Spots white

[Maserati Mario]

Re: Spots white

If that's the case, then a 50/50 water/alcohol solution should be able to remove the wax residue in the chips. Of course, you'll then need to re-wax the surface.

So what about the run off?
Have you seen any bad results from this?
I use alcohol for cleaning everything in my house, but I avoid wood/waxed surfaces.
I never heard of any detailer out here using it.

[akimel]

Re: Spots white

I never heard of any detailer out here using it.

Then I suggest, Mario, that you start reading Autopia, Detailing World, and other forums about IPA wipedowns. Many fine detailers use them on a regular basis without experiencing the deleterious effects that you fear, including some detailers here on MOL.

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

[Eddie6th]

Re: Spots white

Settle down,or I'll have to call......

[roushstage2]

Re: Spots white

IPA wipe-downs seem to be very popular everywhere.....except here.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Spots white

First and foremost, I want to remind everyone that this is a forum that has been extremely successful and helpful for its members because the members are held to a higher standard when it comes to how they speak to one another. We are a family of sorts, and the jabs and under handed insults and questioning that has been borderline breaking forum rules in several recent threads is not going to be tolerated.

Please, before posting ANYTHING stop and think how it could be taken. If it could be taken as an insult, make use of your DELETE and/or BACKSPACE key.

As for the subject of a 50/50 wipe-down, as long as the area is then protected with a wax/sealant after the wipedown it should be fine. As always, try a small test spot in an inconspicuous location. There should not be any run-off as you should be putting a small amount of the solution onto a towel and dabbing individual locations. The alcohol dries up very quickly leaving a clean surface.

[Tim Lingor]

Re: Spots white

First and foremost, I want to remind everyone that this is a forum that has been extremely successful and helpful for its members because the members are held to a higher standard when it comes to how they speak to one another. We are a family of sorts, and the jabs and under handed insults and questioning that has been borderline breaking forum rules in several recent threads is not going to be tolerated.

Please, before posting ANYTHING stop and think how it could be taken. If it could be taken as an insult, make use of your DELETE and/or BACKSPACE key.

As for the subject of a 50/50 wipe-down, as long as the area is then protected with a wax/sealant after the wipedown it should be fine. As always, try a small test spot in an inconspicuous location. There should not be any run-off as you should be putting a small amount of the solution onto a towel and dabbing individual locations. The alcohol dries up very quickly leaving a clean surface.

Excellent post Mark!!

I myself do IPA wipe downs and have for years. I do not wipe down the entire car (unless required), but rather just an area to make sure that my procedures have indeed removed all marring. Further, some products do not bond well to lubricating oils found in many compounds. Hence, in some cases, a full wipe down may be recommended by the LSP manufacturer in order to obtain the maximum performance from their products.

Of course there are discussions revolving around paint swelling etc, but that is for another thread.

Tim

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Spots white

I myself do IPA wipe downs and have for years. I do not wipe down the entire car (unless required), but rather just an area to make sure that my procedures have indeed removed all marring. Further, some products do not bond well to lubricating oils found in many compounds. Hence, in some cases, a full wipe down may be recommended by the LSP manufacturer in order to obtain the maximum performance from their products.

Of course there are discussions revolving around paint swelling etc, but that is for another thread.

Tim

Great points Tim. Thanks for sharing.

[Maserati Mario]

Re: Spots white

Then I suggest, Mario, that you start reading Autopia, Detailing World, and other forums about IPA wipedowns. Many fine detailers use them on a regular basis without experiencing the deleterious effects that you fear, including some detailers here on MOL.

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Kewl, so why/what situation do you use this for?
Just for getting wax out of chips?
Do you use it to remove wax, and why whould you do that?

[TH0001]

Re: Spots white

Kewl, so why/what situation do you use this for?
Just for getting wax out of chips?
Do you use it to remove wax, and why whould you do that?

Hi Mario, perhaps I can lend some of my experiences to the discussion. I use IPA wipe downs quite frequently and for several reasons.

To answer your first question, I have used alcohol wipe downs on just about every exotic car from a million dollar Bugatti to an eighteen million dollar Ferrari 250 GTO, and have never had, nor have I ever worried about any issues with damaging the paint, plastic, or trim. I have used alcohol on rubber trim to remove adhesive from tape and found that it does a pretty good job at removing dried rubber. I'm sure that anything can cause problems, but I have never had any.

Now to answer why, or at least why I believe alcohol wipe downs are beneficial. Some of the newer polishes on the market use a very wet lubricant that allow for some pretty amazing 'play' times. The lubricant (from the polish) in some of the polishes has amazing staying power, it stays wet and sticks to the paint despite being abraded by a foam pad at 1500 rpm, or traveling over the surface 30,000 inches per minute. (The outer edge of a 6.5 inch pad travels roughly 20.41 inches per revolution, or 30,615 inches in a minute at 1500 rpm).

These lubricants can be difficult to remove with a microfiber towel, or clog the microfiber towel fairly quickly. Using alcohol will help remove some of the most stubborn lubricants.

Why remove them to begin with. The oils and lubricants can act to unintentionally fill defects lending you to believe the damage has been removed or there are no holograms when there in fact are.

I always like to know exactly what the surface looks like after each step and I don't like to take chances, so I wipe the surface 3x's with a clean microfiber to ensure the paint is perfectly clean, before moving to the next step. I can tell you that every polish I have ever used can fill on some paints in some conditions.

After final polishing I will also wipe the surface with alcohol to make sure that there are no defects remaining and that no defects mysteriously return at a later date.

It might seem excessive, but I can tell you that I have become a way better detailer since doing frequent wipe downs, and you wouldn't believe the condition paint can really be in unless you check it after every step.

I will also wipe the paint with alcohol after claying the car, prior to polishing, to make sure that any waxes or products that could interfere with polishing are removed.

[Maserati Mario]

Re: Spots white

Kewl, I'll give it a try!
Thanks for that information!

[Andy M.]

Re: Spots white

Well, I am going to guess that this has brought to a close the IPA wipedown question as Tim, Mark and Todd ( theres a lot of experience there) have chimed in and agreed with what Al had already said. Lets keep this thread going in the right direction and keep it going!

Thanks,

Andy M.

[Eddie6th]

Re: Spots white

I'm a hobbyist.I do my best in my car detailing,and am always open to suggestions.People like Todd have got way,way more experience than me.To be doing these exotic cars must mean you have a very good reputation.

I have never done an IPA wipedown.So I can't add much input here.I understand that it is dilluted with water,something like 50/50.As far as plastics go though,I'd prefer not to touch them with this.Is it okay over a period of time?

What I mean by that as an example: According to some car manuals,using liquid air freshners damage rubber trim 'over time'. i've used them once or twice,and my 15 year old car's trim is still in perfect condition,and I don't clean them as often as I should.I have freinds with cars younger than mine,who use liquid air freshners all the time and their rubber linings are dryed out and cracked. Again,I don't know if the liquid air freshner warning is true or not.

Back to the original thread:I know 'undilluted',would be too strong and damaging especially to rubbers,plastics.I would reckon a 50/50 mixture would be okay,but what would be the effect over a long period of time,if used always as a means of prepping.

Also,would an strong degreasing soap/shampoo,rinsed off with pure water,not be sufficent?