Wax stripping from a foam.

jonn127

jonn127

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Has anyone experimented with removing wax or any protection from using a foam cannon? Anything you can throw in with say a dedicated foaming soap that will assist in stripping any current protection?
 
jonn127 said:
Has anyone experimented with removing wax or any protection from using a foam cannon? Anything you can throw in with say a dedicated foaming soap that will assist in stripping any current protection?
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I add a few ounces of Optimum power clean and a few ounces of CG citrus wash clear to my foam cannon as a prep wash before corrections or applying a new LSP.
 
IME it doesn't work. It's hard enough to remove a decent LSP with LSP stripping designed products and agitation - no touch LSP removal is like no touch car washes: a pipe dream at this time.

Wheel Bright may do it.
 
jonn127 said:
Has anyone experimented with removing wax or any protection from using a foam cannon? Anything you can throw in with say a dedicated foaming soap that will assist in stripping any current protection?
Click to expand...
Adding solvents such as PrepSol, or P21S TAW to a foam cannon's dedicated foaming soap--along with a wash mitt (for agitation)---will assist in removing many protection-products.
"Assist" being the definitive word.

Following this up with a very fine polish will assist even more...
Probably to the point of most protection-products meeting their Waterloo!

Bob
 
swanicyouth said:
IME it doesn't work. It's hard enough to remove a decent LSP with LSP stripping designed products and agitation - no touch LSP removal is like no touch car washes: a pipe dream at this time.

Wheel Bright may do it.
Click to expand...


^^^^^ this guy would know. A foam cannon would likely dilute any product too much and render it useless. Solvent based products likely wouldn't be compatible with the amount of water a foam cannon uses. If you want to try a touchless method you'd be better off with a pump style garden sprayer and a solvent or acid type product, but these products can be risky for paint. The surest method is to polish with a paint cleaner or fine polish.
 
Thanks guys. Starting some dealership work and looking to combine some steps if possible. On the ...... Killing two birds with one stone front, are there any truly good wash n wax combos out there. Specifically that can be sent through a foam cannon
 
swanicyouth said:
IME it doesn't work. It's hard enough to remove a decent LSP with LSP stripping designed products and agitation - no touch LSP removal is like no touch car washes: a pipe dream at this time.

Wheel Bright may do it.
Click to expand...

What ratio do you use?
 
Foam cannots really don't do much. Think about how much they dilute the give product. But P21S is one strong cleaner, and if used in a very strong ratio, can strip most sealants and waxes.

I don't personally do it or even use a cannon much anymore.
 
jonn127 said:
Thanks guys. Starting some dealership work and looking to combine some steps if possible. On the ...... Killing two birds with one stone front, are there any truly good wash n wax combos out there. Specifically that can be sent through a foam cannon
Click to expand...

Well wash n waxes aren't actually using wax. They use a synthetic gloss enhancifier. For dealership cars, they don't give two poops about polishing and high quality products. They want something that looks good, fast and CHEAP. For this reason I feel CG extreme wash n wax would be best. It can be used in a cannon no issue and it is packed full of gloss enhancers. It's a really fast way to make something look good.
 
Rsurfer said:
What ratio do you use?
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I've tried a lot of different products at chemically stripping LSPs to no avail at various ratios. Even with agitation it's hit or miss with a quality polymer sealant - mostly miss.
 
If you want to strip wax, a strong caustic wash will stand a chance of stripping a wax. There is a downside, such strong caustics are corrosive and will react very badly with some trims (you end up with white hazy mess). Sealants should be much less prone. Most foam cannon soaps (snowfoams) will be strongly surfactant based to give the foam. The flip side is that these surfactants can deposit films which (like the whole dawn argument) will make a surface look like the LSP is gone, when in fact it is just covered with surfactant.

Solvents will maybe help a bit but, as alluded to, the cannon dilutes a long way so even neat solvent will only be 10% when on the surface. We have looked at this in depth and common water miscible solvents do not work at all at these levels. IPA hasn't a chance, butyl doesn't do it and even some of the water compatible paint stripping solvent have been tested to be of questionable efficiency at this level.

So, from my view as a scientist/formulator, foam cannons are a poor way to try to strip LSPs. It is most likely that a common foam will just 'hide' the LSP and, if you use something strong enough to be expected to strip, it is probably too aggressive for use on domestic vehicles.

Andr3wilson said:
Well wash n waxes aren't actually using wax. They use a synthetic gloss enhancifier. For dealership cars, they don't give two poops about polishing and high quality products. They want something that looks good, fast and CHEAP. For this reason I feel CG extreme wash n wax would be best. It can be used in a cannon no issue and it is packed full of gloss enhancers. It's a really fast way to make something look good.
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Spot on. It is amazing how often this detail is missed. I should note that there is nothing to stop the use of wax (we actually use sealants) in such products but the cost increases dramatically and you are limited to products which are pretty neutral.
 
Does anyone know what will strip a wax, sealant or coating? I know they are not the same and different products may be needed even at each level depending on the brand used (wax, sealant or coating).

Dawn is commonly mentioned to strip wax, but I have seen it proved wrong that it may add a coating that makes water act differently on the surface than a wax, sealant or coating to make it seem like it stripped the protection but really did not.

What would IPA strip and in what percentage? Degreaser? Paint thinner? Not that I would use any of these on the whole car. What would you do if you wanted to strip the protection on a section or panel without removing paint with polish or is there such a thing?
 
swanicyouth said:
I've tried a lot of different products at chemically stripping LSPs to no avail at various ratios. Even with agitation it's hit or miss with a quality polymer sealant - mostly miss.
Click to expand...

I meant Wheel Brightner.
 
rstark said:
Does anyone know what will strip a wax, sealant or coating? I know they are not the same and different products may be needed even at each level depending on the brand used (wax, sealant or coating).

Dawn is commonly mentioned to strip wax, but I have seen it proved wrong that it may add a coating that makes water act differently on the surface than a wax, sealant or coating to make it seem like it stripped the protection but really did not.

What would IPA strip and in what percentage? Degreaser? Paint thinner? Not that I would use any of these on the whole car. What would you do if you wanted to strip the protection on a section or panel without removing paint with polish or is there such a thing?
Click to expand...

Wax is the easiest to remove. A strongly alkaline solution will stand a good chance (so a very strong APC mix) or a solvent based tar remover. Both have a strong tendency to leave residual surfactants so it is important to really clean after (use a mitt and some hot water, no detergents) to ensure that the wax is stripped and does not magically reappear after a scrub!

Sealants are generally tough. A good sealant will not come off with a once over with a 'safe' level of alkalinity (give it a couple of washes and it might). Solvent based cleaners again might remove them but it depends on what exactly the sealant is. Certainly I know that several of our sealants will just not reliably strip with either of these approaches. At this stage, I would be using an abrasive polish if I wanted to be certain.

Coatings, definitely an abrasive polish.

Overall, by view is that a quick machine polish is the only way to be certain with waxes and sealants. With coatings, you can potentially need more than a 'quick' polish. Please remember that polishes contain oils which are water repellent and which can interfere with some LSPs. After polishing, you should do a quick wash followed by a wipe with a 100% volatile panel wipe or IPA, to ensure you remove the oils fully.
 
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