Universal Pad Washer

[THE Mook]

Hey everyone!

 

Just wanted to give anyone interested a heads up that I am about to do a write-up/review of the Universal Pad Washer. I have all these pads here from the demo stuff at Hot August Nights, that need cleaning for the Auction in Auburn!

 

This looks like something anyone who polishes a lot could really benefit by having. Check back in this thread probably in a couple hours...and we shall see what I came up with!

 

 

Thanks!

Mook:lurk:

[XQIZT]

[green6767]

Yes!! This might just finally sell me on one. Haha. (Not that I REALLY needed it.)

[THE Mook]

Okay, after a round of steady experimentation with the Universal Pad Washer, here are the results:

 

Products Used: APC, Water, Universal Pad Washer, Porter Cable, Shut Off Valve, Firehose Nozzle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I first filled the bucket of the pad washer to just above where the water level sits if the grit guard part is pushed down. I was careful not to overfill the thing, as I am playing with electricity around water and well, I don't want to be cooked today, or short out my machine.

 

 

I then shot some APC onto the dirty pad...about 4-5 shots depending on the pad's dirt levels.

 

Following the instructions, I placed the pad onto the backing plate, and turned the machine on, inside the bucket, to a low setting. I ran each pad about 45 seconds, and moved it back and forth making sure the entire pad surface was spinning against the grit guard, while maintaining a minimal amount of water splash outside the bucket, or worse, inside my machine.

 

At that point, I then took the pad and placed it onto the "pad dryer" portion of the Universal Pad Washer. Essentially it's a little attachment you place the pad and machine over, turn it to a higher setting, and shoot the excess water out of the pad. You can also use this inside the bucket to clean different shaped pads. I did do this on some of the dirtier hex pads with mixed results.

 

The First Result:

 

The majority of the pads, after. It appears that some do need another pass in the washer, and I was definitely getting better as I went. I do notice also that there is still some residual junk to be rinsed from some of the pads.

 

My thoughts on this: I would definitely invest in one if I was polishing on a regular basis. The amount of time cleaning one pad by hand vs cleaning about 6 pads or so by using the machine is a big plus. I am still confident my two hands can clean a pad a bit better at this point, but again, I am still somewhere on the learning curve with this. I imagine that after I hit the still bad ones from this batch, that I will prefer this to hand washing 8 days a week. *Meaning I needed to spend more time on some pads than I did. But for experimental and learning purposes, each pad was hit with the same amount of time inside the bucket*

 

Thank You,

Mook:pc:

[Bill-V8V]

Nice writeup Mook

 

Do you find that the flat faced pads held the dirt more than the hex faced pads ???

[THE Mook]

Nice writeup Mook

 

Di you find that the flat faced pads held the dirt more than the hex faced pads ???

 

What I am learning is that if I place the dryer part inside the bucket for the hex pads, it cleans the hex pads better. As to where if I leave that out for the flat pads, the grit guard itself inside the bucket does what it should to clean them up. My frustration lies on the wall part of the pad. I feel I still need to use my hands and the sink to get those parts.

 

Mook

[Chris@Adams]

Nice job Mook!

[Redvenm]

Thanks for the review. I bet after the learning curve it works great. Probably a good choice for one who uses the PC or Flex often.

[THE Mook]

So I hit the few I thought needed it with another round of the Universal Pad Washer, and after most of them have dried today, I am very pleased with the results. Most of them look brand new, save for a couple trouble spots on the walls that will just take a simple scrubbing with APC and my knuckles.

 

Mook

[Osok]

I have the universal pad washer as well and LOVE IT! Mook one thing to try for the edges is to relocate that little extra grit guard nub to the outer edge of the main grit guard. It should help a bunch with cleaning the edges on the pads. I've had mine since Christmas and am so glad I got it. I'm also more than happy with the results for both the hex and flat pads.

[MAYBEN]

great review..

[gencoupe3dot8]

If you ever correct a car with single stage paint you will want to get this pad washer... as cleaning the pads once er twice per panel is what I found I needed to do... also, if you move up to a rotary you will find yourself using the pad washer more as well...

 

...or such has been my experience, yours may vary...

 

 

Regards,

Mike

[Z71_Denali]

ok i'll ask... WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO THAT BLACK-GREEN HEX PAD???

[THE Mook]

ok i'll ask... WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO THAT BLACK-GREEN HEX PAD???

 

AHAHAHAHAHA It came clean as new!!! That pad you saw was the Black PC pad with Revive Polish on it.

 

 

Been learning some new tricks as of late thanks to Dylan

[Team Adam's]

I really need to invest in one of these. Maybe when it pops up in the daily special...

[THE Mook]

^