Pad washing and storage

[initial e]

Hi all - I have a few older 4" pads that have been sitting around for about 6 months and previously used with the paint correcting polish.  I tried as hard as I could at the time to wash these by hand but I'm trying to be cautious on the state they are in.

 

Should I buy one of those bucket pad washer things or is hand washing fine?  I feel like I cant get all the polish out of the pad when hand washing though.  Being that these pads have sat in my detail box for 6 months, should I attempt to re-clean them or ditch them?  

 

Also how do you guys store your pads when no in use?  Right now I just have mine sealed up in zip lock bags to minimize any fine contaminants on them. Is that good enough? 

 

let me know what you think! 

[mc2hill]

Have you soaked them?  After a polishing session I spray them with APC, put a few gallons of water in a bucket (one with a Gamma seal lid), put a little more APC in the bucket, place a Grit Guard face down over the pads, spin on the lid, and leave them for a day or so.  That helps remove the dry polish.  

To clean them place the Grit Guard on the ground and spray the pad.  Then spray with APC again, and scrub them on the Grit Guard, rinse until the water runs clear.  Sometimes they may need a 2nd application of APC and another scrub.  

 

Let them air dry (the Grit Guard works well for a drying rack).  Once they are completely dry (a few days, longer for the white finishing pads) I put them in a large plastic bin (I have a nice Very Useful Box bin for my pads).

[chevylovinfordtech]

I wash mine with dawn (original blue) by hand, works very well

[initial e]

Ok cool guys thanks!

These pads have been sitting there for like 6 months tho.  Will they be ok after I soak and scrub them? 

[Dan@Adams]

If you let them soak with APC and rinse them out with fairly hot water while massaging the polish out with your fingers, you should hopefully be able to get the majority of the polish out, but if it has hardened too much you might have difficulty. Do you have any current pictures of the pads? The foam material is fairly durable so you should still be able to clean them out.

 

Cleaning out pads the same day after a detail session is considered a requirement to me, if you want to get the longest life out of the pads.

[initial e]

If you let them soak with APC and rinse them out with fairly hot water while massaging the polish out with your fingers, you should hopefully be able to get the majority of the polish out, but if it has hardened too much you might have difficulty. Do you have any current pictures of the pads? The foam material is fairly durable so you should still be able to clean them out.

 

Cleaning out pads the same day after a detail session is considered a requirement to me, if you want to get the longest life out of the pads.

 

Thanks Dan, I'll get a pic tonight.  I did clean them right after but just by hand in the sink... not a scrub down on a grit guard though. They aren't crusty or anything like that. 

[DrippinF150]

A good soaking in all purpose cleaner does the trick for me after use.

Edited May 4, 2016 by DrippinF150

[initial e]

some pics

 

 

 

[Ricky Bobby]

Honestly I'm sure they are clean. They will not look 100% unused after cleaning them out. Just the nature of polishing.

 

Tons of my pads are clean and look just like that. If your cleaning process is sound then no worries. I spray the crap out of them with apc and let them sit in hot water for a few hours then rinse out good and air dry.

Edited May 5, 2016 by Ricky Bobby