Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Technical Stuff (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/)

-   -   A superb Car cleaning, polishing & detailing guide (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/102011-superb-car-cleaning-polishing-detailing-guide-237.html)

A IPA wipedown(1part IPA in equal part of water) will be able to remove wax/sealant(IsoPropylAlcohol available as rubbing alcohol)

It might take multiple passes(basically when you spray it on and it doesn't bead any longer, the wax is off!) (always do a test spot first with IPA too!)
And use IPA on a cool to touch panel!! On a warm to hot panel it will streak like crazy!.

On a cool panel, spray it on, let it dwell for say 5-10 secs and then wipe off!(if the temperature is relatively high, it'll start to evaporate on its own and leave streaks)
In case of a higher or warm panel, spray and wipe immediately or after a second or two. And use a mf cloth only)

After swirl removal you can do a IPA wipedown to remove all the polish/compound and then wax as usual! (Sonax polish claims to leave behind a protective coat, so if you want that, don't use IPA after sonax(purely choice based))

Examine the area after each step to make sure you are removing defects.

Take before/after pics too! :D

^Ok thanks :D another back breaking weekend I guess

I asked for Rubbing Alcohol at my pharmacy yesterday and he gave me some surgical spirit. Are they the same?

What are the other names by which it is known? Is it the same as Nail Polish Remover too?

Yes they are the same thing!

Just inquire as to how much percentage is it!(basically how much %age of IPA is in there)(if its pure then it should be 91%)

Use it in a spray bottle diluted equally with distilled or drinking water!

I think nail polish removers have Acetone! That is one nasty solvent!(it can dissolve plastic!!) Never use it on paint!

Oh no - I used it on my headlamps and a side panel. I think I will go wipe them down with a clean wet cloth.

EDIT : Just went and checked. Geez, you were right Sohail, the place where I wiped down with the Nail Polish remover definitely looks "eaten". Its lost the gloss of the original plastic. Good Lord!

But the headlamps seems ok - even though they are plastic.

I'm just going with water.

IPA or Iso-Propyl alcohol is easily available at most electronic spares shops and costs less than at chemist shops.

Never use Nail polish remover on painted surface. They are basicallly N.C.Thinner which are used to thin/remove paint.

N.C. THINNER is Nictro cellulose Thinner & it is a mixture of esters, glycol, alcohol, aromatic solvents and ketones suitable diluents to all nitro products. It is manufactured for reducing lacquers before they are applied by different methods. Mainly used for solvent based nitro product. Source:Answers.com

Guys,
I am in a dilemma whether to go for Collinite 845 or Collinite Marque De Elegance.
What I want is a wax that lasts long and has a nice gloss as well.
My car's colour is dark (Sea Grey).
The wax SHOULD NOT be difficult to buff off with hand as I cannot spend a lot of time Buffing it off as I do now with Waxpol because I need to study as well.
Please help.

Ouch - I tried harming my own car. :Shockked:Am throwing that bottle of remover away.

Let me check some electronic shops. I dont know the street name for IPA, but am visiting Parrys tomm. Will look there.

UPDATE:
Know what - I found this nice link explaining the contents of different brands of glass cleaners. And I have the Eagle 20/20 glass cleaner with me.
It contains IPA already. Duh on my part. Also the popular brands contain some percentage of acetone.

Chemistry of ClearVue and other glass cleaners - Turtle Wax ClearVue Professional Auto Glass Cleaner - Epinions.com

street name for IPA is doctor's spirit / rubbing alcohol.

In Electronic Spares shops, we just ask for IPA (or IP), used to cost around 90-100 Rs./Litre a year back. Don't know the present pricing.

AFAIK, there is no other street name for IPA.

IIRC, Doctor's spirit is the surgical spirit available at chemist shops.

Hey guys,

Any idea on what can be done to renew the finish on the plastic lens covers of headlights? There is slight discoloration on them specially around the corners. I don't want to spend 200-300 bucks on a bottle of some kind of polish that won't be used except once, & so if anybody can recommend any sort of 'desi' way of getting the job done.

Drive safe.

i know , that to bring back the gloss on neglected finishes , one has to shread very thin amount of clearcoat.

but what about the cars with no clear cot , does compounding the paint is only way ???

^^ Even I would like to know more about that. Heard from friends that a few cars come with just the Solid Paint these days with no clear coat at all. Is it safe to use the normal detailing process (claying + polishing + waxing) on these type of paints or are we supposed to skip a few steps?

I'm guessing you are talking about single stage paint finishes which were done wayy back!!(easy way to determine that is, take a light polish and apply it on the paint with a white cloth(if the paint is dark), if you see the color pigment, then its a SS finish

You can clay it normally!

(Just make sure with the painter that its a SS paint finish and not a base coat-clear coat system before proceeding. As in a basecoat-clearcoat system, the base color coat is very thin and you can't polish it as the gloss in that system comes from the clearcoat. The color coat will remain dull no matter what you use on it.(only solution - Repaint/re clearing)

Whereas in a SS paint finish, the paint is polishable to high gloss and is thick enough to enable you to safely remove defects and polish it )

Note that single stage paint finishes are much thicker than today's 2-stage paint finishes(base coat, clear coat system)

Single stage paints can be safely compounded and polished to a defect free finish(but instead of the clearcoat you'll get paint pigment on the pads you used to polish.(perfectly normal for SS paints)

After polishing, you can use a glaze to enrich the paint and bring back its natural luster(basically glazes were designed for single stage paint finishes)

and then seal or wax with a quality wax/sealant of your choice!

@blackfire 9 - you can wetsand(Never go below 1500-2000grit) the plastic if the defects/discoloration is severe and then use a rubbing compound to remove wetsanding marks and then a polish to remove compounding marks! and it'll be as good as new!

or just use a rubbing compound that you already have and after that just polish it with any polish

^^thanks sohail, but I have already tried out the rubbing compound. It doesn't work well for this problem. In case you might have any more ideas, do let me know.