Spring decontamination questions

bob m

bob m

New member
Ok, so I`m going to do a thorough spring washing before detailing. Going to use an iron remover, clay and then shampoo. Then follow with IPA or Eraser and coating. Is Eraser (or similar) as effective as IPA?

Is it ok to clay a coated car? I`m guessing yes, but just wanted to make sure.
 
Eraser and similar products are mostly IPA, they usually claim to have additives to reduce marring etc.

You said in your process you are going to clay before coating, why are you asking if you can clay a coated car? Is it coated now? Yes, you can clay a coated car, clays can be abrasive so you can theoretically remove some of the coating or mar it. It depends on the clay, the coating, and how contaminated the surface is (since you can mar the surface with contaminants in the clay).
 
bob m said:
Is Eraser (or similar) as effective as IPA?
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Noting that I`ve never used Eraser, if it`s not *superior* to IPA I`d be shocked and think that something`s wrong. I simply don`t understand how IPA got its reputation as a good stripping solvent, never worked well for me at all. Not like bodyshops use IPA to prep a panel...

I`d try to get as much contamination off with more gentle approaches before using the clay. I gather most people don`t clay inch-by-inch the way I do, and if not doing it that way I`d be leery of marring. As noted, the instant the clay picks up abrasive contamination it becomes sandpaper.

Wouldn`t a coating hold up OK to Decontamination Chemicals?

Setec Astronomy said:
Eraser and similar products are mostly IPA, they usually claim to have additives to reduce marring etc.
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Huh, never knew that.

Am I the only person who finds IPA mediocre for jobs like this?!? Of my solvents, it`s always near the bottom of the barrel with regard to efficacy...pretty good for oxidized rubber like wiper blades though, at least for the first passes to help conserve GG Rubber Prep.
 
I don’t use IPA for stripping polishing oils either. When my Akyra Klean runs out one day I don’t know what I’m gonna use.
 
Accumulator said:
Huh, never knew that.

Am I the only person who finds IPA mediocre for jobs like this?!? Of my solvents, it`s always near the bottom of the barrel with regard to efficacy...pretty good for oxidized rubber like wiper blades though, at least for the first passes to help conserve GG Rubber Prep.
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I remember someone who knew (like Corey) saying that Eraser was mostly IPA. As a double-check I just looked at my Optimum Paint Prep MSDS which lists isopropanol as the only hazardous ingredient, content 10-100%. And no, alcohols aren`t the greatest solvents.
 
The Guz said:
How long has the coating been on?

Are you just trying to do a decon wash?

Are you going to recoat?

What coating?
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The coating is a little over 2 years and yes a decon wash. After salt, road film, etc., now`s a good time. I`m not going to recoat - as the car does not need it. I do use spray "sealants" and they have done a very good job in protection.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Oh shoot, that`s not that far from me, if I had better interpersonal skills I`d say we should get together to shoot the breeze and you could advise me on whether my SO should get her car PPF`d at Phil`s.
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No worries - I`m pretty much available -m send me a PM.
I recommend Phil at Detailer`s Domain any day of the week. Was just there yesterday and dropped some coin on products.

PM if you need to.

B
 
bob m said:
The coating is a little over 2 years and yes a decon wash. After salt, road film, etc., now`s a good time. I`m not going to recoat - as the car does not need it. I do use spray "sealants" and they have done a very good job in protection.
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As mentioned there is a potential to marr the surface during the claying process. The only way to remove that is by polishing but I know you know this already. Go with an iron remover and a wash with Reset and move on. Budget has a good decon wash method for someone who lives in snowy conditions. I would save the claying until you decide to recoat.
 
The Guz said:
As mentioned there is a potential to marr the surface during the claying process. The only way to remove that is by polishing but I know you know this already. Go with an iron remover and a wash with Reset and move on. Budget has a good decon wash method for someone who lives in snowy conditions. I would save the claying until you decide to recoat.
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Thanks Mike and All. My Audi is pretty swirl free, so I will nix polishing but will go with the iron remover, Reset and then topping.
As an aside, I sprayed both my Audi and wife`s Outback with HydroSilex Marine last fall and the beading, especially on the hood and roof is still going strong.
 
I would ad a tar remover before the iron remover is used. It`s great for getting the road film build up on the side panels and the back of the car. And see if it do any cleaning on the other panels too.
 
SWETM said:
I would ad a tar remover before the iron remover is used. It`s great for getting the road film build up on the side panels and the back of the car. And see if it do any cleaning on the other panels too.
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Good idea! Thanks.
 
Did this today with wife`s daily driver, hasnt been washed since probably November.

While I usually use Gyeon Foam for foaming, saw I had a bottle of Griots Foaming Surface Wash so used that instead.

SunJoe SPX3100 pressure washer w a MTM PF22 cannon and one of those MTM Snub Guns.

1. Pressure rinse
2. Foam
3. Pressure rinse
4. Bucket wash with Reset
5. Flood rinse
6. Gyeon Tar on entire vehicle
7. Agitate with Gyeon Silk Mitt
8. Pressure rinse
9. Flood rinse
10. Gyeon Iron on entire vehicle
11. Agitate with Gyeon Silk Mitt
12. Pressure rinse
13. Flood rinse
14. Foam
15. Pressure rinse
16. `Rain` rinse
17. Bucket wash w Reset
18. Flood rinse
19. Dry w Platinum Pluffle using Overcoat as drying aid.

Final flood rinse indicated coating was pretty much as applied except for small spot on passenger side back corner/bumper.

Apparently at some point over winter some incompetant in a larger vehicle cranked the wheel too hard when backing out of parking space next to car, hit car and scuffed that corner. 2 small chips/dings that are into plastic bumper cover and a 2" x 6" area/stripe of scuffing as they continued to back up after initial contact; bummer.

Regardless, coating appears in top shape, applied 10/2016 albeit only 17k miles ago. Until I saw the scuffs and dings, was gonna let this one go another year before re-doing but dunno now. And therein lies a disadvantage to coatings...fixing small areas when the rest of the vehicle doesn`t need it.

As far as stripping winter off the surface, each step proved beneficial, some more than others. The greatest single difference was made by Gyeon Tar. The least effective was the foaming; based on past cleanups Gyeon Foam was more effective than the Griots used this time.

The Gyeon Iron didnt really produce any bleeding effect, even on wheels (coated last summer) but when I`ve used Sonax, CarPro and Optimum iron removers in this capacity I never really see any bleeding.

In any event, given water behavior on final pre-Overcoat rinse, all areas of paint are still excellent as far as coating performance goes. Oddly, the vertical panel of trunk lid seemed to take more of a beating than lower side panels of car this winter...took the most `chemical attention` to revive.

If not for the scuffing/dings on lower, back corner I woulda let this one ride for another 12 months.

Such is life...
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Good job! I didn’t think there was another extreme wash regimen. I admire the 18 step wash process although I’m sticking with Accumulator’s via foam gun. Just did my dad’s van this way today.
 
Bill D said:
Good job! I didn’t think there was another extreme wash regimen. I admire the 18 step wash process although I’m sticking with Accumulator’s via foam gun. Just did my dad’s van this way today.
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Actually, sounds far more involved than it was, maybe 2.5hrs tops. Will add that the WeatherTech Cleaner and Dressing did wonders on the extremely trashed mats with very little effort.
 
I will be sure to keep the Weathertech cleaner in mind then. This is the first I’m hearing about it.
 
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