# white spirit to wipe down after polish?



## stuartgbarrie (Apr 30, 2011)

is it possible/effective to use white spirit instead of IPA to wipe down after polishing, or is it just best as a tar remover? I assume that it needs diluted quite a bit also?


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## Keir (Aug 31, 2010)

people use white spirit as a paint stripper. IPA is cheap enough.


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## WD Pro (Feb 7, 2006)

Paint stripper ? On what, water based children's paints ?

WD


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## stuartgbarrie (Apr 30, 2011)

Keir said:


> people use white spirit as a paint stripper. IPA is cheap enough.


tardis is basically white spirit is it not? just wondered if i could use it instead of IPA as its easier to get hold of


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

White spirits are fine, and work very good. Mineral spirits are good too.


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## ronwash (Mar 26, 2011)

If you want a pro quality wipe done get carpro eraser,
ipa or spirit wont get all of the polish oils out.


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## VenomUK (Oct 13, 2011)

Is there any danger in using white spirits on the paint work?


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## stuartgbarrie (Apr 30, 2011)

yeah, just the price of it and might need it this weekend aswell was the problem


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## ronwash (Mar 26, 2011)

VenomUK said:


> Is there any danger in using white spirits on the paint work?


I dont know if theres danger but i wouldnt use it on any car part.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

I'm no chemist but I know white spirit and IPA are two very different substances. White spirit is oily and leaves a residue whereas IPA being alcohol evaporates quickly and completely making it the obvious choice for the job in question. Never tried it but don't believe you will be able to dilute an oil based product like white spirit.

I always like a paintwork that is "Squeaky" to the touch after machining.


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## bradbury (May 8, 2012)

I use white spirit to clean paint brushes, I wouldn't like to put it on my car! But who knows?


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

S63 said:


> I'm no chemist but I know white spirit and IPA are two very different substances. White spirit is oily and leaves a residue whereas IPA being alcohol evaporates quickly and completely making it the obvious choice for the job in question. Never tried it but don't believe you will be able to dilute an oil based product like white spirit.
> 
> I always like a paintwork that is "Squeaky" to the touch after machining.


nah, they use white spirits in dry cleaners.

White and mineral spirits are very similar. Both evaporate as well, and no real residue to worry about. Squeaky? Yep....

IPA evaporates too quickly, and leaves the residue behind. Eraser solves that problem, brilliant stuff.


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## Tisgreen (May 18, 2012)

type[r]+ said:


> nah, they use white spirits in dry cleaners.
> 
> White and mineral spirits are very similar. Both evaporate as well, and no real residue to worry about. Squeaky? Yep....
> 
> IPA evaporates too quickly, and leaves the residue behind. Eraser solves that problem, brilliant stuff.


White Spirits is oil based.....and not used in dry cleaning....you are thinking of a tricoethylene type substance which is a very strong solvant

Methylated spirit is solvant based and evaporates.....

Dunno if it would be used n a car I know I wouldnt use tricoethylene as that is powerful stuff and will remove every little bit of grease but it may be too strong


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## trv8 (Dec 30, 2007)

bradbury said:


> I use white spirit to clean paint brushes, I wouldn't like to put it on my car! But who knows?


You can use 'White Spirit' to remove tar-spots off your paint work etc, and work's just aswell as some so-called 'Tar Removers' :thumb:.


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

Use it as a tar remover - do not use it as a panel wipe.

Tardis is a 50-50 white spirit and xylene.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

type[r]+ said:


> nah, they use white spirits in dry cleaners.
> 
> White and mineral spirits are very similar. Both evaporate as well, and no real residue to worry about. Squeaky? Yep....
> 
> IPA evaporates too quickly, and leaves the residue behind. Eraser solves that problem, brilliant stuff.


Judging by this post and your previous one I can only assume White Spirit means something different in Australia.


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## TOGWT (Oct 26, 2005)

Mineral Spirits / White Spirit are a petrochemical based product (also known as Stoddard solvent) is a paraffin-derived clear, transparent liquid. It also contains oils, so its use in a paint wipe down process is self-defeating as you'll need to remove the oils from the surface


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## maersk (Sep 6, 2007)

Ahhh, xylene. A VERY significant cancer causing substance. That's Tardis off the list then.............. :tumbleweed:


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## Scrim-1- (Oct 8, 2008)

ronwash said:


> ipa or spirit wont get all of the polish oils out.


Ipa will remove all the polish oils.


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## bradbury (May 8, 2012)

Ipa is cheap, safe and works, why use anything else?


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## Rundie (Oct 2, 2007)

bradbury said:


> Ipa is cheap, safe and works, why use anything else?


And can be watered down, anyway I off to Wickes to buy some white spirit to dry clean my suit with :lol:


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## ronwash (Mar 26, 2011)

Scrim-1- said:


> Ipa will remove all the polish oils.


No,when ipa is applyed alot of the oil in the polish is staying on the paint,
youre only rubbing it on the paint.
only pro polish oil cleaner like carpro eraser or menzerna top inspection will remove all polish oil from paint.


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## trv8 (Dec 30, 2007)

Rundie said:


> anyway I off to Wickes to buy some white spirit to dry clean my suit with :lol:


And if your out to impress in your nice clean suit...don't forget to buy a can of 'WD40' to use as an after shave :lol:.


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## ronwash (Mar 26, 2011)

trv8 said:


> And if your out to impress in your nice clean suit...don't forget to buy a can of 'WD40' to use as an after shave :lol:.


Good one :lol::lol::lol:


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

ronwash said:


> No,when ipa is applyed alot of the oil in the polish is staying on the paint,
> youre only rubbing it on the paint.
> only pro polish oil cleaner like carpro eraser or menzerna top inspection will remove all polish oil from paint.


And what do you have to substantiate this? What mythical ingredients does top inspect have? Pros use gallons of panel wipe; not 500ml of expensive menzerna top inspect (which is probably IPA but can;t find MSDS sheet). And what's in panel wipe? 30% IPA and nearly 70% water!


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## ronwash (Mar 26, 2011)

Bero said:


> And what do you have to substantiate this? What mythical ingredients does top inspect have? Pros use gallons of panel wipe; not 500ml of expensive menzerna top inspect (which is probably IPA but can;t find MSDS sheet). And what's in panel wipe? 30% IPA and nearly 70% water!


No one said you HAVE TO BUY IT,
it seem you dont like to spend money on best products,
thats your right.
if you like you can read ALOT of articles regarding the use of polish wipe downs,youll wise up.
ipa is only smearing the oils,most of it stays on the paint.
you can try it for yourself if you ever polish.


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## VenomUK (Oct 13, 2011)

trv8 said:


> You can use 'White Spirit' to remove tar-spots off your paint work etc, and work's just aswell as some so-called 'Tar Removers' :thumb:.


I've also heard over the years of people using petrol to remove tar? If I'm honest I would rather pay the extra £££ for something that is 'specific' for the job than save money and risk damage to the paint....


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## robtech (Jan 17, 2011)

white spirt is not used as a paint stripper


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## robtech (Jan 17, 2011)

ive heard that you can use spray on DE ICER as an IPA too but dont quote me on this


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## stuartgbarrie (Apr 30, 2011)

yeah, ive heard that too. is there anything that can be used as a substitute that would be readily available at tesco or something as i'll need it tomorrow so obviously buying off the internet isnt an option. or is the wipedown absoloutely necessary, ive got a pre wax cleanser, would that do anything for it or red mist, its solvent based isnt it, would that work?


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## WD Pro (Feb 7, 2006)

I can't say I have any experiance of using it as a panel wipe but white spirit is a great (and cheap) tar remover and it won't remove automotive paint. I have used it to decon every car I have detailed.

Everything (well most things) can be dodgy to paint when taken to the extreme or used incorrectly - all the users of IPA that may think white spirit is bad for your paint should consider that ... 

WD


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

stuartgbarrie said:


> yeah, ive heard that too. is there anything that can be used as a substitute that would be readily available at tesco or something as i'll need it tomorrow so obviously buying off the internet isnt an option. or is the wipedown absoloutely necessary, ive got a pre wax cleanser, would that do anything for it or red mist, its solvent based isnt it, would that work?


If you are unable to get alcohol, I would opt to use a spritz of QD rather than white spirit, ensure you have worked the polish completely leaving as little residue as poss. The whole idea of the wipe down is to remove any contaminants and leave a sterile surface for your wax/sealant to bond to, might not be perfect but should do a reasonable job.


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## geoff.mac (Oct 13, 2010)

if you need it tomorrow, try a car body panel shop for panel wipe or motor factors would sell panel wipe, also try a chemist for ipa, it'll be dearer as they'll only stock small bottles but still only be a couple of quid. Panel wipe would be your best option and most motor factors should sell it hth


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

Maplin (possibly any decent computer shop) have IPA in 1/2 litres. I think boots or a pharmacy may have too.


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## WD Pro (Feb 7, 2006)

Boots wouldn't sell it to me - gave some story about them needing a licence and it being to expensive / not worth it to them


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## stuartgbarrie (Apr 30, 2011)

just found out that nail polish remover has isopropyl alcohol in it amongst other things, thatd do the trick wouldnt it?


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

stuartgbarrie said:


> just found out that nail polish remover has isopropyl alcohol in it amongst other things, thatd do the trick wouldnt it?


"amongst other things" :doublesho

Why don't you just wait until you have the right product for the job rather than run the risk of making a complete horlicks of it.


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

Rundie said:


> And can be watered down, anyway I off to Wickes to buy some white spirit to dry clean my suit with :lol:


That's what it was made for..... 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_spirit


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

Tisgreen said:


> White Spirits is oil based.....and not used in dry cleaning....you are thinking of a tricoethylene type substance which is a very strong solvant
> 
> Methylated spirit is solvant based and evaporates.....
> 
> Dunno if it would be used n a car I know I wouldnt use tricoethylene as that is powerful stuff and will remove every little bit of grease but it may be too strong


nope, white spirits, aka panel wipe.


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

Naphtha is also brilliant.


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## jim55 (Nov 12, 2008)

type[r]+ said:


> nope, white spirits, aka panel wipe.


white spirit in the uk is not panel wipe at all,i worked as a spray painter and i can assure u its a diff thing white spirit is oily and there is a residue left (almost invisible to the naked eye, but try and paint over it youl see what i mean) u need a solvent that evaporates cleanly ,even used petrol sometimes (even this is not perfect but far btr than ws ,)


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## scubapics (Apr 2, 2011)

If you need something quickly then try a pack or two of Halfords panel wipes.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_176921_langId_-1_categoryId_165495


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

jim55 said:


> white spirit in the uk is not panel wipe at all,i worked as a spray painter and i can assure u its a diff thing white spirit is oily and there is a residue left (almost invisible to the naked eye, but try and paint over it youl see what i mean) u need a solvent that evaporates cleanly ,even used petrol sometimes (even this is not perfect but far btr than ws ,)


White spirits. Not mineral turpentine like people like to call white spirits. 

Extremely close to Naphtha, which I'm sure you used as panel wipe.....

http://www.recochem.com.au/files/downloads/Cons_White_Spirits_PDS_Apr11.pdf


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## Tisgreen (May 18, 2012)

Mate in the uk white spirit is turpentine type stuff


It's different over here..... I lived in the UK for 38 years so I can see both sides


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## RedUntilDead (Feb 10, 2009)

maersk said:


> Ahhh, xylene. A VERY significant cancer causing substance. That's Tardis off the list then.............. :tumbleweed:


Rattle can spraying too then.

Dont use nail varnish remover either. I used to make the stuff, colours and oils are added which are left behind on the surface.


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## Jav_R (Apr 2, 2011)

Mike phillips did a test with what he calls mineral spirits and IPA, he get to the conclusion that both products were doing the job and IPA was leaving a slight micro marrying behind.
I was wanting to test this mineral spirits but the translation to spanish gives me some products that I'm a bit scared to put on a clear coat, so I've tested only ipa so far.


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## ITHAQVA (Feb 20, 2011)

S63 said:


> I always like a paintwork that is "Squeaky" to the touch after machining.


You must be detailing Mice


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## David C (Feb 23, 2008)

I'm a decorator and work with white spirit daily, I can confirm that it does leave a residue after wipedown and is not an ideal substitute for IPA.

Personally I'm not a Tardis fan but each to their own on that one


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