I know Mike has his beliefs about IPA concentration but I have never had any issue.
Hi PiPUK,
Just want to start this reply out by stating I'm actually not sure by what you mean by the above posts but I'm taking it the right way, that is I'm assuming you're just pointing out that I have some believes or opinions on the topic of IPA.
But to make sure everyone else that will read this into the future as I write for the future, below I'm going to establish my beliefs, thoughts and opinions just because this thread and your post are referencing an article I wrote back in December of 2010.
I never wanted to write the article and in fact posted a request to this forum a year earlier asking someone else to take it upon themselves to write it.
After no one took the challenge and because at that time there was a handful of forum members recommending to absolute Newbies to car detailing to wipe their cars down with IPA with ZERO detailed information, just general recommendations, I finally took it upon myself to do some research and then write the article in an attempt to help people while keeping them and their car's paint safe.
And just to note, one thing I've always posted my entire forum life is that,
"I'm not a chemist and I don't try to play one on the forum"
So when I wrote my article on using IPA to chemically strip paint I wrote it VERY CAREFULLY.
I picked every word carefully and purposefully as I knew into the future this would become a thread and a topic of discussion and sometimes hot discussion.
Here's the link to the article,
How to Mix IPA for Inspecting Correction Results
(Note it starts with a warning stating
NOT to use IPA on Fresh Paint, that is paint that is 30 days old or less. So if no other good comes from the below article this portion might help some)
Here's how the article starts...
Mike Phillips said:
Note: The below article is NOT an official recommendation by Mike Phillips or Autogeek. It is an attempt to clear up any confusion on the topic of chemically stripping paint with the common products used for this procedure as discussed on detailing discussion forums.
See the words above I've made
Bold and
Red?
At the time I wrote this, Eraser had not been not invented yet, nor was Squeaky Clean, nor was Detailer's Paint Coating Prep. So please keep in context that this article was written in 2010 and the products at that time that were commonly being,
Then because I'm not a chemist nor ever claim to be I sought out help from the chemists I do know and trust as well as a couple of colleagues that have access to more resources in the fresh paint world than I do for their opinions and recommendation.
Most recommendations I’ve read from
Anonymous Forum Members, (posting under Nicknames, not their real names that would tie them to their words and their reputations), are:
Dilute IPA by 50% with water or 1:1
- Diluting 91% IPA 1:1 or by 50% with water would give you approximately a 45% dilution of IPA to water solution.
- Diluting 70% IPA 1:1 or by 50% with water would give you approximately a 35% dilution of IPA to water solution.
- Diluting 50% IPA 1:1 or by 50% with water would give you approximately a 25% dilution of IPA to water solution.
After talking to my chemist friends, they all felt that these dilution levels were overkill and
too strong for removing residues after compounding and/or polishing paint. Most quality name brand compounds and polishes are
water soluble and don't need a strong solution of Isopropyl Alcohol to dissolve, emulsify and loosen any leftover residues on the surface.
Their recommendation was for approximately a
10% dilution of IPA to water solution. The reason for this recommendation besides their chemistry background, is that a strong solution of IPA can stain and even soften some clear coat paints.
High Solids Clear Coats paints are
"Alcohol Friendly", meaning products like Isopropyl Alcohol, can and will penetrated into,
soften, wrinkle and/or stain the paint. To avoid any of these problems, a 10% dilution of IPA to water solution is recommended and adequate to remove any compounding and polishing residues without risking any danger to your car's paint or your customer's car's paint.
Another colleague in the industry coined the term
Hot to describe strong solutions of Isopropyl Alcohol used to chemically strip paint.
Hot = How fast a liquid will bite into the paint, the strength of the dilution and the flash time for the liquid to evaporate off the finish.
Full strength IPA is a HOT chemical stripper, the stronger the ratio, the hotter it is.
My colleague agrees with my chemist friends that 50%, 70% and 91% dilution levels are all
too strong to safely use to chemically strip paint. This person's recommendation was to stay at or below 25% dilution of IPA to water solution.
So back to PiPUK's quote
I know Mike has his beliefs about IPA concentration but I have never had any issue.
What I've posted above and in my article are the recommendations concerning IPA from my trusted chemist friends and colleagues, not my beliefs.
If a person reads down the article just a little further, I post my beliefs...
Mike Phillips said:
Personal Recommendation For IPA
If you want to chemically strip paint to remove any compound or polish residues so that you can accurately see the true condition of the paint after any correction steps, then I recommend using approximately a 10% dilution of IPA to water solution. This is a safe approach to remove any residues masking the true results of your process to the paint without the risk of causing any harm.
You can also opt to use Mineral Spirits instead as they will also remove compounding and polish residues.
Checking Your Test Spot vs Checking the Entire Car
Theoretically, if your use IPA to chemically strip your Test Spot and after stripping and inspecting the results look good to your eyes, then theoretically if you duplicate the same correction process over the rest of the panels you will also remove all the defects and leave the same finish behind that you saw in your Test Spot.
Assuming all the panels have the same type of paint, then you shouldn't have to continue stripping all the paint on each panel, just keep doing the same good work you did for your test spot and trust in your skills and ability.
You can check each square inch as you work around the car to make sure you're doing as good of work over the rest of the car as you did in your test spot, that's an option and choice each person can make. I tend to check my Test Spot and if it looks good then simply repeat the process over the rest of the car and trust in my skill and ability to duplicate my process over and over again with little variation.
Chemically Removing Waxes and/or Paint Sealants
Note this article is addressing the dilution strength for removing compounding and/or polishing lubricating oils sometimes called fillers during the paint correction steps. You can also use this to try to remove any previously applied wax or paint sealant, but while I was speaking with one of my chemists friends about this topic they told me that Isopropyl Alcohol is not effective at removing some polymer products.
Since there's no way of knowing at the molecular level what's on the surface before you wipe, and no way of knowing if 100% of everything has been removed off the surface after you wipe, therefore there's no way of knowing if IPA, (in any form) is effectively removing 100% of any previously applied wax or paint sealant. You can hope... you can assume... but you can't know 100%
If you're dead set on removing any previously applied wax or paint sealant by chemically stripping the paint, then a combination of using both a 10% solution of IPA to Water followed by wiping with Mineral Spirits should remove most, if not all, of any previously applied wax or paint sealant.
Personal Recommendation For Removing Waxes and Paint Sealants
To remove any previously applied wax or paint sealant, I recommend using a light paint cleaner or a light polish applied by hand or machine. A light paint cleaner or abrasive polish will effectively remove any previously applied wax or paint sealant AND leave the paint looking clear and glossy. I call this working forward in the process because the goal is to create beauty.
Chemically stripping the paint will tend to dull the paint; it certainly doesn't increase gloss and clarity. You don't see the dulling effect unless you're working on black paint and repeat the process multiple times. Since not everyone works on black paint, and you're not going to make stripping your car's paint a daily routine, it could be you won't see the dulling effect on your car's paint but it does take place.
Wiping a clear coated black finish over and over and over again with any type of solvent isn't going to make the top clear layer of paint more and more clear, it's going to do the opposite, that is dull it down.
So chemically stripping paint is what I call working backwards in the process. I, personally, prefer to work forwards in all my detailing projects but do understand the reasons why some people want to chemically strip their car's paint, or their customer's car's paint, and each person can decide what the best approach is for their needs.
And again, since you're not chemically stripping the paint as a "practice" but only during a detailing session, the dulling effect is not an issue, but I wanted to point it out just for the most detail oriented detailing enthusiasts or Pro Detailers reading this article.
If a person
reads the above carefully, not just
scans it but reads it as each word is carefully chosen as is my writing style, then I make it pretty clear what I think about this entire topic.
Also, the entire article now going on,
8 Pages
79+ Replies
22,457 Views
And lots of good discussion, it's worthy of a good read-through.
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