Aurora 98 great tips mate. I've never looked at your thread until yesterday and can't believe what I've been missing out on. It's refreshing to see someone with your obvious experiance share their knowledge instead of keeping it to themselves.

I do have a question for you. I have polished Simmons FR17's on my car and polish them quite regularly with Autosol but they never stay polished for long.

What do you recommend to keep them as new looking for as long as possible?

Howdy mate

sorry for the delay, my home pc suffered hard drive failure so I am using my fathers lap top

The problem with polishing only is that brake dust from your brakes and other cars and trucks plus other environmental fallout causes the wheels to fade and discolour

the answer to this is to seal them

clay the wheels first with any clay bar, then polish with autosol or similar.
then apply any paint sealant

there are many types
polymer, acrylic, teflon etc

acrylic is the strongest I know of
teflon does not protect, it just makes the surface slippery which prevents dusting.

two to four coats of any will prevent dust and other contaminants from being able to stick and it can take up to two weeks before they go black
as long as you wash your wheels once a week or two, the dusting will stay away

just make sure to use the most gentle shampoo conditioner you can. too many shampoo's have sodium in them, which dries out paint and protectants.

there are sealants available australia wide for anyone's budget

carlack 68 500ml is $20 per bottle from my friends at extrashine.com.au
jeffs werkstatt acrylic jett is the latest and can be used like a quick detail spray

http://www.jeffswerkstatt.com

catch ya mate

hi auroura m8...
just a quick question... i read somewhere in your tips that if u polish ur paint too much u actually strip it back to primer... i am currently using the meguiars deep crystal 3 step system and have used the 1st step paint cleaner about 10 times over with a buffing machine... i have then used the 2nd step polish that brings out oils in the paint about 5 times...

so am i damaging the paint or applying protective coats?
thanks...

Deep crystal #1 cleaner should not remove any clearcoat.
The polish is very mild and again should not be a problem

Ten times is alot but being a cleaner means you are very safe
I believe step 3 is a wax, keep applying that in coats and you'll see a great shine and protection

OK some new tips from testing done in past few weeks

For those with high performance tyres that are soft like yokohamas (what I have) or similar, you will love this new tyre care system I am using

1. Shampoo tyres with car wash and let dry
2. Spray on a coat of carlack 68 plastic care and leave for 10 mins
3. Spray on another coat then wipe with pressure using cotton cloth
4. Wipe on a coat of sonus tyre gel or similar non petroleum tyre gel (common brands ones attract dust)
5. Leave for one hour then apply a second coat

You should notice after each day's driving that the tyres remain jet black and very glossy but without any or with tiny amount of residue
They should look like the gel has just been applied and shine last for up to three weeks (still on my tyres so will test with next drive)
I'm hoping it will last for much longer, maybe two months

From then on do not shampoo tyres and wait until the tyres lose their jet black glossy finish before applying any more coats.

Since using these new tyre gels, I have never had any tyres go brown or grey as they do with silicone tyre sprays.

http://www.extrashine.com.au (for carlack)
http://www.sonus-usa.com/son-730-8.html

Here's a customers ED XR6 with 220kw
I am prepping it for the holden and ford show in dec

Oxidised and faded le mans red (turned orange), now back to full colour

Process

Jeffs Werkstatt clay
Sonus SFX 1
Prima Swirl
Blackfire SRC 3000
Clearkote vanilla moose
Jeffs Werkstatt prime acrylic & carnauba (50/50 mix)

http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n106/DreamMachines

OK with water restrictions in place, finding time to do it at home and in a shady spot getting harder, I decided to switch over to doing my car at pro wash at golden grove here in SA, after checking out many other ones including happy wash, car lovers, diamond's 24 hour and others

Pro wash at GG is best one that is closest to my place as it actually has undercover detailing & vacuuming bays, you get more suck for your buck with the vac, the chemicals used to clean your car are still industrial but not as harsh as all other places and allow those with beautiful silky smooth paint to save water and get it done faster plus the fact that the water is warm, best part of all.

There are new ones popping up all the time, heaps in victoria

OK so here is my advice.

Put $2 dollar coin in (really dirty car, $1 coin for slightly dirty) - push the orange coloured button for hot high pressure soap/water and from the roof down, soak the car in the solution.

It's best to slide the crud off the paint by using horizontal and vertical spray patterns. Don't stand four feet back from the paint and blast the high pressure water straight at the paint. Your only pushing the dirt into the paint, using more water to get it clean and possibly adding impact scratches

Also do the wheels and wheel arches with this.

Follow with a high pressure water rinse (a $1 dollar coin is enough for about 1.45 mins) from the roof down and once completed, drive into vacuum bay and get out a microfibre drying towel or chamois and dry it
Glide the towel or chamois across the paint or even blot dry

Do the glass first as this will dry first and cause water marks.
If you have it with you, spray a Quick detailer onto the wet car, 1 panel at a time and then dry the panel. The QD should aid the drying and make the paint feel smoother and add some protection

Under no circumstances should those with single stage paint systems use the pre soak at these places. It is too harsh and has faded and damaged the paintwork on my friends cars and requires tedious hand or two step machine polishing to fix it.

If your car is extremely dirty, including the wheels. Take a 500 or 1 litre bottle with 20/80 mix of shampoo and water with you and spray down the wheels and agitate with a wheel brush and spray bottom of doors before beginning the wash process.

I see no point in washing it and just driving home as the wet car may cause road grime and dust to stick to the bottom of doors etc, requiring a re wash and it can increase chances of surface rust as water is still in door jambs etc

Due to the hot water, there is no need to hand wash or use the soapy brush to wash it. This means no hand wash induced marring or scratches and spider web scratches from the a*** brush.

Don't waste any money on tyre & engine cleaner as tyres do not need cleaning and this stuff will only fade the tyres to grey.

Check out prowash.com.au, especially the monthly newsletter page as it lists all new pro wash installs in victoria and other states

Is it OK to wax the car with an orbital buffer, with a wool pad. Or should I use a different type of pad?

It's fine to wax the car with an orbital, however not with a wool pad
Either a microfibre buffing bonnet or an ultra fine foam finishing pad, such as an Edge 6 inch white

http://www.edgepads.com/ec6da.htm

Here's some info on machines for those who may be interested in machine buffing their cars when necessary for optimum results

Orbitals -

Bosch PEX400AE
http://www.justtools.com.au/prod384.htm

A great machine for those on a budget. Achieves excellent results. Not as powerful as a rotary but suitable for any car enthusiast

Price range - around $150- 180 mark.

Festool Rotex
http://www.festool.com.au

True professional machine, only for the serious to extreme car care enthusiast or pro detailer.

Price range - $700 +

Rotary -

Makita 9227
http://www.makita.com.au/catalogue/dspt ... del=9227cb

Superb machine, able to do complete paint restoration and enhancement
Extremely reliable. Have had mine going for 8 hours straight and never missed a beat. Does not lose torque when you apply some pressure to the panel you are working on.
0-3000 rpm adjustable dial - 600 to 1400 rpm is the correct range for paintwork repairs and enhancement

Price range - $330 to 425.

Festool POLLUX 180 E)
http://www.idealtools.com.au/category3689_1.htm

One of the finest machines available. excellent rpm range but very costly
Should be able to achieve slightly better results than the makita

Buffing/Polishing/Finishing pads to suit

Orbitals - Edge 2000 DA, Edge classic 6 inch durafoam
http://www.edgepads.com

Lake country 6.5 inch curved edge variable contact
http://www.lakecountrymfg.com/foampads_curv.html

Sonus DAS (superb swirl mark removal pads)
http://www.sonus-usa.com/sonus-foam-polishing-pads.html

Rotarys -

3M Perfect it White cutting & Black polishing
http://www.3m.com
(type "buffing pads" in search bar)

Meguiars cut n shine wool

Edge classic 8 inch and 2000 double sideds
http://www.edgepads.com

Lake Country curved edge Eurotech 8 - 8.5 inch pads
http://www.autogeek.net/vcfoampads.html

Sonus SFX pads
http://www.sonus-usa.com/sonussfxpads.html

Polishing products & foam pad combo's

Prima Cut - Edge black, yellow or green
- 3M Perfect It white compounding
- Lake Country orange or yellow
- Sonus DAS Orange

(single stage paints - Edge wool, Meguiars Mirror Glaze wool)

Prima Swirl - Edge green
- 3M perfect it black
- Lake Country Green or white
- Sonus DAS/SFX green

Prima Finish - Edge Blue
- Lake Country white or black
- Sonus DAS/SFX blue

Prima Amigo - Edge blue or white
- Lake Country black or blue

Clearkote Vanilla & Red Moose - Edge Blue & white
- Lake country black or blue
- Sonus DAS/SFX blue

Product & Pad guide.

800 to 1000 grit leveler - Edge black, Edge wool, Meg's Wool
- 3M Superbuff wool
- Lake Country Yellow
- Sonus Das/SFX Orange

1200 to 1500 compounds - Edge yellow - green
- 3M perfect it white
- Lake Country orange
- Sonus DAS swirlbuster & orange

2000 grit polishes - Edge Green
- 3M black
- Lake Country White
- Sonus DAS/SFX green

2500 grit soft polishes - Edge Blue
- Lake Country black
- Sonus DAS/SFX blue

3000 grit finishing polish/glazes - Edge white
- Lake Country blue

3500 to 4000 grit show car glazes - Edge white
- Lake country blue


Please contact me for information on the best polishes, compounds, glazes etc and where to buy.

www.menzernausa.com (worlds best polishes)
$30 to 40 per 1 litre bottle.

Quick question, parts of my plastic trim are doing funky things, losing their finish. How is this fixed?

You will see what I mean on the rear quater window in this photo

If it's cracked, peeling or worse then it will require replacement.
However if it's not peeling or cracking then and just dull, it can be restored with a trim restorer and dressing or a dye

Clearkote vanilla moose is my preffered trim restorer.
Just rub it in with some pressure and watch the cotton cloth turn black as all the oxidation and grime comes off.

On hard trim I follow that with renu it permanent trim dye

On soft rubber trim I just use autoglym 07B rubber care and carlack 68 plastic care to finish off

http://www.extrashine.com.au
The aussie carlack dealer.

Plastic care is also great on tyres.

it just looks like pits, and really rough. I will give your ideas a go and see what happens

Try claying the trim first, that should make it smooth.

Quick tip fresh from autopia

fill your shampoo bucket to half way with water, then add the 30 to 50 ml of shampoo to it and finish filling the bucket up preferably with warm water

Use a hose rather than tap.
Once the shampoo is added, use a strong jet of water above the bucket, then dip the hose below the water so you end up with wash solution, not just suds.

My friends in the USA have found that doing it this way makes your sponge, wash mitt etc glide over the surface better and slightly improved dirt particle removal by the suds.

This means reduced chance of marking the paint with swirls
Always glide the mitt/sponge over the body side to side, top to bottom

And clean the mitt after every half panel, panel or two panels.