Quick Question. My brother uses my edge pads and didn't clay before he waxed. His truck = gray, my car = black. Seeing as how black gets swirled so easily, do you think the pads probably picked up debris and would swirl my black paint? If so, you think they could be salvaged or should I say keep em and buy new ones????

 

I'm sure they're fine. I always clean my pads after use anyway because eventually they would be filled up with dried polish which would not be good either.

You can soak them in a bucket with with a solution containing some car wash soap or better yet carpet cleaner. Some people use Dawn but some pad manufacturers say Dawn is bad for the glue which holds the pad together.

 

I was wondering what to soak my pads in, cause they are getting CAKED with stuff. I've used Pinnacle's Pad cleaner, but it only does so much. My mom started using my UDM when I got it, and she was apply Zymol Cleaner wax, and just CAKING it on the pad, not knowing she doesn't need that much, and it's traumatized my pad.

 

try a pad spur... best to use after polishing, but should help even now-
might want to wet the pad first (maybe soak in water)
best to use the spur to get as much loose as possible, rinse off, spur again until most is off then use the pad cleaner

 

clay and wax are separate and not required steps...

claying will not effect your polishing one way or the other

clay removes embedded particles
polishing removes surface defects

in the old days (and not all that long ago), we didnt have clay... polish was used for both.

conclusion- no problem with your process
(pads should always be cleaned after use- so as long as they were you are fine)

 

Well, my pads are stained, that's my problem. I got most of the surface stuff off by washing with really hot water, and soaking, but I didn't know of a way to remove the stains.

 

most of my pads have stains...
no big deal, and prob more normal than not

i just try to get all excess product out, and not as worried about how the pads look- as long as the product is out it cant harden (that is the potential danger)

btw, i "dedicate" my pads- by car (used to also do this by product, but too many diff ones now so have not been able to do that for awhile now) - thats the most wacko you can get... but as long as you are not a pro and only doing a few cars its not hard to do.
(and actually my beater cars do share pads)

 

Good point, didn't think about that one.
Thanks for the input.

 

it was a good question, and i am glad you asked it cause not everyone is as vintage as me!!!

 

Dawn Power Dissolver works great for me, spray pad, let sit for 10 min, then rinse under HOT water. Works better than any pad cleaner I have used.