Stripping wax w/ dawn. How much Dawn per 5 gallon bucket?

Spiney

Spiney

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Title says it all. What concentration of dawn per water to prep car for correction? Thanks, Spiney-Dave
 
Spiney said:
Title says it all. What concentration of dawn per water to prep car for correction? Thanks, Spiney-Dave
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Big squirt is all. Or two.

Rinse the car very well after washing.
 
I would use around 4 oz and 2-3 oz of regular car soap for lubrication.
 
Tried the Dawn and the car felt so awful afterward - never thought to add regular car shampoo to lubricate - great idea.
 
Dawn is for for washing dishes....most automotive polishes will remove old wax/sealant. Wash(car shampoo)clay, polish, protect.
 
I tried using Dawn to remove my LSP and it did not work. I used a fair amount too. Need to maybe add some APC as well?

good luck
 
Dr Oldz said:
Why not just use CG CW&G @ 1oz per gallon and then you don't have to use 2 different products???
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I have a bottle of CG Citrus Wash Red, what mix ratio should I use to strip the sealant off?

Thanks
 
mlc40 said:
I have a bottle of CG Citrus Wash Red, what mix ratio should I use to strip the sealant off?

Thanks
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I believe they recommend an ounce per gallon, but it's tricky. You may have to do repeated application for some LSPs. I found what works great is Griot's Paint Prep or the Sonax APC that was BOGO a month ago at 1:30 dilution. Both of those seem to work well. If I was correcting, I wouldn't bother to strip off the LSP prior, IMHO it's a waste of time. Polishing will do that, at anything your using to remove polish oils and inspect your results will remove any left overs. I used Dawn before I knew any better and it seemed to work poorly for me.
 
Dr Oldz said:
Why not just use CG CW&G @ 1oz per gallon and then you don't have to use 2 different products???
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I do sometimes. Just found that I like using this combo for maximum stripping and cleaning power.
 
Just curious as to why you guys are so concerned with stripping wax or sealant off in the wash process? Aren't you guys polishing or using a pre wax cleaner that will remove any old LSP with ease anyway? :dunno:
 
Dr Oldz said:
Just curious as to why you guys are so concerned with stripping wax or sealant off in the wash process? Aren't you guys polishing or using a pre wax cleaner that will remove any old LSP with ease anyway? :dunno:
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It may be all in my head, but it seems claying and polishing goes better on bare paint. I guess the lsp could be causing issues when it mixes with the polish or clay??? Like I said, it may be all in my head but it just seems I get better results working on bare paint.

Generally my process to to spray the paint with 10:1 APC and then wash with Chem Guys Cit Wash and Clear at the stripping dilution which I believe is 2oz per gallon and I may pour a cup or two of APC on the wash bucket. After than, I clay the car with a fresh bucket of Chem Guys Cit Wash and Clear as about half stripping dilution (stronger than maintenance wash though). At that point the paint is pretty bare so I go ahead and polish at this point. After the last polishing step, to remove polishing oils I will us another bucket of Chem Guys Cit Wash and Clear at half stripping dilution before applying paint cleaner/AIO/glaze/LSP/whatever combo. I prefer Cit Wash and Clear over Cit Wash and Gloss during details because I don't want the Glossing agents left over, again, I want the paint as bare as can be.

That is the process I normally use for details. If the car has really been neglected to the point the paint has bonded contaminants that would require numerous clay bars and an hour or more of claying, rust blooms and/or actual stains on the paint, I will go even further with the following additional steps:

1) Chem Guys Cit Wash and Clear at stipping dilution with a cup or two of APC and APC already sprayed on the paint.

2) Use a three step paint decontamination. First step - alkaline wash (will strip ever more than the Cit Wash and Clear and APC). Second step - Acid Wash and claying while acid is dwelling (the acid wash will be like putting your clay on steriods. Bonded contaminants come right up and the acid removes ferrous metals and such much deaper than clay alone ever could), Third step - use the neutralizing wash.

3) (If still needed) Wipe down with Meg's Body Solvent. Probably not needed but only takes five minutes and doesn't cost much. Meg's Body Solvent is wonderful at removing tar and such. After using Body Solvent, should at least rinse the car but another quick wash with Cit Wash and Clear at Maintenance Wash dilution may not be a bad idea.

At this point, even the worst paint will be clean and bare and ready for polishing. Some will say the paint decontamination and body solvent are over kill and or a waste of time but the decon only takes about a half hour or 45 minutes and the body solvent only take five or ten minutes and after doing both of those, polishing is so easy and faster. I was amazed how the pads never tried to pull in a direction or tried to hop. It is almost like you are polishing with motor oil it is so smooth and areas correct faster it seems so I would argue what ever time you spend in decon and body solvent you get back while polishing.

4) the Polishing steps as normal

5) Paint cleaner/AIO/glaze/LSP/whatever combo.
 
Dr Oldz said:
Just curious as to why you guys are so concerned with stripping wax or sealant off in the wash process? Aren't you guys polishing or using a pre wax cleaner that will remove any old LSP with ease anyway? :dunno:
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I tend to think that Dawn does a decent job stripping off wax and sealants, at least after a double Dawn wash. Whether or not it really does, IDK, but beading goes away and the surface is no longer slick.

And if it doesn't strip the wax/sealant, no prob cuz the polish will. To me, just more likely the wax/sealant will be all gone before polishing, thus more likely that I will be working on a clean surface. Not to mention Dawn is a cheaper tool...
 
Bert31 said:
It may be all in my head, but it seems claying and polishing goes better on bare paint. I guess the lsp could be causing issues when it mixes with the polish or clay??? Like I said, it may be all in my head but it just seems I get better results working on bare paint.

Generally my process to to spray the paint with 10:1 APC and then wash with Chem Guys Cit Wash and Clear at the stripping dilution which I believe is 2oz per gallon and I may pour a cup or two of APC on the wash bucket. After than, I clay the car with a fresh bucket of Chem Guys Cit Wash and Clear as about half stripping dilution (stronger than maintenance wash though). At that point the paint is pretty bare so I go ahead and polish at this point. After the last polishing step, to remove polishing oils I will us another bucket of Chem Guys Cit Wash and Clear at half stripping dilution before applying paint cleaner/AIO/glaze/LSP/whatever combo. I prefer Cit Wash and Clear over Cit Wash and Gloss during details because I don't want the Glossing agents left over, again, I want the paint as bare as can be.

That is the process I normally use for details. If the car has really been neglected to the point the paint has bonded contaminants that would require numerous clay bars and an hour or more of claying, rust blooms and/or actual stains on the paint, I will go even further with the following additional steps:

1) Chem Guys Cit Wash and Clear at stipping dilution with a cup or two of APC and APC already sprayed on the paint.

2) Use a three step paint decontamination. First step - alkaline wash (will strip ever more than the Cit Wash and Clear and APC). Second step - Acid Wash and claying while acid is dwelling (the acid wash will be like putting your clay on steriods. Bonded contaminants come right up and the acid removes ferrous metals and such much deaper than clay alone ever could), Third step - use the neutralizing wash.

3) (If still needed) Wipe down with Meg's Body Solvent. Probably not needed but only takes five minutes and doesn't cost much. Meg's Body Solvent is wonderful at removing tar and such. After using Body Solvent, should at least rinse the car but another quick wash with Cit Wash and Clear at Maintenance Wash dilution may not be a bad idea.

At this point, even the worst paint will be clean and bare and ready for polishing. Some will say the paint decontamination and body solvent are over kill and or a waste of time but the decon only takes about a half hour or 45 minutes and the body solvent only take five or ten minutes and after doing both of those, polishing is so easy and faster. I was amazed how the pads never tried to pull in a direction or tried to hop. It is almost like you are polishing with motor oil it is so smooth and areas correct faster it seems so I would argue what ever time you spend in decon and body solvent you get back while polishing.

4) the Polishing steps as normal

5) Paint cleaner/AIO/glaze/LSP/whatever combo.
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JeffW said:
I tend to think that Dawn does a decent job stripping off wax and sealants, at least after a double Dawn wash. Whether or not it really does, IDK, but beading goes away and the surface is no longer slick.

And if it doesn't strip the wax/sealant, no prob cuz the polish will. To me, just more likely the wax/sealant will be all gone before polishing, thus more likely that I will be working on a clean surface. Not to mention Dawn is a cheaper tool...
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Thanks for sharing you reasonings guys! :props:

Personally I wash(I have been using CG CW&G for it's strong cleaning power), remove tar and then clay. After those steps I feel that any(if any) LSP is remaining it has zero effect on the outcome of the first step in the polishing process.


Bert, U make a good point about the Wash and clear Vs the wash and gloss. CG has so many shampoos, it can be confusting but I have been super thrilled with Wash and Gloss!



Thanks again for your replies guys and sorry to hijack this thread!
 
Dr Oldz said:
Bert, U make a good point about the Wash and clear Vs the wash and gloss. CG has so many shampoos, it can be confusting but I have been super thrilled with Wash and Gloss!
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I have used Cit Wash and Gloss and it is a fine wash. As a maintenance wash, I think it is a little rough on LSPs and will shorten their life, but if you don't mind reapplying your LSP a little earlier than usual, who cares.

Chem Guys does have alot of car washes. I sometimes think they should consider streamlining their products to simplify things for customers.
 
OP Here. I washed today because it was cool and cloudy. Use 2 bucket method. For soap I mixed 4oz of Dawn and Meg's Deep Crystal car wash that I had. I washed the car 2x and it still beaded very well! So later today I will proceed with claying. I will be using Meg's clay kit that I already have. Thanks for all the info. Dave
 
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