Car wash tips
#16
Three Wheelin'
and you might find this website of great help (both their forums and carcare products website):
www.autopia.org
www.autopia-carcare.com
have fun!
www.autopia.org
www.autopia-carcare.com
have fun!
#17
When rinsing, use the water directly from the hose, no nozzle. The stream will sheet off the car and make it much easier to dry without spotting.
Also, make sure you are wearing clothes with nothing on them that can scratch the car. I've seen scratches from belt buckles and buttons. Simple, yet most people don't think about it.
Also, make sure you are wearing clothes with nothing on them that can scratch the car. I've seen scratches from belt buckles and buttons. Simple, yet most people don't think about it.
#18
Drifting
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Another Ex pat Brit in SoCal
Posts: 2,442
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes
on
2 Posts
Originally Posted by Dr. G
When rinsing, use the water directly from the hose, no nozzle. The stream will sheet off the car and make it much easier to dry without spotting.
Also, make sure you are wearing clothes with nothing on them that can scratch the car. I've seen scratches from belt buckles and buttons. Simple, yet most people don't think about it.
Also, make sure you are wearing clothes with nothing on them that can scratch the car. I've seen scratches from belt buckles and buttons. Simple, yet most people don't think about it.
Also, remove rings and watch while you're washing and waxing for the same reason.
#19
Need a little bit of help here. Washed the car Sunday and when drying I notice a small scratch on the paint. What is the best course of action? Looks like it is not very deep, you have to look for it to see it.
#20
Drifting
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Another Ex pat Brit in SoCal
Posts: 2,442
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes
on
2 Posts
Originally Posted by gab997
Need a little bit of help here. Washed the car Sunday and when drying I notice a small scratch on the paint. What is the best course of action? Looks like it is not very deep, you have to look for it to see it.
One that you can see in the right light, but can't feel if you run your fingernail over the area?
Perhaps caused by wiping the car during washing?
#22
Drifting
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Another Ex pat Brit in SoCal
Posts: 2,442
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes
on
2 Posts
Originally Posted by gab997
Correct, cannot feel with nail. I can only assume that it was caused while washing, the car did not have very much dirt on it and used good amount of suds...
You should review your wash technique and tools to see if you can isolate where the problem came from, and then stop it happening next time.
To fix, you need a 'safe' auto polish, a polishing machine, polishing pads.
You may have seen guys at auto body shops using huge high-speed polishers with large buffing pads and lots of 3M polish compounds.
That's not for the weekend warrior - you can do marvelous things with such equipment - but you can do damage as well.
Instead, for the WW, you want to get yourself a random orbit polisher, such as the Porter Cable
A set of polishing pads
And some scratch polish
There's a great write-up on how to use these items to remove your surface scratch here:
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-p...sh-clinic.html
And a specific how-to for the Porter Cable here:
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-p...-polisher.html
Suggestion is to try the least abrasive polish first, to see if that will remove the scratch with the PC and pads.
I've had a great deal of success with a Swirlbuster polish that's designed for the home user - i.e. it's effective with the PC, but easy to use and safe on your paint.
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/son-450.html
Follow the instructions to polish out the scratch and any swirls, then re seal/wax when you're done to protect the newly smooth surface.
The PC is a great tool for both polishing and waxing the car, so it's a good investment if you like looking after your paint and want to keep the car looking great.
And it's so much better than polishing by hand!
#23
Three Wheelin'
nicely done, cdodkin!