05-19-2012, 11:29 PM | #45 | ||
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I can see it on many of the older cars here in Hawaii, the paint is often terribly damaged because of the weather, and obvious lack of care (stuff like this: http://www.maaco.com/FranchiseMedia/...g&maxwidth=495 ).
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05-20-2012, 01:29 PM | #46 | |
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It's like the milk from the breast of the Virgin Mary.
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05-20-2012, 01:30 PM | #47 | |
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05-20-2012, 04:11 PM | #48 |
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05-20-2012, 05:35 PM | #49 |
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Been reading this post, have not had a car worth caring for. Just ordered and will have the car on lease in 8 weeks (328i sport line etc..). I would like to be a person who gets the best results but with reasonable time invested(i.e. not gonna fully detail all the time). I think it would be good to do it on my own and avoid the costs of the pros who are worth paying for. I guess I am asking for as much detail as possible from A to Z. So is the general consensus wash(is this with soap, if so what kind) clay, polish then wax, twice a year or so. Or go the low water route mentioned with Optimum no Rinse. So what are the products including sponges towels etc... that you guys recommend. Also what is the difference in the results between wash, clay, polish, wax vs. ONR.
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05-20-2012, 05:49 PM | #50 |
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txnewbie... Optimum No Rinse + Optimum Spray Wax.. you can't find an easier method of cleaning and you won't get better results. Trust me and trust all the guys at autopia and the other detailing forums.. it works.
The phrase "if it sounds too good to be true.." well, ONR + OSW are the exception.
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05-20-2012, 05:52 PM | #51 | |
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Waxing is highly recommended though and I try to wax mine every few months by hand. Life is too short for hand cleaning my car ever other day though, or even every month. I used to hand clean my cars and it'd take me at least half a day and leave me in no mood to do other more useful jobs around the place afterwards. So my car goes through auto carwashes for its maintenance cleans. It'll get swirls but I don't care - noone I know will notice, and if anyone I know is sad enough to look that closely at someone else's car then I won't want to know them any more. If I keep a car for long enough for the built-up weathering and car wash swirls to affect the paintwork without having to look closely then I'll detail and clay it then. Precisely . Last edited by Feanor; 05-20-2012 at 06:19 PM.. |
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05-20-2012, 06:06 PM | #53 | |
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05-20-2012, 06:10 PM | #54 |
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As you can see lots of different opinions here, depends on how far you want to go. I myself love to detail so Zaino is for me. They have all the products you need. Twice a year you apply two coats... and once a month (or more) you hand wash. The car looks better than show room all year. Car washes will leave swirls which would drive me crazy.
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05-20-2012, 06:46 PM | #55 | |
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05-20-2012, 10:13 PM | #56 | |
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Thanks -- I agree with your points. I used some spray wax today... 20 minutes to handwash and 20 minutes to spray-wax and buff. The car came out looking like it did on day one... Now thats time I can spare -- got my lil one to help too. Only thing I noticed after driving for a bit was that there was some fine dust on the sheen (on the hood)... but I only noticed it when I went up extremely close to look at the hood I'll check out the Optimum No Rinse + Optimum Spray Wax. Last edited by carconvert; 05-20-2012 at 10:21 PM.. |
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05-21-2012, 12:13 AM | #57 | |
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05-21-2012, 01:44 AM | #58 | |
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One thing I should have said though is that I avoid auto car washes with the hard spinny brushes like the plague. They can make a MESS of your car paintwork, especially if there's dirt in them. I've even had them leave nasty, permenant scratches in my windscreen which were very annoying at night. So I only use those auto car washes with soft fabric-looking brushes and have never had a problem with them. Or I take it to a cheap hand car wash place, they'll usually do a basic wash for £5. |
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05-21-2012, 03:46 AM | #59 |
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Just pick out a nice day and see it as a workout. It's worth the effort..
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05-21-2012, 08:03 AM | #60 |
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Yup, I've hand washed my car many times below freezing. There are certain tricks like using luke warm bucket water and using rubber gloves (and doing it very fast, before the water freezes). I'm a car fanatic. A car fanatic never lets anyone else (man or machine) touch his car's exterior, no matter what time of the year.
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05-21-2012, 08:18 AM | #62 | |
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05-21-2012, 09:41 AM | #64 |
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I thought of it, but ended up getting someone to do it. The reason is because whatever you are opti-coating gets sealed in. If your paint has holograms (mine did straight from the dealer), swirls, or other imperfections then they are now sealed in pretty much permanently (unless you completely remove the opti-coat which is a massive job).
The guy that did mine was borderline rain-main when it came to making the paint perfect prior to opti-coat. He spent almost 5 hours polishing first. The actual Opti-Coat application itself isn't that difficult. I like detailing, but this is one time I'm glad I had a real pro do it. Well worth the money IMHO.... |
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05-21-2012, 09:46 AM | #65 |
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Been debating it, but to be honest, I get about six months of protection with Blackfire Wet Diamond and tend to toss a fresh coat of Dodo Juice wax on every month or two, so can stretch things to nearly a year before a full clay/polish/sealant treatment. But it still interests me, I may try it out. I used Zaino for years, so can't see it being much more trouble.
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05-21-2012, 09:58 AM | #66 | |
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The guy on autopia.org dumped muriatic acid on it two years after applying, and it didn't dent it.. |
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