Forgot one thing on a black car just clay gently,
Good advice. Also use plenty of clay lube and re-knead your clay often.
Clearcoat paints are hard and scratch easily. So use due caution but this is also why I always include at least one machine polishing step even if it's using a one step cleaner/wax and I have an article about that here,
High quality production detailing by Mike Phillips
don't start spraying iron x and tar removers and alcohol,you will take all the existing gloss off the car
What if the car needs a good cleaning and polishing?
If it does then chemically decontaminating the paint is like car insurance. You don't want it but if you need it then you're glad you have it.
Again from this article,
What is Iron X and why should I use it?
What is Iron X?
Iron X is a product used to chemically remove iron particles off your car by dissolving the particles.
Why should I use it?
Chemically decontaminating the paint with a product like Iron X is part of a proper detail job especially when working on an older car that is parked outside.
Mechanically decontaminating the paint can remove some iron contamination as you are physically rubbing something against the paint, tools like detailing clay or products from Nanoskin and Optimum Polymer Technologies. These options are no where near as effective and thorough as chemically removing the iron contamination.
Car Insurance Analogy
Using Iron X is like buying car insurance. While you never want to actually have to need to use car insurance you certainly appreciate having when its is needed.
When you use Iron X you don't' actually want to see the bleeding effect as this means your car is contaminated and contamination means deterioration has been taking place. That's not a good thing. It's better to use it and see nothing as that means your car was not contaminated. That's a good thing.
If your car is contaminated then Iron X is the first step in a two step process to decontaminate the paint and properly prepare the paint for machine or hand polishing.
My buddy Jay detailed this car for his sister after she bought it from the original owner.
The original owner parked it next to a sprinkler that covered the car with heavy iron contaminated water for years.
Look closely.... it's not just the paint that is bleeding it's also the
glass and plastic surfaces which are bleeding red. This is a sign of extreme iron contamination.
I never take away just add to it.
I teach and practice what I call working forwards in the process, never backwards, that is everything you do should always be making the paint look better and better, never worse and worse but sometimes part of working forwards in the process means building the foundation upon which to build and in context this would include doing a proper washing job.
I also teach in my classes two methods of washing a car,
The aggressive method
This is how you wash a car BEFORE a detailing session where you're going to buff out the paint.
The gentle method
This is how you wash a car AFTER you have buffed out and sealed the paint.
I have an article on the aggressive method here,
The Aggressive Approach to Washing a Car
And a video on the both methods in my Auto Detailing Certification Course on our Roku channel.
Introducing Autogeek Network on Roku!
that whole process with iron x and iPa and going to the extreme is for a paint coating procedure.
Love you like a brother Jeff but I disagree. While I'm not a fan of wiping paint down with IPA even though I wrote the article on how to do it I am a fan of using Iron X on cars that need to be machine buffed and in fact I use Iron X on my truck and my wife's car each time I wash them.
I always see the bleeding effect even though it's very light. My goal is to stay on top of it so I never see it overly contaminated again.
And for coatings... I like them. I keep the wife's car coated however I do use a one-step cleaner/wax on my truck but that's because for my truck it makes sense.
Plus machine waxing my truck is fast and easy as there's no trim to tape off and since it sits on 40" tall tires I never have to bend over or get low. I can literally machine apply a cleaner/wax about as fast as I can do a slow walk around the truck.
Waxed and wiped in about 30 minutes.