Question about IPA wipe down before doing the last step

[RMarkJr]

ok so I have a question essentially about a wipe down with something like diluted IPA before the sealant/wax.

So heres where I am at. I have a 2015 Honda Accord EXL Metallic Grey .. no repainting. I washed it .. clayed it . spot compounded and then went over the whole car with a microfiber polish disc with M205, using 4 passes .. two harder pressure and two light pressure. Then I went over the whole car with a white hexlogic pad and ultimate polish with 3 to 4 passes .. two firm pressure and two with hardly any pressure.

So at this point the car looks really good.. I like how it looks after I used to the polish .. mainly because of the oils in it im sure.

Sooo with that being said, do I really need to wipe down the car with IPA before I put on something like meguiars Ultimate liquid Wax .. which is a synthetic. I also do have liquid glass (the old can stuff) maybe I should do liquid glass instead?

I think there are two types of sealants ... which I cant remember the names of .. but one would kinda meld with the polish oils and the other would not and require the IPA wipe down.

sooo...

Will not wiping it down with IPA cause the Ultimate liquid wax not to bond well to the paint? or same with the liquid glass?

last .. which would you use .. Ultimate liquid wax or liquid glass?

Thanks again everyone!

[Rsurfer]

ok so I have a question essentially about a wipe down with something like diluted IPA before the sealant/wax.

So heres where I am at. I have a 2015 Honda Accord EXL Metallic Grey .. no repainting. I washed it .. clayed it . spot compounded and then went over the whole car with a microfiber polish disc with M205, using 4 passes .. two harder pressure and two light pressure. Then I went over the whole car with a white hexlogic pad and ultimate polish with 3 to 4 passes .. two firm pressure and two with hardly any pressure.

So at this point the car looks really good.. I like how it looks after I used to the polish .. mainly because of the oils in it im sure.

Sooo with that being said, do I really need to wipe down the car with IPA before I put on something like meguiars Ultimate liquid Wax .. which is a synthetic. I also do have liquid glass (the old can stuff) maybe I should do liquid glass instead?


Will not wiping it down with IPA cause the Ultimate liquid wax not to bond well to the paint? or same with the liquid glass?

last .. which would you use .. Ultimate liquid wax or liquid glass?

Thanks again everyone!

Yes you need to do an IPA wipe down before waxing/sealant to remove the polishing oils. You want clean paint for your sealant to bond to.

If you did 1/2 of your hood with Ultimate wax and the other half with Liquid Glass, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. It's all in the prep work (polishing).

[RMarkJr]

Yes you need to do an IPA wipe down before waxing/sealant to remove the polishing oils. You want clean paint for your sealant to bond to.

If you did 1/2 of your hood with Ultimate wax and the other half with Liquid Glass, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. It's all in the prep work (polishing).

Thanks for the reply. I was kinda hoping not to wipe away the shine with the oils and just build on top of that lol .. but I kinda figured it would need to be wiped down. Interesting about the half an half thing though ... I swear that many people would have said that the Ultimate Liquid Wax would be the way to go due to the shine being better than Liquid Glass. Although I may have to do the side by side thing .. but if I do that .. how do I remove the half that I dont want to go with? Polish it again?


EDIT:

I forgot to mention that I do have some Chemical guys clean slate car wash. Should I use that instead of th IPA .. or maybe do the Clean Slate and the IPA After?

[AZpolisher15]

I'm under the impression that you wouldn't need to IPA wipe if applying Megs ULW over Megs polishes (product/brand compatibility). In fact, the UP oils might work together with the ULW. I thought manufacturers typically engineered their products to work together (generally speaking).

[RMarkJr]

I'm under the impression that you wouldn't need to IPA wipe if applying Megs ULW over Megs polishes (product/brand compatibility). In fact, the UP oils might work together with the ULW. I thought manufacturers typically engineered their products to work together (generally speaking).

see thats what I was wondering .. from what I know there are two types of sealants .. I cant remember the name of each type .. but essentially one type would kinda meld into the polish and the other type would not and require the IPA wipe down or something to bond to the paint.

I am not sure what type the Ultimate Liquid Wax is .. or the Liquid Glass

[Kamakaz1961]

IMO that step may not be necessary. It doesn't hurt that you are doing that. However, if you have removed all the polish IMO it would be ok to go to the wax without it. The reason is because of the polish you are using. M205 is a very good product and it does not leave a residue. But again, that is just me. Doing the IPA would be fine. Better safe than sorry.

[RMarkJr]

IMO that step may not be necessary. It doesn't hurt that you are doing that. However, if you have removed all the polish IMO it would be ok to go to the wax without it. The reason is because of the polish you are using. M205 is a very good product and it does not leave a residue. But again, that is just me. Doing the IPA would be fine. Better safe than sorry.

Thanks for the reply ..but I finished with Ultimate Polish after I used the M205. Which I think has a lot more oils in it than M205. Maybe the IPA is the way to go...

[Paul A.]

I would just lay down the Megs wax and watch the durability. If it doesn't last as long as you thought it should simply lay it down again. My reason for suggesting this is that we sometimes get too caught up in reading what we "should" do and overthink things. Plus the fact that it takes me maybe 20-30 mins to lay down some wax...AND the majority of that time is waiting for it to set up and haze.

Basically, don't fret or waste more time on that beautiful paint. Lay down some wax and, again, if it falls off on the garage floor in a month, wash it good and lay down another layer. There won't be any oils left after driving it in a month.

[2black1s]

Personally, I'd just put the Ultimate Wax on it as is. I have all of those products and just read the instructions for each... None recommend a "cleaning" step between applications.

If anyone would know the benefit, or lack thereof, of an in-between cleaning to remove the polishing oils, I'd think that a Meguiar's chemist/engineer would be the authority. Give them a call if you'd like the definitive answer.

Otherwise just apply the Ultimate Wax and call it a day.

[FUNX650]

I follow the below guidelines:

So unless a manufacturer specifically states or recommends that an automotive paint finish must be stripped clean for their wax or paint sealant to properly bond or adhere, then I think it's safe to say that the chemist behind the brand has created their wax and paint sealant formulas to use the same miscible oils, (or other miscible substances), in their surface prep products to aid in the bonding or adhering of the protection ingredients used in their waxes and/or paint sealants to paint.

This would be called, Synergistic Chemical Compatibility.


It's entirely possible that a lot of popular waxes and paint sealants on the market will bond or adhere to paint correctly after the paint has been prepped using compounds, polishes and paint cleaners outside the brand of the waxes or paint sealants being applied. There's no easy way of knowing or testing, but in my opinion, I would think the chances for this type of chemical compatibility to be more likely than less likely as there is probably some common chemistry involved in surface prep products and protection products that overlaps among different polish and wax companies.

That's just my opinion or guesstimate,
you can make up your own mind.


My good friend, Tom aka Mosca as he's known
on detailing discussion forums, once posted,


Originally Posted by Mosca
I've never walked out into a garage only
to find out that overnight the wax or paint
sealant I applied slipped off the car's paint
and piled-up on the floor surrounding the car
because it didn't bond or stick to the paint.


I would have to agree with Tom.


How about simply treating waxing your
car like you treat changing the oil?

That is, re-wax the car before you think
all the previous wax is gone. You change
the oil before the motor wears out...

Bob