Pad cleaning?

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311Hemi

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New here, but I have been reading a lot of info. Great site you have here with a lot if helpful info!

I am just starting to get into detailing and have a questions on cleaning pads. This past weekend I completed my first no rinse wash on one of my vehicles using ONR and then clayed the vehicle. I then went over the car with Blackfire Wet diamond, which was the first time using the product. Upon completion, I put the Lake County Blue Fine Finishing pad in a bucket with snappy clean and let it soak for 20-30 min. As I started to squeeze the pad I had a bunch of the polish come out of the pad and make a complete mess of the water/snappy clean.

I am wondering if this is normal, or if maybe I was using way to much polish on the pad?

FYI, I was putting 4 dots of polish on the pad for each 2.5'x2.5' section I was polishing, each dot maybe half the size of a dime. I have only used the 7424xp a few times, and it was years ago so this is all completely new to me. A new (used) car purchase has me really wanting to learn this skill as I want to keep the black paint looking good through the MN winters.
 
311Hemi said:
New here, but I have been reading a lot of info. Great site you have here with a lot if helpful info!

I am just starting to get into detailing and have a questions on cleaning pads. This past weekend I completed my first no rinse wash on one of my vehicles using ONR and then clayed the vehicle. I then went over the car with Blackfire Wet diamond, which was the first time using the product. Upon completion, I put the Lake County Blue Fine Finishing pad in a bucket with snappy clean and let it soak for 20-30 min. As I started to squeeze the pad I had a bunch of the polish come out of the pad and make a complete mess of the water/snappy clean.

I am wondering if this is normal, or if maybe I was using way to much polish on the pad?

FYI, I was putting 4 dots of polish on the pad for each 2.5'x2.5' section I was polishing, each dot maybe half the size of a dime. I have only used the 7424xp a few times, and it was years ago so this is all completely new to me. A new (used) car purchase has me really wanting to learn this skill as I want to keep the black paint looking good through the MN winters.
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normal. I use snappy clean and love it. Just rinse them out thoroughly. I use a wash tub we have in our laundry room. I put a small section of hose on it and attached a threaded end and use a fan pattern nozzle at close range to blast the gunk out of the pads poors. You may not see much on just BF Wet diamond but if you compound and polish a car you will see the material cake up in the pad.

You're on the right track. Post up some pics!
 
Which BF product were you using?

I don't see a "Wet Diamond" polish so I was wondering if it was just the All Finish Paint Protection.

There are slightly different methods for using a true polish vs applying a paint sealant or wax.

You can get away with using just one pad and very little product when applying a sealant or wax. You may have been able to cover a whole section, like a hood, using the same or less product. Then just a drop or two for the next panel.

I believe Mike P has a technique for checking to see if you still have "wax" on the pad. Take the pad and press against the glass and if you see a big kiss mark then you know the pad still has a decent amount of product still on it.

Polishing will require several pads and typically more product on the pad. Some product will be removed from the pad when cleaning after doing a section pass.

To me, I just seems like you used a little too much product. Just keep cleaning it until you're satisfied that it's clean.
 
Thanks guys.

I was using: BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection

This was my practice run on the white 08' Toyota Highlander I am selling. I now have a black 2014 Lexus RX350 F-Sport in the garage so I am reading up to try to figure out what products I should buy/use to do a minor correction on the paint (swirl marks) prior to putting the All Finish Pain protection on. I will post pics once I get to the Lexus!

FYI, I just found these instructions on a post in these forums for this product which seems to be instructions to use more product than what I was already using:
Machine Application: Apply BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection using a finishing pad or wax pad on an orbital polisher, such as the FLEX XC 3401 VRG Orbital Polisher. Work on a small area, about 24 to 24 inches square, out of direct sunlight. Apply two 6 to 8 inch lines of All Finish Paint Protection directly onto the surface. With the machine off, spread the sealant over the surface using the dry foam pad. This coats the foam pad and the paint with sealant. Place the pad on the paint and turn the machine on. Set the speed dial on the polisher between 3 and 4. Work the pad over the surface in a back-and-forth motion and then an up-and-down motion. Apply until the sealant starts to dry. Cover one section of the vehicle at a time (i.e. the hood, a door, fender, etc.) Allow a haze to form. Hand buff to a brilliant shine with a Cobra Microfiber Towel.
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Two 6" to 8" lines of product sounds like a heavy-handed approach. Is BFWD that different than other LSP's? I'm not sure that quantity is going be necessary. We generally apply LSP's (last-step products) very thinly.
 
With a sealant like Blackfire you can actually work a larger area than the area you did work. Wax/sealing paint is different than polishing paint in terms of area size.
 
You could do have done half the car with two 6 to 8" lines. Probably even more area than that.
 
My only question 311Hemi is how did the vehicle come out? Were you happy both removing the BF and the look of it after you were done?

In my experience there is always product to wash out of pads, including LSP product. The mantra repeated in our heads is always "very thin layers of LSP". As I was getting used to that concept some years ago I would apply 2 layers to compensate for what I thought was "too thin" on the first layer but there was always product to wash out of my pads! I look at that as evidence my pads were getting clean!

With regard to how much BF LSP, it sounds like you were close to "pea sized" drops (about half a dime). Try 2 of those instead of 4 and you might be surprised, after the initial pad load, that's enough. For my initial load I use 2 very thin (think thin spaghetti) lines in an "X" pattern on my LSP pad. I like Mike's tip on a quick pad press on a nearby window to see if there is any residual product left. It surprises me every time but reassures me that I still have plenty to lay down thin!

Here is my technique now with sealants (and Coll 845)...I bought a bunch of 2 ounce bottles and depending on vehicle size I load them up with 1-1.5 ounces of LSP. That insures I only use that amount or less.
 
You used way too much product. In the case of BFWD, it was probably still easy to remove and you just may have gotten a little dusting, but you did waste product.

My initial amount is normally a very thin spiral from the outer edge of the pad toward the center, as thin as a piece of string. That is enough to prime the pad an do at least a large hood and often a roof as well. After that, the same amount is enough for an entire side and one bumper. I really only need to reload the pad 2-3 times after priming.

Think about it this way; the sealant left on your car to protect it is immeasurably thin, your goal is only to get complete and even coverage. Anything you wipe off the paint is wasted product. (It's not an entirely true statement that everything wiped off is wasted since some is residue after curing/flashing, but it will get you in the right mindset.)
 
Thanks everyone, this info is great and very helpful. The pad was wet the whole time, so I am positive after reading this that I was using way to much product. Hopefully I can do the black Lexus next week when I am off work, that will be the true test. I will post my results back here when I complete the job.

The end result turned out good and I was happy with it for the time I put into it, but it's hard to really tell on the a white paint job. It was easy to wipe off.
 
I struggled with pad cleaning as well. Some detergents cleaned the pads ok but left a mess of compound behind. Tried Snappy Clean this weekend and it works well - the stuff on the pads is just gone. Regular detergent doesn't seem to break down the oils well enough, especially in cold water.

Like an idiot I stuck my un-gloved hand in the Snappy Clean water to agitate my pads. About 30 mins later my hand was very desiccated looking. The only other time I've seen something suck the oils out of my skin that quickly was when using trisodium phosphate (TSP). TSP is an excellent cleaner but pretty nasty stuff for your skin - it will dissolve the fat/oils right out of it. Looked up the MSDS for Snappy - it's up to 30% disodium metasilicate. Google told me it's apparently commonly used as a non-phosphate replacement for TSP. (Extra info for the extra curious and nerdy.)
 
^^^ Another great video by Mike. Don't get what this has to do with pad cleaning.
 
RippyD said:
^^^ Another great video by Mike. Don't get what this has to do with pad cleaning.
Click to expand...

Was more to demonstrate how much product to use when applying a sealant vs. polishing to help answer

I am wondering if this is normal, or if maybe I was using way to much polish on the pad?
Click to expand...

Forgive me if it was not helpful.
 
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