Confused about "middle" steps of detailing...

[Photecs]

Ok, so we have the wash/dry, clay, polish and wax/sealant steps....

My question is about all the possible "middle" or "in-between" steps that you "could" do when doing a solid detailing job.

I have a black 2013 Santa Fe, and with the harsh winters, it's going to need a good clean up come this spring. I've been doing plenty of reading and watching vids - gotta love AG!

Anyway... one of my main conerns/questions is what do to after claying, but before polishing. Is there something i'm missing? Is there where IPA comes in? I've read a couple articles on IPA - and while I understand what's it's doing, seems there is a little risk is not using it properly, and it possibly being too strong.
Also - when do you know when you're supposed to use IPA?

Is there other products to "prep" the surface between clay and polich that's not an IPA?

PART 2: The step between polich and wax... is there a step? Once you're complted a 2 step correction let's say, and you've used a good quality MF to buff it all - can you go right into a wax application?

[GreatAvalon]

No after you clay you can go straight to polishing.

However, before you clay you can decontaminate using Iron decon and Tar decon (if needed) products, rinse it off your car, then clay.

IPA wipe down is after you polish, but before you put on any wax or sealant on there. This gets all the polishing oil/residue up.

Instead of an IPA wipe down, I bought come CarPro Eraser.

[zmcgovern45]

There is no process needed between claying and polishing. Before you polish the vehicle you want to be sure it is free of dirt and other bonded contaminates. Washing and Claying remove these from the paint and therefore you are ready to polish once the paint is entirely clean.

IPA or other surface cleaners like CarPro Eraser are used after polishing, but before applying LSP. The purpose of these products is to remove any remaining oil and residue left by the polish. Even though you wipe away your spent product after each polishing section, there is still residue on the surface. This is not necessarily a big deal when applying traditional sealant or wax, however paint coatings require a surface that is free of any oils or polishing residue for best results.

[Photecs]

Ah okay... that's nice and clear - thanks guys. I'll look into the CarPro Eraser, I think that's a safer/no chance of screwing it up way to go!

[brondondolon]

Wash
Dry
Clay
Polish
Glaze
Wax

[Toxix]

Wash
Dry
Clay
Polish
Glaze
Wax

Sums it up!

[JAF06SE]

What's a good glaze to use? Anything you should do between glaze and LSP? I have a paint correction planned for my truck this spring and May need to put a glaze in there too. Should an IPA wipe down be done again before LSP?

[Bill1234]

the polish/compound oil makes it hard to apply wax or sealent as it might mess with your lsp or just make the finish look oily and "wrong" Ipa strips the oil out and then allows for your wax to bond better

[brondondolon]

Megs #7 is good. I've been using CG blacklight as a glaze and I really like it.

[JAF06SE]

I've used #7 in the past. Should you still do an IPA wipe down after a glaze? Or will it undo everything you just did? Sorry for the threadjack.