Are these LC pads still good?

[scanlessfool]

I've had two LC pads that I would like to get feedback on whether they are still good or not or if they would effect the performance of the pad.

• The first one is an orange LC pad and hopefully you can see the gash going diagonally down the middle from approximately 1 o'clock to 7 o'clock.
• The second one is a what is supposed to be a white LC pad that I accidentally used Ultimate Wax on which resulted in leaving the pad with a tint of yellow.

Thanks for your feedback.

[JWMotorCars]

IMO toss the orange and keep the white.

[scanlessfool]

Re: Are these LC pads still good?

IMO toss the orange and keep the white.

Could you please elaborate as to why you would do that?

[Scott's 62]

Re: Are these LC pads still good?

You could keep the orange pad around for metal polishing. and the white one I would still use for waxing, I have a yelow polishing pad that i used on my brothers single stage red ranger it discolerd it badly but it still works fine.

I noticed your avitar do you have a CD5?

[scanlessfool]

Re: Are these LC pads still good?

I noticed your avitar do you have a CD5?

Yes, I have a 94 coupe. I'm a bit surprised you know the chassis code.

[Scott's 62]

Re: Are these LC pads still good?

Yes, I have a 94 coupe. I'm a bit surprised you know the chassis code.

Yea deep down I'm a big Honda guy I have a 95 sedan, nothing special all stock and its my wife's daily commuter.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Are these LC pads still good?

That orange pad should either be downgraded to metal polishing, like Scott suggests, or just tossed. With the cut visible at 6 o'clock and the degradation showing near the center, it looks like it's reached the end of it's useful life.

As for the stained white pad, keep using it. Any synthetic sealant is going to stain a pad to some degree, but that doesn't ruin the pad. As long as it's clean and dry, even using it with a different wax or sealant isn't going to compromise anything, so don't worry about that one.

[scanlessfool]

Re: Are these LC pads still good?

Thank you very much for that advice, Michael. That Orange pad is one of the first one's I received when I first started learning how to detail and I'm certain that it being worn out in the middle is a result of user error. Just to be clear, the white pad, that is supposed to be for polishing should now just be kept as a waxing pad since that's what I used it as?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Are these LC pads still good?

That white pad has a bit more cut than you'd normally want for wax application, unless you're applying a cleaner wax. We'd recommend going with a final finishing pad for wax application. If this particular pad has been used for wax in the past but has been thoroughly cleaned, you shouldn't worry too much about using it with a paint cleaner in the future.

[Marc08EX]

Re: Are these LC pads still good?

Mike, can you really thoroughly clean a synthetic sealant out of a pad? I've given up trying to clean up the sealants I'm using out of my finishing pads because I can never get them fully cleaned. They always leave behind a stain of some sort. It has been discussed by Mike ******* and he said it's normal because sealants are not water soluble. You want the sealants to stay like how it should stay on the paint after washing the car. As a result of this, I've separated my finishing pads to be used with only 1 sealant.

BTW, I have an old W8006 pad that looks worse than your orange pad and the guys at LC said it's still fine. This is coming from a guy that sells pads so I think that carries a lot of weight. Although I don't have the small cut you have.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/wool-foam-buffing-pads/47612-my-foam-pads-toast.html

[BillE]

Re: Are these LC pads still good?

I'm not Michael, but I'll just add...I have several pads, both hand and machine that I use ONLY for 'poly' products. I wash them the best as I can and they are marked and reserved for 'poly only'. One thing about the synthetics, they are tenacious. Which, in my mind, is a good thing.

Bill

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Are these LC pads still good?

If you've used a pad with a synthetic sealant that has left a bit of staining or discoloration to the pad, but the pad is otherwise dry and clean, you really shouldn't be overly concerned about whether or not you use that pad with another sealant or wax. The amount left behind that has caused the staining is so insignificant (unless you are seriously overloading a pad with a product) that it's not going to negatively impact the use of a slightly different product. Even cleaning the pad with a degreaser isn't going to remove every last trace of a synthetic sealant and some staining of the pad is likely to remain, but is that enough to negatively effect the usefulness of a compound (as would be the case should the OP here use that particular white polishing pad with Ultimate Compound, or similar)?

Yes, Marc, what Mike Phillips has said about synthetic sealants not washing out of pads due to them not being water soluble like compounds are is 100% spot on. And it's exactly why they usually leave a bit of staining behind. But again, a bit of light staining isn't going to ruin a detail job. Let's face it, how many of us, regardless of level of skill possessed, uses any pad just once and then tosses it? How many of you are truly dedicating a washable pad to a single product and never using it with anything else? Odds are very, very, very few of you. It was one thing when pads were often put away with no more care than a brushing off of the excess product, and liquids tended to all be of the diminishing abrasive variety so you wouldn't want to potentially mix M85 and M82 on the same pad. But today, with pads that are easily washed out and are commonly cleaned very thoroughly? Using a given polishing pad one weekend with M105 and the next with M205 is really nothing to be concerned with. And using a finishing pad one weekend with Ultimate Wax (or BFWD or PowerGloss or whatever) and then a week later with a carnauba simply is not going to cause any sort of problem.

We think you should be more concerned about being diligent with your housekeeping and actually cleaning your pads to the best of your ability, rather than worrying whether or not that pad you're about to use with a carnauba wax was once used with a synthetic polymer. Now, obviously if you choose to dedicate finishing pads for synthetics and carnaubas that's fine - we certainly are NOT telling you to not do that. But in the specific case brought up in this thread, we wouldn't hesitate for a second to use this particular white pad with any sort of paint cleaner, compound, etc.