Why use a paintwork cleanser?

Paintwork cleansers are typically used to clean the paint well, thus promoting a better bond between the paint and your LSP. This in turn will improve the durability of your LSP. I have a Ford Focus in my shop that was in for a wash and wax, but after washing the paint still looked a little dull. Using my PC and a white pad, I applied some Werkstat Prime Strong. It was applied at speed 3, one panel at a time and then wiped down. For illustrative purposes, I used one pad for the entire car. Usually I would use 2 or 3 if the paint was this dirty.

 

Hey Ken,

Is this something that you do after claying and deironizing? Or is this done in place of claying?

 

After washing and claying, right before applying your wax or sealant.

 

Nice. I got several bottles of Meguires paint cleaner (probably several years old) that have been in my basement. They are almost the same color as your paint cleanser and have a pretty strong chemical smell to it. Do you usually apply them with a polishing pad? I was always under the impression that they should be used with a zero cut pad like a LC black.

 

I always use a polishing pad. Used with a polishing pad, Werkstat Prime Strong has the ability to remove very light swirls as well. More to do with the pad I'm sure.

 

How is the paint still so "dirty" based on the fact that I would wash, clay and polish? Where does all this dirt come from!

 

Pretty sure, if you are going to polish the paint or do a correction, this is not a necessary step. Just make sure you do a dawn wash and ipa before LSP.

I'm getting the impression that this is done if you are not going to polish the car and use this as a means to completely strip off the old LSP. Sometimes, a Dawn wash and IPA is not enough to remove the stronger LSPs, so this step is needed.

 

Wow that's a lot of crud. Unless the customer is willing to pay for a cleansing step I will usually just use an AIO like Poliseal.

 

If you polish, the cleanser won't have the same cleaning effect, but it will clean the paint of any polishing oils etc. In this instance, the car was only washed first as it was only supposed to be a wash/wax.

 

I don't use AIO's as the durability is typically crap. To do this entire Focus only took around 20 minutes. Its very quick, unlike correction type work. All you are doing is cleaning the paint. Put it on, wipe it off.

 

but isn't Prime Strong an AIO anyway? Unless I've read the bottle wrong, it says it offers protection.... I usually top AIO with same like sealant.

 

Ken, since you used Werkstat Prime Strong in your example I take that as at least a tacit endorsement of that product but everyone and their dog makes a paint cleaner: Victoria, Dodo Juice, P21S, Collinite, RaceGlaze, Sonus, Four Star, Sonax and probably a bunch more that aren't immediately coming to mind. Have you found much difference in the apparent effectiveness among the ones you've tried (comparing within types, e.g. non-abrasive to non-abrasive)? If so, and not wishing to abuse Phil's hospitality, are there others you particularly liked or disliked?

 

View attachment 4531

 

Found this enlightening as well:
http://dodojuice.com/juicebar/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2767

 

Raceglaze, vics are not apple to apples in this case. There are meant as a cleaner and prep for waxes and do noy act as a protective film for the car. AIO do offer decent durability which the others do not.

 

The only AIO I have used so far was Poli-seal. I was pretty happy with the result I ended up with on my fathers truck. Cant speak on the durability since its only been about 2 weeks so far.

 

It's good for about 2 months on it's own. You can top it with Opt spray wax for increased durability.

 

Kinda curious since it has been brought up. The the face of the white pad is completely covered and looks light brown. People are getting the impression that the brown is the dirt that was pulled away fro the paint.

The Meguiars paint cleaner I have is light brown colored, so even if I take a brand new white pad and prime it, it would look just like yours.

What color is the paint cleaner you are using Ken because now I am curious aswell. I'm probably gonna use this on my dad's van in a little bit to see how it works.

 

On my personal car I almost always use a paint cleaner (Unless I've just done a correction). They pull off the stuff clay bars cannot and they will remove any previous LSP, as well as some light swirling and water spotting.

Plus they tend to be matched to an LSP. So using the paint cleaner will help your matching LSP bond.

 

It does leave a base coat of sealant good for around a month or so but I never bring it up as it's not long enough to do any good. As well, I always top with a wax or sealant.

Good catch. The Prime Strong is indeed a light brown, but nowhere near the dirty colour displayed on the pad. The paint on this car was quite heavily dirtied.