Pad Cleaning question/help

Jimmy Vegas

Jimmy Vegas

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Hi guys,
Can somebody help me figure out what I'm doing wrong when cleaning my buffing pads? I've searched the forums and read several threads, but am still having issues.

After using these two pads, both with HD Polish, (the white also has a little McKee's 360) I then sprayed them with APC, worked them by hand and rinsed several times under running water, then used McKee's Spray Pad Cleaner, and washed them with my Microfibers in the washing machine. (Free and Clear detergent.)

They were still pretty much as they looked in the after picture.

Next I used an orange based degreaser and worked them by hand under running water for at least 10 minutes each. Am I doing something wrong, or am I expecting too much? (That damn pad that came with the PC cleans back to bright white no matter what I out on it, or anything it picks up while in storage.)
 
The coloring of HD polish stains pads. It won't harm the pads performance.
 
Thank you, Guz. I was starting to think I was banging my head off the wall for no reason. I may try to hit them with the power washer if I can catch a break in the rain tomorrow, but I'm not as worried about it now. Thank you again.
 
Jimmy Vegas said:
Thank you, Guz. I was starting to think I was banging my head off the wall for no reason. I may try to hit them with the power washer if I can catch a break in the rain tomorrow, but I'm not as worried about it now. Thank you again.
Click to expand...

I think your gonna cause more damage than good hitting them with a power washer haha...I always have good luck with using Dawn Soap to clean my pads, but it does take more work to get all the soap out of them and even then you won't get them perfect.
 
CC268 said:
..even then you won't get them perfect.
Click to expand...

I think that was the problem. I kept seeing videos, etc. where the pads are back to perfect and that's what I was expecting from mine.
 
Jimmy Vegas-

With the right approach, a pressure washer will do a great job of cleaning pads in a short period of time. The trick is to use the wide fan nozzle ( 40 degree ). I have an electric unit so the pressure is not too intense. If I had a gas unit I would probably lower the PSI. I borrowed a friend's low end PW once with the swivel spray head attachment. He forgot to tell me that the tip was jammed or broken and it shot out a stream of water which destroyed a fairly new pad! Most of the time I can get my pads back to near new looking. However, some pads just get stained and can never get cleaned completely.

I just quickly spray and saturate the pad surface with Zep purple degreaser and then do a couple quick passes with the PW in my homemade pad washer. I quit using dawn as it took forever to rinse out and even when I thought I had rinsed it out the pad would let out a bunch of dust when it was dry.

These are the dirty pads I had this weekend after having a little detailing session. I experimented with a bunch of products so that is why I had so many
View attachment 52627



Here are two pads showing 50/50 cleaning in my pad washer
View attachment 52628View attachment 52629



And finally, here they are all cleaned and ready for another fun day of detailing! Took me about 15 minutes for all of these. When I use to hand clean them it would take forever. When I would put them in the washer my wife would get frustrated with the scum residue that was left from them.
View attachment 52630

And yes, you will notice in the clean pads pic that one of the white polishing pads is stained. HD Speed seems to leave a pink stain no matter how much I try to clean them. I've learned to live with them that way as long as I know they are super clean.

Hope that helps some.

ted
 
If I may revive this thread. I just spent the better part of an hour trying to clean orange Lake Country pads that I used today with McKees 360. I was using McKees pad cleaner by spraying it onto the pad when I'd finished using the pad/changing to clean one. I put the used pads, soaked with cleaner, into my towel bucket to clean later.

When I was ready to clean the pads, I scrubbed with a soft brush (they were still soaked with pad cleaner), thoroughly rinsing while working the pad with my thumbs. I could see the reddish tint of the McKees pad cleaner run down the sink while doing so. They were still stained with dark gray areas where the 360 had been. I then tried APC, same method, then soaking in a bucket of APC dilution for 1/2 hour. Rinsing, going again with the McKees cleaner, let soak, soft brush, then working it under running water.

No improvement. I currently have them in the washing machine with my MF towels, hence no pictures.

If the washing machine doesn't help, I'll give my power washer a go at it tomorrow.

Any thoughts on what I'm doing wrong? This is getting really frustrating.

Thanks in advance.
 
Wknd Dtlr said:
Jimmy Vegas-

With the right approach, a pressure washer will do a great job of cleaning pads in a short period of time. The trick is to use the wide fan nozzle ( 40 degree ). I have an electric unit so the pressure is not too intense. If I had a gas unit I would probably lower the PSI. I borrowed a friend's low end PW once with the swivel spray head attachment. He forgot to tell me that the tip was jammed or broken and it shot out a stream of water which destroyed a fairly new pad! Most of the time I can get my pads back to near new looking. However, some pads just get stained and can never get cleaned completely.

I just quickly spray and saturate the pad surface with Zep purple degreaser and then do a couple quick passes with the PW in my homemade pad washer. I quit using dawn as it took forever to rinse out and even when I thought I had rinsed it out the pad would let out a bunch of dust when it was dry.

These are the dirty pads I had this weekend after having a little detailing session. I experimented with a bunch of products so that is why I had so many
View attachment 52627



Here are two pads showing 50/50 cleaning in my pad washer
View attachment 52628View attachment 52629



And finally, here they are all cleaned and ready for another fun day of detailing! Took me about 15 minutes for all of these. When I use to hand clean them it would take forever. When I would put them in the washer my wife would get frustrated with the scum residue that was left from them.
View attachment 52630

And yes, you will notice in the clean pads pic that one of the white polishing pads is stained. HD Speed seems to leave a pink stain no matter how much I try to clean them. I've learned to live with them that way as long as I know they are super clean.

Hope that helps some.

ted
Click to expand...

I basically use this method. rinse under warm water after and air dry. have had great results
 
First of all, thank you to everyone for the great advice. This is how it all ended. up.

The first picture..
I sprayed the dirty pad with Mckees pad cleaner when I took it of the DA. It was thoroughly soaked with cleaner. I massaged it with my thumbs under warm running water, trying to work the product out of the pad. I could still see/smell the McKee's 360 in the pad, so I sprayed it with APC (LATA 1:1) and repeated. Same result, so I mixed some of the LATA powder in a bucket of warm water, and let it sit for at least 45 minutes while I searched the forums to see what I was doing wrong.

I then rinsed while working the pad, no change. Sprayed with APC again, etc, same result. Next, I threw it in the washing machine with my Microfibers (All Free and Clear, warm water, extra rinse.) That is what you see here..


Next, I stayed it with my pressure washer, attempting to work the dark areas out of the pad.


That's what you see here. The image is a little blown out from the sunlight, but I now consider it clean. Those have to be stains. I think I'm just expecting too much out of the pad cleaner.

Thanks everyone for the advice, and if you can think of anything I've missed, please let me know.

- Jim
 
None. The one I did scrub with a soft bristle brush has a bit of wear on it, but nothing I'm concerned about.
 
Jimmy Vegas said:
None. The one I did scrub with a soft bristle brush has a bit of wear on it, but nothing I'm concerned about.
Click to expand...

Good to know.

I've never had much staining on mine using HD Speed, but there is always a little "tinge" you can see vs. a new pad. I would assume that's normal though.

A buddy of mine is giving me his electric PW as he is upgrading. I'll try it on my pads next time I correct.
 
From now on, I'm going to hit them with the power washer and some pad cleaner. Otherwise, I'm washing my hands of the situation.

Twice.

Then polishing my hands.

Then waxing my ha..

dammit!
 
Jimmy Vegas said:
From now on, I'm going to hit them with the power washer and some pad cleaner. Otherwise, I'm washing my hands of the situation.

Twice.

Then polishing my hands.

Then waxing my ha..

dammit!
Click to expand...

What a wit!
You should move to Las Vegas and try stand-up comedy.
People would probably pay good money to see "Jimmy Pittsburgh"

Bill
 
Hey guys, just wanted to chime in real quick. Certain products (HD Speed, HD Polish+, M37 360) are all known to stain pads which staining will not affect performance. If you are concerned you haven't removed all of the sealant/silicones/polish etc.....after you've soaked it and used a pad cleaner or degreaser to remove as much of the product as possible, grab a white microfiber towel (or even a white cotton towel would work). With the white towel wrapped around the pad, all you have to do is squeeze the pad. This is what I do with my LSP and AIO pads to get any last bit of sealant out of the pad and also speed up the drying process. But for those of you worrying about whether all the product is out or not, this is a great way to check your results to make sure your process is actually working.

Always keep in mind that using a pad that is stained is not going to affect performance at all. The main thing is getting out all of the sealant and wrapping them in a towel and squeezing (hard) is the best method I've found to confirm the pad is truly clean. Good luck!!
 
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