Waxing

To be honest, I'd put money on very few people on here having perfect paintwork, or indeed having the time, skill or cash to spend on getting it perfect and then maintaining it. If we assume that most cars on here are not that fortunate, but are still better cared for than your average motor on the street, then the application of polish, sealants and waxes with fillers will progressively make the car look better.

My car's paintwork is far from showroom condition but it's not too bad and gets looked after - it looks ok but not fantastic 'naked', better after a polish, and positively gorgeous with a coat or two of wax on. I can see the difference at each stage, and personally I am happy with it until such time as I can afford to treat myself and just give it to someone to sort properly. So for your average unscientific Joe, all of the advice before the outbreak of detailed detailing details above probably works just fine, specifically for the OP :wink:
 
its complicated, but when you polish it is abrasive to the clear coat of the paint. if a scratch goes through the clear coat to the base coat or further to the primer, you need to repaint. you can hide with fillers, but will never be perfect.

So, you can't polish your car infinite times as each time you do you are 'shaving' some of the clear coat to hide imperfections.

This is why I say, POLISH the car to as near perfect as you can, then PROTECT the car and LEARN how to change your behaviour to KEEP IT THAT WAY.

2 bucket technique
regular seal and wax
regular washing

good luck! it's a bug!
 
Johnalexander said:
When you say polish, is that a clay polish? Polishing with detailer is different? Confused.com
Click to expand...

Polish is the product, not the method of application.

Using a polish will effectively remove layers of your clear coat.

You apply and remove a wax, you don't polish a wax.

You apply and remove a quick detailer, you dont polish a QD.

In essence the word "polish" refers to a specific product, used to remove imperfections in your paint and nothing else.

Wax, QD, clay, sealants have nothing to do with polish or polishing.

Hope that clears it up a bit.
 
Thanks.
Which steps in the list would remove the clear coat?

1) alloys
2) wash car
3) rinse
4) clay when wet, if it need it use lots of spray. No pressure on clay
5) rinse
6) dry
7) use da polish, megulairs
8) use black hole polish
9) wax
10) final buff
11) dress tyres

Think I just about got my head round it!!!!
 
This is what I would do if you want to get the car looking factory fresh:

1. Rinse
2. snow foam
3. wheels with non acidic cleaner
4. wash
5. clay (make sure you lubricate well)
6. rinse
7. DA polish with Meguiars 105 - google it!
8. DA polish with Meguiars 205
9. rinse (you can wash again
10. dry
11. seal
12. wax

expect this process to take 2-3 days and you want to do it inside and keep the car in. If not, just wash, glaze, wax! Don't polish by hand its a waste of time!

Enjoy and don't scratch it up again!

The only steps that 'cut' the paint are the polished. The 105 will cut it and it will look hazy once done. The 205 will 'spit shine' the finish and make it shine like a diamond! The sealant will protect and the wax will give you an extra coat of protection on top of that!

Here's some bed time reading:

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewDoc&docId=5
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=17
 
John step 7 is the one that will cut into the clear cut. As these cars are still relatively new (<10yrs) I can't imagine that the polishing will completely remove, or be dangerous to use on your clear coat. Detailers will normally check the paint thickness to assess whether it's safe to DA polish your car, but I doub't you'd have any of those issues.
 
If your paint is in good order do you need to polish or can you skip this step?

Sorry I've only ever taken a car to the car wash !! Lol

Thanks again
 
You can skip. What colour is it? A good 'glaze' or 'filler' will bring it back - but this will only last until he wax is gone and the filler/glaze gets exposed.

A shiny car is made shiny by having no imperfections so the light doesn't scatter when it hits all the scratches! ;)

this would mean you could

1. Wash
2. Clay (optional but advised)
3. Glaze/Fill (poor boys black hole or white diamond advised)
4. Wax
 
It's black. After the clay I plan to use Meguiar's Ultimate Quik Detailer. I thought this would give the car a deep shine?
Will this cause any damage to the paint?

Would you skip this step out?

Thanks
 
Quick detailer is more of a touch up after each journey. I only use it in summer and if I go out, will QD when I get back.

For your car I;d buy some poorBoys Black Hole Glaze and a good wax - possibly PoorBoys Nattys Blue. Wash the car, 2 coats of glaze and a coat or 2 of wax. Then no need to do anything apart from wash (with a good car shampoo - Megs Gold Class for example) every week or 2 with QD in between unless theres big particles on your car cos then ur gonna scratch it!

After 3-6 months, glaze and wax again. A good test is to put a slightly damp micrfibre on the car and press down and twist. If it squeaks you need more wax!

Good luck. I hope this has helped.
 
Thanks mate , definitely helped. Hopefully I get a good day this weekend and I will give it a clean!!

What's the best wash/treatment for the hood? A friend of mine thought that I could get a waterproof treatment for the soft top?

Cheers
 
I use these two, but you can re-stain them if it's really bad. I;veneer tried that so won't comment. A forum search could help there!

http://www.meguiars.co.uk/product/223/Convertible-Cabriolet-Cleaner/
http://www.meguiars.co.uk/product/224/Convertible-Cabriolet-Weatherproofer/

You can get them in halfrauds. Autoglym ones are OK too.
 
polish in circles

Wax 'with the wind' i.e.. how the wind would run across he car.

you can go in circles though... as long as the car is clean, you can do what you want!
 
ben g said:
Far too much willy waving going on in here. I know more than you type rubbish.
Click to expand...

Funny that mate. The only willy waving I see is your tiny pecker come wading in spouting off. I'm passing my knowledge on to a member who is asking. We can compare qualifications if you like!?

There's always one, eh?
 
Collys 476 in my opinion is the best protective wax....use a polish to bring back the colour etc and restore...but in terms of out and out protection,which wax is best used for, Collys is hard to beat.
 
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