is it safe to use an APC on Opti Coated paint?

[RaskyR1]

Which one's? I'm being serious, I want to stay as far away as I can from any detailing APC (not degreaser) that is not clear coat safe. My go to are Adam's and Megs 4:1, and the standard applies with any cleaner...not in direct sunlight, don't let it dry. But an APC designed for detailing should be 100% clear coat safe IMO.Im the MAN

I think the key here is to use any APC with care/caution. A diluted APC like Optimum Power Clean, which is touted to be paint safe, should be fine on paint, but I would still use with caution and avoid long dwell times and strong concentrations.

The issues I've seen with APC's on paint is when they are used in stronger concentration for cleaning engine bays and jambs. Over spray or dripping from the product lands on tops of the fenders or adjacent panels and stains the paint. While I've never seen "paint failure" or serious damage from them, those areas will likely still require some amount of polishing to remove the stains. This goes way back to the early 90's when I was doing high volume work. We always wet fenders and adjacent panels down with water to avoid the issue, but occasionally it would still happen. The majority of the APC's we used back then were from Car Brite or Auto Magic, but I've seen Simple Green, some "Purple" cleaner from HD/Lowes, Megs D101/103, and on this BMW M3 below, P21S TAW, which was used to clean the engine. I had wet the fenders on this car but it was actually the black kidney grills that were damaged/stained by TAW, which had to be polished out by hand to fix the issue. LOL....it was actually kind of ironic too. I had taken process pictures for writing an article on engine cleaning and how APC's can stain the fenders, and I ended up having staining on the grills instead. :awman:



wetting fenders down


These black kidney grills were stained.





My whole reason for my initial comment on APC was that I feel it's reckless to post on a public forum, where the majority of the members are new to detailing, that most all APC's are paint safe. Caution should always be used with APC on paint and IMO, all surfaces for that matter.

Rasky

 

[tdekany]

I'm not admitting I'm wrong. I am standing by what I said 100%. I am not wasting anymore time on here.

You claimed OC was the same as other coatings. Now you probably realize that your info was incorrect - so instead of admitting that actively, you claim to be wasting time with this topic, which is really a passive way of admitting that you are wrong. Or are you saying that dr G doesn't know his own product? You know he is a chemist right? So... If you had info backing your claim, you would provide it, and not claim to be waisting your time.