Wipe down between polishes? how about before applying sealant?

[abashoe]

I'm a little confused on whether or not a alcohol wipe down is necessary.



I plan on:

-wash

-clay

-medium polish (m105)

-final polish (m205)

-sealant



Is a wipedown or wash recommended between the clay and the first polish? Will the clay lube adversely affect the polish?



How about between the two polishes?



And between the final polish and sealant? I've read that people do an IPA wipedown after the final polish b/c sometimes the final contains oils that can mask marring/holograms. Is it recommended to do a wipe down? Will those oils give the sealant trouble adhering?



I just want to make sure I do the right thing once so i dont have to go back and redo anything.



Thanks,

-al

 

[a.k.a. Patrick]

I have never seen a use for IPA's other then checking a polishes filling abilities, or disabilities. Most sealants contain lubricants, just as polishes do. Makes no sense to me to remove what enriches paint, only to add it again. Course this is my opinion.

 

[Accumulator]

Long-winded reply follows...

I'm a little confused on whether or not a alcohol wipe down is necessary...

IMO this is one of those "it just depends..." things. Sorry, I know that's a frustrating response

I plan on:

-wash

-clay

-medium polish (m105)

-final polish (m205)

-sealant

What kind of sealant? How adamant are you regarding marring being *really* gone as opposed to concealed. Ditto for how meticulously you're going to be inspecting. While Autopia is mighty "nothing but perfection under any lighting conditions!!", that's not always necessary or desirable (Mike Phillips

and I were just talking this subject to death, esp. regarding M105/M205, the other day).

Is a wipedown or wash recommended between the clay and the first polish? Will the clay lube adversely affect the polish?

I wouldn't bother. You do want to get the clay lube residue off but wiping/washing should do that fine. And if you're using M105 it won't be an issue anyhow IMO.

How about between the two polishes?

This is where that "it just depends" stuff comes in. Sometimes the oils/whatever M105 can leave behind can do a bit of concealing. Generally not a biggie IMO. BUT...you *do* want to get all the residual M105 *abrasives* off, and just the usual wipe/buff might not do that.



I've done it both ways and I bet most people do *NOT* need to IPA after M105. Just make sure you've done as much correction as you really want done with that product. If you go by how well you're removing RIDS the milder marring oughta take care of itself.



I'd use a spritz of #34 when buffing off the M105. And/or you could wash the panel quickly with some ONR or TOL's Prep Wash. Since the M105's abrasives don't break down, be gentle buffing off the residue and get it all off.



See if your lighting conditions show any pseudo-holograms/micromarring from the M105. If not, that's a clue that you might not have to worry too much about this sort of thing.

And between the final polish and sealant?... Will those oils give the sealant trouble adhering?

Some sealants are very finicky about stuff like this. When I used FK1000P after M205 I did IPA wipe. But if you're using NXT or something else from Meguiar's it wouldn't be nearly as necessary IMO, probably no need to do it in those cases at all (with regard to the sealant bonding OK).

I've read that people do an IPA wipedown after the final polish b/c sometimes the final contains oils that can mask marring/holograms. Is it recommended to do a wipe down?

This can work in two very different ways with M205, let's see if I can explain :think:



Yeah, residual oils can mask some minor defects but M205 doesn't seem all that bad in this respect. Unless you're trying to finish out with a rotary, that shouldn't be a big problem with regard to *super fine* stuff like holograms.



With milder residual marring, yeah, the M205 might hide a little of it. BUT..do you really care? I don't think it'll be a case of swirls/etc. being hidden and they coming back, more likely you'll just get new marring.



OTOH, M205 can leave oils/whatever that give a "pseudo-hologram" look on certain paints under certain lighting conditions; you see a *VERY* faint haze that's sorta like a hologram; but it's not really a hologram/etc. but rather just oils left on/in the paint. Some paints are worse about this than others (my GMC is just *awful*, it's a huge PIA to get the oils off). If you see that, you might oughta clean things off, though just because you see it after the polishing that doesn't always mean you'll still see it after the LSP goes on.



If you *don't* see this, then don't worry about it. But it *is* sorta the flip-side of concealing, where you think you have defects but no, it's just the oils looking funny.



If you really want to be 100% certain that your paint is the way you think it is, under *all* lighting conditions, then yeah, you should probably IPA wipe after M105/M205. But unless you see an issue (as in, are you using a 3M SunGun?) then I can argue against worrying about this and so can Mike (hope he spots this thread and chimes in).

I just want to make sure I do the right thing once so i dont have to go back and redo anything.

I understand that mindset. I had some holograms reappear months after somebody used Menzerna 106FF and they really bugged me. BUT...so much of the "must IPA wipe", "gotta make it perfect", etc. that's so prevalent here at Autopia is simply not something everybody has to do.



If things look OK, then IMO you oughta be satisfied. Don't look for problems



So inspect after each polishing step and if things look good you might oughta just assume that they *are* good.



Now maybe one of the "always IPA wipe" people will chime in with an opposing view...

 

[abashoe]

accumulator,



Thank for your for the wonderful reply. You covered many aspects that I did not know about and it covered both sides of the IPA wipe down camp.



I think this is one of the best pieces advice i've read here: "If things look OK, then IMO you oughta be satisfied. Don't look for problems"



-al

 

[mongo]

You might want to use a good detailer like Zaino Z6 they make some good products.

 

[scary bill]

I use a IPA wipe after polishing, unless I want concealing.



Before I use a wax or sealant I usually use KAIO to remove any stubborn oils and residue. The only time I don't is if I am going to use M07. Then I want to leave as much oils on the paint as I can.

 

[Accumulator]

Before I use a wax or sealant I usually use KAIO to remove any stubborn oils and residue..

I was shocked to find that *none* of my AIOs would remove the oils from M205! I tried KAIO, ZAIO, and Autoglym SRP and *not one* of them cleaned things well enough to pass the SunGun test



That was on the Yukon and the M3, and the paints on those things seem to *really* hold the M205 oils. OTOH, using SRP after M205 worked super on my pal's Jag, different paints are different.

 

[scary bill]

I was shocked to find that *none* of my AIOs would remove the oils from M205! I tried KAIO, ZAIO, and Autoglym SRP and *not one* of them cleaned things well enough to pass the SunGun test



That was on the Yukon and the M3, and the paints on those things seem to *really* hold the M205 oils. OTOH, using SRP after M205 worked super on my pal's Jag, different paints are different.

:nixweiss



Odd, I will have to file that away as useful to know for the future.



What did work?

 

[ninobrn99]

Ive been debating this also. The next vehicle I do, im going to use Victoria Wax Deep Cleanse the same way Paul Dalton uses HD cleanse, then LSP.

 

[Accumulator]

..What did work [on the M205 oils]?

Multiple IPA wipes, and I don't mean just two or three. Be careful that your MF is nice and soft so you don't instill new marring. I recently got some Prep Wash from TOL and I think that'll work OK, but I haven't had the issue severely enough (recently) to know for sure.



I was discussing this with Mike Phillips the other day, and he thinks it's unusual for this whole M205 oils thing to be severe enough to be a big deal unless you care about how things look under the SunGun. If things look OK under natural sunlight (esp. at a sharp angle) then it might not be worth worrying about.