Final wipe with APC / alcohol?

[humblepie]

I've read some people (after polishing) use 50/50 alcohol (is this 50% isopropyl alcohol?) or an APC. What's the purpose of doing this wipe and isn't it damaging to the paint?

Thanks.

[Carfire]

Re: Final wipe with APC / alcohol?

I am not exactly sure, so correct me if I am wrong, but I think it is to clean the surface. What I mean is some products cover up swirls, so it would remove that product. From what I have read, I would not use APC as it may strip paint. Also I believe it is 90% isopropyl alcohol.

[Tuck91]

Re: Final wipe with APC / alcohol?

I read a thread by Mike a while back that he used NXT Glass cleaner and 50/50 alcohol to check his work

[jmakado]

Re: Final wipe with APC / alcohol?

The ONLY time I give the car a wipe down (I use glass cleaner since I have it around anyway) is after doing test spots to make sure I am getting the correction that I want. After that, I just follow the normal procedures. The point of buffing a car is to make it look good. The oils in products like #9 and #7 make a car look good. Therefore I want to leave them on the paint. Now, I understand that if you really want a defect free finish that LASTS you need to remove the defects, not just fill them. Hence the wipe down after a test spot.

A lot of what you are reading about with alcohol wipe downs is people wanting to remove any oils as they feel their LSP won't bond correctly.

I am no chemist. The chemists at Meguiar's say that all the products in the Meg's line-up are designed to work together. I trust them and have never had ANY issues with any of Meg's waxes bonding to paint without a wipe down.

[akimel]

Re: Final wipe with APC / alcohol?

As already noted, two considerations persuade people to use a 50/50 wipedown after the polishing stage.

(1) To remove all polishing oils (fillers) in order to inspect the car and find, and remove, any and all remaining defects.

(2) To remove all polishings oils because they are concerned that they will undermine the durability of the wax or sealant they have chosen as their LSP. Many synthetic sealants in particular apparently do not bond as well to the paint surface in the presence of these oils.

MOL detailers tend not to worry about 50/50 wipedowns, except for inspection test spots. They like the Meg's TSOs and don't like removing them without darn good reason.

[Murr1525]

Re: Final wipe with APC / alcohol?

Yes, polishing oils will act as fillers (that is what you want), so when getting swirls out of paint ,some people will want to check their work with the polishing oil (fillers) removed.

Dont get caught up in the "fillers being bad" stuff from other forums...

[humblepie]

Re: Final wipe with APC / alcohol?

Thanks guys.

I have some NXT glass cleaner, so I might check my spot test w/ that then, but not stress if the M205 is actually acting as a filler either

[jmakado]

Re: Final wipe with APC / alcohol?

M205 is a different animal from products like 80,9, and 7. I can't seem to find it right now but I remember seeing a thread where it was posted that the minimal amount of polishing oils are used in 105 and 205. Not much hiding or filling should occur with either of these from what I understand.