The Official Car Care Thread

[silent_riot]

http://www.auto-geek.net/charts/wax-chart.pdf

Nice reference for aggressiveness of various compounds, polishes and glazes.

[nemesis]

Nice. Good reference relative to each other. Might get a little confusing if you normally reference the Meguiar's cut scale though. I noticed items on this chart seem to be 1 higher in number than on the Meguiar's scale.

[Toyopet]

I think this was covered already somewhere in here but I cant find it in the 44 pages.
Here's the deal, i have a black vehicle in good condition. I only use the Turtle Wax Premium car wash and the Turtle Wax liquid clay bar and that works for me. Just this week I started a repair job inside TCL compound

Now the dust(cement) is plentiful and I washed it today with the car wash and the hood and bonnet felt like sand paper(I use a sponge). Can I reverse that when the job is done using just the Liquid Clay Bar? Suggestions welcome, thanks

[Aaron 2NR]

^ proper clay and im sure you're gonna get swirls with that sponge and cement dust especially....

[pioneer]

Could prolly try Surf City Garage's Beyond Clay

[Toyopet]

^ proper clay and im sure you're gonna get swirls with that sponge and cement dust especially....

How long does it take to use the clay bar?

[DVSTT]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AP ... d_i=507846

This is the wax good?

[TRENDSETA]

i have a good number of fine scatches on the glass of both front doors . I've seen alot of older cars with this issue .Any ideas on how i can go about tackling this problem ?
I intend to change the glass as its already scratched but i'd like to prevent the re-occurrence of the problem

[nemesis]

Toyopet : Clay and proper washing should get it off the paint. Scratching that you may have already caused will probably not all be fixed with the turtle wax, but some will be hidden. Cater an hour for clay, maybe more if you really need a lot.
DVSTT : Yes Collinite are good products. They're known mainly for good resistance to adverse weather conditions. Not too famous for ease of use or the absolute best finish when compared to some other products though. That being said, you can get a very very good finish with them and the price is quite good.
Trendseta : You can't exactly fill scratches on glass. You can polish off the finer scratches and use a glass sealant for them to be a little less visible. If you change the glass do a couple things with the new one. Never rub any harsh products on it, pay attention to how you wash it, and every month or do, put down the glass and clean the top tracks as best as you can. If it's what I think you're talking about, older cars get it more because of the rubber strip that the glass rubs on either degrading, or accumulating too much dirt which scratches the glass while moving up/down. Also, the glass surface gets worn and older glass on cars were a bit softer.

[TRENDSETA]

Thanks for the response nemesis . It's my intention to clean the top tracks as best as I can and replace the glass in both front doors . Keeping my fingers crossed that after I'm through I don't have a re-occurrence of the issue

[nemesis]

Before you replace the glass check if any part of the track has anything rubbing against the glass also.
Could be that wear on it is allowing some hard plastic or even metal to touch the glass. Although, if it's metal it should be a very obvious scratch.

[pioneer]

Anybody wants a Meguiars NXT Tech Wax to buy?...I have a new one in box never used...paid $145 will let it go for $100...I don't really need it

[trvs]

Did a little work on Saturday evening with some Auto Glym SRP & EGP. Auto Glym Car Glass Polish on the glass.

trvs_nav_srp_egp.jpg

[pioneer]

Can SRP be used to remove swirl marks?

So far my conclusions told me no...it more or less fills the marks

[trvs]

Its a good cleaner.

What did you use to apply it? I used a microfiber towel and the Meguiar's HiTech Applicator Pad since I could not get the Auto Glym Perfect Palm Applicator or the Perfect Polishing Cloth.

[pioneer]

Well I meant my research, I haven't used it as yet.

[trvs]

orr! Lol.

Here is some beading acting thanks to the rain

trvs_nav_ag_beading.jpg

[nemesis]

Yeah, the beading is ok, not quite the best though. Good job there.

Pioneer : Yes you can get some correction out of SRP. But very little. Using it with machine and a firm foam pad will give it a bit of cut. If you really want correction you'll have to keep removing it to check how much correction you really get though. Some paint systems it actually doesn't do squat regardless in my experience.

[silent_riot]

Yeah, I wouldn't use SRP with the expectation of removing swirl marks. I remember a forum review where it was the best filler of swirls of several AIOs. If the swirls are bad, a dedicated compound or polish should be used with the proper pad for the needed cut. SRP is still a great all in one cleaner, filler and protector imo.

[pioneer]

Yeah I was reading it fills the marks, so if you ever used a cleaner wax the problem would reappear.

I have Megs Dual Action Cleaner/Polish and Diamond Cut...try the DA cleaner first?

[trvs]

Nemesis, I agree but my hood is VERRRRY vertical lol so water don't really roll off all that well when it's parked. When I was driving this evening the water rolled right off

I think I still need a good wax on top the SRP and EGP. I might try the HD Wax next weekend.

For those who mostly detail at night... what type of lighting do you use?

I may get one of these work lights or install a couple fluorescent tubes in my garage since most of my free time is in the night.

[pioneer]

Oh yeah I have the swirl free polish too...the one's in the tan bottles

no ricer ting

[trvs]

Anybody here uses a Griot's Garage 6 inch Random Orbital Polisher? I am thinking to get this instead of a PC 7424xp...

[silent_riot]

Yeah I got one, and I think nemesis has one too.

[silent_riot]

pioneer, the Swirl Free polish is rated at 3/10, the DA Cleaner Polish is rated 6/10, while the Diamond Cut is rated at 10/10 on the Meg's aggressiveness scale. I would try the least aggressive product first and work upwards if they fail, then work back down to refine the finish. Also make sure you have the correct pads for the products and job at hand.

[konartis]

need some good advice guys, looking tru the treads and finding alot of good info, but...need some info...have a car to get buffed/compound...the pain is really dull(little shining) have some small run spots an ruff spots, cant afford to pain over as a painter told me to do...another guy told me that he can rub it down an compound an polish and it would come out really good, but it have alot of work...what i want to knw is what is the best compound an polish to get the best out of the job, thanks guys...in advance

[pioneer]

Well I hit a new point of frustration

[Karim Khan]

Konartis - have you ever painted over the vehicle ?

[Karim Khan]

Well I hit a new point of frustration

With what ??

[pioneer]

Yeah I did however the painter stickin to buff it...he tell me next tues so let's see

Right now the paint dirty as hell, bird chit stains all over...water marks...disgusting that it hurts