Identifying pads and cleaning them

[Sootchucker]

Hi guys, I'm not the most experienced when it comes to machine polishing, and this may seem like a daft question, but over the last couple of years, I've collected a number of polishing pads for my DAS-6 Pro, both standard and hex-logic types.

My problem is that all the packaging has gone and they all sit in a plastic box. Now they are all different colours and I was wondering if different manufacturers used the same colour coding and if I could tell which was  a heavy cut pad, a finishing pad, light cut pad etc ? I'm not very organized when it comes to these things so was going to put a key on the inside of the box they are contained in.

Secondly, I have a nasty habit of not cleaning my pads before putting them away and so was wondering what people's cleaning regime was and what products (if any) you used to clean your pads ?

[Wo-Wo]

Good question!

The rule of thumb I use is the lesser the density the lesser the cut, so a hard foam is a heavy cut and a soft one is more likely a finishing pad.

Colour coding would be a great idea but no this doesn't happen.

Rupes colour code their pads to their compound which is one of the reasons I use their stuff.

Cleaning:-

Rinse them out in hot water and let them dry naturally or just replace them.

Hope this helps?

Neil

[Booth11]

As Neil says, unfortunately there is no definitive colour coding for pads, though there are often similarities between manufacturers and often for instance, finishing pads will be black, but it does vary so not reliable to assume they will be the same.

The more open cell and firmer the foam, the more cut it has. The more closed cell and softer the foam, the less cut.  You should be able to tell cutting or polishing pads from finishing pads this way.

It's really quite important to get into a good care regime for your pads, and best to wash and dry them after each use. I wash mine (foam and microfibre pads) in the machine at 30°C (non bio liquid) and air dry, but you can wash them by hand with some washing up liquid, rinse and squeeze out, the dry.  Good idea is to store individually in labelled plastic sandwich bags to keep dust off and/or in a lidded container.

[Jordan_gti]

Quick tip, Buy yourself a kids toothbrush (Very soft bristles) and use some warm water & scrub the pad with the brush, it'll help shift the polish quicker than by hand