Pad cleaning on the fly question

[Mike Honcho]

I estimate the hood on my car can be broken down into (6) 20"x20" sections. How often should I be cleaning the pad on the fly? After every 20"x20" section for a total of six pad cleanings? (Prolly gonna be using Ultimate Polish, if that makes a difference.)

[mwoolfso]

Every 1-2 panels based on the product and the likely condition of your paint. You will know if the condition of the paint by what the pad picks up. A general guideline I follow is that the more the color of the pad changes, the more I clean on the fly.

[spewking]

Agree with the 1-2 panels target.

I am not sure ho you are cleaning. I used the XMT pad cleaner for the first time and it was awesome. Spray on, quick brushing, rinse -- it clean. Drying may take a bit, but I switched out several pads using this method.

[lawrenceSA]

I tend to clean on the fly after every SECTION and switch out to a new (clean/dry, not necessarily brand new) pad every 4th to 6th section

[Mike Honcho]

Very helpful. Thanks!

[Mike Honcho]

Using LC flat pads. (Sorry, I shoulda specified.)

[Mike Phillips]

For those reading this into the future here's the article....


How to clean your foam pad on the fly



In a perfect world you clean your pad after each section you buff. Otherwise you're grinding the residue on the face of the pad into the paint of the next section you buff.

The residue is,

1. Removed paint
2. Spent product

In the real world I clean my pad after two sections buffed when using some type of DA polisher.


Here's something on "sections"


How to divide larger body panels into smaller sections for machine buffing

[Audios S6]

I use a pad brush and clean after every section for a couple reasons.

1. It is so fast to perform and I can keep the brush in my back pocket while I polish. It's literally a 5 second operation. When using MF pads, I'll have the blow gun within reach so I can blow out the pads as well. The whole system moves around the car with me.

2. Frequent pad cleaning will yield a more consistent pad surface which leads to more consistent results.


When deciding how long between pad cleanings, do consider the amount of paint you are removing. When compounding, you may remove a lot of paint and need to clean much more frequently. I've also found certain polishes and compounds are much more gummy than others and require more frequent pad changes.

[KB in MD]

if we're talking about clear coat, how do you know how much paint you're removing? How does the pad change color?

[Mike Phillips]

if we're talking about clear coat, how do you know how much paint you're removing? How does the pad change color?

That's the thing about clearcoats, you don't see the paint building up on your pad. Just trust that it is and clean your pad.