ERASER vs. IPA (+ VIDEO)

[CEE DOG]

Eraser vs. IPA

Intro:

After reading my recent review on CarPro Eraser I had one member ask me how Eraser compared to IPA so it occurred to me that I must not have done a clear job of showing this. Visually I hadn’t shown the two side by side with a test so here we go!

The Test:

The video tells the story but basically I applied Poor Boys Black Hole (a glaze with fillers) to the top of the panel and 3M Ultrafina (an oily polish) to the bottom of the panel. Then I stripped one side with Eraser and one side with IPA.

The IPA was a very strong dilution by any of the standards I have seen written (25% IPA and 75% water) And, yes that does take into account the percentage of IPA I started with.

I based my ratio of IPA mix on what Dr. G told me in my Q&A with him about IPA and also what Mike Phillips wrote in his article on the subject. Mikes article also relied on other chemists in the industry. Here is a partial quote from Dr. G in the Q&A I just referenced.

“I would follow the recommendations that Mike Phillips has made of 10-25% IPA in water as a safe cleaning solution. The reason for this wide range is due to the variations in the clear coat paint systems. Therefore, when dealing with a soft clear coat or for those who notice a great deal of softening effect, they should stay at the lower end of the range while others can use the upper limit. Of course, the greater the percentage of IPA, the faster it will remove the oils.”

So as you can see I picked a heavy ratio of IPA.

I also went out of the way to place lots of oils on the paint before stripping it with each product.


Video: Eraser vs. IPA

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKIl4UWFXm0"]Eraser vs IPA.wmv - YouTube[/ame]


Conclusion:

CarPro Eraser removed all of the oils more thoroughly than the strong mix of IPA. As you saw in the video some spots on the IPA treated side still had oil of some kind on the surface.

Do those spots that still have oil matter?

Well, if your goal was to remove the oils and some are left then obviously they matter.

If checking your paint after polishing to make sure you achieved a perfect finish I say yes it matters (obviously).

If applying a coating that does rely on a completely oil free finish they matter a great deal. Obviously your coating wouldn’t have the same durability on those spots and my theory is that even worse your applicator would spread some of the oils from those spots and compromise the durability of the coating in other areas as well. That is just my theory and I could be way off but there you have it.

If applying a polymer sealant or wax the remaining oils left by IPA don’t matter near as much as if you are applying some of the nano coatings that rely on a completely oil free surface. How much they do matter I don’t know the definitive answer to that.



--- Update on Dust Resistance ---

I watched my test panel that was kept out of the rain for 1 week and could find no difference in the dust resistance between IPA and Eraser.

For more information you can find my full review here: http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums/...ro-eraser.html

[Todd@RUPES]

Great video Corey, thanks for the update!

[Kitoy22]

Nice Video! What do you think are the negative effects of 75% IPA when used in paint surface? Thanks!

[polisher]

thaks for the update..

[glfahlc]

eraser seems to be the product to use whether you use wax,sealant or nano polish. thanks corey...

[CEE DOG]

Thanks guys

Nice Video! What do you think are the negative effects of 75% IPA when used in paint surface? Thanks!

I have never tested 75% IPA with a water test like that one so I don`t know if it would remove all the oils and leave the paint good for a coating. For a wax or selant of course it would be more than enough since they are not as finicky as coatings (Thanks Chad)

Dr. David G of Optimum can explain it much better than I so instead of trying to tell you what I learned from him let me just quote exactly what he said.

He gave me some education on IPA when I asked him about it a few months ago and I found most interesting what he said about how all of these solvents can soften the paint but how some stay in the paint longer. IPA is safer in contrast to the others. His logic on the subject (as always) made it easy to understand.

This is what he said:

There is a lot of confusing information about solvents in general and IPA in particular. Let`s limit our scope to cross-linked (enamel) clear coat finishes since that is the paint system on the majority of the cars we are talking about. Although there are many different paint systems being used, in all cases with this type of paint, IPA or other solvents will penetrate the paint and cause some swelling. Depending on the solvent, the degree of swelling varies and in some cases like with methylene chloride (within seconds) and MEK (within minutes), it can swell it to the point of delamination. IPA and mineral spirits do swell the paint but not to the same level of course.



As the paint swells and expands, it also becomes softer. Since there are many different types of paints being used, some paints might soften to the point that even a gentle wipe down might cause micro marring while others may not mar even at much higher solvent concentrations. That might explain the variations in some of the observations different people have reported.



While fast solvents such as IPA may fully evaporate at higher temperatures (e.g. 90 F) within hours, slower solvents like MS may take several days before they reach levels below 1%. But the notion that the solvents may be trapped in the paint forever or that the paint will soften permanently is absurd since clear coat paints start off with anywhere from 20-70% solvents and if this theory had any validity, then all paints should stay soft and/or some of the solvents should be trapped within the paint forever.

After this brief introduction, let me respond to your specific questions:



Is IPA safe for paint and in what dilution?



I would follow the recommendations of 10-25% IPA in water as a safe cleaning solution. The reason for this wide range is due to the variations in the clear coat paint systems. Therefore, when dealing with a soft clear coat or for those who notice a great deal of softening effect, they should stay at the lower end of the range while others can use the upper limit. Of course, the greater the percentage of IPA, the faster it will remove the oils.

Does it soften the paint either temporarily or permanently?

While straight IPA or even 70% IPA can soften the paint excessively, as you increase the water level, the softening effect drops exponentially. In any case, as I explained earlier the softening effect is temporary


Thing is people are using prepsol and stuff like that which has mineral spirits and other things in it so IMO alcohol isnt going to hurt the paint if those don`t. I personally don`t use those. Prepsol also contains benzene (a known strong carcinogen)

[Kitoy22]

Thanks Cee Dog!!! as always your threads has always been very informative. Keep it up!!!