Paint Cleaner?

[mujjuman]

I have read some threads that have some great info in them
I have a question regarding paint cleaner.
I have read that clay bar removes contaminants that are ABOVE the surface.
Paint cleaner removes contaminants BELOW the surface.

To my understanding, paint cleaner works like a polish (removing very small portion of paint on top).
Therefore, after washing + clay bar, may we skip the paint cleaner step and do the polishing step (with a pure polish) and proceed to the wax step?
I noticed that after paint cleaner step, the pure polish step is listed as optional.
Would I be damaging my paint and finish if I polish without cleaning using paint cleaner?

[gb387]

Re: Paint Cleaner?

You do not need to use a Paint Cleaner, there is no harm is going from Clay straight to polish and/or wax. If you do use a cleaner you will take your final look to that ''next level'. Hope that helps!

[mujjuman]

Re: Paint Cleaner?

Yes it does help! Thank you!

[akimel]

Re: Paint Cleaner?

Hi, Mujjuman. As I understand it, the difference between a paint cleaner like DC1 and a pure polish (e.g., DC2 or M07) is that the latter does not remove paint, oxidation, or below-surface contaminants; a pure polish does not effect any paint correction and does not prepare the surface for more effective bonding with the wax that will be subsequently applied. A pure polish is applied purely for aesthetic reasons.