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Re: Cleaning off "Durable Polymers" before detailing
Great post Jason!
You made lots of good points. This sort of thing is more popular nowadays due to high-tech silicones, polymers, etc... If you are doing an every day sort of detail, it really isn't necessary to an IPA wipedown after every step, on every panel and on every car as you stated in your post.
Most of my paint corrections can take up to 60+ hours and my clients demand their cars absolutely perfect, so as a precaution, I remove as much silicone, polymers, etc. from every car I work on before any polishing is undertaken. As you said, you might only get 90% correction rather than 100% correction if the embedded products are not removed. I have found that if the previous layer of wax is not fully removed, it creates a barrier and causes the polisher to “hydroplane” above the paint surface, making it very difficult for any defects to be removed. This could mean lots of extra hours of polishing to get the results you are trying to achieve, not to mention possible masking/hiding abilities.
I have found that a degreaser (like Meguiars Safe Degreaser) works great to strip the car free of all loose contaminants, silicone, wax, polish residue, quick detailers, etc. I wash the car with normal soap and water, rinse, then spray the cleaner directly onto a clean microfiber towel and scrub each panel thoroughly. After the vehicle is rinsed and dried, I do a quick alcohol wipedown as well. Taking 15 minutes to do this step can make a huge difference.
You can clearly see the difference in the pictures below, which show that this method greatly reduces the amount of silicone, etc. in the paint (water beading) and can save lots of time when performing an extensive paint correction.
Before...
After...
Great post Jason!
You made lots of good points. This sort of thing is more popular nowadays due to high-tech silicones, polymers, etc... If you are doing an every day sort of detail, it really isn't necessary to an IPA wipedown after every step, on every panel and on every car as you stated in your post.
Most of my paint corrections can take up to 60+ hours and my clients demand their cars absolutely perfect, so as a precaution, I remove as much silicone, polymers, etc. from every car I work on before any polishing is undertaken. As you said, you might only get 90% correction rather than 100% correction if the embedded products are not removed. I have found that if the previous layer of wax is not fully removed, it creates a barrier and causes the polisher to “hydroplane” above the paint surface, making it very difficult for any defects to be removed. This could mean lots of extra hours of polishing to get the results you are trying to achieve, not to mention possible masking/hiding abilities.
I have found that a degreaser (like Meguiars Safe Degreaser) works great to strip the car free of all loose contaminants, silicone, wax, polish residue, quick detailers, etc. I wash the car with normal soap and water, rinse, then spray the cleaner directly onto a clean microfiber towel and scrub each panel thoroughly. After the vehicle is rinsed and dried, I do a quick alcohol wipedown as well. Taking 15 minutes to do this step can make a huge difference.
You can clearly see the difference in the pictures below, which show that this method greatly reduces the amount of silicone, etc. in the paint (water beading) and can save lots of time when performing an extensive paint correction.
Before...
After...
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