"Pure" paint cleaners

Z

ZoranC

New member
Last weekend I worked on my car but (of course) was not able to complete all polishing steps, much less put protection on. By this weekend paint has been contaminated with all the polution morning mist brings down (car is parked outside).



So, I will have to clean that up before I go for next step and I am not in the mood to clay (almost) whole car after every time I have to interrupt.



I tried few "cleaners" but they all leave some oils, or have fillers, or are part of all-in-one.



I am just trying to clean paint, that's it, so I woule be interested in what I, in the lack of terminolgy knowledge am for now calling "pure" cleaner. No oils. No fillers. No all-in-ones. Just paint cleaning to remove road grime and contamination that got onto paint after last polishing step but before next one or before I got chance to put on sealant and wax.



What would fit that description that you are aware of? Can you name all of them?
 
Hello,



I think the ones that contain oils are often known as paintwork cleansers: HD cleanse, PPCL, P21s cleansing lotion.



Straight up cleaners would probably Meguiars Stage 1, mothers Step 1? Poorboys Pro Polish?



I to dont like to use things like Klasses AIO as a base as i belive the effects of using any glaze over it are wasted and not as effective as they should be b/c the oils cannot penetrate the base.



Geoff
 
Is it really necessary to use a paint cleaner? You've already clayed recently right? So why wouldn't you just wash, dry, and QD; then start polishing?



How long are you waiting in between polishing steps?



You could always put your hand in a plastic bag and feel the paint. Then just clay the spots that need it.
 
I guess there aren't many "pure" cleaners when you come down to it (I'm sure now that I've said that I'll be shot down repeatedly with what becomes a long list). I find the Poorboy's PP to be really solventy and aggressive. What about the Sonus Paintwork Cleanser? Although now that I'm reading the description of that it says it's an ultrafine polish :nixweiss
 
Einszett 1Z Paint Polish has worked great for me as simply what the name implies: a paint polish. :up



I don't believe that it contains sealants of any sort as opposed to an AIO.



I'm using the 1Z as a basecoat for RMG followed by Collonite 845. :cool:
 
ZoranC said:
... so I woule be interested in what I, in the lack of terminolgy knowledge am for now calling "pure" cleaner. No oils. No fillers. No all-in-ones. .... What would fit that description that you are aware of? Can you name all of them?
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That would be a solvent.



Anything from water to acetone qualifies as a solvent. Solvents specifically formulated for paint would be products like Prep-Sol, PRE, DX 330, etc., not to mention any number of bug&tar removers.





PC.
 
I believe Poorboys Wolrd Pro Polish to be a "pure" polish that leaves nothing behind. If I'm using a more temrpermental product, I always polish the surface with that and I never have problems.
 
steelwind101 said:
I think the ones that contain oils are often known as paintwork cleansers: HD cleanse, PPCL, P21s cleansing lotion.



Straight up cleaners would probably Meguiars Stage 1, mothers Step 1? Poorboys Pro Polish?
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I didn't know P21s cleansing lotion contains oils :(



I thought Meguiar's Stage 1 has at least oils if not fillers too?
 
Less said:
Is it really necessary to use a paint cleaner? You've already clayed recently right? So why wouldn't you just wash, dry, and QD; then start polishing?



How long are you waiting in between polishing steps?



You could always put your hand in a plastic bag and feel the paint. Then just clay the spots that need it.
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I am waiting week between steps because few hours here and there over the weekend is all I have.



Yes, it is neccessary to clean as contamination is sticking to paint, washing does not remove it. Claying would be too much work, I am looking for something quicker, as I said, because it is not just few spots, every horizontal surface has thousands of small spots. That's is IMO due to week worth's of morning dew/mist pulling down pollution and what not and then drying under SoCal sun.
 
Yeah, much as I *love* 1Z polishes, they leave waxes behind and IIRC the PP contains both natural and "synthetic" waxes. Other than their bodyshop line, 1Z polishes leave stuff behind. But then so do most paint cleaners anyhow...



ZoranC- In your situation I clay. I know you've clearly stated that you don't want to go through that, but IME it's by *far* the easiest way to accomplish what you're after. It's what I do when my LSPs need refreshed in cases just like yours.



I use the Sonus green, which doesn't remove all of my previously applied LSP. I wash a panel until it's clean, spray on the Glyde lube, quickly and gently clay, then give it a curory rewash/rinse. I've done this a *lot*, most recently on the Blazer for its Spring cleanup, and IMO it's *so* much easier than any other approach. I have a lot of paint cleaners/etc. on the shelf and if I thought there werfe an easier way to prep for a LSP refresher, believe me I'd do it.
 
the other pc said:
That would be a solvent.
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:o Thank you for clearing my confusion :o



the other pc said:
Solvents specifically formulated for paint would be products like Prep-Sol, PRE, DX 330, etc., not to mention any number of bug&tar removers.
Click to expand...

Which one you would prefer, if any?



Also, what are paint "decontamination" systems? Would they work? Would they be too much for this purpose, especially if it is once a week?
 
Hmm, as far as P21s paintwork cleanser goes i can only go by what my Authorised Dealer can tell me which is:



The P21S Gloss Enhancing Paintwork Cleanser (5 litres) is a thick, rich, white creamy pre-wax cleaner (polish) that removes rain spots, minor stains, contaminants, adds essential emollients back into the paint and prepares the paint for the Concours Look Carnauba Wax. (Works equally well with any other quality Carnauba wax.) The rich emollient oil matrix and gentle chemical cleaners make this the finest and most gentle polish available.



I believe it has both cleaners and oils b/c: "The rich emollient oil matrix and gentle chemical cleaner".



Not saying he is right but thats just what i thought!! Also it makes sense since most other 2step process like Zymol, Swissol, Pinnicle all have the oil and cleaner in one then the nuba wax. It wouldent make sense for them to leave out a glazing option??



Megs step 1, im sure thats ONLY a cleaner. Again, no reason why the would bother putting oils in when they want to to buy a second step (pure polish) the glazing oils.



Geoff
 
ZoranC said:
I am waiting week between steps because few hours here and there over the weekend is all I have.



Yes, it is neccessary to clean as contamination is sticking to paint, washing does not remove it. Claying would be too much work, I am looking for something quicker, as I said, because it is not just few spots, every horizontal surface has thousands of small spots. That's is IMO due to week worth's of morning dew/mist pulling down pollution and what not and then drying under SoCal sun.
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Sounds like a recipe for insanity to me.



If the pollution is so bad in your area, how do you expect the car to stay clean at all? I mean, right now you're at the point where you need to clay every week. What kind of LSP do you plan to use that will stand up to that for any measurable length of time? Especially if you can only devote a few hours a weekend to your car.



I mean, assuming you do get what you want, and clean the paint, then apply your LSP. How long will it last? What will you do then? You'll be right back in this multi-week polishing/waxing cycle that forces you to do WAY too much cleaning and prep work to be worthwhile.



If I were you, I would call in sick to work tomorrow and spend the day detailing the car. Then use your few weekend hours to maintain it.
 
Less said:
Sounds like a recipe for insanity to me.



If the pollution is so bad in your area, how do you expect the car to stay clean at all? I mean, right now you're at the point where you need to clay every week. What kind of LSP do you plan to use that will stand up to that for any measurable length of time? Especially if you can only devote a few hours a weekend to your car.



I mean, assuming you do get what you want, and clean the paint, then apply your LSP. How long will it last? What will you do then? You'll be right back in this multi-week polishing/waxing cycle that forces you to do WAY too much cleaning and prep work to be worthwhile.



If I were you, I would call in sick to work tomorrow and spend the day detailing the car. Then use your few weekend hours to maintain it.
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There isn't any reason to be sarcastic.



I live in Southern California too, and the crap in the air out here is horrifying. I leave my car outdoors for a day and it gets covered with the same fine silt that is probably building up in my lungs right now. :help:



For me, claying is the answer. I never used to clay until I started becoming a regular here. I tried it after reading posts by Accumulator and others, and it has made a huge, huge difference. The surface of my paint is glass smooth before the LSP goes on.



So, I guess I'd say that the "trouble" associated with claying is well worth it. Clay also works great for spot problems. For example, a few weeks back, my car got hit by a flying chunk of wood. It didn't do any real damage, but it left some nasty residue on my car which the claybar removed.
 
I'm not trying to be sarcastic. I'm just saying that a person could drive himself completely bonkers trying to do one step at a time in these sort of conditions. I mean, by the time you're done, you'll need to start over.



I'm not being sarcastic. I'm dead serious when I say that you will save yourself a lot of aggrivation, time, and effort by just biting the bullet and getting the whole process done in one session.
 
ZoranC said:
... Which one you would prefer, if any?



Also, what are paint "decontamination" systems? Would they work? Would they be too much for this purpose, especially if it is once a week?
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All of the solvent cleaners I listed (and others) work well for what they’re designed to do, removing soluble contaminants (that includes wax). It isn’t common to use them as regularly as you’re thinking about. I don’t know if it’s a good idea or not. It would probably be wise to check with the product’s manufacturer. Whether one works better than another would have more to do with whatever flavor of crud has settled on your paint.



Personally, I think claying, when done regularly using wash soap, goes faster than chemical wipe down.



I haven’t used one of the decontamination systems so I can comment directly. They don’t sound like something you’d want to be doing weekly.





PC.
 
steelwind101 said:
I believe it has both cleaners and oils b/c: "The rich emollient oil matrix and gentle chemical cleaner".



Not saying he is right but thats just what i thought!!
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Hmmm, I too was going based on descriptions seeing on reseller Web sites :chuckle:



I guess manufacturer knows for sure, I'll e-mail them.
 
the other pc said:
Personally, I think claying, when done regularly using wash soap, goes faster than chemical wipe down.



I haven’t used one of the decontamination systems so I can comment directly. They don’t sound like something you’d want to be doing weekly.
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Thank you! I guess I will try one side with cleaner, one side with clay, and see which one is going faster. Cleaner I can do with PC, and for clay I might get one of those hand pads.
 
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