IPA wipedown
An IPA wipedown is the final prep step before ceramic coating, where a panel is wiped with diluted isopropyl alcohol to remove polishing oils and leave bare clear coat for the coating to bond to.
What it means
Polishing compounds contain oils that fill micro-defects and exaggerate gloss for the inspection that follows. Those oils are useful for visual finishing, but they are also a barrier to a ceramic coating's chemical bond. An IPA wipedown solves this. The painter sprays a panel with diluted isopropyl alcohol (typically a 1:1 to 1:3 mix with distilled water depending on paint type), wipes with a fresh microfibre, and turns the cloth over to wipe again. The oils lift and the panel reads true under direct light, with any remaining defects now obvious. The coating then bonds to actual clear coat instead of a polish-oil film. Skipping the IPA wipedown is one of the most common reasons a coating beads well at handover but fails its first wash three weeks later.
Why it matters in Singapore
In Singapore's humidity, where polishing oils linger longer between stages and dust settles fast on tacky surfaces, the IPA wipedown is more than a formality. It is the difference between a coating that hits its rated three-, five-, or seven-year warranty and one that loses hydrophobicity within months. Owners cannot tell the difference at handover; they find out at month four when beading flattens.
How Revol Carz handles this
Every ZeTough application at Revol Carz includes an IPA wipedown as the dedicated step between paint correction and coating. We use a fresh microfibre per panel, work in controlled lighting, and only apply the coating once the panel reads completely uniform. It is the cheapest, most consequential step in the entire workflow.