cleaner wax + new car = paint on applicator?

[navyblue2000]

My father in law bought a 2006 impala (red) about a week ago. He bought some meguiar's cleaner wax and terry applicators.
Did a pretty good job waxing it, it's pretty sharp. However, there's red on the applicator.

Is that supposed to happen, or is something wrong?

[steveo3002]

that means the car must have single stage/non clear coat paint on it

nothing to worry about

[qh187]

Does the cleaner wax have abrasives? Or is it the chemical cleaners that cause the paint to appear on the applicator? I'm curious because of the Consumer Reports article.

[bullet1]

My guess is that it is from the door guards running down the sides of the car. I don't think any cars have single stage paint on them anymore. I ran into this on a Camry I was detailing, I was getting red rubbing off on my 8006 pad from the door guard. And there are mild abrasives in the Cleaner Wax I believe.

[Murr1525]

Did he wax in door jambs/frames as well? Or anything in the hood/trunk? Those sort of areas may not be clear coated either.

I would definately say main exterior parts are clearcoated.

But yes, it is ok. I would suspect both the chemical and abrasive cleaners can cause paint transfer. And I am not sure if the Cleaner/Wax has any abrasives or not, but nothing to worry about, it is one of the mildest cleaners Meguiars makes.

Is there a new CR article for paint cleaners now? Or was that from the crazy wax one?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by qh187
Does the cleaner wax have abrasives? Or is it the chemical cleaners that cause the paint to appear on the applicator? I'm curious because of the Consumer Reports article.

The type of abrasives in any of our products are diminishing and very gentle to the finish, at the Saturday classes I teach now I always have people feel the products because posts like this tend to create a picture in people's minds as though the products are scratchy or contain some kind of gritty particles and that's simply not the truth.

The product you're using has been around since 1973, that's 33 years. Products don't stick around for 33 years unless there are a whole lot of very happy customers purchasing the product over and over again and telling their friends about it.

Next time you're at your Father-in-laws house, go out to his garage and shake the product up and feel some between your fingers, you'll think you have a skin lotion in your hands.

As far as paint transfer goes two things,

1) If you father-in-law is getting red pigment on his applicator this means somewhere he's applied this product is some red paint with no clear coat over it, as already pointed out this could be a door jam or some other area that may not have had clear applied over it. If it's on a major body panel then it could be an indicator of a problem in that the clear coat is missing in some area of the car. If this is the case then that would be something that happened long before he used our cleaner/wax.

2) If he's getting paint or pigment transfer when applying our cleaner/wax this would happen no matter who's cleaner/wax he used, Nu Finish, Klasse AIO, Mothers Cleaner/Wax etc. A good cleaner/wax will clean the paint, that's its job, if it didn't do this then you would unhappy because the product didn't perform as claimed.

over the years








Still a popular product 33 years later...

[qh187]

The CR article reported scratching from using Megs cleaner wax that's why i was curious.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by qh187
The CR article reported scratching from using Megs cleaner wax that's why i was curious.

If someone at CR scratched paint using our cleaner/wax the problem with be with their applicator or their technique, the product is completely non-abrasive, it hasn't been scratching paint for over 33 years.

[35th Anniversary SS]

Originally posted by qh187
The CR article reported scratching from using Megs cleaner wax that's why i was curious.

I really wish there could be some kind of legal repercussions for this type of claim.

[navyblue2000]

Well, honestly you have to take CR for what they are - a consumer group. Now if it was Car Wax Review magazine...it'd be different

But you know, my FIL did say that he did the door jambs as well, so that's probably what it is.
I'm going to be doing a #9 followed by step 3 wax from the crystal system on friday (I've surveyed the car already, there's some DISO), so any real defects will be brought out then.

[qh187]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
If someone at CR scratched paint using our cleaner/wax the problem with be with their applicator or their technique, the product is completely non-abrasive, it hasn't been scratching paint for over 33 years.

that's what I thought. I just wanted to confirm it before I mentioned anything on my car forum. Some people over there believe every word from consumer reports.

Thanks!

[93ZF6]

I've heard the other case for color transfer on a truly clear coated panel is a tint coat, there are some new finishes which have a tint coat that is mostly clear with some level of pigments. can any one confirm this explanation?

[Murr1525]

Wow, I dunno.

Single stages, clear coats, tint coats, I can imagine the confusion.

I have never heard of it, but a custom painter could do it.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by 93ZF6
can any one confirm this explanation?

Yes. Some car manufactures use a tint in their clear, I know Honda has done this for some models.

[STG]

Mike,

Do you remember detailing my 2004 Mach 1 Mustang?

You got grey paint on your applicator ......


First, you thought the factory missed applying clearcoat to that one area of the trunk lid. Then you figured oout is was basecoat overspray ON TOP OF THE CLEARCOAT!!