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Store Bought Waxes Part II (No Zaino Posts)
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My Brand New '95 Millenia S Pearl White (the Unmatchable color) was damaged when my garage door hinge broke and the heavy door fell on the trunk and one fender. The body and paint job done by my great local shop (Sam's in North Hollywood) was not only undetectable over the 3 years I owned the car, but may actually have been a little better than the factory.
Don't sell them short!
People that are using the Z polymer claim that the water runs off so fast it doesn't spot - maybe you should try it or some other polymer? Perhaps if the water beading is enhanced beyond what wax can give you, the water runs off very quickly, taking the dirt/dust with it.
Good Luck!
another question: what about waxing the paint on the new plastic bumpers? i have new taurus silver frost.
Not really quite sure what it would do to the finish.
fastdriver
The Zymol you might want to check is listed on their web site (zymol.com) and runs in many compositions from $35-$45 up to thousands (really!) for a jar.
The quality of run-off from a car is of course desirable but it depends more on the design of the car than on the wax. If you have a Cadillac or something with a lot of flat surfaces, it's just going to bead and sit there; if you have a rounded design, more will run. (The designer of the Miata, Tom Matano, said that that was a test they used on the design of the original car -- they wanted it so that water would not remain on any surface to complete the "fluid" (no pun intended) design.)
Another option is to use a fairly good $70 leaf blower to push the water off the car -- it's a lot easier on it than even a towel, assuming you can stand having your neighbors gather one more bit of evidence that you're goofy as heck.
Take care.
Joe W.
I personally use both final inspection and Meguiars Qwik Detailer all the time. I hope this clears things up.
One area that doesn't seem to come up is my vinyl fenders and bumpers. For those unfamiliar with the car, the bumpers and rear fenders (actually just bottom half) are vinyl (or plastic) and are very shiny.
What should I use to keep them slick and shiny ?
TIA
On textured plastic or rubber trim-use a good non-solvent vinyl/rubber protectant like Vinylex or Black Again.
What I have concluded is these are the top three:
Zaino, Nu-Finish and Malm's. I just bought some Meguiar's "GOLD" or something. Should I even bother trying or skip right to Nu-Finish? Help! I love this car and want to keep it nice.
Terry
PS I agree -- you definitely have a clear coat finish.
If you want to upgrade to the better shine and longer lasting of a polymer finish, Zaino seems to be the best so far but I have also heard good comments about Finish First. Nu-Finish seems to last, but I don't see people raving about it.
Either way, you MUST start your new finish with a blue Dawn wash to remove all old wax and road goop, a clay job to remove grit and pollutants that have worked their way into your paint since it was new, and to smooooooth your finish.
THEN - the polish / wax of your choice. It will be worth it!
The Buick trunk and hood may need to be clayed. Can anyone describe the claying process to me? I haven't heard of it prior to reading about it here.
I am expecting my new Eldorado at any time now. It will be treated with Pinnacle Souveran Wax. I'll let you know how things turn out.
www.erazer.com
It is really a good thing to do, even on a brand new car. Besides removing all types of pollutants and particles, the paint becomes so smooth that the polish goes on and off much easier!
It is just like polishing your car, only you use a candy-bar sized piece of special clay with a lubricating spray to polish it with. Simple. Then, you wash off the clay and lube residue, and wax the car - the results are amazing.
Have fun!
(rs)
(rs)
is just deep enough to catch your fingernail in. I've taken it to two body shops and both said they would charge $50 to 'buff' it out as much as possible. This process apparently involves using
special 1500 grit sandpaper on the scratch area to
remove as much of the clear coat as necessary until the scratch goes away and then buffing the finish smooth. They said that they would not go below the clearcoat so if it was deeper than the clearcoat then the scratch wouldn't be entirely removed.
I find this procedure of sanding away the clearcoat somewhat frightening! I'm wondering if anyone has experience with using a scratch remover product on a scratch deep enough to catch your fingernail? Will repeated use of a scratch remover end up just doing the same thing of removing clearcoat or does it somehow 'fill' the scratch? I guess I don't really know how these products work.
1>fill (cover) with a polish or polymer type of product. (hairline scratches or "swirl marks", that you can see but not feel.)
2)polish with an abrasive so the scratch disappears or is not as noticable. Many different levels of abrasiveness are available
3)repair with paint (touch-up)
Sounds to me like the scratch is deeper than the clear-coat-since you say it is deep enough to catch a fingernail on. (I assume it is not down to metal or primer) Usually-if you can feel a paint scratch it is a touch-up paint repair type of problem-similar to a rock chip.
Is the body shop going to touch up the scratch with paint? If not, probably the body shop is planning on using the sandpaper (wet sanding) then a polishing compound to make the scratch less noticeable.
I don't think any type of polish could cover up that type of fairly deep scratch very well. Scratch remover? If you mean a polishing compound- that is very abrasive as well-whether applied by hand or machine-and is essentially what the body shop will be doing-you might want to leave that to a pro.
You could use a very fine abrasive (fine cut)-but if it is a deep scratch that would only make the scratch slightly less noticeable.
a paint repair (touch-up) is the safest way to go. However it is sometimes difficult to do, if the scratch is very narrow but deep. Some detail shops and body shops do airbrush type repairs that do a pretty good job of covering up scratches-you might check into that.
If so - There are some kits for polishing out windshield scratches - maybe that would work? Good Luck!
About the Qwik detailer, a few post back someone mentioned that it might scratch the paint. I thought you are supposed to use the Detailer between car washes to clean up dirt and bird doo and such. What is the proper way to use the detailer?
Last question: there are many comments about the durability on the Meguiars wax (I am more interested in the gloss.) Won't useing a spray-on wax beween major waxes prolong the life of the wax? The spray-on stuff doesn't take very long to put on and wipe off. I can do it after washing without adding too much more time to the whole thing.
I just bought a silver Acura and want to keep it looking new. Any help from you folks is much appreciated.
As for the difference between the "step 3" wax, and Gold Class: from what I understand the "step 3 wax" is the "consumer" version of Meguiar's #26 Hi-Tech Yellow, which Meguiar's bills as a blend of polymers, carnauba, and silicone. Gold Class, on the other hand, is a polymer based protectant, that contains no carnauba.
Clay:I have used this type of product, but only infrequently to remove tree sap spots, however many people rave about it and use it regularly to clean their car's paint-others advise only using it for paint problems such as overspray and tree sap, that can't be removed any other way.
Advocates for using clay claim that it removes rail dust, industrial fallout and other contamination that are present even in brand-new cars.
Quick Detailer:I usually use these types of products only after washing, in order to remove any waterspots, and to provide a better shine, and extend wax longevity. Occasionally I will use a quick detailer type of product to remove gas spillage from overfilling my tank, or on bugs.
Others claim these types of products can be used in between washing to remove light coatings of dust-I don't think anyone recommends their use on a heavily soiled car.
One thing I would be very careful about is removing bird droppings-it is important to remove them quickly-but I would hesitate to use a quik detailer type of product to remove them. Birds eat dirt and small stones as part of their digestive regimen, and when they poop on your car, that grit is deposited on the paint-I think it is safer to just half-fill a bucket with water and a small amount of car wash soap, and just wash the section where they went. Then I rinse the area with a bucket of water-kind of a pain-but I think it is a better way to avoid scratching the paint with their grit.
Here are some car care websites with advice and information (be forewarned-they all also sell stuff):
http://www.autopia-carcare.com
http://motorhead.net/home.htm
http://www.dccarcare.com
http://www.carcareonline.com
fencer1--I like to clay my cars. It's non-abrasive and works well to remove the "nasties" from your finish. I've only had to clay the whole car once and afterwards, use it for "toucing up" areas. It's great for removing any residual bird droppings (once moistnened), tree sap, tar, etc. Most "cleaners" contain some sort of abrasive to remove the above. This causes swirling.
"Quick detailers" don't contain abrasives. That said, if you are using a quick detailer on a dirty car, you will experience scratching. Wash you car before using a quick detalier.
jster has some good suggestions about other products you can use. Personally, I don't even use quick detailers on dusty cars. I just go ahead and wash. It doesn't take that much longer than using the quick detailers. This way I can be assured of not scratching the paint.
I tried wetting the cloth with lacquer thinner instead of Langka and using it the same way as Langka and it worked just the same. So rather than spend $20 for Langka, just get a plastic card, an old tee shirt and a can of lacquer thinner.
Mr. Vivona
However our other vehicle is a Black Maxima, and it has a tendency to scratch very easily; seems I can't wash this (black) car without finding another scratch on it... And I do everything by the book: 100% cotton towels, no harsh materials, etc, etc...
For this reason I've been very hesitant use the water blade on it. Anyway, I'm curious to know if there are any other California Water Blade users out there? If so, I would appreciate your comments about it... with use on dark (black) paint. Thanks ahead of time. ;-)
Pocahontas,
Community Leader/Coupes, Convertibles, and Sportscars
Honestly, I think it is a little risky - if any little bit of grit is left on the surface, I would think the Blade could easily create a scratch.
And to tell you the truth, since I still have to go behind it with a towel, I'm not sure that it saves very much time at all. Lately, I have not even been using it, for that reason, but it does take a second towel without it.
MHO, for whatever it is worth... I think there has also been some discussion of this product in the Zaino topics, and in Paint and Body Care, if you want to go looking for the posts.
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
Pocahontas,
community Leader/Coupes, Convertibles, and Sportscars Conference
This, of course, will cause scratches and swirls on the finish...much more noticeable on darker colors than lighter colors.
I think it's next to impossible to keep swirls off of any finish, no matter how careful you are. People will lean up against your car wearing "scratchy" clothes, it's difficult to get the surfaces totally grit free no matter how careful you are in your washing, etc. The best we can hope for is to minimize them by using 100% cotton towels (or chamois).
The water blade tends to work best on big, flat surfaces (like a van). The Maxima has many compound curves, which makes it more difficult for the water blade to get the water out of the curved areas. I do like the water blade for the windows, though.
I can see where it would cut down drying time on a van. The more complex the curves of your vehicle, the less effective it will be.
dave