soaking pads....question about personal prefrences

[mwoywod]

Hey guys, I was hoping to get some feedback on what you use in the bucket you soak your spent pads in when switching to a fresh pad? I use to just fill a bucket with warm water just to keep the polish/compound from drying and i didn't want to soak my pads in an APC/degreaser for risk of breaking down the adhesive on my pads prematurely.

I've used d114 and ONR as the solution for the past year, which I've noticed it does help release more paint residue than plain water but it's not extremely effective. Lately I've been using an ounce of 1z blitz in 2 gallons of water. It cleans a TON of the paint residue out and its mild enough that I'm not worried about it causing any problems with the adhesive backing, plus it's highly concentrate.

I was wondering if any of you guys could share any recommendations for other soaps or cleaners I could use (other than a dedicated pad cleaning solution of course). Could a car shampoo without wax like Hyperwash be used?

Lastly, I have a bunch of wolfgang pad conditioner that I dont use anymore because it's not necessary with the polishes I use. I wanted to know if it would help "condition" my pads and help prevent them from prematurely aging if I spray them after I washed them? I know that isn't the purpose of a pad conditioner but I still felt like it was an interesting thought so I wanted to get some opinions. Thanks!

[The Guz]

I know you did not want a dedicated pad cleaner but I am going to recommend either one of these

McKee's 37 Polishing Pad Rejuvenator was created to provide detailers with a fast and effective way to clean pads without soapy residue or foamy

Poorboy’s World Tornado Pad Cleaner

Poorboys is top notch. One of my top pad cleaners at the moment.

[lawrenceSA]

I typically use a sachet of Snappy Pad cleaner in a bucket of warm water.

[Paul A.]

I have a bucket mix of fresh water and...ok, believe it or not...Dawn dish soap! When i retire a pad from the job i rinse it with the hose to remove as much spent product, car paint etc out of the pad and then drop it in the Dawn/water mixture and it soaks for the remaining time of the job. I am like the op in that i don't like to let any of my pads dry dirty. Dish soap is cheap.

When i'm done I then clean them out with Wolfgang Pad Cleaner and Conditioner. I love that stuff to finish the pad cleaning. The label instructions suggest spritzing the pads with it for storage however i have not done that and prefer to keep them dry until next use.

I have never experienced any pad issues with letting them soak in a light mixture of dish soap and water while i finish the job. And even though i try to hose them out to remove as much spent material before they get dropped in the soapy bucket I always get that thin layer of whitish/grey sludge mud when i empty the bucket.

[dlc95]

I've sprayed bother onr, apc, and glass cleaner on them after use. So far I like my dedicated pad cleaner.

[BadgerRivFan]

I know you did not want a dedicated pad cleaner but I am going to recommend either one of these

McKee's 37 Polishing Pad Rejuvenator was created to provide detailers with a fast and effective way to clean pads without soapy residue or foamy

Poorboy’s World Tornado Pad Cleaner

Poorboys is top notch. One of my top pad cleaners at the moment.

I use the same (I think) process as the Guz... Spray a pad cleaner on the used pad, then drop it in a bucket of water mixed with the McKee's 37 Polishing Pad Rejuvenator (DP, BlackFire, etc. I believe are all the same) until I am ready to clean them in the sink with the spray pad cleaner.

[natewood70]

I've always soaked mine in a dawn/water mix.

I haven't noticed any issues with the pads OR the backing on them and I didn't see any difference in the pads when I did use a dedicated polishing pad rejuvenator. (last time I did was about a decade ago)

I'm still not entirely convinced that a dedicated pad cleaner is really needed IMO... even for cleaning on the fly, I still just use a terry cloth towel and spin the pad on the machine to get the gunk out. It's not until I am completely done that I seek a full blown cleansing.

[grovlet]

I just use Micro Restore & water to soak them for a few days - and then throw them into the washer for a spin

Also I just toss my microfibres in a bucket with micro restore/water until I have enough to do a full wash load.

[The Guz]

I know you did not want a dedicated pad cleaner but I am going to recommend either one of these

McKee's 37 Polishing Pad Rejuvenator was created to provide detailers with a fast and effective way to clean pads without soapy residue or foamy

Poorboy’s World Tornado Pad Cleaner

Poorboys is top notch. One of my top pad cleaners at the moment.

I use the same (I think) process as the Guz... Spray a pad cleaner on the used pad, then drop it in a bucket of water mixed with the McKee's 37 Polishing Pad Rejuvenator (DP, BlackFire, etc. I believe are all the same) until I am ready to clean them in the sink with the spray pad cleaner.

If I am not using a lot of pads then I use the poorboys product. Works great. Better than dish soap. Dish soap can be a pain to remove completely from pads. Poorboys rinses out completely.

If I use a lot of pads then I use the McKee's product. I just toss them in the bucket mixture. They don't need to soak for that long. The directions say 15 mins. Be sure to rinse them out after to get the pad cleaner out of them. The only issue I have seen with this one is that it turned the one Rupes white pad a light yellow after letting my pads soak overnight as I was to tired to wash them after finishing a paint correction. A minor issue as it does not affect pad performance.

[rlmccarty2000]

It would be nice if the Lake Country, Buff & Shine, or Rupes (and pad manufacturer) rep would chime in on what is their preferred way of pad cleaning to get the best out of their respective pads.