Cleaning Polishing Pads? | Stop DAMAGING Your Most Expensive Investment | McKee's 37 Polishing Pad Cleaner Review

As a end note I use the same process you describe and it works great.

Also before go to use the pad again I use a blow gun on the pad to make sure everything is out of the pad that may have dried in it after washing.

We all try to get everything out of the pads before we dry them but sometimes something gets by.

The blow gun is just a short step that provides a little more insurance before you use a pad you think is 100% clean.
 
Not only can the strong chemicals hurt your pads, but the actual way you clean them can degrade them as well.
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LC Force Hybrid Gray Heavy Cutting Pad + Pad Brush + spinning on Flex = gonna need a new pad. Oops
 
Yup that pad is now ready to be cut up and used as a tire dressing applicator. lol
 
Joe@NextLevelDetail said:
Me saying that degreaser or apc drys out your hands was a example for using the wrong product for the wrong job.

Me being misleading? I do not know if you read the entire write up or just skimmed through it. I wrote that very statement that pad cleaner is stronger and more affective at cleaning foam than apc or degreaser. The problem is the residue that remains from degreaser/apc/dish soap. That is what is drying out and degrading the pad.

All purpose cleaner and degreaser was not designed and formulated to clean foam. Polishing pad cleaner is. It is stronger more effective and leaves no residue behind, because it was designed for specifically for foam and foam only. If you was to use pad cleaner on leather or other surfaces it can cause damage being that it was only designed for foam

Rasky earlier talked to Jeff Brown griors garage product developer and he said the following " they utilize surfactants rather then relying on sodium-salt based cleaners which can leave behind a residue"

Again not designed formulated tested for foam. Like i said in my write up you will remove the polish out of the pad however residue will remain in the pad.

Something i did not put in my write up and is a perfect example is microfiber cutting pads.

If you use the black boss microfiber cutting pad you will see after using apc/degreaser/dish soap a white residue on the hairs of the microfiber. Because its black. And no matter what after the fact even the polishing pad cleaner does not remove the residue.

If you use microfiber cutting pads you will notice how the microfibers feel hard and dry. That is from the remaining residue.

Again like i said in my write up you can use gasoline and it will remove the polish, that does not mean no damage is being done.

Dish soap was designed for dishes. Car soap was designed for automotive paint. All purpose cleaner and degreaser. Did not go under multiple chemistry tests to see if they are damaging pads. Pad cleaners sole purpose was to clean pads and pads only.

You can use dish soap to clean your car and it will get clean so why do we use car shampoo?



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Nearly any APC/degreaser autogeek sells is safe to use on all the various trims, moldings, tires, engine bays, vinyl, leather, etc and as long as they are rinsed from the surface they are formulated not to cause any damage or leave behind any residue. Of course using general degreasers that are found in the cleaning section of The Dollar Store are going to be more likely to have a negative effect and leave residue behind. But if I used a quality degreaser like OPC, Mckee's 37 APC+, Nextzett Industrial Cleaner or 1z Blitz.....These products are all formulated to safely work on most any materials and surfaces safely. Showing the difference in a pad cleaned with dish detergent, dollar store degreaser, and HOT water, of course that is going to leave residue and damage the cell structure, but like you said about not all chemicals being equal, not all APC/degreasers should be lumped into the same category.

I just can't get on board with having a dedicated product for each specific application. When cleaning meguiars microfiber cutting pads, do you use a dedicated microfiber cleaner for the top half and a foam pad cleaner on the bottom half? All I've ever used on microfiber pads is a mild APC (1z blitz at 1:30 dilution) and it ALWAYS rinses away clean without leaving behind residue that effects the fibers. To me it makes the most sense to use a cleaner that is safe for my skin and rinses away clean to remove pads that have built up polish/compound residue. The only time I've ever had to use something stronger is for removing waxes and sealants from foam
 
Joe@NextLevelDetail said:
Something i did not put in my write up and is a perfect example is microfiber cutting pads.

If you use the black boss microfiber cutting pad you will see after using apc/degreaser/dish soap a white residue on the hairs of the microfiber. Because its black. And no matter what after the fact even the polishing pad cleaner does not remove the residue.

If you use microfiber cutting pads you will notice how the microfibers feel hard and dry. That is from the remaining residue.
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Noticed this on my boss microfiber pads after I had used Meg's D103 APC+ instead of a pad cleaner. Thanks for the explanation as I always wondered why the fibers looked like that.
 
mwoywod said:
Nearly any APC/degreaser autogeek sells is safe to use on all the various trims, moldings, tires, engine bays, vinyl, leather, etc and as long as they are rinsed from the surface they are formulated not to cause any damage or leave behind any residue. Of course using general degreasers that are found in the cleaning section of The Dollar Store are going to be more likely to have a negative effect and leave residue behind. But if I used a quality degreaser like OPC, Mckee's 37 APC+, Nextzett Industrial Cleaner or 1z Blitz.....These products are all formulated to safely work on most any materials and surfaces safely. Showing the difference in a pad cleaned with dish detergent, dollar store degreaser, and HOT water, of course that is going to leave residue and damage the cell structure, but like you said about not all chemicals being equal, not all APC/degreasers should be lumped into the same category.

I just can't get on board with having a dedicated product for each specific application. When cleaning meguiars microfiber cutting pads, do you use a dedicated microfiber cleaner for the top half and a foam pad cleaner on the bottom half? All I've ever used on microfiber pads is a mild APC (1z blitz at 1:30 dilution) and it ALWAYS rinses away clean without leaving behind residue that effects the fibers. To me it makes the most sense to use a cleaner that is safe for my skin and rinses away clean to remove pads that have built up polish/compound residue. The only time I've ever had to use something stronger is for removing waxes and sealants from foam
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Not every apc is created equal, the apcs you see for an amazing price point use cheaper and more harmful chemicals.

The apcs that are more expensive per gallon use higher quality ingredients that are less harmful on surfaces.

You saying that no residue is left behind, can you prove that in a scientific matter, or are you just assuming that all of the residue is gone because it doesnt foam anymore?

The chemist I spoke to explained to me that residue will still remain in the pad and will ALTER the feel of the pad.

Use a pad cleaner on a boss microfiber cutting pad and the apc you are talking about. And after you rinse/dry you will see a white residue that remains on the hairs of the microfiber pad.


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Thanks for this thread! I wasn't happy with how my new BOSS pads were coming out after cleaning them with the McKees Polishing pad cleaner spray. The microfiber pads had residue on them and felt brittle.

I now have a 5gal bucket with grit guard dedicated for cleaning pads. 3 gallons water, 1 scoop of Detailers Pro polishing pad rejuvenator powder, and 1/2 ounce Poorboys Typhoon Microfiber detergent. After each panel I toss the pad face down in it for about 10 minutes. Pull it out and scrub with tooth brush as suggested, then rinse it out with fresh water. They come out like new everytime, no residue whatsoever left behind that I can tell. Foam and microfiber pads. Microfiber pads are soft, plush and fluffy like when new!

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Oh and a good way to dry them quickly is to squeeze as much water out as you can, set them face down on a bakers cooling rack, place a small fan pointed at it and they will dry fairly quick.

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Just was having this conversation this morning. I will look into this.

HUMP
 
Quick question, If the pads sit around for a week or two without a good cleaning, will this repair them?
 
Nice write-up Joe.

A good how-to article shares quality, accurate information and is also easy to read and enjoyable to read. You hit all these marks.


It takes time to write a good how-to article, that's my guess as to why most guys/detailers don't do it. Besides taking good pictures that "tell a story" you have think up all the words and do it in a way that uses a mininmu of some sentence structure and formatting.

I love this quote from Henry Ford

"Thinking is the hardest work there is... that's why so few people engage in it"


And while I understand and use Facebook, it's a horrible interface for "teaching" or "education". You can't format an article in a FB message to interlace pictures throughout your text. You can't make a bold headline to draw your reader into the underlying paragraphs below that expound on the headline.


Good job.


:)
 
Guys/Gals ...

Joe also meant to remind everyone to wear gloves when cleaning your pads and just in general when working with detailing products :-)

P.S. Great article Joe!

ScottH
 
Mike Phillips said:
Nice write-up Joe.

A good how-to article shares quality, accurate information and is also easy to read and enjoyable to read. You hit all these marks.


It takes time to write a good how-to article, that's my guess as to why most guys/detailers don't do it. Besides taking good pictures that "tell a story" you have think up all the words and do it in a way that uses a mininmu of some sentence structure and formatting.

I love this quote from Henry Ford

"Thinking is the hardest work there is... that's why so few people engage in it"


And while I understand and use Facebook, it's a horrible interface for "teaching" or "education". You can't format an article in a FB message to interlace pictures throughout your text. You can't make a bold headline to draw your reader into the underlying paragraphs below that expound on the headline.


Good job.


:)
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Thank you Mike, That means alot coming from you.

and yes it can be challenging and time consuming at times, However I enjoy doing it alot. This particular article got deleted about 3 times while I was writing it, frustrated was not the word..... lol
 
Joe@NextLevelDetail said:
Thank you Mike, That means alot coming from you.

and yes it can be challenging and time consuming at times, However I enjoy doing it alot. This particular article got deleted about 3 times while I was writing it, frustrated was not the word..... lol
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Sometimes your browser can crash and you can lose a ton of work and time.

Sometimes if you're typing out an article in a browser you can accidently touch the wrong key and cause the browser to leave the page you're on which means you lose everything you've created.

To be safe, especially for a long, in-depth article, type it out in a text software program like MS Word and then copy and paste it into the "Message Box" on the forum but be sure to use the Editor View when doing this not the WYSIWYG view.


And yes... I have an article on this...


How to use the Editor View in vBulletin


:)
 
Awesome article. You hit the nail on the head with your statement of trying to get the pads clean enough to get the job done. Years ago I was in the same boat, multiple 25+ ft boats lined up and not enough pads to get a jobs done. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience!
 
Is it really safe to machine wash foam pads? Just got some new B&S pads and want to take care of them starting detail #1 lol.
 
Automoglow said:
Is it really safe to machine wash foam pads? Just got some new B&S pads and want to take care of them starting detail #1 lol.
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This is what I was thinking. Didn't realize it was machine safe to do so.
 
Like ScottH said, put some nitriles on Joe.

Orange Heavy Duty Nitrile Gloves

If your hands are average size, don't get anything smaller than XL. I have average size hands and wish I had purchased the XXL. These are so good, that with using hand lotion you can reuse them multiple times. Just don't play with nasty stuff after a couple uses. They will tear at some multiple usage point. After a couple uses ( 4-5 if light/quick uses) I'll only use them with 'light chems'.
 
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