How to clean Pads?

[Zack01GC]

I use The Edge 6" DA foam pads. I use the Green, Blue, and White primarily. Now I may have a detail coming up on a Black car (my car is silver, so I don't worry about the pads so much), and they are caked with polish (SSR2.5 and SSR1 from the last few times I used them. The white finishing pad is full of Meg's #26.

What can I do to clean them? I don't want them to do more harm than good, especially on a Black, High-Dollar (Saleen) car.

I have used the pads like this twice on my car, and they have worked just fine. Black just makes me nervous. :o

Edit: I am a broke college student, and can't afford a fancy pad cleaning kit right now. Need some ideas for DIY or a way to do it with household products.

[Bert31]

I use The Edge 6" DA foam pads. I use the Green, Blue, and White primarily. Now I may have a detail coming up on a Black car (my car is silver, so I don't worry about the pads so much), and they are caked with polish (SSR2.5 and SSR1 from the last few times I used them. The white finishing pad is full of Meg's #26.

What can I do to clean them? I don't want them to do more harm than good, especially on a Black, High-Dollar (Saleen) car.

I have used the pads like this twice on my car, and they have worked just fine. Black just makes me nervous. :o

Edit: I am a broke college student, and can't afford a fancy pad cleaning kit right now. Need some ideas for DIY or a way to do it with household products.

Some people use All Purpose Cleaners, I like Dawn Power Dissolver myself with a shot of degreaser. While the degreaser is optional, it certainly helps.

My method is as follows:

-Make bucket of hot water with Dawn Power Dissolver and degreaser.
-Put the pads in the bucket and scrub them with my hands, squeeze them to release polish/aio and allow soapy water to be absorbed and continue squeezing and scrubing till I see the water getting no dirtier.
-Pour out that water and squeeze the pads to get the dirty water out of them.
-The above steps get most of the products out of of your pads, the easy stuff.
-Make another bucket of water with Dawn and the degreaser.
-Allow the pads to soak for 20 - 30 minutes to allow Dawn and the degreaser to loosen up the stubborn product on the pads
-Go back to scrubbing and squeezing the pads
-Repeat as many times as needed - generally not too many times.
-When pads are clean, do one more time only with Dawn to ensure degreaser is washed out.
-Finish by rinsing pads thoroughly.

[Deep Gloss Auto Salon]

Some people use All Purpose Cleaners, I like Dawn Power Dissolver myself with a shot of degreaser. While the degreaser is optional, it certainly helps.

My method is as follows:

-Make bucket of hot water with Dawn Power Dissolver and degreaser.
-Put the pads in the bucket and scrub them with my hands, squeeze them to release polish/aio and allow soapy water to be absorbed and continue squeezing and scrubing till I see the water getting no dirtier.
-Pour out that water and squeeze the pads to get the dirty water out of them.
-The above steps get most of the products out of of your pads, the easy stuff.
-Make another bucket of water with Dawn and the degreaser.
-Allow the pads to soak for 20 - 30 minutes to allow Dawn and the degreaser to loosen up the stubborn product on the pads
-Go back to scrubbing and squeezing the pads
-Repeat as many times as needed - generally not too many times.
-When pads are clean, do one more time only with Dawn to ensure degreaser is washed out.
-Finish by rinsing pads thoroughly.

Follow this and you will be all set.. I do the same thing but I use APC and not Dawn.

[Bert31]

Follow this and you will be all set.. I do the same thing but I use APC and not Dawn.


I have heard All Purpose Cleaners work well also. I figured since he said he is trying to save money, I would mentioned a product that can be purchased for a few bucks at Wally World.:D

[Craig]

Are you saying you've never cleaned them? If not, you better start and fast. Your pads should be cleaned everytime you use them. If nothing else, spray the ones with SSR 1 & 2 with the hose right after you take them off the PC. This with get 90% of the SSR out. Or you can do this at the kitchin sink, rinse it out the best you can. Take a brush (a old tooth brush will work if nothing else) and scrub the pads lightly to get the pollish off. Spray them with some APC, work the APC in the pad with your hands. Let it set. The one you use with Megs #26, spray it with APC. Work it in your hands to get the APC all through the pad, let pad sit a while to dissolve the wax. The one with dried wax will take the longest. When you're happy with the way they look, rinse good. Lay them on a towel to dry. If you want, put them on the PC and give them a spin to get most of the water out. You might want to do that outside. Let the pads dry completely. It could take a couple days if you live where it's cool now. Don't put the pads in a plastic bag unless they are dry, they will mildew. That you won't get out. From now on clean your pads right away. A little APC is cheaper that new pads.

[Zack01GC]

Thanks guys.

[Bonifax]

I wash my pads with water, Zep degreaser and a Nylon Brush with great results.
Soak the pads with water and squeeze them to get rid of most of the polish, then spray them with degreaser, let it act for a few seconds and then use the nylon brush, rinse them with lots of water and you're done.