pad cleaner and Micro-restore and so far I think the micro restore does a better job cleaning pads, by hand anyway. I got some DP pad rejuvenator when I bought the GGUPW and also have the small bottle of PRS that came with it so I plan to try each one to see what works best for me. So here’s the question. After cleaning the pad and spinning it dry in the GG, won’t there still be residue left from whatever cleaner you use? When you are done washing the pads, should you dump out the soap and refill the pad washer with clean, warm water and rinse them thoroughly with the same method used for cleaning, just without the soap? The last instruction for the DP cleaner says to “Rinse the pads thoroughly and lay them out to air dry.” It seems to me that just spinning the cleaning solution out would leave some residue in the foam pad and possibly mess up whatever product you use next or maybe even leave some smears or streaking. It’s kinda like doing your laundry and taking the clothes out before the rinse cycle and putting them in the dryer still full of soap? Maybe it’s not a big deal, just my OCD showing. I haven’t seen any mention of this in the GG threads I’ve read so far so I thought I’d get some opinions.
Thanks in advance,
Feed back please

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

So here’s the question. After cleaning the pad and spinning it dry in the GG, won’t there still be residue left from whatever cleaner you use?

Yes.

When you are done washing the pads, should you dump out the soap and refill the pad washer with clean, warm water and rinse them thoroughly with the same method used for cleaning, just without the soap?

You can if you want, sure will make your detailing project take a lot longer. Another option would be to have 2 Grit Guard Universal Pad Washers, one with cleaning solution and one with rinse water.

Me? I sling out the cleaning solution as best as I can, sometimes pat out any excess water using a clean, cotton towel and get back to work.

The last instruction for the DP cleaner says to “Rinse the pads thoroughly and lay them out to air dry.”

Those were probably written with hand washing in mind. It cold be those instructions were written before the GG was invented, hard to say, the Grit Guard Pat Wash was introduced in the spring of 2008 I believe, Doug Lamb sent me a beta unit when they were first working on them.

It seems to me that just spinning the cleaning solution out would leave some residue in the foam pad and possibly mess up whatever product you use next or maybe even leave some smears or streaking.

When you're using a pad washer it's usually for your heavies cutting or cleaning step as that's when you're using your most aggressive products and getting the heaviest build-up of compound or whatever it is you're cutting with and "removed paint". Cleaning this off the pad and then getting back to work isn't going to be that big of deal as far as the end results are concerned. Put it this way, I never worry about it. I'd rather use a pad wash and buff clean than not use the pad washer and clean my pads the other ways.

It’s kinda like doing your laundry and taking the clothes out before the rinse cycle and putting them in the dryer still full of soap?

Kind of but you're only supposed to use one scoop of the DP Pad Rejuvenator and sometimes I only use half a scoop. The DP Pad Rejuvenator is a citrus based product, actually feel kind of slimy to the touch. Again, it don't ever seem to affect my results and I'd rather clean my pad and remove all the icky build-up than buff without it.

Maybe it’s not a big deal, just my OCD showing.

I've been posting to discussion forums since they've been around and teaching classes since 1988 and I've always notices that a trend with online enthusiasts is to over-complicate things, not saying your doing this as you're asking great questions but in general, over-complication is a once in a while trend on detailing forums.

I haven’t seen any mention of this in the GG threads I’ve read so far so I thought I’d get some opinions.
Thanks in advance,
Feed back please

Could be you're the first to bring this topic up?

That's what so great about discussion forums, topics get discussed until a forum consensus is formed and everyone's happy.

 

[5.4 Shelby]

I bought one a while back on the VIP special. I need to try it out one of these days lol

If I see one on the VIP special again, I will have to pick one up. Looks slick.