Pad discoloring...dirt? Other?

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JCDetails

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Have been noticing that aside from the pink staining of 360, lots of my pads have a blackish or brownish staining to them, what I would expect to see with no decon on the paint even though I may have clayed and used an iron remover.

Ive washed by hand with mckees pad cleaner and also used their polishing pad rejuvenator as a soak. I even tried running them on a quick warm wash in the machine with a touch of mf detergent and they still look dirty.

Is it just innocuous staining or should I not expect to get more than one to two uses out of a pad?


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It's likely contamination within the pores of the paint that you are cleaning from the surface by polishing. Quite normal and nothing to worry about! Quality foam pads will last for 20+ uses with proper care and cleaning.
 
Should I expect to see the pad get back to white? I'm trying everything and can't get rid of it. I can tell for sure the spent product is gone, but it looks super dirty still


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White pads usually get stained and just stay that way. It's even worse if you're working with single stage paint. Most of my pads are perma-pink from working on so many red vehicles with single stage paint.
 
This looks like dirt that won't come out though. I know that 360 stains them and that's no problem, but it's black/brown discoloration from a white car. Tried cleaning the hell out of the pads and won't come out


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Sometimes if you pick up a lot of grime from a neglected car it will be difficult to totally clean the pad out. Maybe try pressure washing the pad? I used to not like that the face of my used pads looked dirty but it honestly doesn't impact performance at all. As long as you have cleaned out spent product and paint residue you're good to go.
 
Good to know, thanks for your insight. May give the pw a try on one or two and see what happens


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This is normal from whatever the product you are using. As long as you can clean the pads as best you can it should be good to go. My White Lake Country Hybrid Pads have grey spots from the Menzerna SF4500 that I use.
 
Kamakaz1961 said:
This is normal from whatever the product you are using. As long as you can clean the pads as best you can it should be good to go. My White Lake Country Hybrid Pads have grey spots from the Menzerna SF4500 that I use.
Click to expand...

Mostly mckees 360, but some jescar polish as well which I believe is essentially SF3500


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JCDetails said:
Ive washed by hand with mckees pad
cleaner and also used their polishing
pad rejuvenator as a soak.

I even tried running them on a quick
warm wash in the machine with a touch
of mf detergent and they still look dirty.

Is it just innocuous staining or should I
not expect to get more than one to two
uses out of a pad?
Click to expand...
•Stains/staining won’t affect the foam
pads’ future polishing performances:
-“Hold Harmless”.


•On the other hand:
-Use of the “wrong” chemicals and tools,
in attempts to remove those stains, can
damage the foam pads’ cells—thereby
affecting not only their future performance;
but, also: reducing their expected life cycle.



Bob
 
Mike Phillips said:
Here’s a few articles on this topic with pictures that tell the story...

https://www.autogeekonline.net/foru...ow-remove-stains-embedded-dirt-out-paint.html

https://www.autogeekonline.net/foru...ive-your-car-rain-your-car-has-road-film.html

https://www.autogeekonline.net/foru...nt-dip-stained-paint-dirt-embedded-paint.html


:)
Click to expand...

Hey Mike,

I had read those and the pics of the white pads describe exactly what I'm seeing. Only problem is none discuss the cleaning of the pads that get this way!

So, that being the case even though the pad looks dirty, by hand cleaning with the M37 pad cleaner and/or soaking in M37 pad rejuvenator then rinsing and allowing to dry, it's just stains from the traffic film and the pad should be GTG? Or is the traffic film/embedded contaminant stubborn enough that it's probably best just to chuck those pads?
 
I've had good results with the orange/citrus cleaners removing road film staining from foam. I don't know what long term effect this has on the foam. But, I haven't noticed a problem.

I know when I use P21S to wash with after using regular car soap it cleans the foam wash pad up noticeably. Will this work the same for buffing foam? I don't know. But, it might be worth a try.

I think Snappy clean is citrus based. Have you tried that?
 
ducksfan said:
I've had good results with the orange/citrus cleaners removing road film staining from foam. I don't know what long term effect this has on the foam. But, I haven't noticed a problem.

I know when I use P21S to wash with after using regular car soap it cleans the foam wash pad up noticeably. Will this work the same for buffing foam? I don't know. But, it might be worth a try.

I think Snappy clean is citrus based. Have you tried that?
Click to expand...

The mckees stuff is definitely citrus based. It took a lot of crap out of the pads but didn’t seem to get the staining out. The water turns basically like lemon lime Gatorade when you add the product, and by the time 15 minutes passed it was definitely dirty and Red tinted from the 360 residue. Maybe it needs more than a 15min soak? Or it and their pad cleaner aren’t compatible products?


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Nicholas@Autowerx said:
It's likely contamination within the pores of the paint that you are cleaning from the surface by polishing. Quite normal and nothing to worry about! Quality foam pads will last for 20+ uses with proper care and cleaning.
Click to expand...

Mike Phillips said:
Here’s a few articles on this topic with pictures that tell the story...
Click to expand...

Thank you both for your replies! I've been meaning to ask this question. I did my first machine polish ever not too long ago, and even after chemical and mechanical decontamination, my cutting pad was covered in dark, almost black, residue after doing the roof. No other panels. I was wondering what on Earth was going on. Glad to hear it's somewhat normal.
 
Sometimes when buffing areas (i.e. the roof, trimmed black areas or rubber seal around sun/moon roofs) you'll pick up some of that black color. It also gets dirtier from the bottom side panels and rocker panels. I use moderately hot water, oxi clean powder, a little dishwashing liquid and scrub them with a pad brush. The only ones I've not had success with are the white pads I used with XMT 360 a few years back. However, as others have said, the pads still performs.
 
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