Best Effective method to remove wax and sealant

Polishing with at least a non-abrasive paint prep product will do it. I feel better with a finishing polish personally.
 
What if the car is coated and your trying not to remove the coating? An APC foam bath or would claying work better?
 
hernandez.art13 said:
What if the car is coated and your trying not to remove the coating? An APC foam bath or would claying work better?
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Perhaps an acid wash with something like CarPro Spotless. It will definitely melt through traditional waxes and would probably dissolve away most sealants without damaging the underlying coating.
 
Great thanks guys. I am thinking of stripping the spray waxes I've used on my car's paint to just start fresh.

My car's paint is Opti Coated btw so I just top it about once a month with a spray wax.
 
Top it with reload. Toss the spray wax. Reload plays nice with coatings. Waxes are a waste of time and counter productive when used as a coating topper.
 
silverfox said:
Top it with reload. Toss the spray wax. Reload plays nice with coatings. Waxes are a waste of time and counter productive when used as a coating topper.
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I've been meaning to ask:
Why do you consider a Sealant not to be counterproductive to Coatings?

Bob
 
The most effective method will most likely depend on what the LSP is coupled with it's age. The last failing days of a carnauba is most likely considerably less effort than a sealant that is a week old. I can imagine the only reason for removing the latter is maybe you don't like the look.

I ALWAYS polish before either adding or changing LSP's. And that's a function of trying to maximize the gloss and shine (as a minimum) or correcting some flaws anyway before sealing it in.
 
Reload is a silica base that likes coatings better but I routinely use duragloss Aquawax over opti and CQ with great results.

To strip down to bare CQ, I wash with dawn and an ISP wipe. Never had a problem.
 
I'm trying to remove the wax and sealant that is in my truck that' I've had there for 3 months now, without removing any clear coat. If I'm not mistaken polishing will remove some of the clear coat.

What does ISP and LSP stand for? I rather not use Dawn, I want to use a car product for this, using other things makes me nervous when I use it on my truck.
 
Easiest and without polishing - a paint cleaner like Griots Paint Prep or Prep-All

Secondary - polish with a pure polish or paint cleaner like DP Prep Polish (that doesn't have abbrasives in it

Tertiary - polish with a light abrasive polish
 
:iagree:

Regarding Griot's Paint Prep. You can definitely feel the difference drying a waxed/sealed car versus a car that was just cleaned with Paint Prep. Best and easiest way to remove LSP imo. You just wash, rinse, spray Paint Prep all over the car, rinse again then dry.
 
Mizzoutiger said:
I use Chemical Guys Citrus Wash Red to strip off any LSP followed by Nanoskin Car Care Products, nanoskin autoscrub system to decontaminate paint, then Menz for polish/sealant.
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:iagree:I do about 95% of what you do. I use Optimum car wash and the Nanoskin Blue sponge. The claying strips the wax and sealant. I use Menzerna Top Inspection to clean off any residue. As for Polish I use Menzerna SF4500 and then Power-Lock and final LSP with a carnauba wax.

The differences in your technique and my technique are miniscule (the other 5%). Stripping/polishing and using a different carnauba wax is fun for me.....My huge Stress Relief from the daily grind!!

:buffing:
 
typingmonkey said:
I'm trying to remove the wax and sealant that is in my truck that' I've had there for 3 months now, without removing any clear coat. If I'm not mistaken polishing will remove some of the clear coat.

What does ISP and LSP stand for? I rather not use Dawn, I want to use a car product for this, using other things makes me nervous when I use it on my truck.
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Sorry for the long lengthy reply but I hope it helps!

I believe you meant IPA which is basically a mixture of water and alcohol. This can get confusing on what ratio to use so I just go with Menzerna Top inspection which is sufficient enough.

LSP is basically the last product you will be using. In my case, I like the carnauba waxes over a sealant. Some people use the sealant as the last step.

As for using liquid Dawn...you will not be stripping down your clear coast with that. I used to use liquid Dawn for stripping my wax/sealant and never had an issue. I changed that technique recently because the Blue Nanoskin Sponge is so easy to use as my clay/stripping step.

After you clean, I would highly recommend claying your car (whether old fashion clay or Nanoskin sponge). You will get rid of any hidden contaminants or other bad stuff.

If you use the correct polish (I use Menzerna SF4500) you will not be stripping a huge amount of clear coat, you should be fine. There are several brands AGO sells which will be effective.


The steps IMO should go like this:
1. Wash car with any car soap or liquid Dawn (is OK)
2. Clay entire vehicle. This will get rid of any contaminants
3. If correction needed then do that 1st (I use Menz FG400) Wolfgang, Blackfire, Megs or any other brands should be fine too.
4. Polish (I use SF4500) and any other brands should be fine too.
5. IPA or pre-cleansing product. I use Menz Top Inpsection to clean any leftover compounds/polish residue
6. LSP or last step procedure/product all means the same. I use a sealant and then last step is a carnauba wax.

Now this is MY TECHNIQUE. I know there may be other techniques and that is fine. Some may think I might be smoking too much Ganja but I could care less. This to me has been an excellent technique and I have been very successful with this technique. BTW, I do not use any coating product so I cannot comment on that. Since I wash and wax my car often, I feel it is not necessary and I like to try other waxes for fun. A coating will last significantly longer and there will be less maintenance. That is fine to those that do coatings. I am on the waxer side...nothing wrong with either technique.

I hope this gives you a little help in figuring out what the process is. If you really need more help...download or buy Mike Phillips Book on detailing and he will give you an in-depth how-to. Plus there's a lot of pictures which helps too!!....LOL I make sure anyone that wants to start detailing has to read his book...PERIOD!!

:buffing:
 
typingmonkey said:
I'm trying to remove the wax and sealant that is in my truck that' I've had there for 3 months now, without removing any clear coat. If I'm not mistaken polishing will remove some of the clear coat.

What does ISP and LSP stand for? I rather not use Dawn, I want to use a car product for this, using other things makes me nervous when I use it on my truck.
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ISP stands for Internet Service Provider :)
LSP stands for Last Step Product (Usually: Coating, Sealant or wax)

The amount of clearcoat a polish removes is insignificant. About 2 micros Worth. Most clearcoat will have a thickness of between 60 an 200 microns.

Only time you should worry about removing clearcoat is when you compound or wetsand.
 
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