Getting ready to polish my car. I have never used a paint cleansing lotion because I thought that the polish would remove any old wax and contaminents. After reading other post about cleaning paint before polishing it does make sense to take that extra step. Can anyone recommend a good paint cleaner? Should I use it before and after polishing? Is there a pure paint cleaner that won't leave a sealant behind, like some AIO? I've alway's used an alcohol wipe down after polishing to get rid of any oils in the polish. Is this the best way before applying LSP? Sorry for all the questions, but polishing is a lot of work and I don't want to miss something that would give me a better end result. I'm using a PC and have all the pads. I'll be using mez 106 to polish.
Paint cleansing lotion
- Thread starter Legacy
- Start date
SVR
Dream Machines
Toughseal step 1, Four star Ultimate and swissol cleaner fluid are my favourites
Step 1 really cleans the crap out of the clear coat pores. Very good to do that before polishing so that the paint is totally clean
Step 1 really cleans the crap out of the clear coat pores. Very good to do that before polishing so that the paint is totally clean
Accumulator
Well-known member
While I'd just clay then polish in most cases, a cheap OTC answer to this is Meg's Deep Crystal Step #1 Cleaner. My fave is Pinnacle PCL, and that Cleaner Fluid sure sounds great, but if you're just gonna polish afterwards anyhow I'd go with the cheapest route that'll get the job done.
Accumulator
Well-known member
Legacy99- Kinda in-between. No real point in using higher speeds (the minimal abrasives break down quickly and easily and don't really do much of any correction anyhow) and you don't want to work it dry, but OTOH you do need to work it enough for it to do the job so it's not a WOWO either.
It's been forever since I used DC#1, but it's pretty goof-proof, just work it until it's almost dry and then buff it off.
It's been forever since I used DC#1, but it's pretty goof-proof, just work it until it's almost dry and then buff it off.
aabablusaan
New member
Accumulator said:
Agreed...or you could use ScratchX as a more aggressive paint cleaner, but is still not a heavy abrasive-type cleaner.
imported_DJBAILEY
New member
Duragloss 652 PC-No.2 Pre-cleaner is also an excellent economical OTC paint cleanser. Their website says that it has selected abrasives, but the bottle does not say anything about abrasives. I don't feel any anyways. I think they're all chemical abrasives. It cleans great, works in easily and wipes off with ease. I use it prior to claying. Keeps the claybar to just pulling out the contaminates and cleaning off the road film. My claybars last much longer this way and I know the car has got to be extremely clean after those 2 steps. I don't think polishes are designed to clean. Scratching the dirt off the surface with a polish doesn't sound like a good idea to me. It takes a while for a polish to work through a blob of tree sap or tar you may have missed when cleaning, but a cleanser cleans it up right away. Chemical cleansing then abrasive polishing.
The after polishing cleaning is what has me thinking. Been using 50/50 IPA for long time but seems like even that is being questioned now.
The after polishing cleaning is what has me thinking. Been using 50/50 IPA for long time but seems like even that is being questioned now.