Basic car care

[Camurai]

I've seen several threads on painting a vehicle, and a couple about repairing damaged paint, but I haven't seen a single one dedicated to taking care of the paint once it's on the car. With that in mind, here's my contribution, stemming from some of my experience in the detail department at a major Harley-Davidson dealership. My two coworkers were guys who had 25 years of experience apiece in detail and recon.

Are automatic car washes really that bad, or can I get away with using them once in awhile?
Using an automatic car wash is probably the single worst thing you can do to your car's paint. Some machines are less horrible than others, but even auto manufacturers are finally conceding the fact that these machines are terrible for your painted finish.

But I can't just not give to charity. Charity car washes are for a good cause!
Then do twice the good deed: give them $5 and wash your car elsewhere. It may be hard to resist young, bikini-clad women with hand-painted signs, but this could end up being the most expensive $5 you ever spend. Think about it: you're giving completely untrained people access to the finish that protects your car from rust, and from looks that say "Man, that paint is horrible!"

Can I use the same cleaner on every surface?
Would you use Ajax to wash your car? Every surface is different, which is why the automotive cleaner section of many stores have different cleaners for the different surfaces. You probably wouldn't want to use wheel cleaner on your paint, and for good reason. Man up and buy the different cleaners for each specific surface. Then you won't have to wonder why your car needs to be repainted two years from now.

OK, so I know a lot of the things NOT to do, so what do I DO?
To start, change your way of thinking about taking care of your car's paint. Instead of thinking of it as a pain in the backside, consider it an investment. You're adding life to your car's painted finish, and saving yourself the cost of repainting every few years. The first thing to do is get yourself the right tools. Here's a good start:

Clay bar - A tip you can live by is to "clay" your paint once or twice a year. You can't see the contaminants left over in your paint, but if you put a latex glove on and ran your hand over your car, you'd feel millions of tiny bumps and bits. A good clay bar will remove and suspend these imperfections, giving you a blank slate to start from. ***Clay will remove the wax from the finish when used - keep this in mind!***

Car wash soap - Never, ever, EVER use dish soap to wash your car. Spend the few dollars to get yourself a decent car wash soap. Other cleaners can strip the wax and damage the car's finish. A good car wash will contain surfuctants to emulsify oil and grease that gets on your paint, and allows you to wash it away fairly easily with water. Also, be sure to use plenty of water in the bucket so that the dirt can settle to the bottom, leaving clean water at the top. Empty the bucket once in awhile and clean it out, then refill it from scratch. This will help avoid scraping leftover dirt and contaminants all over your finish with the washcloth.

Hose - DO NOT use a high-pressure sprayer on your paint. It's just good sense. Do you really want to take the risk of damaging your finish just to save a little time?

Washcloth - Use a sponge or mitt designed for automotive use. Lambswool is a particularly good choice. Clean the mitt when it starts to look a little dirty, and when you change your wash water. This again helps to avoid dragging embedded dirt over your paint.

Washrags - For your tires and wheels. You wouldn't use a mitt that's possibly contaminated with metal filings to wash your car, would you?

Drying towel - Either a good chamois or a 100% cotton terrycloth towel will work best for drying. Chamois cloths are preferred by the pros. If you're in a hurry, you can probably get away with using the California Water Blade or a similar squeegee a couple of times, but if you're not diligent about getting all the dirt off your vehicle, this will drag it over your finish and do more damage than good.

Microfiber cloth - These are great for finishing touches. Some people even use cloth diapers to give their car a buffed look.

Some handy tips for the process:
*Wash your car in a cool, shady area. This will help to avoid water spots and streaking.
*Wash from the top down. The bottom of your car accumulates the most dirt and grime, so avoid dragging this up to the top.
*For stubborn stains and road tar, try using undiluted car wash soap. Let it soak into the stain for 5 minutes or less, then rinse thoroughly with water.
*Clean your washing implements and refresh your washwater frequently.
*Dry the car immediately to avoid waterspotting and streaking.
*Wax as soon as possible afterward. You don't want to give contaminants any time to get onto the finish, because you'll just drag them around your paint and damage the clear coat.
*Try to use paste wax. Spray fast waxes are alright, but there's nothing like a good solid coat of carnuba. You'd be amazed how good it can make your dulled finish look. Remember to use a soft cotton cloth to apply the wax. Soft cotton dishtowels are excellent. (Just don't use the same ones you use for your dishes...)

Taking care of your car's finish takes some time and effort, but isn't it worth it? Don't you want to get that same feeling of pride when looking at your car for years to come, rather than looking at a dull, beat up paint job and thinking "Ugh..."? It takes a lot less effort to CARE for your car's finish than to REPAIR it! Remember that!

[bigjoegood1]

Good information. Should be stickied if not already so.

[MyCord]

Great info! I've had the best experience with Mothers brand products, nothing I've used can compare. You could also add in some techniques for cleaning wheels/trim/windows. I'd write some stuff but I don't want to jack your thread.

[Shay91Racer]

sticky!!

[Camurai]

Mothers and Meguiars are both great companies. Either one has a complete line of car care products that will serve you well. Stoner Car Products also makes an awesome glass cleaner called Invisible Glass.

For polished aluminum wheels, brake dust is obviously always an issue. I've had good luck with a fingernail brush for the face of my wheels in the past.



To get into smaller crevices on some wheels (like BBS wheels or anything similar) I've had a lot of luck with a rat-tail style kitchen brush, similar to this bird feeder brush, only shorter:



For small trim areas, a toothbrush works great. Just keep in mind when working near painted areas, try to use softer bristled brushes to avoid damaging the paint. And to get leftover paste wax out of stubborn crevices, try a little compressed air before it gets a chance to dry.

[Camurai]

On Tuesday, I'll be adding a post about reconditioning paint for those interested. I'll post a step-by-step procedure on taking seriously damaged paint and returning it to showroom luster. (Just need to get the photos downloaded. Computer trouble bites.) As long as the clear coat isn't compromised, miracles can be worked. Stay tuned.

[Dirtyrice]

great info. sticky!!!!

[Camurai]

Reconditioning scratched paint

We're in the midst of de-fleeting all of the Police lease bikes at the moment, and some of them come back in pretty rough condition. I figured I'd take photos of the results of each step I take to recover the finish. I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos. All I had with me was my camera phone. Anyway, this motorcycle in particular looked like somebody had been washing it with a Brillo pad. To start, you'll probably want to get a decent buffer/polisher. I like the plain rotary buffers. Random orbital ones can be a little difficult to control sometimes. The one I use at work is a Makita 180mm variable speed polisher/sander with a good wool pad.



And this is a photo of the right saddlebag lid. The entire bike looked pretty much like this.



To recover this kind of disaster, I typically use a 4-step process. The first step is to use a good rubbing compound. At work, we use 3M Perfect-It 3000. I'll only use this product once or twice in the life of any paint job, because you're reducing the thickness of the clear coat, and you want to avoid burning through it to the base coat underneath. I like to squeeze some onto the surface of the paint, then spread it by hand to get a relatively even coat over the whole surface. Set the buffer on the lowest setting, and don't put a lot of pressure on the surface as you work. Trust me, it won't take a lot. Keep the buffer moving, and don't let it sit in any one area. It will heat up the finish quickly and burn through the clear. This is basically what you should have after this step:



Your finish should have fine scratches over the whole surface in a swirl pattern. At this point, you have knocked down the surface of the clear coat almost to the lowest level of the scratches. The next step is to use a good swirl remover. We use Meguiar's #4 Heavy Cut. It's an aggressive cleaner/polisher. It works really well for taking out swirls and hairline scratches.



A lot of people will stop at this point, but this particular bike was destined for the showroom floor, so a couple more steps were required to return it to the level of luster needed for public display on a floor full of brand new bikes. At this point, I break out the Meguiar's #2 Fine Cut cleaner/polisher. This will really even out the surface and remove almost every scratch left over.



The final step I'll take is to apply a coat of yellow carnuba wax. This really brings out the shine, and by using the buffer, it also removes any scratches that might be left over.




When I finished with this particular bike, most of the surface looked almost as good as new. There were obviously some flaws, but it was a complete 180 from when it came in the door. Instead of looking like it needed to be wholesaled, we can now put this bike on the floor with a sticker of around $14,000. Grand total labor involved was about 2½ hours. At our typical shop labor rate, that comes out to $220. Compare $220 worth of labor to about a $6,000 difference in wholesale vs. our resale tag and you'll see why good detailers are worth their weight in gold. Also keep in mind that I'm not even really a detailer. I worked in that area of the business for about 6 months with basically no training. The real guys put my skills to shame.

[TypeG]

Clay bar - A tip you can live by is to "clay" your paint before every wash.

i can't agree with this at all. you only need to clay your car about once or twice a year. everytime you clay your car it removes all the wax also. most people wash their cars 2-4 times a month and woudn't want to rewax their car that many times.

also ''clay your paint before every wash'' ....what? why would you clay an unwashed car that is dirty? later.

[Camurai]

As I said, I'm not a pro. Will edit to reflect this info. Feel free to add any info you feel might help!

[Blk EX Coupe]

I think professional detailers prefer waffle weave towels over a chamois for drying.

I hope you don't start every detailing job with rubbing compound since its considered very aggressive, and it's recommended to use the least aggressive combo then move up, but nice work with the Makita since rotary has a learning curve that most people won't attempt.

[C91BLX7]

rubbing compund=basicly liquid sandpaper

[Camurai]

As I mentioned, I'll only use rubbing compound when necessary. Starting with #4 on this particular bike would have been a waste of time because the damage was so advanced. I've done enough of these bikes in a short period of time to know when to start with which product. We're also under pressure to get these bikes turned around in a small time frame. 200 motorcycles to clean and prep for the sales floor in a period of about 2 months, in addition to the regular volume of complimentary cleaning for priority maintenance customers, plus a couple hundred bikes coming in for winter storage. We learn to assess paint condition quickly and use the appropriate steps. Some bikes only require a wash and spray wax. Some require a little more work. This bike was a rare case. (Although paint chips and gouges are another story entirely...far too common with Police bikes.)

[RyanHartC2]

Agreed! Good info!

[93excb7]

read this in project car magazine, ive had great experiences with ice products by turtle wax