What is IPA and why should I use it??

The detailing world is awash in acronyms, and one you'll see a lot is "IPA" as in "IPA wipedown" or "I'll hit the panel with IPA..." etc.

I thought something so useful and potentially important to good detailing process deserved a little demystification.  What it boils down to is you use an IPA mixture in a spray bottle to really clean things at certain points, wiping it off with a microfiber towel.

What:
- IPA is a 50/50 mix of IsoPropyl Alcohol and distilled water  (distilled is a very important part of this - please don't use tap water.  I'm not a huge fan of filtered water, either, especially when distilled water is easily obtained at your grocery store)

When:
- Before working on a panel to strip all wax, etc. off
- Between aggressive and mild polishing steps to ensure removal of any remaining polish residue
- Between final polishing/glaze step and wax to ensure removal of remaining polish residue

Why:
- IPA is a terrific, inexpensive and fairly gentle way to remove stuff (wax, polish residue, etc.) from a painted surface. Whether you want to strip wax from a panel, ensure that more aggressive polish isn't mixed with finer polishing steps or preparing to transition from polish to wax, IPA can help.  You always want the cleanest surface possible.

How:
- Misted from a spray bottle in similar density to quick detailer. If I'm working on a single panel for some reason, I protect the area I'm not working on with a microfiber towel.

Dilution:
5 parts water to 3 parts 70% IPA from the drugstore will get you close enough to 50/50. Ideally, you should get 99% pure IPA - available from Amazon at this link. if you can't find it locally. The reason you want to do that is you really don't want the other 30% of what comes in the drugstore variety in your mixture. The 99% pure stuff isn't expensive, and the magic of Amazon makes it easy to find.

Some people will use higher ratios of alcohol, but I don't generally recommend it since alcohol can really dry the paint surface, rubber gaskets, etc., when used in higher concentrations.

Good luck and keep it glossy!