Believe me anyone can be a successful carer of their car

Instrument cluster

In most cases, the plastic covering the gauges etc is overlooked or just de dusted
Here is what I do to mine occasionally
Really helps keep it scratch free and sparking clean for longer


GOLDEN RULE - never wipe with any rags, even clean ones can leave scratches
Microfibre is the only way to go

Polish lightly with a foam or microfibre pad with any plastic polish
Doesn't matter what brand really

I like to enhance mine with clearkote vanilla moose and red moose

To finish off, a plastic sealant or any type of paint sealant (be it polymer, super polymer, acrylic, ceramic etc) it doesn't matter
A couple of light coats left on for an hour is great

Last time I used klasse acrylic but next time I will get out the wolfgang plastic sealant

Don't buff hard, that material is extremely easy to marr

Same goes for black (non body colour) side mirror backings.
Machine or hand polishing and any protection system will have it looking better than the paint and prevent or seriously reduce the bugs /stone chips from pitting and chipping it


AU Falcon owners - to prevent all exterior mouldings (especially vertical door plastics) from being chipped and leaving it full of white spots, please clean and then protect with multiple coats

Twin spoiler XR6 owners - those that haven't painted the top wing
To make it glossier - apply a coat of tire gel, leave for a couple hours and then protect it every couple months with a paint sealant or wax

What I've done on mouldings
Vanilla moose, autoglym 07B vinyl and rubber, wolfgang tire gel
a few hours later, Klasse SG x 3 coats and 2 coats of carnuaba wax

Seven years later - not a chip on any
I've seen so many AU's with this and it's a real turnoff
A few people have painted them gloss black and that is one alternative
Looks killer

My best advice - protect every surface of your car multiple times as following

Two to seven months for paint and two to three for everything else

Happy motoring
Matthew

Hey matthew,

I'm hoping you can help me out here, my sister has a red 88 Honda Accord (I know not a ford) and she was getting small white patches on her roof and bonnet. Today she washed the car by hand using Armor-all car wash and the entire roof and bonnet have gone white. It looks shocking. She was going to cut and polish it but I have told her not to until I get your advice. I have included a couple of pics to show you what I mean.

This white s**t wont rub off, but if you get the panel wet it disappears until the panel dries again.

Any ideas?

Cheers Alex.

Hi mate

Looks like bleaching/oxidation from living very close to the beach or frequenting the beach on very windy days
Salt is not friendly to paint

Along with that, looks like the sun's UV rays have done some serious damage
If the paint hasn't been machine polished more than two or three times, there should be enough paint left to fix it without removing too much paint or clearcoat (if it's a clearcoat paint job)
Most 88 cars, especially jap cars were not clearcoated
the very front of the bonnet looks like water drip damage due to it not being dried in time every time it's washed

Sadly that needs the assistance of an edge yellow or black foam pad and my makita 9227CB rotary
Do you want to bring it to my clinic next sunday and I'll try and fix it for you when we have a lunch break.
Good thing is you get it fixed (hopefully) and it shows everyone there what a rotary can do

thanks for the pic

All the best and PM me if you can make it to the clinic or let me know the most convenient time for you to bring it to me

Now I have finally come to probably the most overlooked and neglected section of a vehicle - the wheel arches

I see 99% of cars daily with dirty, muddy, orange colored arches, both the black protective coated metal and the plastics
If you detail the arches, the look of your car can improve dramatically

Here is what I do, please add your own tips if you have any

Each wash - shampoo wheels, tyres and arches with a quality car shampoo using two buckets (1 x shampoo, 1 x water), a sea sponge and wheel brush

The wheels/tyres get cleaned with the sponge which is rinsed 2-3 times for each wheel and the entire arch area is thoroughly cleaned (after high pressure blasting) with the brush, I always ensure that the bottom inside edge of the rear quarter panel is cleaned to the point where I cannot feel any grit in there.

After shampooing you have a myriad of things/products you can do/use on them depending on what type of result you want
This is what I have done

SONUS trim & motor kote on the metals - is an acrylic wax that protects engine bay metals and plastics and wheel arches
That provides more protection from chips etc and enhances the look

Wolfgang black diamond tire gel on the metals to provide a jet black glossy look

On the plastics - autoglym 07B vinyl and rubber cleaner - rub in and wipe off a few minutes later.
Optimum protectant plus - spray and wipe
Wolfgang black diamond tire gel

Other things I could do on the plastics

Autoglym vinyl and rubber care spray - top stuff - spray on and walk away

OMIKRON RD BLACK wheel arch coating - brush on is best
It provides the blackest, shiniest results I have gotten and lasts ages but is messy. Do not spray on as your left with drips and runs that look horrible

Forever black trim shield
303 aerospace protectant spray

Even a simple spraying with any aerosol tire shine provides a short term very nice result

Metals - if you have the time, after cleaning - spray on an underbody sealer or use a gloss black spray paint - apply a few coats and to finish off, spray two to three coats of acrylic clearcoat which is available from most auto parts stores.
Really, no matter what you use, it's best to do it after each wash
Only takes a few minutes but is really worth it

If left long enough , the wheel arch plastics will fade and require serious cleaning with a plastic restorer like vanilla moose


GOLDEN RULE
Make sure when high pressure cleaning the arches that you keep the gun moving quickly. It can take only seconds of spraying in one area for the black protective coating to be stripped off by the pressure

Matt

 

 

Attachments:

omikron rd black pics3.jpg [ 33.4 KiB | Viewed 296 times ]

That tyre is in desperate need of attention

Yes everyone says that who sees that photo
It's from 2002 after washing the paint with acid fallout remover which I will not use again for the rest of my life. That stuff is horrible.

Dries out tyres, softens clearcoat which can lead to scratching and stings your skin big time even when you wear gloves.

Today I have a few questions for members to answer.
Don't have to but it will help me help you if you want it


1. How much time do you spending cleaning/detailing your car each week
2. Are there any aspects of detailing that you find difficult or too hard
3. Does your car have any scratches,scuffs,marring or other defects that you cannot remove
4. Are you the only one in your family that cares about a car's appearance
5. would you find a product that works and stick with it or search for something better
6. Is there something you really like about detailing your car
7. how long does it take you (approx) to solely wash and dry your car


Late notice but anyway - SA car care clinic #2 - advanced level
This sunday at my place - PM me if interested. 11.30am -3pm approx
two breaks in between

1. Weekly 2hrs, Prep for a show, 2 days!
2. My knees give out polishing/waxing low areas of the car. Need a hoist
3. Yeah some scratches, and a botched touch up job on the bonnet. Paint is generally in very good condition.
4. Yeah
5. Normally, unless I get a recommendation from someone I'd trust (or saw proof).
6. Driving along and seeing the sky on my bonnet.
7. ~10min wash, then chamoi dry ~20 mins

I can get pics of the scratch and bonnet if you want. I normally avoid pictures showing those flaws

1. Wash the car about each 4-6 weeks.
2. No, not really. Although I'm not that thorough
3. Yep. Clear coat has peeled away in patches on the
passenger door.
4. The g'friend thinks it looks good cleaned up.
5. I just stick with the heavy duty Armour-all car wash stuff.
6. Comes up pretty good for a 13 year old car. I like the
cardinal red colour when its shiny.
7. Takes about 1 hour.

1. Wash every couple of weeks
2. Polishing takes the pissout of your arms
3. There's one or two small scratches but nothing worth worrying about
4. No, Mum has an X5 that she gets detailed every week, but doesn't do it herself
5. Stick with the good stuff (Mequires)
6. The 'wet look' end result
7. Wash 'n' Dry - 1 hr to an hour and a half

Last edited by offyaguts on Fri Dec 02, 2005 1:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

1. How much time do you spending cleaning/detailing your car each week?
A: Each week roughly 2 Hours, if doing the whole lot properly id set aside an afternoon lol.

2. Are there any aspects of detailing that you find difficult or too hard?
A: POLISHING used to drive me nuts; however I’m slowly finding better ways to make it heaps easier, however still time consuming.

3. Does your car have any scratches, scuffs, marring or other defects that you cannot remove?
A: Have a couple of hairline scratches a paint chips here n there like everyone does..

4. Are you the only one in your family that cares about a car's appearance?
A: No, however I’m certainly the one with an eye to detail.

5. Would you find a product that works and stick with it or search for something better?
A: If it works well I will stick to it for sure; of course when I’m in an auto store I can’t help buying the fancy looking stuff to give it a go, some a lot better than others I find.

6. Is there something you really like about detailing your car?
A: The New Car feeling you have on the 1st drive afterwards & the mirror like finish of the paint.

7. How long does it take you (approx) to solely wash and dry your car?
A: To just wash and dry I’d say an Hour not inc. wheels.

1. How much time do you spending cleaning/detailing your car each week?
A : maybe a hour.

2. Are there any aspects of detailing that you find difficult or too hard?
A : Glass I HATE glass

3. Does your car have any scratches, scuffs, marring or other defects that you cannot remove?
A : No

4. Are you the only one in your family that cares about a car's appearance?
A : Yes

5. Would you find a product that works and stick with it or search for something better?
A : i keep looking their's a shelf in the shed thats just of car washes and other car cleaning items.

6. Is there something you really like about detailing your car?
A : gets me out of the house.....

7. How long does it take you (approx) to solely wash and dry your car?
A : 1.5-2hrs easily.

Great thankyou for the replies guys

Data mine - a height adjustable office chair may be the go for you buddy. I use one on occasion as my dad's fairly new hoist always has his clubman racecar on it
not saying you are doing it wrong but 10 minutes to wash does seem a little too quick to keep wash enduced swirl marks on your car down to a bare min
At the very least, please try the two or three bucket wash method and use purified water and warm tap water for the shampoo bucket.

Polishing by hand still seems to be a problem for people

Things I can recommend.
Find the thickest and biggest foam applicator pad and use that
Those tiny meguiars applicators cause nothing but arthritis and cramp
GPI Contour pads are better, bit bigger and thicker

My pad of choice is the ultra german applicator which there is a pic of in this thread, first page I think
Features a side for low to medium level cutting and other side for soft polishes, paint sealants and glazes

offyaguts - there is better IMO but for products that are readily available at most auto parts stores, I do recommend mothers fx and reflections lines, meguiars , autoglym and bowdens own
Each have a product that will suit anyone and allow excellent results by hand

ovo616 - what cloths and window cleaner are you using on the glass
The wrong type of cloths and inferior quality glass cleaners (especially household ones), can cause all kinds of problems

The glass cleaners can contain a high amount of surfactants which is basically "surface active agents) which are what makes shampoo's and dishwashing liquid go sudsy when come in contact with water
These cause bad smearing and streaking

Some pro detailers still use newspaper and metho but I won't use that on my sealant protected glass

Best thing I've done -switching to ultra microfibre cloths
They really do work. in most cases just a spritz of water is enough

Go around the outside edges of each window, then do five side to side wipes from top to bottom, turn over cloth and finish.
Sometimes two cloths, obviously one dry, one damp can help heaps
A paint quick detail spray can be a good choice. not all are suitable for glass but give some a try.


Matty

My paint defects.

Scratch:
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Touch Up:
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