Cleaning Pads after Polishing

[Herrmann22]

Real quick question:

I'm going to attempt to polish my first car a little later this evening. If I don't finish the whole car, which I may not have time to do...What is the best way to store, or clean the foam polishing pad until I use it again. Or, can I?

I want to take my time and not rush this ya know?

[MikeN]

I clean mine with Dawn

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[ken tuep]

I also clean with dawn and warm water. Rinse and ring it out really well. Then put Velcro up on a towel on the dryer. Then run some laundry through to help dry pads faster, or they'll mostly dry overnight.

Or use an air compressor, or rotary polisher to spin it out then set on a towel.

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[scottdevine]

+3 Dawn...in fact just used the 845 i got in trade, and washed as has been described here...warm water, squirt some dawn and work the wax out...i find some waxes have much more residue than others and you really have to work the water and dawn through the pad to get it out. I don't have a pad washer yet as i really don't use enough pads to justify getting one, and i don't mind cleaning up the pads, its just a continuation of detailing.

[AutowerxDetailing]

How I clean my pads:

1) Sink sprayer to dislodge any heavy compound/polish/wax build up on surface of pads.
2) Spray with APC, let dwell for 10-20 mins.
3) Agitate pad surface with a brush under running water to flush away remaining residue.
4) Wring out by hand.
5) Spin dry on rotary.
6) Leave to dry overnight and they are ready to use the next day.

[custmsprty]

I pretreat with xmt pad cleaner, toss in front loading washing machine with all free and clear and prewash setting and longer cycle and spin dries and they are good to go.

[erichaley]

If you're only storing it overnight, you can get by with sticking it in a Ziploc style bag. Any longer than that, wash it as directed above.

[addysdaddy]

Could never justify a pad wash so I got creative. Take an old litter box (to catch the runoff) and place a grit guard in the center. Spray your pad with Simple Green or any other APC. Speed set to 1.5 on the Flex (probably 3 ish on a PC). Holding the grit guard in one hand and the DA in the other, turn the power on and let it work for about 15-30 seconds-no additional downward pressure. Rinse with warm water and allow to dry foam side down on the grit guard overnight. Pad will look brand new. My brother doesn't care about the run off so he simply places the grit guard on the driveway and rinses it off when he's done. Virtually no splatter - try it, you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results.

[inDetail]

I presoak all my pads during a session. I have a dish pan filled with water and 1/2 cup of Purple Power. When a pad gets spent in the presoak it goes to keep products from drying in the pad.
They get rinsed out during clean up and squeeze out any excess water. Let sit in a dish rack velcro side up. When I'm ready to clean them spray with CG foam pad cleaner 16:1. Squeeze to get it to foam up. Let them sit about 15 minutes in the dish rack velcro up rinse them well then let dry velcro up. Before they get packed away I hit them with a little compressed air to blow out any loose dirt or dried product that may be on the surface of the pad.

[Eandras]

I use the universal pad cleaner. Get pads clean and mostly dry. I let them dry Velcro up on a ventilated shelf. Dries in a few hours.

Ed