Mequiar's Step 1 Paint Cleaner Question?
 

What would be the Meguiar's Professional Line equivilant of their Deep Crystal System Step 1 Paint Cleaner???

I replaced my Step 2 Polish with #9 Swirl Remover, which I love...

I replaced my Step 3 Carnuba Wax with the good ole #26 High-Tech Yellow Wax, which I also love...

So I was just wondering if there is an equivilant in their Professional Line or if I should just keep using the Deep Crystal Step 1 Paint Cleaner? Please keep in mind that these are all hand applied...

I'd recommend Meguiar's Premium Paint Cleaner (MPPC) as a replacement but, in my personal opinion, you probably won't see much improvement over the #9 with that extra step.

RP :D

RockPick - Thanks for the reply... being that you are the "true" Meguiar's guru now!

The reason I ask is that I've got the Oxford White clearcoat on my truck and I've done the 3-step system several times, and then I graduated to the #9 and #26 combo, which I've done several times and I like even better.

After I polish and wax with #9 and #26, the paint has that beautiful "wet" shine to it and it looks great, but when you look really closely at the two horizontal surfaces (hood and roof) beneath all of the shine and luster, the white paint still looks "cloudy" which I believe is oxidation.

I always clay before I polish and wax, but I was thinking that a paint cleaner used between claying and polishing may remove the oxidation. Is this true?

The cleaner step will, indeed, be the step to remove oxidation but, if you're taking good care of your vehicle, I'd dare say that it's nearly an unnecessary step at this point in your ownership cycle. In short, I SERIOUSLY doubt that you have oxidation that is severe enough that the #9 isn't dealing with it.

RP :D

I always recommend a good paint cleaning once a year with a good "chemical" paint cleaner like MPPC or DC.

If you were to look at you paint under magnification, you would see extremely fine cracks, crevices, peaks and valleys. Cleaning out the contaminats and dead paint (oxidation) that lie in those cracks, crevices and valleys is best performed by a good chemical paint cleaner.

Yes, a polish like #9 will remove some of that crap, but only if it removes the paint to the level of the imbedded contaminates by using it's abrasives. Then, the #9 will deposit it's oils/fillers to level/fill the cracks, crevices, scratches, spider web marks..... Etc.

In my mind, it doesnt' make sense to seal in the contaminates in the paint with oils/fillers/wax. That's why I prefer a extremely good paint cleaning at least once a year.

Having said all that, I would agree with RP........... I doubt the "cloudiness" that you are seeing is a result of oxidation, as the #9 should remove most "visual" oxidation. I would suspect what you are seeing is more than likely............... a subdued "orange peel" condition.

I used a paint cleaner on my 2003 last night. It made a really brought back the darkness and depth of the paint. I also started using #9 on my other car, but it was relatively difficult to use by hand, so I went back to the paint cleaner.

APT,

If you are looking for an easy to use SMR, you might want to try Poorboy's SSR1, or SSR2.......... easiest to use polishes I've ever tried. The SSR1 is a tiny bit less abrasive than #9, and the SSR2 is a bit more abrasive than #9.

Boss, how would those two product compare to S100 Shine Enhancing Paint cleaner or P21S GEPC? Slightly different product with ap int cleaner vs. polish, but I find these paint cleaners do a fair job at light swirls too.

I would say that P21S GEPC is about on par with the description of SSR1 by Boss's comparison. It is less agressive then #9, about on par with #81 I would say.
I got tons of oxidation out of my Blue '99 ZX-9R with P21S GEPC and a orange power pad on dad's PC.
Take my comparison with a grain of salt, as I used a PC, and an orange power pad, which with #9 will take out wet sanding marks on setting 5.5, but using it with #81, leaves a nice finish. The orange pad is a nice multi purpose pad. By hand I don't know how to qualify what would best, sorry

Good luck

APT,

Been a while since I used GEPC, but I think SSCULLY pretty much called it correctly............ the GEPC is probably similar in abrasiveness as SSR1. As you know, a lot depends on how aggressively one is applying the products, and what applicators are being used to apply those products.