unknown starting point- removing any wax/sealants

[manman]

I recently bought a used car- a jet black e46 M3. I've been reading up a lot now on minor paint correction, and a little bit on waxes and sealants, and finally got to a point where I'm ready to pick up the products I need and get started.

The one thing I'm still not so sure on- is what I may need to do to prep the car to get started on the process. Basically because it looks to me like at least some sort of product was applied, but I don't know what or when. I'm judging that based on the fact that I see a good amount of "TOGW" in some of the seams and some areas of trim etc. Looks like someone did a sloppy job of detailing the car before I got it. My question is:

If I'm going to be doing minor swirl remover + polishing on the whole car, should I even worry about trying to remove what was there previously? It's going to be coming off as part of that process anyway, but I'm not sure if it's best to make sure any other products are removed even before that step.

If so- can someone give me some tips on how I can remove whatever existing product is on the car, and how I can tell when it's all removed? I've read a little bit about using products like Dawn soap when you want to strip existing products, but I don't know if I can just spray it down with the foam cannon and let it sit a while, if I need to scrub it with a wash mitt, or what...and I'm not sure how to tell when a product you can't see is there or not :) For wax I know beading is one indicator, and the water definitely doesn't bead well right now...not sure about sealants though. To be clear, my question is more about the entire car- the 'togw' in the cracks I did already look into so hopefully advice I got for that will work.

[af90]

You can use an IPA wipedown or a sealant/wax remover like CarPro Eraser, this will show you the true nature of your paint and can help you figure out what you're working with before paint correcting or after. If you do it after it will remove and polishing oils that could be filling in any scratches hiding what your paint really looks like.

To tell if it's removed pour water on it and the water should just sit there and pool, you won't see any beading or rapid sheeting off of the car.

[PiPUK]

To tell if it's removed pour water on it and the water should just sit there and pool, you won't see any beading or rapid sheeting off of the car.

This, unfortunately, does not tell you anything much. The trouble is that many supposed stripper products are surfactant heavy and will leave residues. I have argued over an over again that such products have more potential to coat your LSP than they do to strip it. Both will give you the same appearance - the water will stick to the surface with little beading and slow draining.

As I have said elsewhere, with years of applying and stripping LSPs (I manufacture and test for a company), almost no LSPs I have come across are stripped in one go with hand wash liquid. Many are coated but repeated washing with warm water will show the beading return as that coat is slowly washed away. If your LSP is genuinely washed away so easily, you need a new LSP. IPA and related products are only so good. Carnauba wax is practically insoluble in cold IPA so IPA won't be dissolving a decent formulated wax product with polymers throughout! Such products are fine at removing light oils, not heavy hydrocarbon films. Combining IPA and alkalinity can work so some heavy water based APC/degreasers can work but I tend to find this is hit and miss so never bother wasting time trying it anymore. The highest chance of chemical stripping needs hydrocarbon solvent degreasers such as solvent tar removers or something like tarminator.

[swanicyouth]

When stripping LSPs, I always use a synergistic approach. A stripping shampoo (Chemical Guys Red) and a product like Griots Paint Prep - one followed by the other. You use the Griots product right after the wash when the car is wet.

Another good product you can get locally is Rustoleum Wax and Grease Remover. It can replace the Griots product.

However, all that is not really important. If your detailing a car, you should be using a paint cleaner at least (or polish), and that WILL easily remove the previous LSP - so will polish. It is not necessary to remove the previous wax before polishing.

All you will need to worry about is the visible build up left in the cracks and crevices.

[manman]

Ok great, that is what I thought. thanks for the help everyone!