microfiber pads questions

choijw2

choijw2

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Hello,

so I recently started using microfiber pads and love how much faster it cuts with DA polishers,

anyways.... I wash dirty pads with microfiber towels in a washing machine in hot water with microfiber cleaning soap.

after washing only once, i find MF pads really rough.... and not sure if its still okay to use.

i do not have same problems with mf towels tho.....
 
Why not wash your pads by hand? Use a brush, some pad cleaner, and HOT water. Then spin them dry and sit them, foam side up on a pill bottle (so air can circulate underneath them) while they dry.
 
I would think you can brush them and they should soften up and be ready to use again. In the future I would take Cardaddy's recommendation for cleaning.
 
Use foam last longer same results and don't have to clean them every 3 minutes .
 
GSKR said:
Use foam last longer same results and don't have to clean them every 3 minutes .
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Foam lasts longer for you ? What kind of machine do you use. Lol because this is not the case.

Meguiars MF pads and griots MF pads are bullet proof I did over 10 cars with them if I wanted to they last forever.

Foam pads don't last me one real correction that takes 8+ hours.

They start to deteriorate on the sides and face and start to crumple up.

Microfiber is more of a pain to clean however they do last loner
 
everyone has a preference I've been doing this for 23 years ,micros take two long if u have a bad car ,I've tried them all I like quick results ,time is money for me I don't get the opportunity to buff a car for 8 hours way too busy for that micros are horrible on gelcoats big time .ag gave me some and I keep them for glass polishing.I like to detail quick and move on I don't do any of the X-ray vision correction I see guys spending a hour on a trunk lid with those pads.I use what mike Phillips does in our extreme make over clinics every other Thursday for past 4 years If you like them that's all that matters.
 
I've washed my microfiber pads in the washing machine with chemical guys detergent but there's still dried up polish in it. Can't seem to get them clean. They were used with Optimum Polish and Compound.
 
GSKR said:
everyone has a preference I've been doing this for 23 years ,micros take two long if u have a bad car ,I've tried them all I like quick results ,time is money for me I don't get the opportunity to buff a car for 8 hours way too busy for that micros are horrible on gelcoats big time .ag gave me some and I keep them for glass polishing.I like to detail quick and move on I don't do any of the X-ray vision correction I see guys spending a hour on a trunk lid with those pads.I use what mike Phillips does in our extreme make over clinics every other Thursday for past 4 years If you like them that's all that matters.
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Microfiber is bad for things like gelcoat and sticky grabby paints I could not agree more.

However they are very durable. Maybe you had some bad ones or something they go the mile.
 
bmwgeek said:
I've washed my microfiber pads in the washing machine with chemical guys detergent but there's still dried up polish in it. Can't seem to get them clean. They were used with Optimum Polish and Compound.
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I think we are having same issue,

I washed my MF pads with CG detergent... maybe its the detergent problem? because a lot of times I thought it is not very good at cleaning...

just FYI, i used Meguairs cutting mf pad with D300.

NextLevelDtail said:
Microfiber is bad for things like gelcoat and sticky grabby paints I could not agree more.

However they are very durable. Maybe you had some bad ones or something they go the mile.
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agreed,

I switched compound steps with meg MF pad with D300,
and for me, it cuts faster than menzerna fg400 + hydro blue pad and the pad was pretty much done after one car with this set up.
 
i had to send meguiars mt300 back, because it was having issue only after 2 cars.

so i just decided to upgrade to rupes 21es
cant wait till it gets here!!
it will save me so much time!! urgggg
 
GSKR said:
Use foam last longer same results and don't have to clean them every 3 minutes .
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I have not found this to be true. What microfiber pads have you used and what foam pads do you use that last longer? I have found that with proper technique and polishing fluids, microfiber cutting pads can quickly level severe defects and leave a nearly LSP finish on most paint systems.
 
Nicholas@Autowerx said:
I have not found this to be true. What microfiber pads have you used and what foam pads do you use that last longer? I have found that with proper technique and polishing fluids, microfiber cutting pads can quickly level severe defects and leave a nearly LSP finish on most paint systems.
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This. I use MF on my hard vw paint and finishes to almost a LSP ready service. Its crazy.
 
I'm not saying they don't last ,I'm saying there useless who wants to stop every 10 min to clean it .Then it's every 7 min cause now it's fully primed then it's 5 min , then put on a fresh useless pad and repeat the whole process again waste of time time is money equals use foam ,if a foam pad is not lasting on a 8 hr paint correction there's some thing wrong ,just yesterday I threw out a orange cutting foam pad that I've used on 3 faded rv a Pilates airplane a electric generator and finally a light correction on a 14 Dodge Ram 5500 .i saw that pad it was in schamble dead ripped on the backing I and saying to my self mike Phillips gave me that pad 8 months ago.
 
And u will get marring especially,when you're grinding away doing nothing micro pads are awesome on glass ,or a brand new car that just need very little love .I once fired a guy cause he took a half the day on one side of the car ,only to get now 3 guys 3 machines with foam pads and knock this job out I don't get married with paint corrections
 
GSKR said:
I'm not saying they don't last. I'm saying they're useless. Who wants to stop every 10 min to clean it? -- (edited for clarity)
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For intensive correction work we clean out microfiber pads much more frequently than that. In fact, I like to clean them out after every single working area. The fiber structure of the microfiber "fingers" are very similar to microfiber towels. They hold on to polish, paint residue, etc., so it is important to clean them frequently to ensure maximum cutting ability. Otherwise you will have abraded paint residue coating the fibers and blocking the abrasives in your correction fluid from contacting the paint. A dirty, matted down, pad will have significantly less cutting ability compared to a new or freshly cleaned pad.

GSKR, It's fine that you don't like to use microfiber pads. Everyone has their own preferences. I am only giving tips to the OP who asked how to clean them out. Simply saying "Switch to foam pads, microfiber pads don't work," is not a helpful way to contribute to the discussion, IMHO.
 
They just get to matted quickly,you can get foam pads and not have to do all that cleaning ,why the extra work is all I'm implying.
 
GSKR said:
They just get to matted quickly,you can get foam pads and not have to do all that cleaning ,why the extra work is all I'm implying.
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Using an air gun you can totally clean out a microfiber pad in about 5 seconds. We actually clean our foam pads, on the fly, the same way using compressed air. I keep the air gun and polish right next to me while I'm working so there is really no time lost at all during the polishing process. Working with a clean pad at all times also reduces the time necessary to level defects since the surface of the pad will not be clogged with abraded paint residue.

How do you normally clean your pads on the fly?
 
i thought everyone cleans the MF pads after every working section. it literally takes 10 seconds total to walk over, grab the nozzle, hit them and walk back. they are great. i have a lot of foam because that's what i invested in and i'm about as amateur as you can imagine, so i have a little more time to waste, but i have several MF pads and think they are awesome. like i said, i watched D300 and an MF pad in action last week and it worked perfectly and FAST on the Cayman.
 
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