APC and White Staining

AustrianOak82

AustrianOak82

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Has anyone ever had problems with APC creating a white stain on the product it's applied to? I have noticed that if I apply 10:1 APC to a slightly textured panel, agitate, then wash or wipe clean, I am left with white staining that is very difficult to remove. I am not letting it sit for any length or time and it doesn't happen all the time, so I was just wondering what is going on here.

I had it happen with a set of black Weathertech mats yesterday and a couple of months ago, it happened to literally every black trim panel that I did on a Ford Fusion. Thoughts?
 
If you are diluting it, are you using distiled water? Some water could have enough minerals in it to stain some surfaces.
 
Well, to complicate things more, I noticed over the weekend that everything that I steamed also turned a chalky white color. I had a hard time getting it off. I've done both seperately, so now I need to figure out why the APC and VX5000 are turning things a chalky white.

Any ideas?
 
APC if not diluted properly can etch a surface, such as glass. APC is Alkaline based (High PH Balance).

Hard water, (not distilled or softened) has a low PH Balance and is considered acidic because it contains minerals etc... You may need to find something that is neutral.

So if you're not using a PH Balance product, you can run into issues. Sounds like your issue is hard water.

What are you cleaning?

For interior surfaces, leather, vinyl, dashes, doors, etc... I use Pinnacle Vinyl & Leather Cleaner and Pinnacle Vinyl / Rubber Protectent. They have a ph balance of 7, (on a scale of 0-14 this is a neutral/PH balance) which is why I like using it on all the interior surfaces of a car.

You need to use something balanced to neutralize the surface..
 
paul_g said:
APC if not diluted properly can etch a surface, such as glass. APC is Alkaline based (High PH Balance).

Hard water, (not distilled or softened) has a low PH Balance and is considered acidic because it contains minerals etc... You may need to find something that is neutral.

So if you're not using a PH Balance product, you can run into issues. Sounds like your issue is hard water.

What are you cleaning?

For interior surfaces, leather, vinyl, dashes, doors, etc... I use Pinnacle Vinyl & Leather Cleaner and Pinnacle Vinyl / Rubber Protectent. They have a ph balance of 7, (on a scale of 0-14 this is a neutral/PH balance) which is why I like using it on all the interior surfaces of a car.

You need to use something balanced to neutralize the surface..
Click to expand...

When I do trim, I typically use Meguiar's T&R Cleaner/Conditioner. For this one, I used 10:1 APC on the black weathertech mats and on the door panels.

You thinking mix with distilled water? The city water might be too hard?
 
I too have had Meg's APC leave white chalky like residue on plastic and vinyl interior trim. I believe my dillution ratio was 8-1 or 10-1. Just to be careful I always follow behind Meg's APC with a light soap/water solution to get any residual cleaner left on the surface off. That seems to be working for me.
 
Apc could have butyl a caustic ingredient,or alkaline
 
In a nutshell ,there powerful ingredients ,I don't want to get into the whole scientific formulation ,butly is more of a concrete cleaner .
 
OP, maybe take a look at DP Hi Intensity. Advertised to never leave film or residue behind. I just busted open my gallon and it seems to be really good
 
GSKR said:
In a nutshell ,there powerful ingredients ,I don't want to get into the whole scientific formulation ,butly is more of a concrete cleaner .
Click to expand...

There are lots here who would enjoy hearing a scientific discussion.

- Why would APC leave white streaks on different types of materials

- What exactly is butyl and how does it contribute to these white streaks?


No nutshell required at all
 
Let me get this straight

Your APC that you dilute with tap water, and your steamer that you fill with the same tap water are both causing white "etching" (for lack of a better term) that would lead me to think it is the water not the APC.
 
Water deosnt have anything to do with ,It's the alkaline in the cleaner that some how leaving a residue.
 
dcjredline said:
Let me get this straight

Your APC that you dilute with tap water, and your steamer that you fill with the same tap water are both causing white "etching" (for lack of a better term) that would lead me to think it is the water not the APC.
Click to expand...

No. I dilute the APC with tap water, yes. The dilution was 10:1 that is/has caused the staining on the different panels. And again, it hasn't happened on every one, just randomly but seems to be happening more recently. I use distilled water in the steamer, so I know water isn't the issue there.

With regard to the steamer, I am wondering if I just need to clean it with some CLR and/or vinegar and maybe that will fix the problem.
 
AustrianOak82 said:
No. I dilute the APC with tap water, yes. The dilution was 10:1 that is/has caused the staining on the different panels. And again, it hasn't happened on every one, just randomly but seems to be happening more recently. I use distilled water in the steamer, so I know water isn't the issue there.

With regard to the steamer, I am wondering if I just need to clean it with some CLR and/or vinegar and maybe that will fix the problem.
Click to expand...

Your APC even at 10:1 may be too strong for the trim, which is causing the etching into the plastic. I've seen this on glass, black vinyl trim, the hard-shell vinyl/plastic on interior doors.

If you try to wipe the trim down with another cleaner, does the spots go away, but then as the cleaner dries they reappear? Again, you may need to use a product that can neutralize the balance.

I have had this happen to me and that is how I corrected it. I used something with a neutral PH balance and it worked.

As stated above, APC can be strong enough to etch even into glass, which happened to my pyrex measuring cup. As an experiment/training session with CeriGlass, I used it to polish out the etchings from the APC.

As far as your steamer, it's plausible that there is some mineral build up.
 
I used tap water once in my steamer.... the scale that built up inside was shocking... I only use distilled in my bottles along with my steamer.

Figure this, I use Megs glass cleaner. When I mix my bottles. Why would I add tap water and put minerals back on the glass? When we are usually trying to removed the minerals? (Water spots etc)
 
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