Do pads eventually lose their cutting power during a detail?

J

jmkiang

New member
After a pad is too saturated with polish, does it lose cutting power? Or does it just seem that way.



My pads seem to get "caked" with polish and "gray" stuff (which I can only assume is contaminants being removed).



My LC white / M205 combo started throwing small chunks on me this weekend! At first, I thought they were small rocks! I was almost shat myself.



I quickly switched to a new pad.
 
You really should be conditioning your pads when detailing. A stiff brush does a good job to keep the pads from getting gummed up.
 
Saw a trick of holding an mf towed against the pad and letting it rip for a moment on full power to get rid of the junk on the pad. Don't know if there is a better way but it was recommended to me for a quick refresh. If it is too gummed up, switch to a new one and wash that one out later.



On a note, the gray stuff? I assumed it was the polish an minute amounts of clear that you are taking away. Shouldn't the finish be contaminate free before polishing? Asking because I just don't know :)
 
As mentioned, you should use a brush to clean the pad after each time you polish a section, or at least every other time... keeps the pad from getting too much polish on the surface but pad still stays saturated so you don't need to add as much polish as the first panel or two
 
Danase said:
You really should be conditioning your pads when detailing. A stiff brush does a good job to keep the pads from getting gummed up.
Click to expand...

Thought the pads didn't need to be conditioned if you prime them first...?



Can QD be used to condition? Z6?



cptzippy said:
Saw a trick of holding an mf towed against the pad and letting it rip for a moment on full power to get rid of the junk on the pad. Don't know if there is a better way but it was recommended to me for a quick refresh. If it is too gummed up, switch to a new one and wash that one out later.



On a note, the gray stuff? I assumed it was the polish an minute amounts of clear that you are taking away. Shouldn't the finish be contaminate free before polishing? Asking because I just don't know :)
Click to expand...

Maybe contaminants wasn't the proper term...



I will try the MF towel method next detail. How do you keep the towel from flying off? is the MF dry?
 
cptzippy said:
Saw a trick of holding an mf towed against the pad and letting it rip for a moment on full power to get rid of the junk on the pad. Don't know if there is a better way but it was recommended to me for a quick refresh. If it is too gummed up, switch to a new one and wash that one out later.



On a note, the gray stuff? I assumed it was the polish an minute amounts of clear that you are taking away. Shouldn't the finish be contaminate free before polishing? Asking because I just don't know :)
Click to expand...



The m/f towel works ok at best but only with a RO machine... use it with a rotary and you'll either get hurt or see the towel fly away... unless you fold it up and hold it on one side of the pad, but brush will work a lot better
 
jmkiang said:
Thought the pads didn't need to be conditioned if you prime them first...?



Can QD be used to condition? Z6?





Maybe contaminants wasn't the proper term...



I will try the MF towel method next detail. How do you keep the towel from flying off? is the MF dry?
Click to expand...



When I said conditioned I just meant kept clean.
 
jmkiang said:
^ Ah Ok thanks. I will buy a small brush with stiff bristles and give this a try.
Click to expand...



I forgot whether it was Murray's or Autozone, but they sell that little 3-brush kit... one's plastic, one metal and one even stiffer metal I think... I've been using the plastic one for almost 2 years I think and it works perfectly fine... when you stop by I can show you...



As for this weekend, I'll only be home for a quick interior on Saturday then an 'away' detail Sunday, so we'll have to re-schedule
 
Pad pores do get clogged with polish and clear coat. When I'm using a wave foam pad on either the PC or rotary, I just wipe down the face of the pad with an MF after about every other application. When I'm using wool, I use a wool spur after every application of polish.
 
SuperBee364 said:
Pad pores do get clogged with polish and clear coat. When I'm using a wave foam pad on either the PC or rotary, I just wipe down the face of the pad with an MF after about every other application. When I'm using wool, I use a wool spur after every application of polish.
Click to expand...



Try a brush too Supe, you might just like it haha
 
All I have is the LC CCS pads... I'll try the brush.



Ivan, thats cool. Just lemme know when I can stop by. I think I got a couple more jobs thru referrals!
 
If you are removing swirls, use the Orange CCS Pad 5.5 or 4 inch for best correction. White CCS pad for final polish. GL!
 
I've got some old tooth brushes, a hand fingernail brush I picked up from an autoparts store and a tool/brush for getting the polish residue off of a pad that looks alot like a toothbrush.



As stated, every few panels and I clear off the pad. I've noticed that if the pad gets too gunked up to clean with these tools/brushes, I take the pad off and dunk it in a bucket with clean water and work the reside off with the water, shake it dry, put it back on the PC and run it on 6 a few times to get the rest of the water out and it's good as new!
 
^ Hmm thats a great idea too. Didn't think of that.



Also, "adding" water to the polish adds to the cut right? At least thats what the Zaino website says about ZPC.
 
With PC/Cyclo/Flex 3401 I often clean the pad with a spritz of #34 and a *cotton* towel. The cotton seems to work a little better for me than MF. Yeah, this is for when I don't need to use a brush to *really* clear stuff away.



jmkiang- Yeah, adding water *usually* increases the cut but not always, depends on the product. It generally increases the work time while diluting the polishing oils, which is probably a big part of it.
 
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