Pad Cleaning Tool/Brush

R

RogueM3

New member
Does anyone use the brushes sold by the different retailers to remove product caking/build-up from their pads mid-detail?



I am looking on the AG site and cant decide if I need one, and if so, which one:



Duo-Spur: Duo Spur Wool & Foam Pad Cleaning Tool: Scrub dirty pads clean with this multi-pupose cleaning tool!



Conditioning Brush: Foam Pad Conditioning Brush cleans & scrubs foam & lambswool polishing pads, buffer pads. scrub brush, foam brush, foam cleaning brush (are the bristles going to go soft after minimal usage?)



I dont want to tear my pads up, and I like the idea of being able to easily remove caked on residue mid-detail, so I thought I would ask your opinions....:clap:
 
RogueM3- I'd go with the Conditioning Brush rather than the spur (assuming you're using foam pads). Dunno how it'll hold up, you can get it and fill us in :D



I use a stiff toothbrush-style brush and it works fine (and it's getting a lot of use as I continue to work on *my* M3 :D ). I've been using the same one (forget where I got it, probably in one of those steel/brass/plastic bristle three-packs) for years and it's holding up fine but then I don't do all *that* much polishing.



A toothbrush, even a very stiff one, will have bristles that're too densely packed IMO. I want some space between them so the polish/etc. has somewhere to go. and yeah, you want mighty stiff bristles too.
 
I have the yellow pad brush that is shown in one of your links. While you can use an old toothbrush (and I have before) the one made for pads does work much better. I don't think I'd place a special order just for *that* brush, but the next time you order some stuff throw that into your cart. If you order the brush (or spur) you might want to try some pad cleaner also.



I haven't tried the spur, so I'm interested to see what someone thinks who has used both the pad brush and the spur.
 
i used the meguiars one and it completely destroyed my meguiars pad. I didn't even put much pressure. For that and many others, i don't use meguiars anymore.
 
get a stiff fingernail cleaning brush ...I use one to clean my pads and works great...I get them at CVS or any drug store....some are stiffer than others...



AL
 
i've tried using one of those stiff brushes, but on my LC pads that i used optimum with, the polish just doesnt' want to come out. It's silicone base, but what can you use to wash THAT out? Every time i press on it, it feels as if oil is coming from the inside of the pad. I can only get the polish off if i use my finger nail and scrub off the top coat.
 
artikxscout said:
i've tried using one of those stiff brushes, but on my LC pads that i used optimum with, the polish just doesnt' want to come out. It's silicone base, but what can you use to wash THAT out? Every time i press on it, it feels as if oil is coming from the inside of the pad. I can only get the polish off if i use my finger nail and scrub off the top coat.
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Not Optimum specific, but for cleaning pads I use one of three different cleaners, and sometimes a combo of 2 or 3 of them.



The first thing I like to do is soak them in a bucket of warm/hot water with Snappy Pad Cleaner (the DP version looks like the same stuff) while I'm putting other stuff away.... I'll go back and squeeze them a couple of times to get the cleaner worked into the pad. If they still have some product in them when I rinse them out I'll go inside and squirt some Dawn or APC on them, work it in well with my fingers (or a brush), and then rinse them with hot water until them come clean (and repeat if needed). Sometimes a product will leave a slight stain, but I've always been able to get 95% of my pads clean.



I was even able to get some Collinite 476 out of a 4" pad last week using hot water in the sink with some Dawn. I did throw some pads into a washer once with some APC and they came out very clean, but it left a residue on the washer tub I had to clean off before the wife discovered it.
 
I have the yellow conditioning brush and I have to admit that I'm a bit disappointed. The bristles are long and hard. If you turn your PC at a slower speed, none of the cake build up will come off. But if you put it on a higher speed, it'll come off along with little bits of your pad. I have Meguiar's pads and I made my mistake the first time using it on a finishing pad. Later, when my burgundy cutting pad was ready to be thrown away, I used it on that and it also chewed up the cutting pad.



IMO, it's not worth the $12-$14 you'll be spending. If that's the route you want to go, I would find a soft bristle tooth brush or like someone mentioned, one of those brushes to clean your fingernails. I haven't tried any of these so I can't say if they would work, but I don't think the conditioning brush would work any better. The only positive thing about it is the nice, thick handle.



Since then, I have found that throwing the pads in the washer has been the best method for cleaning the pads. The stains NXT left behind on the finishing pad never came off if I let it soak or hand washed it. But after one wash in the washer, the pad came out completely clean looking like new. Just make sure you only use warm water because some people's hot water will be hot enough to melt the glue on the back of the velcro backing, making it seperate from the foam. If this does happen, you can fix it, but obviously the bond won't be as strong or look as nice as new.



I don't think I'll ever try to clean a pad mid-detail again unless I had no other choice. It's probably best just to have multiple pads that you can switch to and clean at the end of the day.
 
BlackElantraGT said:
I don't think I'll ever try to clean a pad mid-detail again unless I had no other choice. It's probably best just to have multiple pads that you can switch to and clean at the end of the day.
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Then I hope you won't have to polish a car with heavy oxidation, as you would go through a LOT of pads then ;)



I am currently working on a car with heavy oxidized red ss paint, and I have to clean the pad pretty much after every 1 x 1 foot area. I think I would need at least 30 cutting pads if I couldn't clean the pad during the detail :D



I use a stiff bristled toothbrush, and it works pretty good (with a rotary that is). But from time to time when the residue won't let go, I spray the pad with QD and wipe it with a terry cloth towel, sometimes while spinning the pad. This really gets the pad clean.



I have a hard time justifying paying $12 or more for something that looks like a big toothbrush. But at some time I will probably get it, as I'm sure it's more effective than a toothbrush.
 
Is everyone spurring their pad atleast once on each panel? I think it's on of the most vital steps in producing a swirl free finish.
 
I use the Meg Interior Detail Brush on foam pads:

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So is the big yellow brush ok to use with the foam pads? It won't hurt them? This way you don't have to wash them when they start to cake up right? I go through a lot of pads because when they cake up I put on another pad.
 
I've got the yellow brush, works great on my 6.5" LC pads, doesn't hurt them at all - oh, I'm using a Makita rotary and it's pretty easy to clean, just turn it over, crank it to 1500 rpm and run the brush from the center to the outside edge.
 
If you have Meguiar's 6.5" foam pads, the yellow brush will chew it up, at least on mine it did. And this was using a PC.



I'm gonna have to switch to LC pads next time I order pads.
 
BlackElantraGT said:
If you have Meguiar's 6.5" foam pads, the yellow brush will chew it up, at least on mine it did. And this was using a PC.........
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I haven't used that brush on a Meg's pad, but try using a terry towel on them instead.



After reading some of the other replies you might also want to try the blue fingernail brush that comes with the bottle of Gojo orange pumice hand cleaner. It's soft enough that I doubt it would hurt a Meg's pad, but it might not be stiff enough to clean very well either. If it doesn't work you can still use the hand cleaner.
 
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