How do you guys clean your foam pads ?

Wayneezy

Wayneezy

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I still dont have a polisher and currently use foam applicator pads for applying my wax. How do you usually clean applicator pads and eventually polishing pads. Thanks for your input and help.
 
Meguiar's Pad Washer
Detailer's Pro Polishing Pad Rejuvenator

All purpose cleaner and hot water. If it's Collinite 845 then a spray or two of mineral spirits to dissolve then all purpose cleaner to clean.

I also like to use hot water as it really seems to help the cleaning process....
 
Let them soak in pad cleaner, then a nice hand wash. Usually does it for me! Some stuff though, forget it, no matter how hard you try some stuff wont come out. I have 2 pads soley devoted to BFWD and WGDGPS3.0
 
I use the pad cleaning machine. And even use it while polishing. But after finishing for the day I wash them on the machine with fresh soapy water, rinse them, let them spin most of the water out then put them on a dry towel until they finish drying. And my pads just seem to last forever.
 
Soak mine in weak Dawn solution until complete all polishing then hand wash with Dawn Power Disolver, rinse very well, place between folded terry towel and stand on them for a minute to avoid having to wring them out by twisting. Dry overnight on wire rack with Velcro side up.
 
ski2 said:
Soak mine in weak Dawn solution until complete all polishing then hand wash with Dawn Power Disolver, rinse very well, place between folded terry towel and stand on them for a minute to avoid having to wring them out by twisting. Dry overnight on wire rack with Velcro side up.
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The Dawn does not weaken your glue holding on the Velcro?
 
Lately been using BF APC @ 100%, spray surface till soaked and let sit for 2+ hrs. They spray and agitate in Meg Cone Pad Cleaner and let sit for a couple of hours. Rinse with warm water. Pads look great and it's little to no work since most of the time they simple are soaking in a solution.
 
I fill up the sink with hot water and dawn mixture then turn the pads velcro side up so the velcro doesn't get saturated and risk pulling the adhesive away. Let soak for 30 mins to an hour then scrub with my fingers. Turns out good every time.
 
Meghan said:
The Dawn does not weaken your glue holding on the Velcro?
Click to expand...

Never had a problem and I've talked to quite a few pros who have used the same process for a few years with no problem. Mine pads are Buff & Shine though if that makes a difference.
 
Meghan said:
The Dawn does not weaken your glue holding on the Velcro?
Click to expand...

Ive washed my meguairs pads for years with dawn and they are still in near perfect shape. Ive recently started buying lc pads and use dawn on them also with no problems.
 
Polishing pads I can get clean with just water and some basic Pad Cleaner spray (if I even need that).....
On the other hand, I've been having a big issue getting Wolfgang DG Paint Sealant to come out of a finishing pad. Turns into butter inside the thing basically. It's nasty and smells very chemically....takes forever to get it clean.
 
spray megs APC 10:1 on pads ,wait 5 min, agitate with hand and brush, rinse

and if i was cleaning MFs and pads i put them al toghether in a bucket with water and DP MF rejuvenator ,let them soak for few hours ,agitate hand brush ,rinse
 
i tried the BF microfiber clean with my washing machine.

usually i wash them 2 times, if I wash them 2 times, even the merzerna power lock sealant had been got rid of the pad. and the microfiber towels are much cleaner than clothing detergent alone.
 
I can't add too much to what's already been offered but my method is also a weak Dawn solution in hot water in a bucket with a cover. I'll take the pad off the machine once it has served it's purpose for maybe 3-6 sections, hose it off to remove whatever product comes off readily and drop it in the water, soapy bucket. I take a minute to squeeze the pad and absorb more soapy solution into the pad. There it sits with all the other pads that follow in the process and when i'm done rinse them all out with the hose and drop them all in another bucket of clean rinse water. I then ring them all out and then spin drip on my circular before leaving them out to dry.

I very, very rarely encounter any velcro adhesive problems. I have some pads going on 7 years old with this method. For tougher pads i have tried Dawn Power Dissolver with fantastic results. Sometimes i use an APC spray before dropping into the soapy bucket.

I use this same method with hand used pads as well.
 
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