UPPP, according to the description here Ultima Paint Prep Plus & Applicator, prewax cleanser, prewax polish, cleaner polish is a non-abrassive polish and bonding agent. This means it must rely on chemical cleaners to clean and prep the paint for UPGP.
My opinion is that if this product will not wipe off it is because the surface of the paint isn't entirely smooth or free of above surface contaminants, or some form of light oxidation or staining that is hard to see with the naked eye.
The last sentence in the link above states that a polish may be needed for acid rain etching and scratches, but the same could hold true if there is light oxidation or other unknowns just above or at the surface. Just because you don't see anything on the paint doesn't mean something isn't there.
Think of it like this.
Lay a piece of sandpaper on a flat surface. Now dab some product on your finger and then wipe that product across the surface of the sandpaper. Now try and remove ALL of the product from the sandpaper. You will find that you can't because some of the products is down in-between the individual grains of sand on the paper.
Another analogy would be body panel that has been waxed and you're having a hard time removing the wax. The surface could have been cleaned and washed, but not clayed and was in dire need of claying to remove above surface, or at the surface contaminants, thus making the wax hard to remove. We've all done that at some point if you've got any ago on you at all.
Years ago before clay was invented wax could at times be a pain to remove regardless of how thinly it was laid down because the surface wasn't totally smooth...even though it felt smooth to your bare hand. This is wear enhancing your sense of touch becomes critical and Mr. Phillips has a how-to article on how to increase that sense of touch by doing the baggy test.
The black vehicle I am working on has been clayed and the baggy test revealed no above surface contaminants and smooth paint to the touch. This lead me to believe that a paint cleaner could remove most of the staining and/or oxidation on my vehicle and return it to a brilliant shine. I sure was mistaken.
I tried Mothers Pre-wax cleaner and a 4:1 mixture of Duragloss 501/601 with a Lake Country orange flat pad and either product only cleaned the surface of the paint marginally. I then tried the same pad with M105, then a white pad with M205 and the results are great. However, until ALL oxidation was removed with M105 I had similar problems wiping M105 off of the paint. It took two sets of 5-6 sections with the orange pad and M105 before the M105 would almost disappear when working. When it almost disappeared wipe-off was a piece of cake.
As soon as I am done with compounding and polishing I will try paint cleaner on a test spot to see if I can further clean the paint by means of a chemical cleaner before waxing/sealing.
I may be wrong on this but I am thinking that both hogan and the op have issues with the paint surface not being totally clean. One indicator or clue to me is white paint on one vehicle where it's hard to see surface dirt/staining/light oxidation, and the other a black vehicle where streaking and UPPP wipe off issues are occuring. Just a hunch...
My opinion is that if this product will not wipe off it is because the surface of the paint isn't entirely smooth or free of above surface contaminants, or some form of light oxidation or staining that is hard to see with the naked eye.
The last sentence in the link above states that a polish may be needed for acid rain etching and scratches, but the same could hold true if there is light oxidation or other unknowns just above or at the surface. Just because you don't see anything on the paint doesn't mean something isn't there.
Think of it like this.
Lay a piece of sandpaper on a flat surface. Now dab some product on your finger and then wipe that product across the surface of the sandpaper. Now try and remove ALL of the product from the sandpaper. You will find that you can't because some of the products is down in-between the individual grains of sand on the paper.
Another analogy would be body panel that has been waxed and you're having a hard time removing the wax. The surface could have been cleaned and washed, but not clayed and was in dire need of claying to remove above surface, or at the surface contaminants, thus making the wax hard to remove. We've all done that at some point if you've got any ago on you at all.
Years ago before clay was invented wax could at times be a pain to remove regardless of how thinly it was laid down because the surface wasn't totally smooth...even though it felt smooth to your bare hand. This is wear enhancing your sense of touch becomes critical and Mr. Phillips has a how-to article on how to increase that sense of touch by doing the baggy test.
The black vehicle I am working on has been clayed and the baggy test revealed no above surface contaminants and smooth paint to the touch. This lead me to believe that a paint cleaner could remove most of the staining and/or oxidation on my vehicle and return it to a brilliant shine. I sure was mistaken.
I tried Mothers Pre-wax cleaner and a 4:1 mixture of Duragloss 501/601 with a Lake Country orange flat pad and either product only cleaned the surface of the paint marginally. I then tried the same pad with M105, then a white pad with M205 and the results are great. However, until ALL oxidation was removed with M105 I had similar problems wiping M105 off of the paint. It took two sets of 5-6 sections with the orange pad and M105 before the M105 would almost disappear when working. When it almost disappeared wipe-off was a piece of cake.
As soon as I am done with compounding and polishing I will try paint cleaner on a test spot to see if I can further clean the paint by means of a chemical cleaner before waxing/sealing.
I may be wrong on this but I am thinking that both hogan and the op have issues with the paint surface not being totally clean. One indicator or clue to me is white paint on one vehicle where it's hard to see surface dirt/staining/light oxidation, and the other a black vehicle where streaking and UPPP wipe off issues are occuring. Just a hunch...
Last edited:
