thanks, im sick of them i really want some new rims

i needa get my paint nice an smooth, i dont think my car has ever been polished or anything. what do you recon i should use for a first step type thing. the very first product to touch the paint other then just car wash

No better choice than to clay it
I will demonstrate it fully and a foam type clay as well when I visit you in first saturday in september (please don't forget)

Clay paint, glass, wheels and exterior trim to get the car back to factory feel then polish it
Polishing a car with contaminants like iron fallout is a hard time and a waste of it as well, you cannot polish evenly and you would scar the finish as the iron particles make contact with the pad

dont worry matt, i havnt forgoten do you want me to leave my car like it is now, so who ever is there can see the difference easy

I won't make you do that, if you want to then that's fine however if you feel it needs work, do it

i think ill clay it today... hopefully

Wondering if you could tell me about paint protection. The dealer told me i won't ever have to polish my car, i use a ph neutral meguairs product (the new purple one) but was wondering what to do in regards to polish.
Any tips or advice would be appreciated. Also i was told not to use any products on the dash or door trims as this will viod the warranty on the fabric protection!!

Just on the topic of Meguiers Clay...

I bought some and tried it on the Fairmont. The reults I got were far from good, I found it really messy and a bit too involving.. having said this it might be ok for "small problem areas".

What gave me the best reults was the Meguiers 3 step approach.

1. Deep Crystal Paint cleaner
2. Deep Crystal Polish
3. Deep Crystal Carnubra Wax

Took me the best part of the day, but the 'Mont now looks totally schmicko. The paint has an amazing gloss & lustre and while it didnt totally "fix " my paint job, it now looks stunning.

Im not a sales rep for Meguiers but their products are the shiznit.

Great advice mate! I will have to catch up with you next time I'm headed to the city for a yak and a beer (or better yet a bundy!)
Gotta question for ya: Youve covered everything but alloy. How do you recommend I clean and polish this? Any help would be great cos it is a bastard to keep looking good when I've gotta drive to work on s**t roads every day!!

Keep up the good advice

 

 

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OK there is a huge variety of paint protection formula's out there

Polymers are the oldest ones, wipe on, leave for 10 minutes or more then buff off
They provide protection against UV rays which causes oxidation and resists bird crap, bugs, adds slickness to the paint for about three months.
Problem with the industrial ones that dealers mostly use is they only last three months and stain exterior mouldings and powder residue is a problem

Today's super polymer and acrylic paint protectants will last from six months to 12 months but can be boosted by quick detail sprays to about 16 months

They are easier to apply and remove, can be left on for up to 24 hours if you wish, can use on glass, wheels and trim and there are now spray types

The paint will not oxidise, iron fallout and many other environmental contaminants will not stick as much or at all and you can apply as many coats as you wish to increase depth, wetness and gloss
Brake dust is no longer a problem as well

The dealer saying you never have to polish or wax your car is partly true

You do not need to wax as all paint sealants outlast waxes and bond fully to the paint. However they cannot provide the amount of wetness that carnuaba wax can.
I recommend applying two to four coats of a sealant and then wax over the top

I did not fall for the hype of the NXT meguiars line as my friends in the USA had tried it before it came out over there and results were split 50/50 with half not thinking much of it

Most shampoo's have sodium lauryl sulfate in them which dries the paint out which makes the paint feel rough and increases chance of corrosion

None of mine contain sodium as I have banned it
All the boutique shampoo's I detail with and those I sell actually have conditioning agents and one has paint sealant in it, albeit a microfine amount and do not make your exterior mouldings dry out.

Polishing your car will remove all protective coatings and I recommend that you only polish if absolutely necessary
paint will not lose it's shine if you use gentle products

If you find any new scratches, swirls or marring, paint cleanser is the safest way to go
It does not remove paint, just safely removes most minor marks.
Clearcoat is what gives the paint it's shine so polishing too often will remove some of that and cause it to lose it's depth

If you wash carefully (like I have suggested), you should only need to use cleanser or a soft polisha couple times in five years
Give the paint a twice yearly (minimum) claying as well to restore smoothness

Again with dash and door trim dealer protectants, all bulk industrial ones are petroleum and solvent based and leave an oily finish
Dealership paint protection is way overpriced considering the old technology products that they are using

My best advice is to wait three months until all your interior and exterior protective coatings are history and then invest in some petroleum free interior protectant like Prima Nero, a detergent, lye and sodium free wash (einszett perls, prima mystique, werkstatt ABW or my own unique formula which is totally made from nature including coconut extracts

Then protect paint, glas, wheels and exterior mouldings with jeffs werkstatt acrylic jett and top with carnuaba jett (pure carnuaba wax in a water base), p21s wax or collinite marque de elegance or insulator wax

Meguiars professional clay I found to be a real PITA about four years ago when I last used it, very sticky and fell to bits
Their quick clay is good for sure but the bar you get is too small considering the price

Their deep crystal line is very nice however if you wish to stick with their products, get their pro line with the DACP, #83 Swirl free polish and the diamond cut heavy compound. Whether by hand or machine, you will get a superior finish to the crystal line

As far as technology goes, their products are not cutting edge or as easy to use
Take a look at the latest line up from mothers, FX range especially
I reckon it is generations ahead of meguiars.

Last edited by Aurora 98 on Mon Jun 26, 2006 10:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

OK alloy - best thing to do is get A class metal polishers or commercial metal polishers (15 mins away from me) to polish it as they have the machines and products that do the trick, even the best boutique products I have tried cannot compare to a metal polishers shop

Once it's polished, apply a coat or two of nyalic
Although all paint protectants can help, the PC CD I have viewed of this nyalic gear seems like the way to go for alloy protection

I can send you it if you wish, have had it for a couple years now and I'll even send you my copy of the autopia guide to detailing CD

hey mat, just curious if i was to go to autobarn or repco or somewhere like that what products do you suggest i buy to go over my car to make it shine!

some products you recomend for everything like paint, trims, glass, wheels all the bits


i still havnt gotten around to claying it yet, im lazy

Well I reckon autobarn would have the biggest range
I wouldn't go mad and buy tonnes of stuff as I will be coming in september and I reckon my gear will blow your mind and transform your machine, inside and out (excluding fabrics)

I haven't used any of the brands found at those places in about a decade so cannot say what will work for sure on your car
Those products never cut the mustard on my machines back then

Stay away from the meg's pro line #9 swirl mark remover as it's actually a glaze full of fillers and the swirls you remove with it will come back in a few washes

Deep crystal paint cleaner is too gentle for what you want to do, you need a pure polish, don't waste your money on a cleaner wax, again too gentle and will not remove swirls or scratches

Get dual action cleaner polish, swirl free polish or any compound/polish from the meg's professional line (mirror glaze)

Then finish with mothers top coat and FX synwax or reflections wax

Tyres - If you like sprays, 303 aerosplace protectant or autoglym vinyl and rubber care (yellow bottle)
Will not last as long or work as well as sonus or wolfgang tire gel but obviously easy as they are spray on and you can adjust the gloss level

Meg's tire gel leaves buildup and attracts dust like crazy, I have not tried mothers tire shines so that may be one way to go. Choose either the FX or reflections product from mothers

Wheels - no need for wheel cleaners so shampoo, then clay and apply a coat of top coat or FX synwax to protect them

Really I am sick and tired of these places being filled with products that are full of fillers and oils and do not comply with enviro regulations

We all know how expensive clay is (dam japs), here is a way to make it last as long as possible

Once you have kneaded the clay and both sides are contaminated, knead it into a thick ball or bar and with a sharp kitchen knife, cut it in half twice
This will expose the inside layers of the bar which is untouched, put the bar pieces back into one with the clean layers out (dirty layers on the inside) and using a rolling pin and a cutting board, roll the bar into a large palm sized wafer
Put back in it's case and all ready to go again

You can do this two times
Remember to clay after washing & drying to increase it's life as claying after washing with car still wet or using wrong type of clay lubricant or some car soaps will make the bar go mushy and fall to pieces thus the end of the bar and time to buy a new one

Pick out any large pieces of contaminant when claying to prevent scuffing or scratching of paintwork.

Cool will have to check out some Mothers products as well. I have heard good things of them also.