Ipa

[dougaross]

3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner 32 oz. - 08984

Not cheap but cleaning auto paint is what it is designed to do

[WRAPT C5Z06]

3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner 32 oz. - 08984

Not cheap but cleaning auto paint is what it is designed to do

Dana, what do u think of this stuff?

[Kurt_s]

Mark, how can a liquid without any abrasives mar a finish. It has to be the towel. Now think about this, you re-polished the area then all you changed to mineral spirits and no marring, this should prove the oil in the solvent either filled or mineral spirits did not remove all the residue.

Maybe IPA dries out the paint making it more susceptible to marring from the towel? If MS can break down collinite, I'm sure it has no problem removing polish residue. Although, I will say, when I felt MS, it did feel "oily" to me. I'd like to try something else. What about Menz Top Inspection?

If the paint is dry that isn't the ipa's fault for the marring, it is the towel of your choice. Collinite isn't all that so that doesn't prove anything there. Of course MS is going to feel oily, it contains oil. I know for a fact it masks the surface. Top inspection isn't that strong.

Isopropyl alcohol is a fast drying solvent. It may or may not dissolve residual contaminants from polish, wax, sealants, environmental contaminants, etc.

If the polish is dissolved into the IPA on the surface of the paint and is wiped up, where do you think the dried polish is when the IPA in the towel dries? For example, think about the polish "cement" left over on occasion with M105 if we don't wipe it clean before it dries on the paint. If you use IPA or MS, it's in the towel.

We already know that an IPA wipedown can leave streaks which are probably contaminants (polish, wax, sealants, etc.) that were solubilized but were left behind dissolved in residual IPA when wiping with the MF towel. I would guess that 100% mineral spirits would leave residuals behind as well, except MS may 1)evaporate more slowly so the polish may stay solubilized in the towel after removal and not get left behind on the paint, 2) the MS may remain on the paint surface in solution phase so we can't see the dried residual on the paint, or 3) the MS has residual oils that mask the contaminants. I vote for number 1 or 2.

MS may also keep the polish from drying in the towel, so the softened polish may not scratch the paint as easily as the contaminated towel used with IPA which may allow the polish to come out of solution (like the hard cement like stuff we occasionally see while polishing). MS and IPA are not equal solvents with the same materials (they fall out of solution at different rates and concentrations).

While I'm not an organic chemist and have not spent anytime in petroleum distillation, I'm not so sure that mineral spirits have a lot of oils in it, unless they are specifically added for some reason. It may (probably does) have a number of hydrocarbons that co-distill at the same temperature and it may or may not be run through a series of filters to remove specific contaminants. The oily feeling that Mark mentioned could be oils or how the solvent solubilizes/interacts with our skin.

As a side note, mineral spirits are sold in three types (I-III) and we use type II which are known as white spirits (I googled it). Mineral spirits were the dry cleaning solvents used up through the 1950's, so it shouldn't leave too many oils on fabric.

Since MS doesn't dissolve paint and seems to be a good solvent for polishes, waxes and sealants, I would guess that it is a base solvent in many care car products such as bug and tar remover and some pre-wax paint cleaners. Four Star paint cleaner smells like MS to me.

Mark, fast drying mineral spirits may be a more pure distilled or non-adulterated form that happens to evaporate faster but it could be just "marketing." Don't buy the white, environmentally-safer mineral spirits that I bought for a cabinet restaining project that I started this summer. It's CR@P.

If you wanted the ultimate paint cleaner, I would guess that an automotive paint shop specific paint cleaner would offer the broadest "cleaning" capabilities. I just don't think we need to think that hard.

[ASPHALT ROCKET]

I have been waiting for someone to chime in about it drying polishing and that causing the problem. This could happen, but I hope most are removing most of the polish with a wiping of the towel. This also why I use a strong solvent so I do not run into this problem.

[Kurt_s]

I currently use 99% IPA diluted 1:1. Is this OK?

I've found 90% IPA at Target but not 99% IPA. If you have 99% IPA, than approximately 1 to 1 would be correct.

50% may actually be better than 90% if the IPA drys too quickly leaving crystalized polish in the towels to scratch the paint surface.

Just a thought.

[bimmersales]

[quote=ASPHALT ROCKET;371663]

I currently use 99% IPA diluted 1:1. Is this OK?


That works fine for me but, I use a strong solvent myself.

Dana,,,
This is the stuff I was talking about earlier...It's good s#%t but a little pricy since it has the Sikkens name on it....Works great and is a little easier to work with...That's what they use at the high-dollar body shop next to us. Click on the link below to see it...I call it the Secret Recepie

http://cd.pbepro.com/ProductDetail.aspx?id=423992

[Kurt_s]

I have been waiting for someone to chime in about it drying polishing and that causing the problem. This could happen, but I hope most are removing most of the polish with a wiping of the towel. This also why I use a strong solvent so I do not run into this problem.

When you look at solvents, you reach a particular concentration of the dissolved material before the materal "crystalizes" or "salts out." Some solvents work better than others with certain materials and the maximum concentration attainable with IPA and MS may be very different.

[ASPHALT ROCKET]

[quote=bimmersales;371680]

Dana,,,
This is the stuff I was talking about earlier...It's good s#%t but a little pricy since it has the Sikkens name on it....Works great and is a little easier to work with...That's what they use at the high-dollar body shop next to us. Click on the link below to see it...I call it the Secret Recepie

C & D Auto Paint

Very nice, I will show you the stuff I use tomorrow.

[ASPHALT ROCKET]

When you look at solvents, you reach a particular concentration of the dissolved material before the materal "crystalizes" or "salts out." Some solvents work better than others with certain materials and the maximum concentration attainable with IPA and MS may be very different.

Very true and thanks for posting your research. I was not going to get that technical so I appreciate the effort.

[CEE DOG]

I'm happy with IPA between polishing steps wherever I need to check my results (haven't noticed any marring) but I still prefer using a paint cleaner after I'm done with the vehicle. I know everything has it's pros and cons but bonding issues hasn't been one for me. I used Sonax paint cleaner before applying Liquid Nattys Blue and it didn't affect the durability whatsoever. I use my UPPP before applying UPGP... etc.
I wouldn't mind using P21S TAW to wash the car after polishing and before sealing or waxing as well.