Meguiar's Inc.

Claude Sevigny

David M Hornby

Apparatus and method for both cleaning and polishing work surfaces such as automotive panels using a single combination pad. In one embodiment, a support holds a circular replaceable, disposable cleaning/polishing pad on a powered polishing tool for rotation about the pad's central axis. The illustrated pad is made of compressible/expandable material such as foam. The pad has front and rear recesses that define concentric radially outer and inner sections. The inner section is thinner and has a forward cleaning surface. The outer section normally protrudes forwardly of the cleaning surface so that when it is first brought into engagement with a work surface, the cleaning surface does not engage the work surface. A pressure-applying backup plate of a firm material such as neoprene has a forwardly displaced inner portion that is received in the pad rear recess for applying firm pressure to the pad cleaning surface. The plate has an outer portion for applying pressure to the outer pad section. In operation, the pad is positioned at the work surface and then rotated. The backup plate applies sufficient force to initially axially compress the outer pad section and position the cleaning surface at the work surface. Further force acts through the backup plate inner portion to apply firm distributed cleaning action by the cleaning surface against the work surface to remove the amount of material desired. Then the axial force is reduced to allow the pad outer section to expand and move the cleaning element out of engagement with the work surface. This allows the rotating foam outer section to be used to engage and polish the cleaned area of the work surface.

Growing community of inventors

Laval, Canada

Claude Sevigny