Mike Phillips
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- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
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- #21
Kind of or not really, to me it's a non-issue... it doesn't affect what I'm going to do next. Seriously, lets look at the big picture, you're going to wax your car, before you wax it you're going to wash it to remove loose dirt and then clay it to remove above surface bonded contaminants, after that no matter if you finger squeaks on the paint or not, you're still going to wax the car.
It's kind of back to making things that are very simple over complicated.
Yes.
If after washing and claying you're going to use a swirl mark remover to remove swirls and scratches, anything that's strong enough or abrasive enough to remove a little paint off the surface is going to obliterate any wax or paint sealant available to the public.
I think that would be extreme overkill and something I would never personally do for the process you're describing. That would be another good example of complicated a normally very simple process.
In my dampsanding article I describe wiping the paint clean with a wax remover for the express purpose of removing anything off the paint before sanding just so that you bet the most use out of your sanding discs and because the manufacture of the sanding discs recommends this. Note this recommendation is for the reconditioning world, (detailing cars), not the refinishing world as in the refinishing world you would be working on fresh paint, in the reconditioning world you can have all kinds of "protection ingredients" on the surface and you don't want these loading up on your sanding papers and diminishing their effectiveness.
It's not a huge issue, just a precautionary step due to the price of premium quality sanding discs.
Damp-Sanding Tools, Tips and Techniques by Mike Phillips
Mike Phillips said:Chemically Strip Paint
Chemically stripping the paint will remove waxes, paint sealants, silicones, polymers and any other substance off the finish that washing will not remove and was not removed by the claying process. Detailing clay will actually remove a lot of any substances bonded to the upper surface of the paint, including waxes and paint sealants, but under a microscope paint is not completely flat, it's made up of hills and valleys, pockets and pores, surface imperfections and interstices.
Interstices = Microscopic cracks and fissures.
Remember, a lot of modern car wax and paint sealant products are detergent resistant so washing won't alway remove 100% of any previously applied wax or paint sealant coating.
Important: You don’t want any chemical substance bonded onto the surface to come off while sanding as it can interfere with the cutting process, load up on the face of our sanding disc and cause your disc to wear-out prematurely.
Common products for chemically stripping the finish include Prep-All, Orderless Mineral Spirits, Automotive All Purpose Cleaners, Isopropyl Alcohol.
You can dampen a microfiber towel and wipe the surface clean or use a spray bottle with a chemical resistant spray head to spray directly onto the surface and then wipe the paint dry using clean microfiber towels.
Prep-All
You can do what you want, it's your car, your time and your dime, but washing and waxing your car shouldn't be rocket science, in fact if at all possible it should be enjoyable.
:xyxthumbs:
