Dear Classic Car Owner

You have now washed and dried your pride and joy in the safest possible, swirl avoiding way and have completed the initial stage in your paintwork preparation.

The next step is paint cleansing. The purpose of this stage is to remove old wax and fine defects from your paintwork in a way that removes as little paint as humanly possible.

The paint cleaning process, including the previous claying stage is one of the most important of your steps in detailing as this will set the level onto which you will be applying your polish and protection.

Paint Cleaning vs Polishing

The main difference between pre-wax paint cleaners and claybars is that clay bars remove above the surface contaminants and paint cleaners are designed to rectify below surface defects - a perfect combination towards a great deep shine finish.

And the main difference between a cleaner and polish is that the cleaner essentially removes the finer defects whereas a polish (next step - if required) uses more abrasive compounds to smooth out the surface of your paintwork and is sometimes combined with specially formulated oils or resins to enhance its shine.

Paint cleaners are mostly made up of a combination of a very fine polishing materials together with cleaning action solvents, where the solvents actually do most of the work.

The two most common types of paint cleaners available are:

Pure Cleaners - these do not have any kind of added paint protection with them

i.e. Mothers Pre-Wax Cleaner, Meguiars Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner, Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion.

Cleaners with Protection - these cleaners have a mix of paint cleaning action and wax or synthetic paint protection in them - these are ideal if time does not allow he application of a separate protectant.

i.e. Meguiars Cleaner Wax, Klasse All In One, Mothers Carnauba Cleaner Wax.

Application Tips

When cleaning your paintwork, always work in a shaded area, out of direct sunlight as most cleaners do not work well on hot surfaces. Work section by section, of about 2 to 4 square feet at a time.

Most pre-wax cleaners do not need to dry or haze before being wiped off and you can buff off the residues as you go. But always be sure to follow the manufacturer's written instructions just to make sure.

You can use a foam, terry cloth or microfibre applicator pad to apply your paint cleaner. If your existing paint finish is in like-new condition, we recommend a quality foam applicator. However if your paint is reasonably oxidised, we would recommend the use of a microfiber applicator pad.

A common mistake you will often see if you drive up and down the street on Sunday morning is car owners pouring half a bottle of product directly onto the car or cloth. It may be surprising but you only need to use a small amount of cleaner for each application.

With most pre-wax paint cleaners, a 1-inch-sized spot is enough to clean and polish an area of 2 to 4 square feet. Apply in a back and forward motion and not in a circular motion.

And for best results in buffing off your paint cleaner, we would recommend using a microfiber polishing cloth/towel.

After paint cleaning, your paintwork should now be clean, smooth, and free of streaks and minor swirls and is now ready for polishing or waxing.