Effectively Cleaning and Drying the Gen2 Pads

(I apologize in advance for the range of the quality of the photos. In the ones where I needed both my hands on the products, I had to rely on my camera's self-timer to take the shot while being suspended from my neck on the strap, and resting against my stomach to keep it steady. Like the Junkman's productions, this came raw from my basement, and the pads weren't even used - I just took some product and rubbed it on for the purpose of this topic)

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One of the most-asked questions about the Gen2 polishing pads is how to effectively clean, and, especially, dry them. I've taken the time to explain my technique below, along with some photos to help with the explanations.

Ok, so you just finished eliminating your swirl marks, polishing the finish to a perfect gloss, and finally laid a coat of superwax to protect all your hard work. You think you're done, but not exactly. You've got to clean out the pads you just used

You'll want to clean these out fairly soon, for a number of reasons. If you let the polish residue dry on (and in) the pad, it will be much more difficult to remove later, and you could rip the pad trying to remove dried up bits left on the surface. Also, you could cause damage to your paint the next time you try to use the pad if it has not been cleaned of dried up polish.

So how do you effectively clean the Gen2 pads? Grab yourself some Adam's All Purpose Cleaner (or Green Wheel Cleaner if you don't have any APC) and spray down the pads liberally, focusing on areas that have a lot of polish.

After spraying them down, gently agitate the pads with your thumbs to work the cleaner into the pad and break loose the polish. The more dense pads (white, and especially orange) will need more effort than the black pad.

Now, thoroughly rinse the pads out with a pressurized stream of water. If you're doing this outside, your hose nozzle will work fine. If you're inside like I am, use the sprayer attachment on your sink. Hold the pad perpendicular to the ground and spray at a 45-degree angle starting at the top of the pad working down, using a side-to-side sweeping motion. This technique forces the cleaner and polish residue down the pad and out the bottom. I do it this way for the same reason that you would wash a car from the top down.

If there is still polish left on the pad after rinsing, simply repeat the cleaner, agitation, and rinsing steps again.

Now it's time to dry the pads, which is a concern I have seen often lately on the forum. If simply left to air-dry, these pads, especially the more dense white and orange ones, would take forever. If not dried completely (as with anything absorbent) they can become moldy (depending on their storage conditions), or if the pads are put in a sealed bag or container while still damp, condensation will form inside it.

The first step to drying the Gen2 pads is to squeeze out as much water as you can by hand, being careful not to break the black plastic ring around the velcro.

The next step involves using your wash bucket and Porter-Cable. We are going to use Newton's First Law (UGH, PHYSICS?!?!?) to get most of the remaining water out of the pads. Set the PC to about speed 2-3. For each pad, put it back on the PC, and position it inside the wash bucket with the pad parallel to the ground, as depicted below:

There is still water standing inside the pads, and it will stay there unless acted upon by an external force. Turn on your PC to introduce said force, and let it run for no longer than 5 seconds. Letting the machine free-spin for any length of time is not good for either the PC or the pads. You can hold the pad with your free hand if you want more control. Make sure you are doing this with the pad inside the bucket. The majority of the water left in the pad will sling out, hit the sides of the bucket, and fall to the bottom.

After doing all of the pads, they will still be slightly damp. You can let them air dry now that you've removed 90% of the moisture. You can also put them in your dryer if it has a stationary rack on the lowest heat setting possible for a few minutes. Or, what I do is sit the pads next to a dehumidifer if you have one. Blotting the pads with your waffle weave drying towel also helps soak up any water left over.

I know it sounds like a lot to do, but I spend about 10 minutes total cleaning, rinsing, and slinging all 3 pads before sitting them out to dry. Following this procedure will dramatically reduce the time it takes for the pads to dry, which is good especially if you have more than one car to do.