How do you guys clean neglected paint?

Dave N

Dave N

My PC goes to 7...
I'm looking for suggestions on how to clean neglected paint in preparation for sealant or wax application. I'm starting to detail relatives/friends cars as "experiments" and eventually would like to start a weekend business. I'm mainly interested in a good method to use on neglected paint that will, after the detail, continue to be neglected. So I don't see much point in going all out here. I'm also looking for something that will keep the cost down, as most people won't want to pay for 2 full days of labor (yes, I am that slow when going all out!).



Here's my experience of recently detailing a semi-neglected white minivan. This van gets a lot of automatic washes in the winter, and hand-washed maybe once per month in the summer with an old grungy chenille mitt. It had a lot of tar and old dirt on the rocker panels. Here's what I did:



Dawn wash

3M tar/adhesive remover on the rocker panels

Autoint SMR, PC w/yellow foam waxmaster pad, speed 5

Meguiar's Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner, PC same as above

Dawn wash again

2 coats of Z5/ZFX on the upper paint

1 coat of AIO on the plastic rocker panels and bumper skirting (PC applied as above)



I wasn't out to remove very many wash mars or swirls, I just wanted something that would clean the paint quickly. First I tried the SMR, but that really wasn't cleaning very well. I switched to the Meguiar's paint cleaner, and that worked a little better since it contains solvents. It still wasn't pulling up all of the dirt/tar specs, though. There were several times when I would go over a spot several times with the PC, and the spot wouldn't come up. Then I would take my fingernail lightly over the spot and it would come right up. Of course clay probably would have worked great, but I'm looking for something that's a little (OK, a LOT) faster. Are there any other relatively cheap paint cleaners out there that work well? I'm looking for something that I could purchase in a large quantity for fairly cheap.
 
I know if I were doing alot of cars that had serious fallout on the paint, I'd use something like Valugard's ABC system before any polishing.



ABC will dissolve virtually any surface crud. Plus you kill several birds with one stone - The vehicle gets washed, the surface crap gets removed, you saved time by not claying, you saved money by not claying or excessively polishing. I think something like the ABC system is much much more efficient than anything else. If you hav not head of ABC, do a search on it; there's lots of info here.



There are quite a few posts in this section of Autopia describing professional products that will do the job you need it to and save you time and money. Look for posts by NYDetailer, JasonC8301, and Dr Jones. Scottwax uses alot of Meguiar's pro products and does all his work by hand so his info is valuable as well.
 
Claybar first and foremost. That is most important. I then use a cleaner wax, followed by polish or glaze. Then wax followed by a QD for that extra slick and glossy look.
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I have Autoint's ABC system, and have used it on my truck and my dad's truck. Neither one was all that dirty, so I don't really know how well ABC would work for a neglected car. I did notice that ABC didn't get some of the tougher specs off of my truck, though. To tell you the truth, I'm afraid to use ABC on anyone elses car because of how caustic B smells!:eek: On one hand, I'm sure if it wasn't safe, Autoint wouldn't be selling it, and it seems to me that a half a year or so ago someone from Autoint said on this group that you could use ABC every wash and it wouldn't hurt (or maybe that was just to use C for every wash, which is what I do... except now I'm using Zaino wash). But on the other hand, it ate into some of the plastic parts on my topper, and I would hate to have that happen to anyone elses car.
 
"My PC goes to 7"



Dave, your quote is hilarious! I started laughing at that, then I laughed at myself for actually laughing at a Porter Cable joke. Only a fraction of a percent of the world would have any clue what that even means!
 
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