Spray Detailer & Linting?

[PDC]

Been using Adam's Super Machine Sealant and Spray Detailer exclusively for over a year now.  No problems or issues - til now.  Wifey just got a 'previously enjoyed' Benz ML63.  Black.  Paint was already in very good condition.  I stripped it with Dawn and polished with my Flex Polish and Menzerna Ultra Fine Polish for Scratch Resistant Clear Coat.  Put on a coat of Super Machine Sealant.  Waited a week.  Washed with Adam's Shampoo and added a second coat of Machine Sealant.  Paint looks like you could dip your finger into it.  I mean right outta' the paint booth wet. 

 

BUT - now when I try to detail it using Adam's Detail Spray (original formula) it makes the surface of the paint drag and stick noticably under the MF towel and it literally pulls lint fibers out of the MF towel and leaves a heavy coating of tiny lints all over the paint.  I had to break out the 50/50 alcohol and distilled water to get them off the paint.

 

Here is the strange part: I can use the exact same MF towel and exact same bottle of Detail Spray on my 73 Trans Am which ALSO has 2 coats of Super Machine Sealant on it and it glides on and off (no dragging or 'sticky' sensation under the towel) and doesn't leave a single lint anywhere.  Paint looks and feels gorgeous.

 

I have not bucket washed the ML since it's second coat of Super Sealant.  I wonder if that will help?  It seems so strange that the exact same product with even the exact same MF towel would feel and act so different on two cars that each have the same Machine Super Sealant on them.

 

At first I wondered if my Detail Spray got too hot in my garage or if I have had it for too long?  But agian it seems to work fine on the TA. 

 

Thoughts or experiences anyone???

[JHL88]

did you end up claying the car?  Did you do the baggie test? Sometimes if a vehicles needs to be clayed the towel will drag on the surface of the car causing it to shed or lint.

 

Just an FYI... I never use a plush MF towel to wipe Detail Spray off of a car.  I use a Waffle Weave followed by a MF for the final wipe.  I have experienced linting with the long fibered MF when wiping liquids off the surface.  It grabs too much IMO.  

 

Also what color is your T/A?  I say that bc black is sooo easy to see linting caused by towels but on other colors especially metallic paints its very hard to see.  

[PDC]

I did the baggie test and the car really did not need to be clayed after the Dawn treatment.  After the Menzerna Ultra Fine the paint was pure detailer's heaven.  T/A is "Bucaneer Red" which is dark enough to show linting.  But it's also the 'feel' of the product under the towel as you are wiping.  On the new Black ML, the towel feels like it is dragging noticably on the detail spray.  Turn right around, mist the TA and wipe with the same towel, smooth as glass.

[Team Adam's]

Chewy,

 

Did you note he said its happening on one car but not the other?

 

Seems something about the car, not the towel is to blame.

[PDC]

Hey Dylan!

 

Yeah, that's what makes this weird.  Same towel, same bottle of detailer.  Slick and crystal clear on the TA -  "dragging" feeling and lint everywhere on the ML.  I am using the gray sooper-dooper ultra-thick towels that I bought from California Car Cover before discovering Adams.  I bought a dozen of them and had opened one of the 4-packs and used them with no issues whatsoever. The towel in question had been opened very recently from the original pack (I had been hording them) and had only been through the washer once.

 

I am going to wash all of these gray towels in hot with MF cleaner and double rinse, and then I am going to bucket wash the ML.  I have noticed that sometimes after applying and removing sealant or wax, there seems to be a very strong 'static' electricity charge to the paint.  Kind of like rubbing a balloon on your head and then sticking it to the wall.  That seems to go away after the first good, gentle bucket wash with soap and a MF wash mit.  Also, the first wash after wax or sealant seems to 'level' the product a bit.

 

I will hit this thread Monday and let you know how it went!  If I find that these Cal Car Cover towels are linty SOBs, I will re-stock with a set of your single and double soft.

 

BTW - her is Big Red with 2 coats of Machine sealant, freshly detailed with Adams Detail Spray, no lint(!), and new rolling stock from Year One.

 

Edited July 25, 2013 by PDC

[jimboman]

It has to be something with the "grabbiness" of the paint.  For instance, when I clean my cooktop (as hard as it is), no matter what type of MF towel I use, it drags bad and leaves lint.   (pulls them off the towel)  Luckily I haven't had any issue with them on paint.

 

Very nice TA, btw!!!

Edited July 26, 2013 by jimboman

[PDC]

O.K. Everybody who posted gets partial cradit for this exam question.  First thing I did was bucket wash the ML with Adam's car shampoo.  The 2 coats of machine sealant leveled out very nicely and the 'static cling' effect went away.  Adams detailer (old formula) now glides on and off the paint with no tackiness or clinginess. 

 

I also grabbed my trusty Adam's carpet cleaning brush with the stiff nylon bristles and brushed ALL my MF towels - both sides, 4 directions each - to loosen any linting fibers.  Then washed all of them in hot, extra heavy duty load with MF cleaner, extra rinse.  No heat dry after wiping the dryer drum with a glass cleaning cloth and 50/50 alcohol and distilled water.

 

Yes, these California Car Cover towels lint.  But not NEARLY as bad as before being gently brushed and washed.  They leave a few tiny lints at the end of a pass that pick right up with the second pass.  So I may do the brush, wash routine again to see if they get even a little bit better.  But at least they now fall within the useful/tolerable range.  I would hate to have just trashed them or relegated them to oil change duty having paid a decent amount for them.

 

But the finish on the black ML is as good as it gets for a daily driver that parks outside during the week and my Adams detailer did not go bad from sitting in my admittedly hot garage.  Maybe I'm into it for a new round of MF towels - no worries.