Dedicated pads for products necessary?

**big tyme** · 09-07-2011, 04:13 AM

Hello everyone! Just recently joined the forum to post some rather than just reading all the time. So on that note, me and a fellow detailer were wondering if it is really necessary to dedicate a specific pad to a specific product. Such as one finishing pad for 845 only, etc etc. Or one polishing pad for UC, etc etc. My thought was that with proper cleaning cross contamination of product should be slim to none. What are everyone's thoughts on this?

**silverfox** · 09-07-2011, 04:22 AM

Car paint is different on most cars even those coming off the same assembly line. Couple that with humidity, temperature, and previous history of the car's paint... You must have a variety of pads both foam, MF, and even Surbuf if you want to cover all bases. Certain pads obviously work better with certain products but there will always be finicky paint that defies conventional thinking or what worked on 20 cars won't work on 2 of them and so on. You obviousy wouldnt use a finishing pad to compound and so forth but like I said before one combo that works on one car may be disaster on another. Don't pigeon hole yourself by assuming a certain product will always work with a particular pad on every car.

**big tyme** · 09-07-2011, 05:09 AM

Originally Posted by silverfox

Car paint is different on most cars even those coming off the same assembly line. Couple that with humidity, temperature, and previous history of the car's paint... You must have a variety of pads both foam, MF, and even Surbuf if you want to cover all bases. Certain pads obviously work better with certain products but there will always be finicky paint that defies conventional thinking or what worked on 20 cars won't work on 2 of them and so on. You obviousy wouldnt use a finishing pad to compound and so forth but like I said before one combo that works on one car may be disaster on another. Don't pigeon hole yourself by assuming a certain product will always work with a particular pad on every car.

I definitely agree with you on not limiting your choices. My original question I guess is a little confusing. I was wondering more on the lines of somebody buying a pad and using M105 on it and from then on they only use m105 on it due to fear of possibly mixing product. My argument with my friend was that with proper cleaning a pad used for m105 could also be used with other product lines Griots, Pinnacle, Mezerna, etc. I have quite a few pads already but his comment, in my mind, made me think I was underpadded, lol. I've just been washing pads thoroughly then using again with different brand products. Hope this clears up the confusion my original question caused.

**Flannigan** · 09-07-2011, 06:23 AM

For compounds, polishes, and paint cleaners I you don't need to stick to one pad for each product. Just make sure you get the pads totally clean after each use and you will be fine.

Now for LSP's it might be a good idea. As you know I'm sure it can be a little more difficult to get certain LSP's totally clean from a pad. Also your LSP pad gets very little use on each detail. So a lot of people, myself included, keep a pad for each LSP we use and just put it in a ziplock bag after each use so it can be used again on a future detail. It makes it a lot easier since I don't have to try and clean super strong LSP's like 845 out of a pad for each detail. I usually will use a pad for 3-5 details before I end up giving it a deep clean. Hope that helps!

**BobbyG** · 09-07-2011, 06:53 AM

Originally Posted by Flannigan

For compounds, polishes, and paint cleaners I you don't need to stick to one pad for each product. Just make sure you get the pads totally clean after each use and you will be fine.

Now for LSP's it might be a good idea. As you know I'm sure it can be a little more difficult to get certain LSP's totally clean from a pad. Also your LSP pad gets very little use on each detail. So a lot of people, myself included, keep a pad for each LSP we use and just put it in a ziplock bag after each use so it can be used again on a future detail. It makes it a lot easier since I don't have to try and clean super strong LSP's like 845 out of a pad for each detail. I usually will use a pad for 3-5 details before I end up giving it a deep clean. Hope that helps!

And pretty much what I do as well.

For the most part compounds and polishes are water based these days and wash out pretty thoroughly but waxes are a whole different animal.

Wax pads typically do not become soiled and if stored properly can be used several times before washing but keep it dedicated to that particular product until a complete cleaning is required.

Mike Phillips · 09-07-2011, 09:34 AM

I agree with the points made by Davie and Bobby... well said...

And as already stated, as long as after use you do your best to get your pads as clean as possible it shouldn't be an issue to use a different product on a pad that was previously used with another product.

While I was with Meguiar's the washable 7" Softbuff pads were introduced and we generated a ton of dirty pads out our Saturday classes and are TNOG's, (Thursday Night Open Garage), and we would take all of the pads, no matter which type or what was used on them, throw them in the washing machine and use them again with whatever product was needed for the next project.

The most crucial time when pad cleanliness is important is any final machine polishing process is being performed or any machine application of wax or paint sealant is being done.

**big tyme** · 09-07-2011, 09:44 AM

Excellent info everyone. It looks like I was unintentionally doing what you all have touched on, which is a dedicated pad for lsp, and now even the final polishing step. I guess it worked out that I've just ordered three more finishing pads and decided to stick with the amount of compound/polishing pads I already have. Thanks again for the tips. Oh, and 845 is definitely a beast to remove from the pads, even after a good soak in some GG microfiber cleaner. I guess thats why it's such a good go to LSP.