Paint and Body Care

automophile

Yep - Pledge is fine on leather. Just give it a light dusting with Pledge, rub it in and then buff with the dry side of the cloth. It is not as good as a Lexol treatment, but keeps it nice in between. For small surfaces, spray a little on the cloth first.

gladichecked

Is there such thing as acid dew...lol? I waxed my car with Meguires Gold Class about 3 weeks ago. I washed it Saturday and dried it with a chamois. The car looked great and was still beading great. We have had a few chilly nights lately and this morning there was dew on the top and trunk of the car. The dew had beaded up in tiny little beads. When I came out of work today there was residue on the top and trunk of my car (you could see the little bead marks). I ran my finger across it and it came off. It seems like the cleaner I try to keep my car the more the dirt devils try to attack me...lol.

pblevine

And then again, acid do not. I think that in your case, dust in the air settled overnight in the pattern of the dew. When the dew evaporated, the dust pattern was left behind. Acid rain is highly overrated, dust is not - but its a simpler and many times more correct answer. There's no real solution. Well, maybe a good anti-static spray would help.

automophile

Perhaps it was the dust ALREADY on the car that the dew made little circles in. When you get home, before the car cools off, dust it with a California Duster to remove the day's build-up, and perhaps it will be cleaner in the morning after the dew evaporates.

gladichecked

My only other conclusion was airborne particles. ;^) Can you tell I used to do environmental testing? I hadn't driven the car since I washed and dried it on Saturday until yesterday when I noticed it. I don't live in a dusty area, we have had enough rain so the air is not dusty, and I don't remember anything dusty/dirty/etc on my way to work. And even weirder...there was dew on the car again this morning and when I got to work the spots from yesterday were gone...hmmm. The California Duster is a great idea, but most of the time I get home after dark this time of year (and usually in a very tired state). I think after the Meguires is gone (maybe sooner) it might be time to try something zifferent. ;^)

gladichecked

the spots are not gone, just much less noticeable than yesterday. They seem to show up better (or worse) at dusk when I get out of work. I know one thing...my next house WILL have a garage.

mike_542

Scotchguard: Found it in Home Depot, and tried it on after cleaning the mats. I haven't found any differences, since I seldom get them dirty. But, I'm sure it helps if you pour something on them. Overall, it's probably useful, but not for me.

Lexol: Very good! I find the cleaner to be subpar with other brands, though. I enjoy the conditioner the most. It leaves it supple and soft.

Blech-Wite: Very strong! But I find it hard to use, since it's so messy. The easiest results are by using a sponge.

jwilson1

I have a new mini-SUV with roof rack that my wife loves -- she plans to keep her new Sube for a "long time." (The last car she had for six years and she only thought it was 'okay,' so I'm not sure what a long time will mean!)

I'd like to keep the black, glossy plastic both black and glossy with minimal fussiness -- any suggestions of what will work well over the loooong term?

BTW, I've used blechewhite in a spray bottle on my tires for years. It does a consistently fine job. One car has BBS wheels, the other has lacquered alloys ... I've never had a problem or taken any special care. I just do the tires before I wash the car so that any overspray is washed off.

Take care.
Joe W>

kyleknicks

that's a good question! what can be used to keep the plastic trim and also the rubber trims on a new car as new as possible?

automophile

mike_542 - the benefits of Scotchguard are long-term. You will find that grease, etc. doesn't stick as it would have.

Do 1/2 a mat and you will see!

Glad you like the Lexol - it really works well. Be sure to put it on with your hands, rubbing it in well, then buff off after it sits a while.

tommyslash3

have a black CR-V, decided to treat it with some detailing. i asked about some scratches. detailer suggested glaze instead of trying to buff out. is that good? isn't glaze like rubbing compound?

vernlew

Glaze (or sometimes used interchangeably with the term Polish) is supposed to be like "fine" sandpaper...Compound is supposed to be like "course" sandpaper. You would normally use a glaze to remove small scratches, swirl marks, and minor contaminants from the paint (along with a minute amount of paint!) Many very good products available...3M Imperial Hand Glaze readily available at Pep Boys. Most car buffs rec glazing your car (prior to waxing) no more than twice a year. This will also shine up the finish by removing oxidized paint. Compound is a heavy duty abrasive...maybe used for a very neglected car.
Vern

tommyslash3

vernlew, thanks for the good info. still debating whether to glaze or have pros buff the car. the car is two years old, wondering if glaze is something for older cars. Wondering which is harsher on paint, buffing or glazing?

automophile

It takes off less paint, and may be all you need.

vernlew

tommy,
agree with automophile...always try to use the least invasive method first...so a glaze seems like a good start...good luck.
Vern

98monte_ls

Can someone give me some advice on how to get lovebugs' residue off my car paint?? It's been about a week. Am I doomed to have to repaint my car?

I need some help fast!

anonymous

hey guys, thanks for the advice. tried the glaze. had my car detailed (wash, glaze, wax) .. looks great. glaze seems not to create swirl marks except you can see where he rubbed to try to remove spots, but not too bad. other than that, the glaze seems to have really freshened up paint

mike_542

An important step some detailers skip is surface prep. Surface prep cleans the paint better than washing. You will not want to wax over contaminants. This will seal it and scratch the paint. I reccomend clay bars for surface preps

daverose

It might have helped if you told this forum what you have tried. Presumably you have washed your vehicle and bug remover. Something like Avon Skin-So-Soft might dissolve bug residue. You might next try claying. While probably not available in the car care section of department, grocery, and drug stores, there are any number of brands available in local and chain auto stores; Clay Magic and Mother's come to mine. If you are using a carnauba wax, once you remove the reside, you might want to consider switching to a polymer protectant, which is more a penetration-resistant sealant. Or you might investigate something like a transparent nose guard that I've read 3M now makes.

liz28

Hi all, I have a brown metallic Honda that hasn't been waxed regularly. In 2 rainy days, it got sprinkled w/ Pine Sap. I have tried bug/tar remover, Goo Gone, and rubbing alcohol, but each product seems to remove only the center of the sap-drop. This sap has also gotten real hard, probably from being parked in the sun and the temps being cold. I haven't tried clay (I had never heard of it)--will it work on a dirty unwaxed car--should I wash it first? DOes the product come with directions? Any other suggestions? Thanks

graphicguy

Definitely wash your car first. If the sap is dry, then go to NAPA Autoparts, Pep Boys or the like and buy some "Clay Magic". The instructions that come with the clay will tell you how to use it.

Let us know how it works out.

pickelfish

Just bought a 2000 nissan sentra se and to my surprise it looks like some work was done on the edge of the door(drivers side)that lines up with the left front fender. Took it to a body shop for a second opinion and they made it sound like its nothing unusual for a new car to have these minor repairs. But what makes me mad is that the repair was never disclosed to me by the dealer. I plan on filing a complaint thru our state atty for nondisclosure and I am wondering if any of you out there has had this experience. Any feedback is appreciated.

silvercoupe

Don't know if even "clay magic" will take off pine sap (we call it pine rosin down South). I have had to resort to mineral spirits (paint thinner) to get it off. Good luck.

vernlew

Graphicguys rec of treating with a "clay" products seems pretty good to me...if they are out of "Clay Magic"...I have read many people have very good results with "Mother's Clay", also available at Pep Boys.

Silvercoupes rec of "mineral spirits" was more in line with what I have had very good success with...Turtle Wax brand of Bug & Tar remover...it comes in a can...and smells like it is full of petrol distillates...works well.

With any of these treatments, you should wax afterwards with your favorite auto wax.

Vern

robr2

Every state has its own laws regarding repairs of
new cars. Generally, if it is less than $X, the
dealer does not have to disclose the repairs to the buyer. You should check out what your state
says.

New cars get damaged quite often during transport
and delivery and this is the normal process.

I am not trying to defend the dealer's actions. I
always plan on a couple of hours to go over a new
car when picking it up. Better to discover it up
at delivery than a week later.

pblevine

Like the man said, try "claying" your car. Been there, done that!

hoseman

There is a recessed panel on the Jeep tailgate to which the license plate attaches. On my Jeep ('93 Grand Cherokee Laredo) this panel rattles, and actually seems to be gradually coming loose! I don't know how this panel attaches to the tailgate, but I did notice that the license plate is attached with only 2 bolts through its top edge while the bottom 2 holes are vacant. Can this problem be rectified by simply installing a pair of bolts, or does it need to go into the shop.

silly1040

I just ordered a 3M product that is clear and goes on the front of the car instead of a bra. They have more info. and pictures at their web site. www.xpel.com

lovemygirls

Anybody used Vinylex on bumpers,running boards?

cenotaph

I haven't read all of the posts here, so I don't know if this has been asked before. I'm renting an apartment and don't have access to an outdoor hose. Also, all of my friends also rent and, AFAIK, don't have access to an outdoor hose. So, in this situation, what's the best way to clean my car? I realize that a brush type automatic car wash should be avoided, but is a pay-as-you-go wand type preferable to a brushless automatic? In either case, what wax/polish products would be best to use when you can't choose what product the car is washed with?

Also, I live in MA and found the following product, which I saw posted to a board, interesting. Does anyone have any experience with it or similar products?

http://www.stratmosphere.com/ultimate_snowbrush.htm

liz28

I am going to try removing sap from my car this weekend--I will post the results.

kyleknicks

Silly, can you let us know how that plastic film comes out on your car? Seems like a very good product.

silly1040

You bet. I have my fingers crossed. I'll update this post as soon as I'm done.

98monte_ls

After my southbound trip, when the bugs were worst, all I could do was wash the car a few days later because I was very busy. I didn't get that many more bugs on the return (northbound) trip. I washed the car after returning and the bug imprints did not come off. When I got some free time 10 days later, I used bug/tar remover and it did nothing. Then I got TurtleWax's POLISH compound and that took off 90% of the bug imprints from the hood, bumper, and mirrors.

However, now those polished areas have very light swirl/scratch marks which are only visible under certain light conditions and looks a little "hazy" under certain other light conditions. Any recommendations?

daverose

My post 690 advised that you use clay. In my limited experience, I find that that is a product/technique that is the most aggressive before going to anything abrasive to, surprise, avoid scratching your paint. My perceived order of aggressiveness/abrasiveness is: polishing glaze, polish, polishing compound, or rubbing compound. I advise that for the 10% of bug marks you still have, to clay. erazer.com, I believe it is, will explain claying. Be careful in two respects with claying: be aware that there are different types of clay and be careful using the clay itself. I understand that Clay Magic has at least two types of clay, a red one, which has abrasive in it and, I believe, a blue one which does not; other brands of clay are usually yellow. The other aspect of claying is to insure that you do not drop the clay onto the ground while using it; you could pick up grit and turn the clay into a sandpaper block. The instructions that come with the clay should fully explain those pitfalls.

As for remedying the scratches that seem to have resulted from your polishing, I have had success in filling in scratches using Zaino Brother's Z-5, @ $16.95, the formulation for filling in scratches and swirl marks. Z-5 is one of three polish products designed to be used after Z1, PolishLok, the base Zaino product, @$8.95. You can read about Zaino at zainobros.com and email Sal Zaino at sal@zainobros.com to find out if there is a distributor near you so that you might save the $6.95 Zaino shipping and handling charge. Because there are some hyper-sensitive folks in these forums, I feel I need to disclose to you that I am a Zaino Distributor as a side line. I've been accused of touting Zaino AND denigrating other products to my personal benefit. I only recall advising folks how to use Zaino, or answering what Zaino products might fill a Town Hall poster's expressed desire, such as your's, and only recall repeating others' problems with other products. When a satisfied customer of mine cited that I was a distributor in our area, I removed my email address and geographical information from my profile so that I would not be improperly using edmunds.com's forum. I am not saying that the Z1/Z5 combination of products is the only way to remove the scratches; it's one I found to be very satisfactory. The funny thing about my being "exposed," as some seem to like to characterize it, is that I had two contacts immediately following that incident, but have had no sales related to those contacts. So the sales I churned up before and after "exposure" total ZERO; for you language parsing detectives I have had no benefit direct or otherwise innur to me through the various edmunds.com forums.

mike_542

Recently, I borrowed my friends Zymol Estate "Vintage" Wax and I decided to test it out! I was pretty sure that it would last much longer than others considering it's $1402.50. (That wasn't a typo, I mean $1,402.50! One thousand, four hundred, two dollars and fifty cents.) Anyways, I applied "Vintage" onto the half of my hood of my 2001 BMW X5, and Zaino Bros' Z-5 polish onto the other.

So was the $1,402.50 worth it? Well, the $1402.50 wax was smoother and glossier than Zaino right after polishing. Interestingly though, the great shine didn't last long. So overall, the results are disapointing! The extraordinary gloss didn't last as long as I expected...

pblevine

Really? $1,402.50 for a can of wax? That's hard to believe. What makes it so expensive?

sddlw

I couldn't help it. After reading through so many pro-Zaino posts on this forum and others I decided I had to try it. I have been a Meguiers guy for a while now. I began with my wife's 84 380SL which is in pretty good shape paint-wise, but still far from perfect. Did the wash, clay, polish lock, three coats of Z5 polish to hide the swirls, and finally got a coat of Z2 on it as a top coat. My, my , my what a difference. The car looks like I poured liquid glass on it. And best of all it is a perfect yet harmless outlet for my obsessive-compulsive side. I'll probably put a few more coats on before I'm done, but I've got to admit, even at this point, this stuff far out perfoms anything I've used in the past.

xtmphan

Has anyone used their Acrylic Paint Protector product (from Erazer) ? Is this worth the effort? How effetive is it? I've recently bought a new black Acura. The dealer is trying to sell me their Paint Protector package. I am looking for other options beside what being offered by the dealer. I also read alot positive comments about Zaino products.

Thanks,
TP

sddlw

Don't buy the dealer's stuff. It is a waste of money, and nothing but a profit maker for the dealer. Keeping a good wax job on your car is by far the best way to care for it. There are many, many products. Something as simple as an over the counter polymer polish like Eagle One applied every 6 months will do more for you in the long run, and will make cleaning all those bugs and tar etc, very easy.

But if you want more of a "show-car" quality shine, or become one of the car-obsessed (we will probably have a 12-step program for us soon), look into the better, higher end products. I used Meguier's before switching to Zaino. Both are good and have a wide range of products. Meguires has a professional series of products in addition to their home use stuff, and a very trusted restoration shop near me swears by their stuff.

Now that I've tried Zaino though, I'm thinking I'll be a loyal customer for some time. I'm really impressed with the quality and depth of the shine and the hide properties for the swirl marks. It really looks like I poured glass on the car the shine is so deep.

For more info, go to:
http://www.zainobros.com/
http://www.meguiars.com/

There are lots of tips on car care and how to avoid the swirl marks in the first place, how to hide them once they have occured, etc.

sddlw

Here are a few things I do to get things off my cars.

Wash the area with Dawn dish soap. The high alkaline soap really cleans things off very well, but will not harm the paint. It actually strips the wax off the washed area though, so be sure to reapply wax afterwards.

Use a surface cleaning agent like Meguier's Clear Coat Cleaner.

Use a clay cleaner like Zaino or Clay magic.

If all else fails, use toothpaste. But not a high-abrasive whitening brand. Just Crest or Colgate. These have very mild aprasives in them which are too fine to leave visible sratches. NEVER use the over the counter polishing compounds. They are way too abrasive.

Work with a high quality 100% cotton cloth or buffer bonnet. Polyester in the cloths can cause fine scratches and swirls over time.

And keep a good coat of wax on your car. Everything will come off easier and the paint will not oxidize.

eagle63

I went to checker's last week and bought one of those car washing "mitts" that you wear like a glove. big mistake. after about 10 minutes of washing, I noticed that the mitt was shedding little "fibers" all over my truck. arrgghhh!!! what gives? -have you guys ever had this problem? should I just use a plain old sponge instead?

sddlw

I think you are best off using 100% cotton towels. Cut some up for the washing and applying polish, and use the big bath towels for wiping off the dry polish flim. To avoid scratching the clear coat with the dirt you are trying to wash off, you want something that will pull the dirt particles into the material and keep it away from the paint surface, but still wash out quickly and thoroughly. And when you wash them to get them clean, do not use any fabric softener.

silvercoupe

I have found that it is best to run a new wash mitt thru the washer and dryer before using. This seems to take out all the little fibers and strings.

joe166

Those little fibers that fall off will come off when you rinse the car and so they don't matter. If you are real picky, then do as suggested and wash and dry the mitt, but be prepared to clean the filter on both your washer and dryer. I find it easier to hose the threads off the car. It is obviously a matter of opinion, but I find a wash mitt easier to use than almost anything else. I usually don't actually put my hand in it so sometimes I buy a terry covered block of sponge that looks like a wash mitt. They don't last long enough to worry about. Won't be long before you need something else and then you can experiment with a sponge or tear up old towels.

silvercoupe

I wash and dry my mitt(s) after each car washing. May be a little overkill, but it gets out any dirt and grit that may have accumulated while washing the car.

pokeyjoe17

1) I have a white 99' S-10. I have found that someone keyed my car within the last week. I want to treat the problem soon. The scatch is barely noticeable due to the white color (or is this primer that I am seeing?). However, there is a small area where the paint is exposed. I have read posts regarding touch-up paints and levelers. My biggest concern is the groove that they key left. I would like to remove the groove by filling it with something so dirt does not collect in it. Anybody have any suggestions? I figure that once the groove has been taken care of, it will be unoticeable since there is no color contrast.

2) After treating the scratch, I will detail the car before winter. What is the quickest way to remove the older wax?

3) I have a bar of McGuire's clay and want to know how much of it I should be using if I were to treat the whole surface (except the bed)? (or in a sense how much should be left when I am finished)

4) As for the bed, I have a removable bedliner that was only put on a few months ago. I was told to put on a coat of wax without removing it before putting in the liner. Is this a good idea?

Thanks, Joe

sddlw

Same thing happened to me. I guess some these days you've got to be thankful the punk who did it chose that way of venting whatever small minded fustrations he has rather than choosing to use a gun.

It really is hard to hide a deep scratch without using a good body shop. If you are going to try to fill the scratch, first wash the area with dishwashing soap. The brand "Dawn" has a high alkaline content that will strip off all of the old wax very quickly. Once it is dry, shake the touch up paint until your arms are about to fall off to get it well mixed, then use a toothpick to dap it into the scratch. Let it dry and repeat. It will take a day or more before the paint is completely dry and "flat" to the surface. You can dap up any excess with a rag wetted with mineral spirits or paint thinner, but be careful and quick. Unfortunately, the area will never be quite the same.

If the scratch did not go through all of the paint on the car, but just marred the top layer, you might try buffing the area with a high quality "glaze". Meguier's makes several different grits. Always try to go with the least abrasive that will work for you, and finish with the finest grit they offer. NEVER use the rubbing compound made for the do-it-yourselfers. They are too abrasive.

Claying the car calls for a lot of work. It's not complicated though. I've done it to several cars. Just keep the surface lubricated with a small amount of soapy water in a spray bottle while you are rubbing. You might check out Meguier's web page or e-mail them for directions, since you already have their product. http://www.meguiars.com/
You really do not consume the clay bar. But you do keep folding it around to keep te top surface fresh. Once the clay cannot be "freshened" by folding, or you get some dirt particles that can scratch your paint imbedded, it is time to get a new bar. So you can see why a really good wash is important before the claying.

Never heard about leaving unbuffed wax under a bedliner. Why would you?

mercedesdebest

I own a 1970 Red Mustang and I was wondering how to get rid of some rust. I've heard of using toothpaste and Autosol's paint restorer. Are their any other products to remove rust?

Removing keymarks are pretty simple. If it is not very deep, I reccomend Zaino Bro's clay. If it shows the car body, I reccomend a scratch remover.

kyleknicks

any one used those high pressure washer on your cars?? i find them convenient and very fast. any thoughts?