I used the pad washer to polish my Cayman this last weekend. With the pad washer close to the car, I polished a segment and cleaned the pad, polished a segment and cleaned the pad, and continued this way until the job was finished. Cleaning the pad takes about a minute or two; it's very quick and effective. I started each segment with a cleaned pad. I cannot imagine how much time would be involved with removing the pad to clean it after each segment. Even doing two segments and then washing the pad by hand would be much more time-consuming than using the pad washer. I realize there have been some comments about the washer's price, but the purchase "only stings once" and the unit makes the job so much less tedious that the washer is worth every penny to the professionals trying to make a living and the hobbyists who just want to enjoy working on their cars.