Questions on Cleaning MF pads with compressed air

[SR99]

Hoping to try out some microfiber pads for the first time soon. Since the general consensus is that compressed air cleaning is a must after each small section, I have a few questions:

Do you blow the air onto the pad with the machine on and free spinning, or off?

Any particular type of air nozzle that works best?

Do you hang a tarp on the wall (or something like that) where you direct the blown-off debris to stick to, so you don’t have debris everywhere? I imagine a bucket is too small and debris would blow back out.

Would a Master Blaster work just as well, or is a finer stream better?

Do you just randomly spray the airstream across the pad for about 5 seconds or so, or is longer than that, like say 30 seconds, generally needed?

[House of Wax]

[SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000][FONT=Calibri]Do you hang a tarp on the wall (or something like that) where you direct the blown-off debris to stick to, so you don’t have debris everywhere? I imagine a bucket is too small and debris would blow back out.




I'm interested to hear this part as well since it's getting to be that time of year where the garage door has to stay closed. don't really want that dust all over everything

[tuscarora dave]

Hoping to try out some microfiber pads for the first time soon. Since the general consensus is that compressed air cleaning is a must after each small section, I have a few questions:

Do you blow the air onto the pad with the machine on and free spinning, or off?

Machine off

Any particular type of air nozzle that works best?

I like one with a thin metal tube on the end so I can get the pad spinning real fast and touch the tube against the MF to help fluff the pad as it's being blown clean.

like this

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/2002%20Ford%20Cobra%20Terminator/198_zps267c5f25.jpg (http://s528.photobucket.com/user/tuscaroradave/media/2002%20Ford%20Cobra%20Terminator/198_zps267c5f25.jpg.html)



Do you hang a tarp on the wall (or something like that) where you direct the blown-off debris to stick to, so you don’t have debris everywhere? I imagine a bucket is too small and debris would blow back out.

I don't. I just blow it away from me and away from the car.

Would a Master Blaster work just as well, or is a finer stream better?

Master blaster wouldn't do anything but spin the pad because they get pretty clogged up with spent product/abraded off paint.

Kind of like this

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/069-3_zpsbe524413.jpg (http://s528.photobucket.com/user/tuscaroradave/media/069-3_zpsbe524413.jpg.html)

Do you just randomly spray the airstream across the pad for about 5 seconds or so, or is longer than that, like say 30 seconds, generally needed?

I start blowing at the outermost edge of the pad to get it spinning real fast and move the tip of the blow gun from the outer edge to the center of the pad then out again. Repeat as necessary. Usually 30 seconds does it unless you're using lots of product like in the second photo I posted here.

[SR99]

Thanks T-Dave. I generally work with the garage door closed so I guess I'll have to get creative. I wonder if a shop vac attachment with short, stiff bristles would work (maybe a dog grooming attachment like this: Shop-Vac 9190400 1.1/4-Inch Dog Grooming Tool - Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Vac-9190400-4-Inch-Grooming-Tool/dp/B004BDOQDE/ref=pd_sim_hg_28)
or some stiff nylon brush attachment. It would sure be a lot cleaner if a vacuum did work, but it might not be enough airflow to work well).

re: "I start blowing at the outermost edge of the pad to get it spinning real fast and move the tip of the blow gun from the outer edge to the center of the pad then out again. Repeat as necessary. Usually 30 seconds does it unless you're using lots of product like in the second photo I posted here."

The photos were very helpful; thanks. I guess that is another argument in favor of the washer mod for the Rupes, so it free-spins.

[AutowerxDetailing]

Everyone has their preferred way to do things. I'll just add that I normally have the machine on while blowing out MF pads and work the nozzle of my air gun from the center out. Then shut the machine off to blow out the sides where product sometimes builds up.

Sent from my HTC One V using AG Online

[DBAILEY]

I use a stiff brush and vacuum the MF pad. Couldn't stand all the dust that blowing causes. You just have to do it too much with the MF pads. I recently gone back to correcting with the rotary and purple wool. I spend much less time being so finicky about the pad.

[tuscarora dave]

Thanks T-Dave. I generally work with the garage door closed so I guess I'll have to get creative. I wonder if a shop vac attachment with short, stiff bristles would work (maybe a dog grooming attachment like this: Shop-Vac 9190400 1.1/4-Inch Dog Grooming Tool - Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Vac-9190400-4-Inch-Grooming-Tool/dp/B004BDOQDE/ref=pd_sim_hg_28)
or some stiff nylon brush attachment. It would sure be a lot cleaner if a vacuum did work, but it might not be enough airflow to work well).

re: "I start blowing at the outermost edge of the pad to get it spinning real fast and move the tip of the blow gun from the outer edge to the center of the pad then out again. Repeat as necessary. Usually 30 seconds does it unless you're using lots of product like in the second photo I posted here."

The photos were very helpful; thanks. I guess that is another argument in favor of the washer mod for the Rupes, so it free-spins.

You're welcome. As you can see below, VVV there's more ways to do it than some may think. Find what works for you and go with it. I know the master blaster blows pretty hard so who knows how it would work combined with a good stiff brush.


I use a stiff brush and vacuum the MF pad. Couldn't stand all the dust that blowing causes. You just have to do it too much with the MF pads. I recently gone back to correcting with the rotary and purple wool. I spend much less time being so finicky about the pad.

I actually would have never thought to try that. I have a stiff whitewall cleaning brush that I use to fluff up the fibers when the air alone won't do it. I'll have to give the vac a try once to see how it works.


Everyone has their preferred way to do things. I'll just add that I normally have the machine on while blowing out MF pads and work the nozzle of my air gun from the center out. Then shut the machine off to blow out the sides where product sometimes builds up.

Sent from my HTC One V using AG Online

That's right, there are plenty of roads to China as they say.

[BlkHemiLTD]

I do it the same way Dave does! :dblthumb2:

[KillaCam]

Keep the machine off, and hold it around 3 or 4 inches from the pad and blow away.. I usually blow it one direction and then turn it 180 degrees and do the other side so it fluffs up nice.

[SR99]

Thanks for the replies. I went ahead and ordered a pet grooming attachment for the vacuum. We'll see how that works. Using a vacuum seems like the cleanest approach so it seems worth experimenting with.

I guess it might clog the vacuum's filter the way drywall dust does, so that's something I'll have to check after using a while.

Another thought I had, if the vacuum doesn't work very well, is to use an upper filter bag from a woodworking dust collector. This is a fabric bag about the size of a large trash bag, and is designed to pass air through the fabric but trap particles inside. So you'd prop the bag open, hold the DA inside with one hand while blowing off the pad with compressed air using the other hand. The air flows through and the particles are left inside (in theory anyway).

[Corey@OptimalDetailing]

I run mine at a low speed and blow from outside in. I stop whem I either A) See no more product being removed or B) I can hear the machine "lighten up" from spent product being removed.

[tuscarora dave]

If you look up and or consider how a vacuum cleaner really works (scientifically) and think about how the slurry of spent product/abraded off paint that we want to be removed from the fibers of the pad are pretty much soaked into or stuck to the fibers, is it really an efficient means of dislodging these unwanted particles compared to blasting them off with compressed air?

Would it really work at all if the spent product/abraded off paint was anything short of dried and first agitated off/loose with a stiff brush?

I'd imagine a great percent of the slurry would remain using the brush and vacuum method.

I'm reminded of Kevin Brown's testing where he observed that it was the slurry of spent product/abraded off paint in his MF pads that was actually causing the hazing he was seeing left of the paint after attempting a cut to finish with MF pads using only one product (M-105 I think).

He increased the frequency of cleaning the pads and noted a significant reduction in the haze he was getting. I'd have to reread his writings to see if he was in fact using a means of cleaning other than compressed air, just can't remember that detail. Just thinking out loud here for sake of discussion is all.

Maybe I'll have to do a side by side comparison of the two different cleaning methods just for the sake of doing something to make my hum drum production duties more fun.