Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Aesthetics Should I be congratulated or consoled??

Several months back I decided that some custom paint is in the future for my Silver Frost 'tour. With that decided, I figured if I'm going to drop $800-$1000 for a partial repaint then I need to get serious about caring for the paint I have so I'll be in the habit when the day finally comes.

That being said, I don't know whether I need to be congratulated or consoled. Here's why: I spent the last week doing a lot of research on detailing. After reading up I bought some micro-fiber towels, MF washing mits, clay bar, etc. In the eight years I've owned the car I believe this may be the first time I've ever bucket washed it! So I should be congratulated for finally doing it right. HOWEVER, I this finally gave me the chance to see how much damage has been done to my paint over the years. You never notice any but the most obvious of chips when you wand-wash. I had many more chips in the paint than I believed, as well as some stains most likely caused by bug guts or bird poo.

So this evening I got the majority of the car washed. Taking a suggestion on the Zaino site, I washed the car this first time with Dawn. It will do a good job degreasing the car and stripping any old wax left on. This is a one-time thing, I'll be using a mild car wash soap in the future once I've properly detailed her. I left the wheels and wheel wells for tomorrow, cause my bad knees were acting up. I was able to begin on the claying. Managed to get the roof done as well as the windshield and front windows before the light gave out. Man, what a difference the clay makes!!! I have a number of spots that the clay isn't strong enough for, and I'll have to go at them with rubbing and polishing compound.

I haven't decided which way to go yet with the polisher/cleaner. I'd like to go Zaino, but I'm in a bit of a time crunch since I've already begun. I read in the faq that NXT is good for this step on a budget detail. Here's my question about this: at the autoparts store, they had Meguiar's NXT All-In-One cleaner/polisher. I searched and searched on here but could never find out for certain if this is the same product. Is there a specific NXT brand, or is it a Meguiar's product?

Here are a couple of other observations/thoughts that occured to me during the wash.

1) I was amazed how clean the wash water stayed while using the two-bucket method! When I finished the car, I could still see the bottom of the bucket because the water was still so clean! I was amazed.

2) Micro-fiber wash mits kick arse!

3) Clay bar. This stuff reminds me of the kneadable erasers we used in art class in high school. The texture was virtually identical, as well as it's self-cleaning characteristics. Since the clay bar is $10-$15 at the store, and since it says to throw it out if you drop it, this can be a costly mistake (I haven't done it yet!). Has anyone considered using the kneadable art erasers in place of the clay? I really feel this is quite possibly the same product put to a new use. If so, it could be a MUCH MUCH cheaper alternative than buying clay from the parts store. Is anyone out there willing to swing by an art supply store, pick some up, and give this a shot?? I would, but there is no art supply store in my podunk town.

I wish I had some pics to post of my progress thus far, but the cops never recovered my stolen camera (gee...shocking). Early impressions are that my baby is gonna be sportin' some sexy looks when I'm done. I'll continue to post my impressions as I use some of these products for the first time. I just wish I had done this from the day I purchased my car.

Well - first off. DON'T EVER USE DISH SOAP!!! I'm SHOCKED that the Zaino site said to do that. They should be shunned for that. Dish soap will discolor your plastic moldings - the alkalinity is made for dishes, not paint and plastic. Plus, it gets into the local drinking water, etc... If you are concerned about grease buildup, go to the store and get something that will remove grease from cars. Tar-off will do it. A citrus based cleaner will do it. Just don't EVER use dishsoap. It does more harm than good.

A clay bar is great, but is really only good for removing paint overspray and pollution. There have been many occasions where a clay bar was not able to remove stains from leaves and other imperfections. Rubbing compound may over do it, as a polish/cleaner might work as well. If you have tree sap, rubbing alcohol on a soft cloth works great. Just TAKE YOUR TIME. Let the chemical do the work - rub too hard and you'll scratch the paint.

Dude - you just spend $1000 on your paint and you want to save 5 bucks on claying your car? Come on - use your head. Products in the car care section of the local store have been developed for you car. Nothing else. Spend the extra 5 bucks - you get what you pay for.

Question - how had you been washing it before? Had you ever polished it with a cleaner?

First off, I don't use dish soap to wash the car every time. You wash plastic food containers with Dawn, don't you?? One wash with Dawn to de-wax and de-grease the car is NOT going to ruin the plastic moldings. As I clearly stated in my original post, this is a one-time wash with Dawn, not a regular occurence. And you'd be an idiot to use any citrus-based product on your finish. It's called citric ACID for a reason. I won't use citrus products to clean my wood furniture (dries it out), and I won't use it to clean my paint either.

Second, I know the clay bar will not remove all contaminants. There are a number of spots I'll be using rubbing compound and polishing compound.

Third, the car has not been painted yet. That is 1-2 years in the future. And just because you find a product in the auto-parts store does NOT implicitly imply that it was developed specifically for a car's finish. I merely stated that the clay had properties that reminded me of another product. It is quite possible that it is the same material, just marketed differently. Just because a product is on the shelf at the parts store for $15 doesn't make it better than a $5 art eraser if they are in fact the same material. Spending $10 more every time you purchase a product just because it's specifically labeled as "automotive use" is idiotic at best . Some of us have to actually save money and budget for the $1000 paint job. I merely posited a possibility that I think is worth exploring further. If the art eraser won't work, then it won't. If it does, then we have a convenient money-saving alternative .

Answer to your question - If you'd read the post closely, you'd see that I said I wand-wash at the car wash. That's the way I washed, and that's the way I waxed. Not the best way, but in the past I was less concerned about my car's finish. I now have a new outlook, and will be doing it the more labor-intensive way.

Try not to be so quick to judge noob.

Dawn has little to NO toxicity. read the bottle! It is FORUMLATED to be able to drain in to the city's water waste supply. its WATER SOLUBLE! you wash your glasses with it, then DRINK out of them, with only a good rinse in WATER to get it off.

So, if it gets in the WATER.. don't you think that it will be fine? Besides.. you're talking about an oz. or two in the entire supply? You're spitting in the ocean, here!

u have a shop that'll do a complete respray for 1k? hope they arent cutting corners to do it for so little.

there are plenty of citrus based auto products that r completely clearcoat safe. p21s total auto wash is a fantastic product that i use alot for different auto uses.

No, only the top half of the car is going to be resprayed. From the body crease just below the windows....from there up. Less than �½ the car.