I tried the Gyeon kit and it worked wonders removing the big spots (which may have been an oily residue) and the water spotting on the drivers seat. 3 light cleans on the stains and 1 cycle on the rest. Coating going on tomorrow. Very pleased

Thanks

 

Hi @THE REFINERY / Gerard!

Hope all is well!

I recently picked up this factory hardtop and there is a decal that's stuck to the inside of the glass, and some of it applied to the defogging element (the orange line the goes across the glass - I think that's what it's called.) Keep in mind, this is a 22 year old hard top, but God only knows how long the decal has been applied. I want to remove the decal without damaging the defogging element. Do you have any tips, hints, or tricks on how to remove this safely? Thanks a bunch!

 

It looks like a vinyl decal, which means the adhesive is probably very soft and the graphic's lines are very thin/fine. That means very little tension can be applied by the vinyl on the glass surface.

Warm it up (sunshine, hair dryer or heat gun) and just pick away at it with your finger nail. You can likely just pull away at it without fear, but if you want to be VERY careful you can scrape in a parallel direction over the defroster strips - again using gentle pressure with a finger nail. Don't worry about leaving adhesive on the glass - it's much more gentle to dab that away with an adhesive remover than it is to scrape it clean.

Another method would be to use a plastic razor blade on the glass BETWEEN the strips - and stop before you hit the strips. Use your finger nail or dab with an adhesive remover on the strips themselves.

HTH!

 

Awesome! Glad it worked out

 

Good question. If the car is parked indoors and you are just trying to clean off dust and haze from humidity etc, then yes, a quick detailer and a plush polishing MF can be used to wipe it away. A few tips: roll your wrist with the towel to lift away the dust - as opposed to wiping the dust along the surface. You might go through more MF cloths to be extra careful, but if you don't have self-healing PPF then this will reduce the chance of marring/scratching the paint.

If it's a bit more dirty and you're using a "no rinse" product, then you can use this wetter method with a mitt and bucket. Then you can follow it with a quick detailer + plush MF cloth to wipe away streaks.

But before applying a wax or ceramic "top up" product which requires a bit more rubbing pressure, I would suggest a proper wash with water and soap to ensure there are no stubborn bits of grime stuck on the surface when you are buffing off the ceramic top up product.

HTH!

 

True. Bird droppings and bug splats are about the worst things to leave on PPF or clear coat. They can etch the PPF or paint permanently if left long enough. Ceramic coating gives more time to get the stuff off than any other type of sealant - but enough dwell time will eventually penetrate it.

Here's a key value prop for PPF: if a bird dropping or bug splat DOES etch your surface, you always have the ability to remove/replace the panel of PPF and have a perfectly restored surface again. The integrity of the OEM paint will not be compromised. Without PPF, it is possible for a bird dropping to create PERMANENT damage on paint/clear coat that can't even be removed with compounding and paint correction. And if you truly value the appearance and integrity of your finish, repainting should only ever be done as a last resort. Not to mention it's much more expensive to repaint a panel than replace PPF.

 

Regarding the wheel barrels: the best thing you can do with new wheels is to apply ceramic coating on the OEM wheel paint BEFORE the brake dust has had a chance to etch and stain it. Especially the inner barrels. It makes cleaning so much easier, eliminating the need for harsh cleaners/chemicals or aggressive brushes etc. You can literally use your car wash soap to completely clean your wheel barrels and brake calipers.

A traditional wax/sealant works too, but will be much shorter lived. Ceramic coatings are very chemically resistant, and very thermally stable which is why they're so useful on wheels and painted brake calipers. Even track use can't approach damaging temps for a ceramic coating. This is especially true for satin/matte finished wheels. The texture of the satin paint can stain and look stained and chalky almost instantly.

We use Gyeon RIM most frequently.

 

PPF without a ceramic coating can have a slightly rubbery feel, but with ceramic coating it is as smooth and slick as clear coat. You don't need to use ceramic coating, but it is certainly the best way of making all surfaces slick feeling and extremely hydrophobic for a long time (ie years).

Good quality microfiber towels should not be linty. And the different textures of microfiber make a big difference in performance. Get a good quality MF DRYING towel. The features you're looking for in a DRYING towel are a thick (ie heavy weight) towel with a twist-loop fibre design. Our towels (by Purestar) are the best we've ever found - including some of the other brands mentioned here. They're incredibly absorbent, and not linty.

No. Yours is almost certainly a WATER problem - ie hard water. More about that later.

 

Are there any products/tools that make wheel cleaning easier?

Sheldon offers some good advice here.

Wheel Woolies are also our favorite since the fibers stay more plush, hold lots of soapy water and rinses more cleanly than other wheel brushes. The WW multi-packs also have different sized brushes which are great for getting into lug openings or even hard to reach areas in engine bays. These are also easier to rinse/clean after use than the shaggy microfiber-strand wheel brushes. Those seem to get ruined with brake dust, grit and other dirt that makes the brush extremely abrasive once dirty. Same with similar MF wash mitts.

We like Sonax Wheel Cleaner to cut through the iron-heavy brake dust. It's not acidic so it won't damage the wheel finish, and has an iron dissolving chemical that does NOT harm ceramic coatings. But you're right, it smells terrible just like all iron-dissolving products.

Yep. Ceramic coating makes cleaning wheels WAY easier. Generally you don't even need harsh cleaners. It serves the same purpose as wax/sealant by making the surface repellent to dirt/grime/dust, but no traditional wax/sealant can match the longevity of ceramic coating. Winter wheels are a perfect case study. I have 4yr old winter wheels that still wash up perfectly.

 

The purpose of PPF is to preserve the integrity of the original paint while being as unnoticeable as possible. It makes most impacts on the paint during normal driving inconsequential. And for more serious impacts, it offers the chance of a "get out of jail free" card by saving your panel from a repaint. Things like minor bumper rubs in parking lots, door dings, garage tool falls, keying, and the more significant sandblasting that occurs with highway or track driving may be fully restored to original condition without repainting - simply by removing/replacing the individual panel of PPF.

Think of it this way: there is a 100% chance that your paint will suffer visible damage that is PERMANENT to the pristine OEM paint if you drive without PPF. No amount of polishing, touch ups, or wetsanding can completely erase those defects.

Accordingly, it's clear that PPF is NOT for someone who:

1. Does not care about suffering cumulative paint damage with use over time (eg leased vehicle, family hauler etc)
2. Enjoys the car as a stationary 'art installation' in the garage, not as a moving object on the road or exposed to the natural environment

 

Not all microfibre towels are created equal. Yes, it's true that Costco, Walmart, CT etc all carry microfibre towels in their car care sections. But there's a reason why some MF's are less expensive than others. The proportion of polyamide fibres (ie the microfibre) can vary, as does the manufacturing technique.

For example, we experimented with the yellow Costco MF towels for ceramic coating removal - which generally means the towels are not suited for use on paint again (but don't throw them out! They're great for wiping engine bays, wheel wells, tool cleaning and grimy areas where you wouldn't want to waste a NEW towel on). After paint correction and ceramic coating application, we noticed the Costco towels left pretty extensive marring on the perfected finish. So we had to re-polish those panels again and reapply the ceramic coating.

When the risk of surface damage is the consequence, it's not worth the material savings for us to use 'cheap towels'. We've tested The Rag Company, Simonize and others and have found that these Korean manufactured MF products by Purestar are the best we've ever used. They're certainly not the cheapest, but the quality is exceptional.

 

Should I use a blower to dry my car?

Yes! The majority of "swirl marks" on a car come from the washing and drying process.

During a wash, make sure you're frequently rinsing your wash mitt to ensure you've got both a nice pillow of sudsy wash water when wiping the paint, and also to ensure you're not rubbing dirt/grit from other areas on your paint. That's why the famous "2 Bucket Method" was created. We generally rinse the wash mitt every 1 or 2 panels (depending on how dirty the car is).

Using a blower (Master Blaster, Big Boi, etc) will allow you to get most of the water off of the large panels, but they'll probably need to be followed by a QD spray and soft buffing towel to get any streaks or droplets off following the pressurized air. Blowers are great for awkward shapes (inner wheels, brake calipers etc) and for forcing water out of pooling areas (side mirrors, spoilers etc).

But you can also safely dry your car using a proper MF drying towel and the right process. See our video on drying techniques that will reduce the risk of creating swirl marks during drying:

 

Started doing this last year using my Ego Power blower. Can't believe I didn't think of it previously. My 911 was ceramic coated on delivery last year, and still beads like crazy, the water literally streams right off with a blower as a result. Way more so than my other two cars, both of which were also ceramic coated but clearly were not done as well as the 911 as they stopped bleeding < 9 months or so post coat.

 

Follow up on this: I followed this to the "T" and the decal came off flawlessly. There was no need to use heat or anything. The trick with glass cleaner to remove the glue/residue worked 100%! Thank you!

 

if you did not use heat, you did not follow this to the "T".