alcohol wipedown?

[ShinyMopar]

I have read about wiping with alcohol. What is the purpose? When do you do it? What strength? I know you can get 70 - 90 at the store and I can even swipe 99 from work. Stronger better? Thanks.

[ShinyMopar]

I can also get methanol also if that would be a better choice. Don't want to strip paint though.

[ffboy]

Re: alcohol wipedown?

Be careful with methanol. It may be too strong for paint, but that should be the least of your concerns, it can cause blindness, make sure to wear protective stuff (gloves, goggles, etc.)

[Christopher.Brown]

Re: alcohol wipedown?

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[Christopher.Brown]

Re: alcohol wipedown?

IPA Wipedowns are done to ensure that the surface is cleaned of all product residue (most commonly product oils from compounding and polishing) in order to do the final prep for an LSP (LAST STAGE PRODUCT) such as wax, sealant, or permanent coating


as far as dilution you won't ever need higher than 12.5% to remove paint surface contaminants.. make sure you mix it with distilled water as normal water will have minerals in it which are the nasty culprits for water spots


to mix using 70% .. mix 2oz alcohol : 14oz distilled water to make 16oz of 12.5% solution... multiply this number depending on total batch size and you're good to go

[wifpd4]

Re: alcohol wipedown?

One other purpose of the IPA wipe down, or other commercially available products, is to, as Christopher stated, remove product residue and thereby revealing any blemishes on the paint that might yet not been removed by your detailing efforts. While some products may contain "fillers", even if they don't, if not completely removed they will or can fill those nasty swirls you are trying to remove. Removing the products will reveal the swirls, making they easier to see and remove.

[Christopher.Brown]

Great point wif...

Its such a habit for me I forget to mention fillers and removing them ...

[JET_Fusion]

Are you sure about using the 70%? It too contains oils. I use IPA for ASTM testing and the 70% slews the results. If you're going through the effort to use it, might as well use the 97% or the 99%. They're all essentially the same price.

[wifpd4]

Re: alcohol wipedown?

Please read this at your convenience for an opinion.

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?40774-IPA-How-When-Why&p=392903&viewfull=1#post392903

[ShinyMopar]

So just to make sure

Wash
Clay
Compound (swirls aren't bad so maybe just polish, test spot will determine)
Polish
Ipa
Depending on inspecting compound/polish/lsp

More than likely majority or defects should be gone so more than likely just a polish MIGHT be needed.

Then I was planning to seal and then I bought some high dollar carnube to finish it off.

[Stephan]

Re: alcohol wipedown?

If you do an IPA wipe down after the polish, you need to polish again before the LSP.

The LSP is primarily for protection. Polish is for added shine. What compound and polish are you planning to use?

[ShinyMopar]

I've got 105 205 uc and up. Going to test what is needed and responds best. Mf cutting and finishing pads and foam pads that are for compounding polishing and waxing. Probably will wax by hand though.

[Stephan]

Re: alcohol wipedown?

If you're happy after compounding, I would just polish and wax and skip the ipa and the repolish steps.

Good luck! Take some photos!

[C8N]

Re: alcohol wipedown?

If you are using all meguiars products in your detail, you really do not need to do a ipa wipe down unless you want to inspect your work.

[Detailing by M]

The only reason to use an IPA wipedown is to "dry"out the paint to reveal defects. There is no need to use it for any other purpose.