How to clean your foam pad on the fly

[dorkiedoode]

Thanks Mike! I know this question has been ask a lot. I just wanted to confirm wether the pad should spin the whole time while I'm keeping the towel still. I just find that hard to do cause the towel is so grippy it would just stop and vibrate.

Now I have a better understanding from your explanation. It should do a little bit of everything.

Thank you! Hopefully this help more people get a better idea of the concept.

I only had 2 pad to work with for the last week. I was too excited so I couldn't wait to get on polishing. But now I just ordered my self 5 more white pads so I can stay clean the whole way

Oh btw for those that are new, dont use a microfiber towel to do this. Mike mentioned this on his video. I was curious so I tried it. It pretty much permanently split all the microfiber up. Which i now use for engine cleaning.

[Evan.J]

Thanks Mike! I know this question has been ask a lot. I just wanted to confirm wether the pad should spin the whole time while I'm keeping the towel still. I just find that hard to do cause the towel is so grippy it would just stop and vibrate. Now I have a better understanding from your explanation. It should do a little bit of everything. Thank you! Hopefully this help more people get a better idea of the concept. I only had 2 pad to work with for the last week. I was too excited so I couldn't wait to get on polishing. But now I just ordered my self 5 more white pads so I can stay clean the whole way

Oh btw for those that are new, dont use a microfiber towel to do this. Mike mentioned this on his video. I was curious so I tried it. It pretty much permanently split all the microfiber up. Which i now use for engine cleaning.

I let my pad spin and I do give it some good pressure to work the outsides of the pad a few times

[Mike Phillips]

Thanks Mike! I know this question has been ask a lot. I just wanted to confirm whether the pad should spin the whole time while I'm keeping the towel still. I just find that hard to do cause the towel is so grippy it would just stop and vibrate.

Now I have a better understanding from your explanation. It should do a little bit of everything.

You have it down...

I only had 2 pad to work with for the last week. I was too excited so I couldn't wait to get on polishing. But now I just ordered my self 5 more white pads so I can stay clean the whole way

More pads are better... not a sales pitch, just the facts when it comes to buffing out anything with foam pads...

Oh btw for those that are new, dont use a microfiber towel to do this. Mike mentioned this on his video. I was curious so I tried it.

It pretty much permanently split all the microfiber up. Which i now use for engine cleaning.

Plus, you want the stoutness of cotton terry cloth that is the stoutness of the loops of cotton fibers to help slice into th gunk, break it up and get it off the pad.

Microfiber is too soft and gentle for this process. It's also the reason we like microfiber for wiping product off of paint, because it's soft and gentle, it want scratch the paint.


Terry cloth hand towels are the way to go. I keep about a dozen in the studio for all types of things and cleaning foam pads on the fly is one of them...

[xJae]

Silly question but I've been trying to find the terry cloth you used in your write up but all I find in stores look like "strands" of cloth put together and doesn't look like your pics. Harborfreight, advance auto parts, AutoZone(descriptions say 100% cotton terry cloth). Are these useable or am I looking in the wrong places?

[Dogfather]

Bed, Bath, & Beyond.

[xJae]

Bed, Bath, & Beyond.

thanks. i never would have thought of that.

[Rudi Chau]

Hi mike. If i just buff with soft compund polish, how often i have to clean my pad ? Can i buff my entire car then clean my pad ?

thanks =)

[Mike Phillips]

Silly question but I've been trying to find the terry cloth you used in your write up but all I find in stores look like "strands" of cloth put together and doesn't look like your pics.

I get my towels at the gym I work out at. They, (the gym), buys them at Costco and resells them for just a little over their cost as a friendly service to the gym members.

I think they are Martex brand.

[Mike Phillips]

Hi mike. If i just buff with soft compund polish, how often i have to clean my pad ?

In a perfect world, you clean your pad after each section you buff.

Can i buff my entire car then clean my pad ?

thanks =)

If that works for you...


See my article here,

Why it's important to clean your pads often...


ANYTIME you're abrading the surface whether you're using an aggressive cutting compound of an ultra fine polish, you have two things building up on the face of your buffing pad...

• Spent product
• Removed paint

You need to remove both of these substances from the face of the pad and the panel you're working on before you apply fresh product. If you don't,

• Adding fresh product to spent product and removed paint adulterates the fresh product, it also dilutes it.
• Buffing with a dirty pad will be more difficult.
• The product will cake-up on the face of the pad.
• The product will become gummy on the paint and hard to wipe off.

How to clean your pads and other options to make buffing clean again...

• You can scrub the face of the pad with a nylon brush like a pad conditioning brush or even a nylon toothbrush
• If using a Dual Action Polisher or a Rotary Buffer you can clean your pad on the fly with a terry cloth towel
• You can wash your pads in a bucket of water
• You can wash your pads in a sink under running water
• You can wash your pads in a pad washer
• You can switch to a clean, dry pad
• You can switch to a brand new pad

I just buffed out half the hood on an oxidized 1959 Cadillac and used the technique along with a nylon brush and it works adequately enough to allow me to work clean and get back to work quickly.


That's the whole idea behind cleaning your pad on the fly... you can remove a majority of the spent product and removed paint and then get back to running the buffer... buffing out an entire car already takes a l-o-n-g time... stopping to do some kind of pad cleaning procedure that isn't quick and easy keeps you from buffing on the paint.


Fast methods include,

• Pad Washers
• Cleaning your pad on the fly with a terry cloth towel
• Using a nylon pad conditioning brush
• Using a Spur if you're using a wool pad on a rotary buffer

Slow methods, (they might work well but they take you away from buffing on the car)

• You can wash your pads in a bucket of water
• You can wash your pads in a sink under running water

[parttimer]

Any tips on cleaning your pad while using a Flex? Or pull them off and put them on a GG and clean them on the fly? I have a pad brush but it seems to eat up the pad on flex.