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FogHelmut posted:Will a drive through car wash strip all the wax off of my car? No, and it will scratch your paint.
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May 21, 2014 17:12
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FogHelmut posted:Will a drive through car wash strip all the wax off of my car? Unless its a "touchless" one that only sprays jets of water/soap, as said above, stay far far away.
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May 21, 2014 17:15
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Never knew touchless washes were hard to find, they far outnumber the ones that touch your car around here. You can trip over a touchless wash every 2-3 miles. They are easier to maintain as a turnkey business since there are fewer moving parts so I would think they would be far more common than any other type. The only potential danger with the touchless is if their chemical mix is out of whack. It obviously won't do as nice as job as a hand wash, but they are a godsend in the winter when you want to get salt off your car.
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May 21, 2014 19:40
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I just found one nearby that is at a gas station next to the freeway so if I ever need a good rinse I just run it through and hop on the freeway and boom, dry car.
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May 21, 2014 20:17
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Has anyone here ever tried repairing their own wheel rash?
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May 23, 2014 06:16
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I'm going to be attempting that soon, on my e46's stock 17's. Research indicates it should be fairly easy.
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May 23, 2014 14:33
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blk posted:Has anyone here ever tried repairing their own wheel rash? Yeah. I did it with bondo and then sanded and painted over it and it was a 95% improvement. Probably not the best way to fix it but it looked a lot nicer.
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May 23, 2014 16:03
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CountOfNowhere posted:I'm going to be attempting that soon, on my e46's stock 17's. Research indicates it should be fairly easy. Got a link to a guide you're following?
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May 24, 2014 00:26
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blk posted:Got a link to a guide you're following? I'd prefer to provide links + comments after I'm done. I've googled the poo poo out of it and found some good stuff, but there isn't anything like advice gathered from doing it yourself. I might (big might) get cracking on it tonight. I've got to drive out to the shop to swap cars as it is (plus the shop has drinkable water http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/05/portland_boil_water_alert_what.html  )
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May 24, 2014 02:35
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FogHelmut posted:My fiance hasn't washed her car in a good 2 months. About 6 weeks ago, I cleaned half of her hood with Meguiar's Quick Detailer, and then sprayed on the Quick Wax. While it is filthy enough now that both sides match, you can still see a definitive line down the middle of the hood - the one side shines just a little more through all of the dirt. I'm really surprised, I figured that spray on stuff wouldn't last more than a couple days. Seriously 2 months with no washing with the Quick Wax. I'm impressed. 
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May 24, 2014 04:02
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It really is great stuff. I've given my car one coat of NXT, and the rest of the time it gets spray waxed.
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May 24, 2014 05:45
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I'm most impressed that you got such a perfectly straight line with an invisible liquid.
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May 24, 2014 05:57
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I do like Meguiar's stuff, especially the Ultimate Quik Detailer, it really does a great job. Actually, one of the best value all-in one kits is their Smooth Surface claybar kit - you get a couple of claybars, a spray bottle of their regular quick detailer (they intend you to use this for claying lubricant, but I say use soapy water and save the detailer for, well, detailing, unless you have some already), a small bottle of their "cleaner" wax, and a decent microfibre towel. It's got to be one of the most efficient uses of  and an afternoon to take a car from looking "washed" to "detailed", and a great introduction for people who've never really done that sort of thing before.
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May 24, 2014 12:05
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Linux Nazi posted:I'm most impressed that you got such a perfectly straight line with an invisible liquid. I don't remember if there's a slight ridge there, but when I originally did it, there was plenty of dirt on the hood to mark my progress. The point I was making was trying to get her to wash her car. Say what you will about the Chevy Cobalt being a horrible death trap with bad suspension design and questionable electrical system and over poor build quality, its got pretty good looking paint when its all clean. FogHelmut fucked around with this message at 13:56 on May 24, 2014 |
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May 24, 2014 13:54
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Is the Porter Cable buffer in the OP the way to go or can I get away with one of the cheap $30-$50 options on Amazon?
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May 24, 2014 19:38
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bull3964 posted:Never knew touchless washes were hard to find, they far outnumber the ones that touch your car around here. You can trip over a touchless wash every 2-3 miles. They are easier to maintain as a turnkey business since there are fewer moving parts so I would think they would be far more common than any other type.  Cool the only touchless near me does not fuckin get why touchless is good. Are you supposed to roll up and say "dont touch my car, also do not dry off my car" then just drive through it
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May 24, 2014 20:35
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blk posted:Is the Porter Cable buffer in the OP the way to go or can I get away with one of the cheap $30-$50 options on Amazon? Get the PC or the Griots.
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May 24, 2014 22:30
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Any tips on getting rid of the new car smell as fast as possible? My new C7 smells like formaldehyde and adhesive residue and it's especially bad after it's been sitting outside in the hot sun. Going to try opening up the windows and hatch and shoving a big box fan in there.
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May 25, 2014 22:54
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LordOfThePants posted:Any tips on getting rid of the new car smell as fast as possible? My new C7 smells like formaldehyde and adhesive residue and it's especially bad after it's been sitting outside in the hot sun. Ozone generator is your best bet.
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May 25, 2014 22:56
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blk posted:Is the Porter Cable buffer in the OP the way to go or can I get away with one of the cheap $30-$50 options on Amazon? I first tried a cheap one, and ended up so frustrated I bought the porter.
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May 26, 2014 01:57
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I've dropped my PC7424 so many loving times and I just don't care anymore because its so well built.
Chinatown fucked around with this message at 02:26 on May 26, 2014 |
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May 26, 2014 02:24
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LordOfThePants posted:Any tips on getting rid of the new car smell as fast as possible? My new C7 smells like formaldehyde and adhesive residue and it's especially bad after it's been sitting outside in the hot sun. Can I have yours?
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May 26, 2014 02:37
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I'm plastidipping my wheel vintage gold today, and I read that you can't use tire shine products on plastidip because it will dissolve it, just like gasoline. How am I gonna get shiny tires? Should I just block off the rim every time and be super careful with the spray, should I apply it with a cloth? I also have a purpose-built tire brush and I'm afraid it will rip up the plastidip. Anybody figure this out yet?
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Jun 4, 2014 20:50
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Use something that you don't have to spray on, and be careful with the brush on the wheels.
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Jun 4, 2014 22:49
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I ran over a loving truck tire on the highway yesterday. It left a bunch of black scuffs on the bumper. What is the best way to get rid of these? I was thinking clay bar.
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Jun 5, 2014 00:06
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Strawberry posted:I ran over a loving truck tire on the highway yesterday. It left a bunch of black scuffs on the bumper. What is the best way to get rid of these? I was thinking clay bar. A clay bar will work but you will probably have to trash it afterwards. Try to take most of the rubber off with a fingernail or something first, and you may be able to reuse the clay...maybe.
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Jun 5, 2014 04:35
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Just get a little rubbing alcohol on a rag, that rubber will wipe right off. Rinse and rewax after.
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Jun 5, 2014 19:07
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TheFrailNinja posted:I'm plastidipping my wheel vintage gold today, and I read that you can't use tire shine products on plastidip because it will dissolve it, just like gasoline. How am I gonna get shiny tires? Should I just block off the rim every time and be super careful with the spray, should I apply it with a cloth? I also have a purpose-built tire brush and I'm afraid it will rip up the plastidip. Anybody figure this out yet? I had my wheels dipped and never noticed a problem getting any of the typical tire shine products from the store onto the wheel. YMMV.
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Jun 6, 2014 00:19
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TheFrailNinja posted:I'm plastidipping my wheel vintage gold today, and I read that you can't use tire shine products on plastidip because it will dissolve it, just like gasoline. How am I gonna get shiny tires? Should I just block off the rim every time and be super careful with the spray, should I apply it with a cloth? I also have a purpose-built tire brush and I'm afraid it will rip up the plastidip. Anybody figure this out yet? If it does affect the plasti-dip, I'd say get yourself some tire gel and an applicator pad.
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Jun 6, 2014 03:14
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Clay bars are kind of amazing.    Magic! And hours of hard work.
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Jun 8, 2014 23:24
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LessThanThree posted:Clay bars are kind of amazing. Yes they are. Now, if you really want to get detailing, you look at the car as "okay, I got it clean, now it's time to clean it." -- and get in between the panel fittings, creases and get some paint started to fill in the "S" scratch in the rocker. Detailing never ends, you just get to a point where you're tired of minutiae.
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Jun 8, 2014 23:30
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EVERYWHERE 
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meatpimp posted:Detailing never ends meatpimp posted:Detailing never ends meatpimp posted:Detailing never ends meatpimp posted:Detailing never ends
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Jun 8, 2014 23:36
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Oh god how true that is. I just bought a nice PDR tool kit and I'm learning on my wife's car. Working on a dent that she never noticed (it's been there since we bought it and I noticed it before that). I have removed it ~70%, but I need a knockdown tool to remove some of the high parts before I work out the deepest part of the dent. And nobody except me will ever notice a) the initial dent, b) my interim process that has high points that bug me, or c) the finished project. But, by god, I'll know it's right.
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Jun 8, 2014 23:40
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Soooooo I know nothing about paint or detailing and I have a few questions about the Miata: 1) I tried to get rid of a scratch using Meguiar's ScratchX and noticed that a bunch of paint was coming off on the cloth I was using:  So I immediately stopped, but I've never had ScratchX take off paint like this on my other car. What's causing this to happen? I didn't think the paint was that oxidized as it's been waxed regularly and is pretty glossy, although I'm guessing gloss/flatness has nothing to do with how oxidized it is. 2) A bird had pooped on it the other day. It took a day or two before I had time to wash it, and then it left this mark after washing (below and left of the glare/flare):  I mostly got rid of it with some Meguiar's polish, but what gives? I've never seen bird poo poo "stain" the paint like that. What causes that? Also, the Meguiar's polish (I think it was Deep Crystal but am not positive) pulled off more paint like on the rag above. 3) You can see the swirl marks in these pictures. Should I use a light polish with a rotary buffer to get rid of them, or should I be concerned about more paint coming off? blk fucked around with this message at 21:55 on Jun 12, 2014 |
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Jun 12, 2014 21:43
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It's a single stage paint, meaning there is no clearcoat on it (your bumpers are clearcoated, though). Paint on the wiping towel is normal. Birdshit etches paint, there's no recovery for it, all you can do is minimize it. And clean it off the instant you see it in the future. Meguiar's Ultimate Compound (I think the OP had it listed in the first post) will make those swirls go away very well. Then wax and enjoy a shiny car.
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Jun 12, 2014 22:58
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meatpimp posted:It's a single stage paint, meaning there is no clearcoat on it (your bumpers are clearcoated, though). Paint on the wiping towel is normal. I'm worried about taking too much paint off - would the compound take off more than a polish? Do you think it's worth getting the car clearcoated at Maaco or something?
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Jun 13, 2014 00:33
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blk posted:I'm worried about taking too much paint off - would the compound take off more than a polish? The paint that is coming off is oxidized and no longer really part of the paint, anyway. I wet-sanded my black Miata a couple times and used some damned aggressive compounds on it several other times. The only time I went through the paint was on the very corner of the hood at the cowl. It's pretty hearty, solid and thick. The Ultimate Compound is aggressive enough to take care of your issues, but not so much that you have to worry about paint thickness. Clearcoating would just end up a mess. Single stage paints are great for older cars... even when they get really stupid-bad (ahem MR2), a bit of work brings them back to shiny.
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Jun 13, 2014 00:39
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Is there a decent starter kit for someone who doesn't really have anything to wash and detail cars? I just bought a black car and want to shoot myself.
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Jun 15, 2014 04:55
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rcman50166 posted:Is there a decent starter kit for someone who doesn't really have anything to wash and detail cars? I just bought a black car and want to shoot myself. or so.That to go after a wash with their Ultimate car shampoo will probably give you a good finish for minimum outlay. In "hardware" terms, two buckets, wax pads, some microfibre towels, and my preference for washing is a microfibre "noodle" sponge. Using masking tape over trim makes waxing easier, too.
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Jun 15, 2014 09:24
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The bumpers are single stage as well on the Miata. Blk: look at my previous posts in this thread. I have a pretty beat up NA Miata that I did some "paint correction" on.
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Jun 15, 2014 14:57
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