Deep Crystal Cleaner

[slvrcvc]

I've looked around for the Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner but cannot find it anywhere, has it been replaced?

I'm new to this forum, barely starting to look around in it.

[Murr1525]

Re: Deep Crystal Cleaner

Yeah, the DC Cleaner is discontinued.

Ult. Polish would probably be what you want to look for.

[imacarnut]

Re: Deep Crystal Cleaner

Another option would be Swirlx.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Deep Crystal Cleaner

Welcome to MOL!

Yes, Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner was discontinued a few years ago and replaced with both SwirlX and Ultimate Compound as both are far more effective at removing actual defects (swirls, fine scratches, etchings, etc) than DC Paint Cleaner ever was. SwirlX is by far the least aggressive of these two products and has almost fallen by the wayside in sales and distribution due to the overwhelming popularity of UC.

If you're looking for a good, deep cleaning prior to polishing and waxing then UC applied in a very non aggressive way is a great choice. If you really need to compound prior to polishing and waxing in order to remove swirls and other defects, then using UC via DA polisher will speed through the majority of those defects quite quickly.

So with that in mind, what are you looking to accomplish with a paint cleaner here?

[slvrcvc]

Re: Deep Crystal Cleaner

Thanks for the help guys.

Appreciate the welcome! Thanks, that's exactly what I needed to know.

Well, not so much just with the paint cleaner, I had been looking around the forum and wanted to try the deep crystal 3 step that I saw in an old thread. What I'm really trying to gather information on is the best method to try and remove a light scratch by hand.
The scratch is very light, have to be up close to see it, cannot feel it at the touch-as if someone just walked to close and grazed the clear with something they were carrying.

[Murr1525]

Re: Deep Crystal Cleaner

For trying to remove a defect by hand, I would tend to go with the UC as Michael mentioned, and start off applying gently, and build up the force a bit of needed.

[slvrcvc]

Re: Deep Crystal Cleaner

Thanks for the suggestions guys. So last weekend I attempted to fix the issue and at first I thought it worked or atleast for the most part, the scratch was not gone 100% but looked like it had diminished by 80% which I was okay with because you couldnt see it unless you were at a certain angle and even at that about an inch away from the truck. However, this morning I could see the scratch perfectly...I guess I must of not done it right? I used three coats of ultimate compound, I wouldve thought the scratch would have came out no problem after seeing some of the miracles UC has done for some of you guys keeping in mind the scratch is very very light and cannot even feel it much less get my nail stuck on it. I guess my only option is going to be to get it professionally done..

[mmmfloorpie]

Re: Deep Crystal Cleaner

It's funny because I came back here after a couple year absence looking for my beloved Deep Crystal Cleaner. Sure it wasn't incredibly effective like the Ultimate Compound might be, but it was very easy to use on an entire car. I find Ultimate Compound is best used on the trouble spots (I wax by hand and don't use a machine).

[gpsguru]

Re: Deep Crystal Cleaner

I'm with you mmmfloorpie! Two products, first Meguiar's Heavy Duty Cleaner, now it's follow on Deep Crystal Cleaner have been discontinued for no apparent reason. Both of these products worked great over an entire car applying with buffer or by hand. I would guess that I started using the Heavy Duty Cleaner around 1987- 1990 timeframe. This product was simply the best for restoring color, taking out scratches, removing dirt, and if used properly, not leaving swirls. I would typically follow it with Meguiar's Polish, then a Wax or Nu Finish. I found that Deep Crystal Cleaner was the next best thing (still not as good as the Heavy Duty Cleaner). I just finished using the last bottle of Deep Crystal Cleaner yesterday to clean up my Orange Kubota tractor that has been in the elements for 4 years. (Everybody knows what an orange finish looks like unattended to for for years). Plus, being a tractor it had plenty of dirt and scratches in the paint. The Deep Crystal Cleaner applied by hand did a fantastic job of bringing the color and polish back to original. I'm following it with a coat of my favorite protectant.
My point here is that in reading the detailing forums and this one, most people have a focus on "trouble spots", whereas if the entire finish is cleaned, treated the same way the color and polish are very nicely balanced and take to polish and wax very easily. I am extremely disappointed that Meguiar's keeps pulling these good products, as if they don't understand how to use them themselves, then "substituting" one or two other ones that may or may not be as good. I also realize that paint formulation changes, but over the 20 years of using the two products with paints ranging to fifty years old, the products worked phenomenally well regardless of the paint formulation. If these products were left alone, they would develop a household reputation, but apparently someone has an identity crisis and feels the need to change them.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Deep Crystal Cleaner

I am extremely disappointed that Meguiar's keeps pulling these good products, as if they don't understand how to use them themselves, then "substituting" one or two other ones that may or may not be as good. I also realize that paint formulation changes, but over the 20 years of using the two products with paints ranging to fifty years old, the products worked phenomenally well regardless of the paint formulation. If these products were left alone, they would develop a household reputation, but apparently someone has an identity crisis and feels the need to change them.

OK, hold up a second here!!! 20 years is an insanely long time for a product to survive in this industry. Paint tech has changed dramatically in the past 20 years, with most of that change being in the past 5 to 10 years. Similarly, paint care tech has changed to keep up with it, and it's all been for the better. Honestly. The level of correction that can be acheived with the newest SMAT abrasives (non diminishing as opposed to diminishing found in products like Heavy Cut Cleaner, M80 Speed Glaze, M85 Diamond Cut, etc) will remove more defects in less time, and leave a nicer finish in the process. Leaving a product with old tech on the shelves, while everything else around it (paint, painting processes, other compounds and cleaners, tools, pads, techniques, etc) continues to improve will not cause that product to develop a household reputation - it causes the product to die a horrible death.

[mohebmhanna]

Re: Deep Crystal Cleaner

Mike-I like when say (tool, pads, technique, etc.) that bring to me , for example, how the new technology in DA like Rupes 21mm and the new Meg DA MT300 with the right pads/SMAT abrasive could put rotary on the shelves very soon - at least from my perspective.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Deep Crystal Cleaner

Mike-I like when say (tool, pads, technique, etc.) that bring to me , for example, how the new technology in DA like Rupes 21mm and the new Meg DA MT300 with the right pads/SMAT abrasive could put rotary on the shelves very soon - at least from my perspective.

There is no doubt that the combination of advancements in DA tools, pad technology and the newest abrasives tech have dramatically changed this industry. But paint tech has advanced rapidly as well, which is partly the reason for these other advancements. While the rotary will always have a place in paint polishing, especially when an entire vehicle has been wet sanded to a totally flat surface and needs to be buffed out, the DA has indeed taken up much of the work traditionally done with a rotary. What we see trending quite sharply among even the most elite detailers is the rotary being relegated to spot correction in tighter areas where the throw of a DA creates problems. There will always be those rotary die hards, however, and that's perfectly fine. In fact, it's probably a good thing. Long live the DA!!!

[mohebmhanna]

Re: Deep Crystal Cleaner

I have to agree entierly with Mr. Stoops.

[davey g-force]

Re: Deep Crystal Cleaner

Well said Mike.

...And IMO Deep Crystal already WAS a household name!

[mmmfloorpie]

Re: Deep Crystal Cleaner

Welcome to MOL!

Yes, Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner was discontinued a few years ago and replaced with both SwirlX and Ultimate Compound as both are far more effective at removing actual defects (swirls, fine scratches, etchings, etc) than DC Paint Cleaner ever was. SwirlX is by far the least aggressive of these two products and has almost fallen by the wayside in sales and distribution due to the overwhelming popularity of UC.

If you're looking for a good, deep cleaning prior to polishing and waxing then UC applied in a very non aggressive way is a great choice. If you really need to compound prior to polishing and waxing in order to remove swirls and other defects, then using UC via DA polisher will speed through the majority of those defects quite quickly.

So with that in mind, what are you looking to accomplish with a paint cleaner here?

Another year gone by and still the same dilemma. I don't know why I didn't reply to this post specifically the last time I was here but oh well! I'll reply to it now (almost 2 years later) haha.

Anyways, what I'm trying to accomplish is just a light, whole car cleaning. I want to make the paint nice and smooth before I polish or wax it.

I usually do 3 waxes a year. The first wax in early spring when I also typically will do a clay bar. The clay bar gets the paint nice and smooth and gets all the grit out of it. You run your hand over it and it feels as smooth as glass.

For the second and third wax, however, I usually skip the clay bar step as the paint isn't that dirty. But, when you run your hand over the paint after you wash it, it feels kind of rough and not smooth at all. This is what I used to use the Deep Crystal Cleaner for. It was very LIGHT yet it made the paint feel as smooth as glass again. Thus, I could wax it again and get good results. I could clean and prepare the whole car in under and hour.

Maybe I'm approaching this wrong, but I don't think it would be proper to just apply the wax directly to the paint. I think you should make the paint feel nice and smooth and get rid of anything that just a simple wash doesn't remove first. The Paint Cleaner was perfect for this.

I've since started using the UC as my last bottle of DC Paint Cleaner has run dry. UC is a good product but it's WAY too heavy for what I'm using it for here. It just takes a lot of work applying it and then removing it especially. Not as much as the Ultimate Polish, but still. It practically killed me doing a whole car UC and then a whole car UP and then a wax. The Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner and the NXT Paste wax go on so easy and come off very easy too. It used to be a pinch for that second or third wax of the year. The Deep Crystal would get the paint nice and smooth and then the wax would seal, protect, and shine. Now I feel like the second and third wax are just as big of a chore to do as that first wax of the year after winter.