LC orange pads losing stiffness?

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ebrammer252

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I'm relatively new to machine polishing and out of my five orange LC flat pads I have two that I've used the most on my Griot's G9. Granted I've only done one full car, and I've done a single hood, and a motorcycle tank as practice. After I did the first full car today I'm cleaning my pads out and I notice that two of my five orange pads are much softer and more pliable than the others. In fact they're on a "squishiness" level of a green pad. Do these orange pads still have the same amount of cut or are they toast? How did I kill them so quickly?
 
They were both wet after soaking in water, prior to being agitated with a pad brush and cleaner. Of the five orange orange pads I have, I used 4 today doing a one step correction with HD Speed on a Toyota Corolla.
 
Try washing them int eh wash machine and then letting them dry, should be good to go.
 
Very nice man, I love this thing. Wife won't let me buy anything more higher end so here I am haha
 
So I hand washed the pads last night and then washed them in the washing machine and set them up to dry. This morning evaluating them, those two pads are still just as soft. Sounds like they've lost their cut?
 
ebrammer252 said:
After I did the first full car today I'm cleaning my pads out and I notice that two of my five orange pads are much softer and more pliable than the others. In fact they're on a "squishiness" level of a green pad.

Do these orange pads still have the same amount of cut or are they toast? How did I kill them so quickly?
Click to expand...

They will feel soft and squishy as long as they are wet. Let them dry and then feel them again.

For this same soft characteristic when they are wet (with product while buffing), they LOSE their cutting ability. This is why I'm always preaching everyone needs to be using MORE pads when buffing out cars.

Wet pads don't cut.



ebrammer252 said:
They were both wet after soaking in water, prior to being agitated with a pad brush and cleaner.
Click to expand...


Lay them out flat to dry somewhere - they should be dry and ready to use the next day.


:)
 
IF you watch the beginning of this video, I always show what I used and how many pads I used to do the work. I also show how many microfiber towels I go through.

Mike Phillips - Walk-Around Video - Stick a Fork in this...


The next day when I came into work, I did my laundry. I'm not only the Director of Training here at AG I'm also the laundry guy and head floor cleaner in the garage. :)



Fresh out of the dryer

FPLaundry_01.JPG



Time to sort and stack and then put away for the next job.

FPLaundry_02.JPG



All these pads are dry and ready to put away but the 6.5" White Force Hybrid pad on the right.

FPLaundry_03.JPG



Being a "hybrid" and in this context it means part open cell and part closed cell, the water from the washing machine does not all sling out during the spin cycle. I always HAND SQUEEZE these over the washing machine before throwing in the dryer and then they still come out of the dryer with water in the INSIDE of them. So when I use lots of them, after they come out of the dryer I place them in the garage to finish drying via evaporation.


But that stack of orange Lake Country 6.5" Force Hybrid foam CUTTING pads?

Yep - they are dry and back to being SHARP and ready to go.

FPLaundry_04.JPG




They clean up pretty good too...

FPLaundry_05.JPG





:)

Like I always say,


More pads are better....



:buffing:
 
Mike Phillips said:
They will feel soft and squishy as long as they are wet. Let them dry and then feel them again.

For this same soft characteristic when they are wet (with product while buffing), they LOSE their cutting ability. This is why I'm always preaching everyone needs to be using MORE pads when buffing out cars.

Wet pads don't cut.






Lay them out flat to dry somewhere - they should be dry and ready to use the next day.


:)
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike! I had them drying overnight and this morning they still feel really soft compared to a brand new Orange pad. Do they still have the same cutting ability?
 
I would bet on the pads were too wet and got too hot during usage and damaged the structural integrity of the foam. That's why you go through more pads and use them for less time, to avoid overheating. Also a reason why I don't prime my foam pads, when you prime them you put so much product that the pads are too wet and with friction that water in the pad gets hot. Probably best to replace them.
 
BSoares said:
I would bet on the pads were too wet and got too hot during usage and damaged the structural integrity of the foam. That's why you go through more pads and use them for less time, to avoid overheating. Also a reason why I don't prime my foam pads, when you prime them you put so much product that the pads are too wet and with friction that water in the pad gets hot. Probably best to replace them.
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that dry/unprimed pads didn't perform as well?
 
ebrammer252 said:
I was under the impression that dry/unprimed pads didn't perform as well?
Click to expand...

Only if it's a microfiber pad. Foam pads don't require priming. When I started I used to prime. After having a few pads fail I researched more and learned that too much product on the pad is bad. If you're priming you end up with too much product even before you polish your first section. What I do now is on the first usage of a pad I put maybe a couple extra dots of polish and on the second I apply the dots to areas that were in between the first ones so by the time I'm done with 2 sections the pad is covered and still not wet like it would be if I primed.
 
BSoares said:
Only if it's a microfiber pad. Foam pads don't require priming. When I started I used to prime. After having a few pads fail I researched more and learned that too much product on the pad is bad. If you're priming you end up with too much product even before you polish your first section. What I do now is on the first usage of a pad I put maybe a couple extra dots of polish and on the second I apply the dots to areas that were in between the first ones so by the time I'm done with 2 sections the pad is covered and still not wet like it would be if I primed.
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Well I definitely know one of my pads I let get too wet and saturated with product yesterday. I was priming the pads, then adding 3 pea sized drops of product. Then after each panel pass I would use my brush on the pad, then add 2-3 more drops and move to the next section. At one point it almost seemed like a switch flipped and the product started "foaming" on the panel, like spreading very white and heavy. I've gotten in a habit of feeling the center of my pads after each section pass to gauge temperature, and it was definitely hot in the center.
 
ebrammer252 said:
Well I definitely know one of my pads I let get too wet and saturated with product yesterday. I was priming the pads, then adding 3 pea sized drops of product. Then after each panel pass I would use my brush on the pad, then add 2-3 more drops and move to the next section. At one point it almost seemed like a switch flipped and the product started "foaming" on the panel, like spreading very white and heavy. I've gotten in a habit of feeling the center of my pads after each section pass to gauge temperature, and it was definitely hot in the center.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it will always get hotter in the center, that's why some pads have a hole there, to allow for additional cooling. That's also why the center is where they collapse first and feel soft there, perhaps even look sunken in.
 
ebrammer252 said:
Thanks Mike! I had them drying overnight and this morning they still feel really soft compared to a brand new Orange pad.

Do they still have the same cutting ability?
Click to expand...

Hard to say, I'm not there.

No pad will ever be as good or the same as the first time you use it.

Everything wears out - even you and I.

Clean them as best as you can. Let them fully dry and then go for it. If you think about it - that's the most you can do. Besides buying more pads.

I wash everything in our work washing machine and dry everything in the work dryer. Old school top-loading washer and front loading dryer - nothing fancy but they WORK great for my needs.


Here's after washing and drying and this is after using 303 Compound in the video link I shared for the 1957 - these pads were grossly dirty, you can see them in the video - that's why I shared it.

FPLaundry_05.JPG





ebrammer252 said:
I was under the impression that dry/unprimed pads didn't perform as well?
Click to expand...


Read here,

Priming You’re Pads


Priming a foam pad is okay but in my opinion - there's really no need for it once you have some experience.

I used to show this technique on TV and also in a lot of how to videos, now I just put my product on and get to work.

Like this,

Amount_of_CW_03a.JPG



Check out this article,

How to correctly use an AIO or Cleaner/Wax by Mike Phillips


:)
 
Here's me putting product on a pad for a new tool review.....

Review: RUPES Mark III BigFoot 21 Polisher by Mike Phillips


Here I've put some of the Pinnacle Jeweling Wax on the face of the pad.... if you don't know - you use a one-step cleaner/wax like a compound or polish as it relates to how much product to use.

You certainly don't take the silly advice of using 3 peas sized drop. :laughing:

aMark_3_047.JPG








:)
 
Mike made a long post about this very thing just yesterday.

Note, I wash mine in the washing machine and so does he as noted in post.
 
Thanks for the links Mike, time to do some reading! Appreciate everyone's responses!

I need to readjust my thinking of how much product I use it looks like! So when using an AIO like 3D HD Speed, I need to use an ample amount, then after the first section pass do I reduce the amount I use, or stick with an ample amount?

For something like M105/Ultimate Compound and M205/M210/Ultimate Polish, do I also use an ample amount initially? Then after that first section pass when the pad has product on it, do I start reducing how much product I use?

Lastly, I don't think I've seen an article yet on how much product to use when applying wax via DA polisher, any insight on that one?

Sorry for the seemingly redundant questions, I had read enough stuff I thought I was going about this the right way. So I need to rethink my processes from scratch and make sure I get it right!


Edit : Mike, I just found this article from you! Is this a preferred method I should be following for both AIOs and Compound/Polishes?

How much product do I use with my DA Polisher?
 
You always will use a bit less the second time you add product.

A good way to avoid pad saturation is to use plenty of pads.

I have a RC full-sized Ram truck (my avatar) and I will go through 16-20 pads when I machine polish.
 
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