How to clean your foam pad on the fly

[Mike Phillips]

I should have been more clear, you've stated in past threads that the Flex 3401 has a "DA motion", so not seeing the Flex 3401 listed, that's why I asked...

LOL

Actually, I need to tighten up my typing...

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Hey just wondering, but did the video of this technique ever get made...i notice the thread kinda died after poor Mike got busted scanning lol...just kiddin ya

[NiSyam]

no video yet ?

[arenared]

Mike, I finally found this GREAT thread to help me with this technique. (Mine is a PC 7424.)

Can you or others give some guidance on how often to clean the pad?

I would imagine the first answer is it depends. I saw in another thread that, for swirl removal, you clean approx every two section passes. At first thought, this seemed a bit much to me, but maybe you are working with cars in worse shape or more material removal than I have done. Or, I am just making a common mistake by not cleaning enough, perhaps in an effort to not use a whole bottle of product.

How about a few ranges such as for:

* Heavy cutting compounds
* Light cutting compounds
* Swirl removers
* Glazes
* Pre-Wax Cleaners
* All-In-Ones
* Sealants (I believe the answer is none on this one)

Thanks!

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Mike, I finally found this GREAT thread to help me with this technique. (Mine is a PC 7424.)

Can you or others give some guidance on how often to clean the pad?

I would imagine the first answer is it depends. I saw in another thread that, for swirl removal, you clean approx every two section passes. At first thought, this seemed a bit much to me, but maybe you are working with cars in worse shape or more material removal than I have done. Or, I am just making a common mistake by not cleaning enough, perhaps in an effort to not use a whole bottle of product.

How about a few ranges such as for:

* Heavy cutting compounds
* Light cutting compounds
* Swirl removers
* Glazes
* Pre-Wax Cleaners
* All-In-Ones
* Sealants (I believe the answer is none on this one)

Thanks!

Whoa a whole bottle of product? What kind of product are you talking about and how come you think cleaning your pad would cause you to use more?

For the most part once you 'prime' your pad, you should only need a little product there after for each section pass. You actually end up saving product because what little product you DO use after cleaning, will actually work better, rather than just being smeared around with no results.

[arenared]

"In an effort to..." I never said I used the whole bottle nor what size bottle.

What I'm looking for are recommendations. I'm seeing videos of equipment like the Grit Guard Universal Pad Washer along with recommendations of cleaning pads after every section pass. This seems excessive. It seems to me that it does take a couple section passes to "prime" the pad. But, if you are washing it after every pass, I think you're going to probably use 2X product and sure make a lot of extra work.

That is what appeals to me about this "on the fly" cleaning. I fully hear you about "freshening" the pad up to remove old product/removed paint/etc. to allow the fresh product to work more effectively.

So, what is a typical range/amount of cleaning for "on the fly" cleaning? I'm thinking it might be useful to think about this in terms of a number of section passes. What are some scenarios? After every section pass? After every 4? And what about different products such as AIO?

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

"In an effort to..." I never said I used the whole bottle nor what size bottle.

What I'm looking for are recommendations. I'm seeing videos of equipment like the Grit Guard Universal Pad Washer along with recommendations of cleaning pads after every section pass. This seems excessive. It seems to me that it does take a couple section passes to "prime" the pad. But, if you are washing it after every pass, I think you're going to probably use 2X product and sure make a lot of extra work.

That is what appeals to me about this "on the fly" cleaning. I fully hear you about "freshening" the pad up to remove old product/removed paint/etc. to allow the fresh product to work more effectively.

So, what is a typical range/amount of cleaning for "on the fly" cleaning? I'm thinking it might be useful to think about this in terms of a number of section passes. What are some scenarios? After every section pass? After every 4? And what about different products such as AIO?

For me, when compounding, no matter what product...usually after every 1 or 2 section passes i'll do an 'on the fly' cleaning...terry town...wipe the face of the pad of until i can sort of see the 'pores' if you will of the pad...rather than just a bunch of wet product/removed paint on the pad.

With AIO products, i think it depends on how much 'cut' the AIO has...if you use something like D151, which has a pretty good cut to it, i'd stick to every 2 or 3 section passes to do a quick clean. If it doesn't have a super heavy cut then not as much paint will be removed, but product can still build up...so i'd say at least LOOK at your pad after every pass...if you see the center of your pad is soaked...then do a quick clean...if you can still see the pores of the foam, then i'd say you are ok for another pass.

I look at it this way tho...if i skimp on a clean because i'm trying to move faster and just go onto my next section pass, but it ends up not doing what I wanted BECAUSE I didnt clean it, then I actually wasted time because now I have to go on and clean the pad anyway, and then go over the same section again because it wasn't done right the first time.

You'll get the hang of when to clean and not clean it...just inspect your pad and the section you just did and you'll develop a feel for when its time. As a general rule tho, i try to do it every 2 passes or so. It doesnt take a lot of time and it helps for better results

[arenared]

Thanks, Wills! That's a great response.

Every 2 passes (or so) matches what Mike Phillips was saying in a related thread on swirl removal, so I'll try that when using a compound. And with AIO, then I'm maybe looking at 3. All +/-.

Based on these forums, I am obviously not cleaning enough, and your explanation of skimping and actually wasting time makes sense and is logical and a good way to think about it.

I will try to apply your suggestion about reading the condition of the foam pores to see if they are soaked with used compound/gunk as well. Sounds like a good tip.

I'm hoping this "on the fly" technique gives me better results, faster, and without a bunch of gunked up pads having to be run to the kitchen sink

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Thanks, Wills! That's a great response.

Every 2 passes (or so) matches what Mike Phillips was saying in a related thread on swirl removal, so I'll try that when using a compound. And with AIO, then I'm maybe looking at 3. All +/-.

Based on these forums, I am obviously not cleaning enough, and your explanation of skimping and actually wasting time makes sense and is logical and a good way to think about it.

I will try to apply your suggestion about reading the condition of the foam pores to see if they are soaked with used compound/gunk as well. Sounds like a good tip.

I'm hoping this "on the fly" technique gives me better results, faster, and without a bunch of gunked up pads having to be run to the kitchen sink

Ya I HATE cleaning pads too. I've been able to make it thru some pretty big jobs using just 1 pad in some cases...if you do have to change out, just make sure you have some soapy water in a bucket tot throw the dirty pad into...dried up polish/compound/wax is NO FUN to try to clean up..much easier if you just let it soak while you continue work with another pad.

Also, have you checked out the Kevin Brown method of priming?

[arenared]

Thanks! Found some links and pics