The ultra fine clay from sonus is only available from me , DREAM MACHINES AUSTRALIA
Expect PM

Aurora 98

Have seen someone use one of those steamer machines ... uses a small jet (not high pressure) to clean out polish/wax (white residue) around badges and small cracks ... also cleaning grilles and mesh with it as well.

What are your thoughs on this ... I wasn't sure if this would be too harsh on the paint or not.

That's going to extreme's
Obviously are using old school polish

I wouldn't recommend it though, a small range of brushes are all that you need

Simply use better products and you will never have any residue to remove
At the very least a little compound dust but that's easy as abc to remove

Exterior trim

With cars built after 1980, there is an increasing amount of plastic-vinyl exterior trims

To care for these, there are a myriad of products out there
No matter what you are using to restore them, use a plastic sealant if you can or even paint sealant to protect them

Here are the products I use for refinishing them
These are the hard trims, not soft door /window rubbers
Of course I don't use all of them with any job

Clay w/ sonus ultra fine, clay magic, optimum opti clay using a genuine clay lubricant
Isopropyl alcohol to clean
Clearkote Vanilla moose by hand with foam app pad
Clearkote red machine glaze or Yellow moose wax (for badly worn trim only)
Autoglym 07B plastic and vinyl cleaner
1Z plastic reiniger or Gummifledge
Sonus or wolfgang tire gels
Klasse sealant glaze

It's amazing how much environmental contaminants stick to trim and claying is a great start to restoring them
This removes the stuff that makes them feel rough
You should notice a smoother and much cleaner surface when you have finished claying

I then move to vanilla moose, my most favoured product that I have because it is so versatile
This removes the oxidation and restores colour and is really easy to use
Autoglym's 07b comes in a 1 litre container and is a marvelous product to enhance the colour

Sick of having to use your wiper blades, getting pits, stone chips and marks in your glass
The solution is to refinish and seal them, inside and out

You'll be surprised what a difference it makes to the look of a vehicle

I've been working on an AU TE50 for a few days now and have done the following to all exterior glass

Clay w/ clay magic blue bar and evercoat clay lubricant
Poorboys World SSR 2 and 1 with rotary using edge green pad
Detailers pride glass restorer on left side by hand
Sonus Glass & chrome polish by hand on right (doing testing)
Clearkote vanilla moose with rotary using edge white

I used clearkote quik shine QD spray in between each step
Sealed with GPI duraglaze sealant, it's not as good as others but a very nice product

Inside glass
Clay as above
Sonus glass polish
Clearkote vanilla moose

Once the dura glaze has cured I will apply Detailers Pride spray sealant to glass inside and out

I have heaps of other glass products and I want to use them all but It's only going to get worse as I get in new products.

The best sealant for glass in my experience is Klasse acrylic sealant glaze
Applied very thinly, left to cure for 6 - 24 hours and then removed with microfibre cloth, it causes water to bead and run off the surface
After three coats of that, you won't need to use your wipers anymore

It also stops 95% of stone chips, pits and lots of scratches and swirls
Every week when I wash my car, I use 1Z or Menzerna quick detail spray to top up the sealant.

You can apply only four coats to glass, it is not as porous as paint finishes

When polishing by hand, use only side to side motions and it's best to apply the products with a foam hand applicator pad
Never use a cloth as this can lead to lint and scratches
Have seen people roll a cloth into a ball and then go at it
This can lead to swirl marks

Only apply in the shade if you can - there are a few products that you can use in direct sunlight but results may not be as good
Remove with microfibre buffing cloths - folded twice
Most of all, let the product do the work, not your hand

More to come

interesting how you say side to side... its very contarary to the wax on wax off approach.


Cheers

Hey Matt got a question for ya, i have my boss interested in some products of yours.. I just need a catalouge or something, but anyway..

He has an old school MGB which has alot of swirl marks on the hood. Now he asked me to ask you lol if you have anything that can get rid of the swirls but with out using a cutting agent as he doesnt want to weaken the paint. Also something that can do that plus bring out a bit more shine and lustre to the paint would be helpful aslo.

So let me know if you have ideas how to fix that up. Cheers dude

Great job btw. I will have to order some products of my own soon.

Thanks Andrew

My father has an MGB 71, it was a road car but now is a complete race car with 40 kg less weight, new paint, roll bars, new engine and is doing 1:20's at mallala

Now to the questions
Four star paint cleanser is a great product that will remove minor swirls, scratches, bug residue, tar, grease and other grime
I use it on my car occasionally instead of polishing again
It has no cutting power and will not remove any paint

It won't remove many of the swirls but will really improve the shine
I also recommend sonus sfx 3 paint enhancer glaze and clearkote vanilla or red moose
I am waiting for new supplies of the clearkote but the paint cleanser is in stock and is an economical 1.89 litre size ($50) so you could possibly borrow some of that to use on your car

The clearkote vanilla moose by machine or hand will permanently remove some scratches and even more swirls than the cleanser and provide depth and wetness to the paint
I recommend applying all these products with an ultimate german applicator foam pad that I sell

The reason is that it is double sided, a thick rectangular shape with one side for polishing, and the other for cleansing or applying Klasse all in one or sealant glaze protectants

To get rid of 60% of swirls by hand, he needs a strong polish or a cutting compound but to remove all, he needs a rotary and very strong polish or possibly compound
using some , so called swirl mark removers, in most cases only fills them, next time you wash the car, they come back again
Unfortunately there is no other way to remove all the swirls

I can send you my new catalogue by email
Have not tried four star's swirl mark remover but that one is probably their version of Menzerna Final Polish II, a polish that you use after Menzerna Intensive polish (a mild cutting compound that acts like a polish so it doesn't cause more swirls and scratches) which old school compounds did and still do

Check out the cleanser product at this site
http://www.fourstarproducts.com

great post!

i just go to the car wash n use high pressure hose :S

Thanks for all the great tips and info.

I'm hearing from you and a lot of other detailing sites (Better Car Care, Eclipse Detailing Supplies, Detail City, ) lots of products and brands that I just don't see in the shops.

Where do we get this quality stuff?

Okay cool thanks for that mate, i will let my boss know about what you have told me. And could you please email your catalouge to me that would be great, email is XRFan_5@hotmail.com cheers dude

My boss is also interested in buying some applicator pads etc and a decent swirl remover... once i get the catalogue i will work out with him which one would be the best to get.

Thanks again

DJ - if that's all you are prepared to do, don't aim the high pressure water directly to the paint, apply it side on in vertical and horizontal angles from top to bottom

Washing update

In the last few days I have had discussions with possibly the most fanatical car detailer in the USA
We talked about microfibre wash mitts, amount of times we clean the mitt, foam guns and much more
He gave me some great tips and here they are

For those who have followed my advice and are washing their cars with the two or three bucket method, quality shampoo, wash mitts and drying towels and have hand polished or had it machine buffed and want to keep it as free of marring and swirls as possible, here are those tips

Use two wash mitts, start with one, cleaning it in the second bucket (water only) after shampooing the top half of doors, roof and one half of the bonnet
Once you have completed one side, put that one aside and go again with the second, completely clean mitt

For best lathering results, dunk the mitt into the shampoo bucket with the cuff fully open so it sucks in as much water as possible
apply a 6 inch thin line of the shampoo and then put your hand in the cuff and glide it over each panel, again cleaning it after doing the top half of doors, second half of boot and rear bumper

If you have one, get yourself a foam gun or one of those refillable containers of shampoo that attaches to the hose and works like a foam gun by dispersing shampoo all over the car
If that is too much for you or you can't find one with quality shampoo in it, do this before after doing the pre wash rinse

Fill the mitt up with the cuff open, apply a 6 inch line of product and have it horizontal to the car and spray your hose (medium pressure) at it from about two feet from the car and move the mitt and hose in closer if you need to
Work from top to bottom and re dunk the mitt to cover the car with shampoo on the other side
Remember - don't aim the hose directly at the paint

Also after doing this, dunk the mitt and squeeze it to wash away any dirt/grime off and then re dunk and wash each panel

It may sound like a long process but in actual fact it doesn't really take long and you are well onto your way to keeping your car's paint ultra slick, shiny and virtually free of swirls and marring

This person spends two hours fourty minutes just washing and drying the car alone
I am like an hour and a half max but I dry the jambs, engine bay, fuel filler, arches and more

It's well worthwhile
Those who still use chamois, how about getting an empty bucket and everytime you wring your chamois out while drying, wring it into the bucket
When finished pour the water onto your lawn, trees, plants etc

Easy hand polishing

equipment best suited to the job
Rectangular foam applicator pad (soft & rough sides) or any foam pad that is comfortable
Any liquid polish
Microfibre buffing cloths

polishing by hand is simple with today's great products
It's best to clay the paint to remove contaminants before polishing

Apply the required amount of polish onto the applicator, usually three 2 cent piece sized drops
Hold the rectangular pad and with a little bit of pressure, go over the car with quick, side to side motions from top to bottom
When polish starts to dry up, increase speed and reduce pressure
I use the rough side of the foam pad with all polishes

Remove the excess with a dry, clean microfibre cloth and to make sure it's all gone, surface is clean ready for next step and to increase lustre and depth, spray clearkote quik shine or any quick detail spray (must be wax and sealant free) onto the panel and wipe with another buffing cloth

Do each panel separately. It shouldn't take more than two to three minutes maximum to polish a panel
Start with the finest grade paint product and move up the grit scale as necessary to remove contamination, marring, swirls and grime

There are lots of polishes out there so choose wisely
Some are wet look polishes with no VOC (volatile compounds), some cut more than others and some just enhance gloss and cleanse and there are many that can only be used with a rotary buffer
using them by hand would only leave scratches or swirls
If you get the results you wish, the next step is to move to an enhancing glaze

These are what most people don't know about, don't bother to apply or their detailer does with inferior products

A glaze provides even further depth, reflection, lustre , smoothness and wetness
Some fill swirls and scratches but those that I and others use, remove any marks permanently and what's written above.

To finish off, apply a coat of polymer, super polymer or acrylic sealant or a wax or even sealant then wax

If you find your plastics and vinyls going white, then the polish or sealant you are using is made is from old school technology ingredients
Traditional polishes and sealants have lots of hydrocarbons in them and these ruin trim

More tomorrow

 

 

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Glass care

Caring for your glass is easy and can really lift the look of your car

my best advice is to clay the glass during washing or after with a fine or ultra fine grade clay bar using plenty of clay lube
this returns the glass to a smooth finish
If there are swirl marks or scratches on the glass, polish it by hand using a dedicated glass polish

Those that I use are diamondite , autoglym, p21s polishing soap, autosmart, detailers pride and sonus
The diamondite is a shaving cream type product and can be also used on other surfaces
Detailers pride is a dedicated water spot removal and restorer that has a pleasant citrus fragrance

The great thing about it is that you can use it by hand or machine
There is nothing worse than waterspots on glass

However for swirl marks, it comes time for swirl mark removers and even paint cutting compounds

What I will be doing shortly on my car to get it ready for extreme horsepower show is to clay, machine buff the glass at 700 - 1200 rpm using a foam pad with Poorboys SSR 2.5, 2 and then Clearkote vanilla moose to remove them

The poorboys can be used by hand

For anyone to do a complete glass refinishing by hand, try this process and techniques

Clay
Polish using a glass polish using a foam applicator pad or a folded microfibre cloth to remove fogginess, enhance clarity and make glass almost invisible
If there are still scratches available and you do not have access to poorboys or any paint polish or 1500-1000 grit compound, then get some autosol metal polish liquid or cream tube and apply with a lint free cloth to remove fine scratches
If you can feel the scratches with your fingernail, it's worthwhile getting the glass replaced rather than having a layer of glass cut out

To finish off I highly recommend clearkote vanilla moose, 3M imperial hand glaze or Farecla black top hand glaze to provide some wetness and mirror like effect to them

Then for ultimate results and protection, seal the glass with a polymer, super polymer or acrylic sealant

Any paint sealant will do or even PPG paints new aquapel glass treatment
Poorboys wheel sealant is another option as well
For those with tinted windows, plexus plastic polish will polish and protect the mylar tint and clearkote quik shine spray polish will keep the protectant layer topped up if used after each wash.

Quik shine is easily applied with a microfibre buffing cloth.

To prevent stone chips, pits and more and to prevent your glass from looking like a well use dart board, klasse acrylic sealant is best.

Hope this helps
PM, email or phone me at any time if you need help with any products you are using, have a query or are interested in attending a free car care clinic sometime in the future

happy motoring

Matt Gibb

Love watching this thread, but now you mention glass, what's the best method for dealing with stone chips already present?

I've got a very fine chip that's only visible when dirty. i.e. after a good wash it disappears until it gets dirty again.