Foam Pad life

Anyone got any comments on the effective life of foam pads for orbital buffers?

Any tips on washing pads?
Some people say not to wash pads as it harms the cell Structure ???????????

Upon using a closed cell foam pad, proper washing in warm soap water will work fine to clean all foam pads. The one area that you will want to avoid is putting your pads into the dryer. One reason for this precaution is to keep the previous user from getting their dryer sheets fibers lodged into your foam pads.

You can wash your pads into a machine or via hand washing. You will want to dry all types of pads with air drying to prevent shrinkage & pad life wear. I have never hurt any of our pads using a machine on the cell structure point as long as you air them dry out.

One word more to note, prior to washing your foam pads, you will want to get the excess polish or wax off as much as you can using a foam tipped cleaner wand that you can make. You will rub the foam tip against the foam pad, the excess will flake or rub off & then you're ready to wash them properly. Hope this answers any questions regarding your pads. Good Luck with your new cleaning system.

Todd Arroyo
c/o Toddco Bodywerkes

i tried the foam pads on the orbital and did not like them at all. i guess i am stuck on the terrry bonnets. i feel like the terry bonnets are a little more forgiving. plus, if a little undercoating gets on a terry bonnet, you can use a solvent to clean the spot out. the foam bonnet makes me wonder if it would hold up for long after exposure to these types of products. i do agree though, the foam bonnets use much less product.

I dont agree, I think that the terry bonnets use less product. I wet mine and wring them out then it spreads like butter baby

Your opinion is noted as you will see many different differences on each types of terry cloth bonnets that contain a different fiber count as to the open & closed cell that foam pads offer

i use my bonnets dry. dan, are you applying the aio by orbital or hand?what types of stuff are you using with the wet bonnet. never really tried the wet bonnet with the exception of a little q.d. spray here and there.

With the product I use and the plain old terry bonnets with water wrung out of them, I can spread the stuff like butter, since the bonnets have lost the absorbing power. These are the plain old terry bonnets found at Pep boys. removing is simple with my product anyway, a couple swipes with plush valuguard towel and its perfect.

hey dan! how come you didn't say MICROFIBER? BTW, my microfiber thong came today in the mail. i don't think it will look good on me.(beer belly is a distraction). maybe ill send it to you after i wear it a couple of times!LOL.

Any thongs can be mailed directly to Toddco Bodywerkes, especially the leopard print, MEOW, MEOW !

See, the microfiber would absorb too much product, this is why I like them on the inside of the car to absorb cleaners and stuff, they also leave no lint. As to the thong, yes that would be one sorry sight! Jack all sprawled out on the couch 40 oz. cheap beer in hand wearing a thong barely visible through your hanging belly! EEEKKK! Sorry for painting that picture in your heads guys!

Toddco,

You mentioned a cleaner device made of foam and a wand????
Elaborate on this for us novices. And just how do you use this wand thingy? Don't tell us to wave it about chanting the Detailers Incatation.
I tried it .... my neighbors call 911 thinking I was OD'n.

Jackimoe.....sorry for this but.... that verbal picture of you in your thong, well do the guys down town know about this???

My leapord prinds are on back order{big demand}. I do however have a couple of extra in the tiger stripe and 2 extra cases of Balentine beer. I went all out 4.50 a case. Toddco if you and Jackimoe are interested, send me a bag of pork rinds and I would be glad to send them to you.

I actually make very many of these wands. You will want to purchase some very thin wood dowels. When I say thin, I'm talking about the diameter of a pencil type of dowel. You can purchase this wood through any type of hardware store. Purchase some foam from a clothing shop & cut the foam into small squares like a popsickle but much shorter, around two inches long. Make a hole into the foam & glue the end of the dowel into the foam. The length of the dowel can be around six inches. Let dry & you're into business. This will make cleaning the excess of your foam pads much easier prior to washing & will give you more time while waxing or polishing from the life of your pads. Enjoy using the tip of the month. Stay tuned next month for the next tip.

The pork rinds are being held in security at the airport due to the lazy people at the seach detectors. They feel that with the poor pay, they are intitled to free eats of peoples pork rinds. Sorry for the delay!

Good description/info....Thanks. Now on how to use them.
After using my PC the foam pads will still be damp from use. I guess I'd use the cleaning wand like a tooth brush on the pad. Do you turn the PC on at low speed and hold the wand to the pad? Also, what grad foam do you reccomend for the wand? Some foam with a little coarser cell structure than the pad or the same as the pad? Have you ever recycled old pads and used them for wand foam?

You have made a very good point here & I'm very thankful that you did. No, I have never thought of until you just mentioned using the old foam pads for the wand material. Thank-You for the tip! There is so much to do on any given day, getting all caught up with everything, it's so easy to overlook the obvious areas right in the face. Thank-You again.