Paint Cleaner a must?

[sillystanger]

I have 05 Mustang that has been well protected with Zaino polishes and garage kept as well as being washed weekly and spot clayed when necessary. Its time to strip it down and reapply the Zaino this weekend... my question is do I need to use a paint cleaner given that the paint is only 1 year old and has been very well cared for? Or can I just Dawn wash and clay only as my prep?



I have MPPC and ZPC (would probably opt for the MPPC for the better chemical cleaning and I believe its less abrasive as well). I imagine that a paint cleaning would help but I`m a little hesitant to take a PC to my new car given that I`ve only used it once even though it worked out well. Plus, would I need to tape off the trim for a PC applied paint cleaning?



Thanks for your thoughts...

[Bigpoppa3346]

I would do it, because clean paint always seems more reflective and clear, rather than just building up coats. Don`t worry about using the PC on the new car-you can polish it all the time with mild polishes and not do any serious paint removal. Happy Zainoing!

[imported_GregCavi]

You curtainly dont need a paint cleaner before you zaino. What I would do is first wash the car and it doesnt have to be dawn. Next polish the car with a light polish if the car isn`t in very bad condition. The polishing will enhance the look of the car to a level that just a dawn wash couldn`t touch. After polishing do the z6 wipedown and your good to zaino.



Now where I use a paint cleaner is on windows. I find that meguairs #4 heavy cut paint cleaner by hand cleans and polishes windows to a high gloss.



I hope that helps!



Greg

[sillystanger]

Interesting... I hadn`t heard of using paint cleaner on window... will have to give that a try. Do you tape off trim when using a paint cleaner? I`m guessing that you really only need to tape off when using fairly abrasive polishes.



(Thanks BigPappa... I was wondering about unneccessary paint removal which is why I think I`m going to give MPPC a try)

[Accumulator]

I`d say it depends on how pampered the car`s been. I get by with just claying (Sonus green) and redoing the LSP for a long, long time. Not saying your car (or mine for that matter) might not benefit from the paint cleaner, but it might not be absolutely *necessary*. I`d do the wash and clay and evaluate it then.



Oh, and I sure wouldn`t worry about once-a-year, gentle polishing being too hard on the clearcoat, and note that I keep our vehicles a long time so I *am* thinking long-term. I can`t remember if the MPPC stains trim or not, but I wouldn`t be surprised if it did. I`d consider just working up against the trim by hand rather than taping it; most paint cleaners work OK by hand at least for that amount of work.

[imported_GregCavi]

Interesting... I hadn`t heard of using paint cleaner on window... will have to give that a try. Do you tape off trim when using a paint cleaner? I`m guessing that you really only need to tape off when using fairly abrasive polishes.



(Thanks BigPappa... I was wondering about unneccessary paint removal which is why I think I`m going to give MPPC a try)



No I didnt tape the trim, I just didnt go to close to it. I think the meguiars paint cleaners will stain.



Greg