Hi Guys,
As many may know, I have been arguing about the ineffectiveness of supposed LSP stripping techniques. Here we have our basic WOWA sealant, water based and gives routine 3 month durability. It is about a month old. I have applied to it neat TFR, which is a highly alkaline degreaser (pH>13) with a number of surfactants. Here is what it looks like after a good wiping with a sponge soaked in the product and then a couple of buckets of water thrown over to rinse.
View attachment 19412
OK - so there are no beads. If you look closely, you can see that most of the surface is wet with the water sticking to the surface, just like you expect when your LSP is stripped. So we have stripped the LSP then, just as one expects from a very strong APC/degreaser type products. But wait one minute, lets give it a wipe with neat IPA. Lets see what we get when we throw another bucket of water over it:
View attachment 19413
View attachment 19414
So I have wiped the top left corner with IPA and the first picture shows this close up. It looks rather different to a moment ago! The second picture shows the bonnet as a whole so you can see that the surrounding area is still behaving as it was in picture 1 (it has now had 3 buckets of water thrown on it so has been rinsed more than most people will do). So my IPA wipe (which many believe will strip an LSP) has magically recovered my LSP! Wow!
Now lets summarise my (and some others) thoughts:
Many supposed LSP strippers are surfactant containing. Many surfactants will 'stick' to surfaces either through design (e.g. to enhance gloss or stop water spotting) or because they see the LSP as rather similar in structure to the oils they like to bond with. As a result, many surfactant products will leave a film of surfactant on top of the LSP, this will then attract water so hide any beading or sheeting of the LSP.
This is what has happened in my first picture - there is a surfactant film. With the IPA wipe, I have dissolved the film and uncovered the LSP and thus pictures 2 and 3 show the beading has returned.
So there you go, absolute proof that the above mechanism is not just theoretical! Had someone tried to apply a fresh LSP after the step 1 'stripping', the fresh LSP would have been highly compromised, had it been a fussy LSP (e.g. nano sealant), there is a chance it might have failed to bond totally.
As many may know, I have been arguing about the ineffectiveness of supposed LSP stripping techniques. Here we have our basic WOWA sealant, water based and gives routine 3 month durability. It is about a month old. I have applied to it neat TFR, which is a highly alkaline degreaser (pH>13) with a number of surfactants. Here is what it looks like after a good wiping with a sponge soaked in the product and then a couple of buckets of water thrown over to rinse.
View attachment 19412
OK - so there are no beads. If you look closely, you can see that most of the surface is wet with the water sticking to the surface, just like you expect when your LSP is stripped. So we have stripped the LSP then, just as one expects from a very strong APC/degreaser type products. But wait one minute, lets give it a wipe with neat IPA. Lets see what we get when we throw another bucket of water over it:
View attachment 19413
View attachment 19414
So I have wiped the top left corner with IPA and the first picture shows this close up. It looks rather different to a moment ago! The second picture shows the bonnet as a whole so you can see that the surrounding area is still behaving as it was in picture 1 (it has now had 3 buckets of water thrown on it so has been rinsed more than most people will do). So my IPA wipe (which many believe will strip an LSP) has magically recovered my LSP! Wow!
Now lets summarise my (and some others) thoughts:
Many supposed LSP strippers are surfactant containing. Many surfactants will 'stick' to surfaces either through design (e.g. to enhance gloss or stop water spotting) or because they see the LSP as rather similar in structure to the oils they like to bond with. As a result, many surfactant products will leave a film of surfactant on top of the LSP, this will then attract water so hide any beading or sheeting of the LSP.
This is what has happened in my first picture - there is a surfactant film. With the IPA wipe, I have dissolved the film and uncovered the LSP and thus pictures 2 and 3 show the beading has returned.
So there you go, absolute proof that the above mechanism is not just theoretical! Had someone tried to apply a fresh LSP after the step 1 'stripping', the fresh LSP would have been highly compromised, had it been a fussy LSP (e.g. nano sealant), there is a chance it might have failed to bond totally.
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rops:
