Proper Pad Washing

A

asleepz

New member
I've used my pads on about 5 cars now and I've been washing them with warm tap water and Dawn soap. It seems to be working great and the Dawn gets the polish and wax out in a hurry. I just use a light to moderate rubbing with my fingers and it comes out.



But I was wondering if the soap would do anything to the foam or if I'm alright.
 
I'm no expert, but I think that's actually the recommended cleaning procedure for the Sonus Swirlbuster pad.



http://www.autopia-carcare.com/sonsbfpp.html



If it'll work for that, I can't picture it hurting other pads. My only concern would be making sure the pads are completely detergent free before using them again. If you use Dawn to clean your pads, and you know that Dawn can remove wax, it's a bit self-defeating to have a pad with Dawn retained from the last washing being used to apply anything to your paint. :).



Just my non-expert opinion.
 
The Dawn residue would only be a problem if you were applying LSP with the pad. Your technique sounds fine, I find the temptation to squeeze or wring the pad can be detrimental to the velcro adhesion, so make sure you press them flat if you want to get the water out.
 
I did this technique to my "disposable" Porter Cable foam pads and it works really well and you can get the soap out. My SFX pads on the other hand seem like they have a gallon of soap in them whenever I try to get it out.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I find the temptation to squeeze or wring the pad can be detrimental to the velcro adhesion, so make sure you press them flat if you want to get the water out.
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Put them on a machine and spin them. Rotaries are great for this. A little tougher on a PC but still works. PC Spin tip - dry the back of the pad a bit with a towel, start at speed 1, once it gets going turn it up.
 
Tuan - the washing machine works and IS NOT detrimental to the pads. Pads that breathe well and have a more open-cell structure come 100% clean via a washing machine..pads such as the Propel/American Buffing. On the other hand, I've found it necessary to periodically perform an in-depth hand wash on more dense/less breathable pads such as the SFX pads, the white lake country VC pads from CMA, and any of the orange pads...otherwise some of the product will remain in the pad, causing dust the next time you use it. For the dense pads I like to flush and squeeze about 5 or 6 times till the pad is truely clean. This is the drawback to dense pads...but the advantage is less splatter on a rotary and usually the ability to apply more pressure via PC.
 
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