Issue with Adams FMP

[Black Lightning]

Got it. Thanks again.

[GPC1]

If you're working in a specific area, not the whole car, its much easier and effective to do an IPA wipe down.

I was going to ask if that was better recommended in that case

[bigwayne3000]

Not to hijack this thread but I'm finally doing a full detail on Friday. Is applying wax after the FMP necessary or will I be ok with just stopping after the polish?

[Adam's Polishes]

No.. you need to wax or seal.

Polishes CORRECT paint.
Waxes/Sealants PROTECT paint.

By stopping at polishing you'd be leaving the paint exposed and completely unprotected so the first bird bomb, water spot, or anything settling on the paint will cause much more damage.

[STINGER BEE]

Dawn ? isn't that dish soap,wouldn't s that be a little harsh for auto paint.

Originally Posted by Black Lightning

Thanks for the tips, Dylan. Much appreciated.

I washed the car with Dawn before getting started. Is that OK?

[Adam's Polishes]

Originally Posted by STINGER BEE

Dawn ? isn't that dish soap,wouldn't s that be a little harsh for auto paint.

Very common misconception... over the years the reasons not to use dawn as a car wash have been misunderstood.

The reason you don't want to use it would be because it removes waxes from the finish. So if on one week you spend a bunch of time detailing your car, then the very next weekend you washed it with dawn you'd remove all the wax, essentially working against yourself.

BUT, because its good at removing wax it makes great sense to use it for that exact purpose. Before starting a full detail its a good idea to get the 'old' wax off the finish. Keeps it from clogging up your clay or pads while you work. Also allows you to see the real condition of the paint if the wax was concealing anything.

Its definitely not aggressive enough to do any damage to paint... theres things said like "it'll dry out the clear coat" which just isn't true. The only argument that could be made is that its a little harsh on trim... but if you are performing a full detail, you'll be dressing those areas as part of it so the concern is minimal if anything.

So long story short... if you want to remove waxes from the finish before a detail dawn is perfectly acceptable to use. The rest of the time you should be using a pH neutral car wash soap so that the wax you've applied isn't removed by washing. Hope that helps!

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by STINGER BEE

Dawn ? isn't that dish soap,wouldn't s that be a little harsh for auto paint.

nope. If you want to remove everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, from the paint you use dawn. Doesn't hurt the paint one bit and it gets every last spec of wax, polish, glaze, etc off of the paint

[dme]

I'll also be performing my first self-detail this weekend. I'm assuming that the car has wax on it currently because it was just detailed by a "pro" a week or so ago. Should I wash everything with Dawn? How do you suggest doing that? Just put dawn in my soap bucket instead of the normal "shampoo"?

[CamaroDreams07]

Originally Posted by dme

I'll also be performing my first self-detail this weekend. I'm assuming that the car has wax on it currently because it was just detailed by a "pro" a week or so ago. Should I wash everything with Dawn? How do you suggest doing that? Just put dawn in my soap bucket instead of the normal "shampoo"?

Yup. foam gun too if you have one

[Beemer]

Originally Posted by Dylan@Adams

If you're working in a specific area, not the whole car, its much easier and effective to do an IPA wipe down.

Pardon me, but what is IPA?

[Black Lightning]

Originally Posted by Beemer

Pardon me, but what is IPA?

Just rubbing alcohol.

[Adam's Polishes]

Originally Posted by Beemer

Pardon me, but what is IPA?

isopropyl alcohol/rubbing alcohol