7 day soak in pad cleaner broke down paint sealant

[KirkH]

For me, paint sealant, such as Chemical Guys Jet Seal or McKee's High Def are the toughest material to get out of my pads.

It seems that I soak and brush and rinse and squeeze and then i can STILL squeeze out a little more white paint sealant if I squeeze really hard.

I soaked 3 blue pads that had Jet Seal and High Def in them for 7 days in Chemical Guys Pad Cleaner. Today, I rinsed them and squeezed them out. All the sealant seems to have been broken down and rinsed out. I could not squeeze out any more sealant. this is not the usual for me. I usually soak for maybe a few hours at most.

I will try to do a more scientific test of this after the next car with paint sealant.

[custmsprty]

I hit mine with a spritz of pad cleaner, tossem in the he washing machine on steam cycle and they come out clean as can be. I've done that with every different sealant I've ever used. I use All Free & Clear.

Also, I've never had any issues with backing delamination either.

Now the wife might not like it since the machine smells like sealant :buffing:

I run an empty machine cylce afterwards with a tide washing machine cleaner and all is good to kill the smell.

[Bruno Soares]

I remember trying to clean my black pad used with WGDGPS 3.0 and after wasting about an hour I gave up. I was using WG Pad Werks cleaner or whatever they call their product you mix with water. That thing just can't be removed. My entire kitchen sink was hydrophobic for a while, LOL. My hands were a mess too. Now I just squeeze all I can and put the pad in a zip lock bag to use it again with same sealant. And I wear gloves when handling the sealant.

[idriveblackcars]

I never had any issues getting Jetseal out. I use to use a red pad and after a soak with CG pad cleaner they were like brand new.

WG came out just as easy.

[Route246]

I have multiple pad cleaning solvents. They all suck to get sealants out of my pads. On a whim I tried Dawn (Blue one, not standard, this one was a stronger version than plain Dawn) and it worked like a champ. It rinses out just fine. Not sure why Dawn gets such negative sentiment here but I'm switching for good. All of that money I wasted on expensive pad cleaning solvent was an expensive lesson learned.


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[idriveblackcars]

I have multiple pad cleaning solvents. They all suck to get sealants out of my pads. On a whim I tried Dawn (Blue one, not standard, this one was a stronger version than plain Dawn) and it worked like a champ. It rinses out just fine. Not sure why Dawn gets such negative sentiment here but I'm switching for good. All of that money I wasted on expensive pad cleaning solvent was an expensive lesson learned.


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I use about an ounce of dawn and a ounce of car shampoo mixed in a spray bottle for a spot cleaner.. works awesome and gets lots of stuff clean.

[KirkH]

I hit mine with a spritz of pad cleaner, tossem in the he washing machine on steam cycle and they come out clean as can be. I've done that with every different sealant I've ever used. I use All Free & Clear.

Also, I've never had any issues with backing delamination either.

Now the wife might not like it since the machine smells like sealant :buffing:

I run an empty machine cylce afterwards with a tide washing machine cleaner and all is good to kill the smell.

Wife would freak if there were sealant stains or smell on her clothes. When I replace the washer and dryer in one of my apartments I am putting the old ones in the detail basement.

[custmsprty]

Wife would freak if there were sealant stains or smell on her clothes. When I replace the washer and dryer in one of my apartments I am putting the old ones in the detail basement.

You know the old saying, better to ask for forgiveness than permission :cheers:

[adamgayton81]

Dawn dish soap here. I use Jet Seal frequently and dawn cleans the pads better than anything. I'm with the others on here on using it for cleaning my pads.


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[KirkH]

I will have to try Dawn!


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[Route246]

Dawn dish soap here. I use Jet Seal frequently and dawn cleans the pads better than anything. I'm with the others on here on using it for cleaning my pads.


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I'm just glad I tried it. Pad cleaner fanboy condemnation prevented me in the past. It is often difficult reading these forums to filter out what engineers call FUD fear uncertainty doubt.


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[VISITOR]

here's a good read for those who haven't seen it...
https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/108132-cleaning-polishing-pads-stop-damaging-your-most-expensive-investment-mckee-s-37-polishing-pad-cleaner-review.html

[Route246]

here's a good read for those who haven't seen it...
https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/108132-cleaning-polishing-pads-stop-damaging-your-most-expensive-investment-mckee-s-37-polishing-pad-cleaner-review.html

I read this thread and I remain a bit skeptical about a few points.

First, this thread (the one here, not the one linked) specifically is addressing sealant.

Second, no more residue will be left behind washing a pad with Dawn or a dedicated pad cleaner iff (if and only if) sufficient rinsing with clean water has taken place. There is nothing special about Dawn or other detergents that will somehow magically leave behind any residue if proper rinsing has happened. You cannot convince me otherwise of this. If it were true you would consuming that residue on your dishes and utensils washed with Dawn.

My main point of skepticism is residue, which the linked article states: "Residue from all the cleaners above will linger in the pad and continue to break down as you use it. So now it is taking a beating while getting polished and cleaned."

I respectfully disagree with this statement.

[dlc95]

Was the CG pad cleaner diluted at all?

I usually use mine 4oz cleaner in a 16oz trogger bottle, then fill with water.

I use wheen cleaner on my sealant pads.

For as weak as M21 is purported to be. It sure doesn't like being washed out of pads..

[custmsprty]

I will have to try Dawn!


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Before you do that, load up some dawn into a household sponge rub it in really well and then see how long it takes you to squeeze it out and no longer get suds then imagine that stuff in a polishing pad.

The other thing is the correction efficiency of a pad is directly related to the aggressiveness of the foam. The more you squeeze (deform) and squish a foam pad you eventually break down the foam cells rigidity/aggressivness.

That's why I toss mine in the washing machine, no squeezing or squishing.

I can attest to this from testing.

I've mentined before, I've been selling packaging and maintenace supplies for 25 + years. I've been a to foam pad manufacturing plant and seen the mfg process.

Think of a household sponge, the longer you use it and squeeze it the softer it gets. I have a 3m dobie sponge right now, when it was fresh it could scrub your skin off, now it's a few weeks old and it's old and ragged.