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View Full Version : How to clean area before using touch up paint?



ds2chan
02-27-2007, 11:48 AM
hey guys,

story time.. I opened my car door on sunday (when it was really windy but I didn't know this at the time since I had just left my place).. I sat down to clean the snow off of my shoes when a huge gust of wind blew my door wide open!! it slammed right into my gf's car.. so now there's a bit of blue paint on her door.. luckily there is no other damage..

she has some touch up paint I could use.. so my question is is there a proper way of cleaning the area before I use the touch up paint?? or can I just clean the area with a cloth and water to remove the debris before using the touch up paint??

thanks for any help!!

Wild Weasel
02-27-2007, 01:33 PM
First off, I'd find a warm place to do this. You don't want to be painting in freezing cold.

Then clean it well with some dawn dish soap and water. You want something that's going to take away any residual wax or oils.

Then wipe it down with some alcohol before applying the touch-up.

If it's down to the metal, make sure you get a bottle of touch-up primer.

Then take your time and apply it with little dabs, using as little paint as possible to cover the area. Better to do 5 coats and build up the paint in the chip than to put a glob on there and hope for the best.

ds2chan
02-27-2007, 02:35 PM
First off, I'd find a warm place to do this. You don't want to be painting in freezing cold.

Then clean it well with some dawn dish soap and water. You want something that's going to take away any residual wax or oils.

Then wipe it down with some alcohol before applying the touch-up.

If it's down to the metal, make sure you get a bottle of touch-up primer.

Then take your time and apply it with little dabs, using as little paint as possible to cover the area. Better to do 5 coats and build up the paint in the chip than to put a glob on there and hope for the best.


thanks for the tips WW.. I was thinking the same thing about finding a warmer place.. I may have to wait for spring.. there isn't a chip (luckily).. just some of my paint rubbed off..

Wild Weasel
02-27-2007, 02:44 PM
If there's any bare metal showing (like on the edge of your door where the paint rubbed off) then I'd take car of it immediately rather than waiting for spring.

If not then take your time and do it right. No hurry.

Xenon
03-01-2007, 10:39 AM
errr... I really DON'T Suggest using dish soap on ANY part of your paint, even if you are washing it off right away....

If I were you I would just clean it using water and a very small bit of Car wash fluid. Clay bar the area if need be...

Dish detergent is known to have chemicals that are great on dishes, but may scorch the paint.

MPS
03-01-2007, 10:43 AM
+1 no dish soap look @ WW car you know what im talking about







errr... I really DON'T Suggest using dish soap on ANY part of your paint, even if you are washing it off right away....

If I were you I would just clean it using water and a very small bit of Car wash fluid. Clay bar the area if need be...

Dish detergent is known to have chemicals that are great on dishes, but may scorch the paint.

majic
03-01-2007, 10:49 AM
+1 no dish soap look @ WW car you know what im talking about

:chuckle :chuckle :chuckle :chuckle :chuckle

:agree

Wild Weasel
03-01-2007, 11:12 AM
I specifically said Dawn, which will not damage the paint but will remove any grease or oils.

Car wash will not remove wax and stuff.

MPS
03-01-2007, 03:31 PM
lol ill just shut up ........ and never use dish soap on cars

b
03-01-2007, 06:48 PM
I ran out of soap once and I got mustard on my car... Ya... Long story. Anyways... I had to use something to get it off asap. So I used palmolive antibacterial... Ya... I know... It was late. No where was open. So washed up... Next day it looked like there was ZERO wax on the car. It looked like COMPLETE SHIT. So I went out and picked up some more mothers car soap.... Then some wax... gave it 5 hours of lovin... and it came out looking MINT again. Looked so clean and wax looked wet and clear.

Maybe it helps to get all old wax and buildup off.... I dunno... Maybe it was bad for the car... but thats my experience.

Wild Weasel
03-01-2007, 08:58 PM
I certainly wouldn't suggest using it on a regular basis, and wouldn't recommend any other dish soap as you never know what sort of tough-scrubbing abrasives might be in one... but just for this small spot, or if you've got some need to strip the whole car of wax and what not, it's just what the doctor ordered.

queens49
03-02-2007, 11:49 PM
When I used Zaino, it was recommended to use Dawn to wash the car to remove any old wax etc. from the car, then clay bar it.. It's not something you want to do on a regular basis.

Skarbro
03-03-2007, 12:08 AM
When I used Zaino, it was recommended to use Dawn to wash the car to remove any old wax etc. from the car, then clay bar it.. It's not something you want to do on a regular basis.

I use Zaino also.

You're correct about their recommendation:

From: http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=Z&Category_Code=APPLICATION



3. I would definitely recommend you remove the wax buildup on your paint. Just use Liquid Dawn (hand dishwashing liquid) as a car wash. It has a high alkaline content which cuts right thru carnauba wax, paraffin, silicone oils, etc. This will get your paint finish squeeky clean and wax free.
I don't advise making a habit of washing your car with Dawn. But for this scenario it's fine. High alkaline products like Dawn are tough on polishes. It will never harm the paint finish though. A car wash is made specifically to clean without removing durable polishes.Personally, I never did the Dawn step, because I Zaino'ed the car within a week of getting it. Just washed it with regular car wash soap.

Xenon
03-03-2007, 05:06 AM
I would like to point out that the purpose of the original post was to prep the car for TOUCH-UP. Since the paint is already removed by a scratch/stonechip/whatever, it's safe to say that there's no wax if there is no paint. If you are touching up a section with touch up paint, I fail to see why wax removal is necessary in any way to touching up the car.

That being said, why does anyone need DISH DETERGENT of ANY kind (as per WildWeasel's first post in the thread) to touch up a car? They don't. All it does is strip the wax and clearcoat from the car.

Even to redo the finish of the car, I would much recommend doing a Meguires 3-step to the car vs stripping the finish with any dish detergent.

Wild Weasel
03-03-2007, 11:34 AM
For the record, when I say to clean "it" well, I'm talking about the area around the chip. Not the whole car.