Car detailing is one of the most intricate parts of caring for your vehicle. It not only makes your car look new, but it will also give your 4-wheeler a longer life span. Always remember that your polishing job will work best if your polishers are in pristine shape and form.
You can’t go on to polish your car with a shabby polishing pad; this is why you need to know how to clean polishing pads while polishing.
Good for you that we are here to talk about how it’s done and how to get the best out of the polishing pads. If you know how to polish your car at home, you must also know how to clean the pads.
Why Is It Important to Clean a Polishing Pad
If you want to polish your car in the best possible way, you better take care of the pads because a worn-out pad won’t give you the perfect cleaning.
Keeping polishing pads in good shape while cleaning a car can be daunting; they attract a lot of dirt and grimes throughout the process and deteriorate. This is why it’s a must for you to clean the pads as soon as you see them non-functional.
How to Clean Polishing Pads at Home
If you are trying to polish your car at home, you are likely to end up with messed-up pads frequently while polishing. If this happens to you, you should not be worried. There are ways to counter this problem.
1. Keep Spares
Having spare polishing pads is a plus point. Imagine your pads flaking off during a cleaning process; you can always opt to change the buffing pad if you have spare ones.
2. Use Brushes with Hard Bristles
Continuing to work with damaged or contaminated pads will end up in disappointment. It’s important to keep the buffing pads clean to ensure proper cutting ability on the surface. To do so, you can use a brush that has stiff ends for cleaning purposes.
The best way to do it is to buy conditioning brushes like the Chemical Guys BUF 900 or something similar to this one. You will find many different brands that offer excellent conditioning brushes.
If you use different materials like wool, then how do you clean wool buffing pads? Worry no more! Chemical Guys BUF 900 is made to work on wool materials as well.
You have to keep in mind not to use extra hard bristles, as it will damage the paint surface by scratching it off. Always look for semi-hard bristles to clean out the buffing pads.
To start, simply turn over the buffing pad and start brushing on the pad surface. Dig out the residues and specks of dirt from the layers using the conditioning brush. It is fairly simple and should work efficiently.
You have to keep in mind that if the pads are too saturated or have flaky ends, it’s advised that you replace the old one with a new clean pad.
If the pad cleaning is successful, you can carry on with your polishing at will without having to change it too often.
3. Clean with Microfiber Towel and Water
If the above trick doesn’t work for you, you can always go for a more conventional way by using the microfiber towel sprayed with water. You can know more about quality microfiber towels from this link.
In the middle of polishing your car, always check out the pads; if you see some stuck particles, then grab a microfiber towel. Start by spraying water on it. Don’t go overboard; just three to four sprays of water should be fine to take off the particles from the foam pad. The towel helps to attract the residues, and water helps clean the surface for good.
Aftercare of the Buffing Pads
What if you are done with the polishing? Should you store the pads right away? No!! You must clean the pads before storing them; this will ensure the pads are well maintained and stay clean before your next task.
Polishing solutions can harden up on the foam surface, and this is why it’s necessary to clean the pads after every use. It’s not a tough job, to be honest. You just need patience.
Start by filling a bucket with warm water. Before dipping it in, spray some polishing pad cleaner on the pad surface; for example, the McKeey’s MK37 is a good choice; it works on foam, wool, and microfiber buffing pads.
Let the solution sit for 5 minutes, and then wash it off using the water from your faucet. Rub the surface to take off the remaining chemicals and dirt along with it. Then you need to soak it in the warm water you’ve filled up previously.
Please take out the pad once it has been cleaned and let it dry out. You should have an immaculate buffing pad after following this step.
FAQ
You might have to clean the polishing pads in between polishing your car; that’s why we have come up with this write-up in the first palace. Apart from that, you must always clean the pads after every detailing use; otherwise, they will harden up and might lose their shape and go bad.
You can simply put the foam pad under the faucet and let the water run over it as you agitate the surface with your hands. This should take off the tough residues. To work best, you can use conditioner bush like the Chemical Guys BUF 900 and so on to dig out excessive remains from the foam patches.
You can simply air-dry the pads, and it should work fine. Make sure to place the pack side on top while you dry it out. This won’t store any water on the back casing of the pads. You can also use a dryer to take off the water from the pad.
Keep in mind that you should not use extreme temperatures as they will destroy the components. Better go for the lowest temperature to dry the polishing pads.
What Have We Learned
To attain the best car detailing, it’s pivotal that you keep the detailing products clean as well. When we talk about polishing a car, we must think about foam pads that do most of the work. If it’s not clean, you won’t be able to shine your car efficiently.
Knowing how to clean polishing pads while polishing will work wonders for your detailing job. Follow the procedures we mentioned in this article, and you will end up with a sheeny looking car.