I wrote this up for another mailing list a month or two ago, but since
"the car I helped a friend detail" is Chris K's GT6, it's appropriate
here too. The carets are someone else, the unindented text is me.
So Jerry, how old is the A's paint job again? You may just want to
use a liquid wax (no polish, no paste) to cover the top layer of the
paint while it cures. Worry about super protection later. Oh, and
whatever you do, *never* use TSP to wash a car. (No, thankfully, I
didn't do that myself.)
--Scott "Unless you *like* the chalky look, of course" Fisher
> I've been asking questions here and there and I've came up with a shortlist
> myself. Just for interest's sake, I'm trying out Mother Gold's 3-Phase
> system. It consists of: car-wash, pre-wax cleaner, paint sealant and glaze
> and carnuba wax. I've only got through the cycle once so I can't attest to
> the long term effects.
The procedure varies with the age of the car, the intended degree of
shine, and the condition of the paint, but that sounds like a good
combination for good-conditioned paint.
The car I helped a friend detail last night was in far worse condition.
I've polished it once with rubbing compound, he worked it over once with
Zymol, but the problem was that the paint had oxidized to the point that
the surface was too porous to keep a shine no matter what we put on it.
So we sanded it. No, really. (Kids! Don't try this at home! :-)
I've color-sanded new paint before, so I knew the basic drill. You get a
very fine grit of grey wet-or-dry emery paper -- we ended up using 2000
on Chris' car. Wash the car, keep it wet, keep the sandpaper wet, and
for every four or five passes with the sandpaper, wipe down the surface
you're sanding with a wet rag or paper towel to keep the rub-off from
settling back into the paint.
What this does is remove the top layer of oxidized paint -- now read
carefully, removing the modifier "oxidized," and you'll understand why
I say not to try this at home. If your car looks like something a
very large child would pick up to draw pictures on a blackboard, then
it's worth a try. But don't do this on any car that has a semblance
of a shine. And you probably don't want to do it more than once or
twice to the same car, or at least to the same paint job.
Chris's GT6+ (yes, Lawrence, that Chris and that GT6+) now no longer
looks like it's in military drab. We were literally getting brighter
specular components -- er, "reflections," for those not into GL lighting
models -- off the fenders than off the chrome trim strips at the seam.
It was beyond dramatic, it was a flipping miracle.
> > My situation is this: I own a 89 245 (81k), its silver with black vinyl
> > interior, and a 87 745T (121k) red
You have my sympathy. Silver and red are the two worst colors for
longeviry, red because it absorbs all the high-energy light and
reflects only the low-energy wavicles at the red end of the spectrum,
so the paint oxidizes more rapidly than any other color. Silver
tends to look bad because it's normally clear-coated, and the thin
clear-coat wears away, leaving a fairly dull matte silver beneath.
> I think red and black cars are much more difficult to keep looking good
> because the colour is so hard to maintain.
Black is about third... the worst thing about black is that it looks
so good when it's good, and it stays looking so good for about 40 minutes
after you put the waxer away. It doesn't deteriorate quite as much as
red or silver, but it's a close third.
> > meticulous with cleaning. The paint on the roof is a *little* oxidized, I
> > think I can probably work on that if I used the right products.
That's the red one, if I read your article correctly. (Having learned
to detail show cars on my MG, I hate doing roofs. :-)
The trick is always to start with a less-abrasive product than you think
you will ultimately need. Because your 745 is only 6 years old (my newest
car is 11, and my Volvo is going to turn 31 in November, so your car isn't
even in kindergarden by my standards! :-), I wouldn't recommend anything
but Meguiar's Deep Crystal to start. This acts chemically to remove and
neutralize very light oxidation, and therefore does no scratching or
abrasion. It's great for paint that's in good condition but in bad
environmental surroundings. I used to use it on my black car in Southern
California after the first year or so.
> > Right now, I use:
> >
> > Exterior car soap - Armorall Soap
I use dishwashing liquid ("You're soaking in it!") I used some Zymol at
Chris' last night; it's amazing stuff, but it costs amazing amounts of
money, too. Dishwashing liquid works, smells nice, and it leaves my
hands soft and young-looking.
> > Wax - Kit in the yellow can.
Kit is okay. The best stuff I found when I was doing concours was
Harly (no 'e') wax. It's a hard-compound, yellow carnauba wax that
takes a lot of work to apply but leaves a shockingly hard finish
when you rub it in well. (How hard? A kid on a bike once had to
do an emergency escape over the hood of my black car -- it was
parked on the street and a utility truck tried to merge with the
bike, I was standing in the doorway of the business I'd parked to
use. After we ascertained that the kid was okay, and he'd pedalled
down the street, I noticed that the driver's fender and hood had white
streaks on it -- on a black car. Fearing the worst, I inspected more
closely, and thought the paint had lifted. Turns out it was from
the kid's sneakers; they had rubbed off on my paint -- or rather
on the wax. I rubbed the rubber marks with a T-shirt and they came
off; when I polished the car next, all marks disappeared.)
> > Rubbing compound - Turtle Wax liquid (haven't used it much at all).
>
> Hope I never have to use rubbig compound.
You can avoid it by assiduously following a program of car care. Proper,
thorough paint care begins by removing dirt, using a gentle detergent
and preferably a sheepskin (imitation is okay) mitt. Then you need to
deal with the surface layer of wax. A cleaner-polishing compound will
do for most purposes; the Meguiar's we're talking about here is one of
the most readily available, but there are other products. For new
paint, that is paint that's still shiny even before the wash, don't
get anything abrasive. For old paint that's starting to dull, a
very light rubbing compound might be appropriate -- try using a
polish made for cutting new paint (what you do after color-sanding
new paint; that's another topic entirely). THe basic premise is that
you want to remove old wax, plus any paint that might have oxidized
on the surface. (One purpose of wax is that it is supposed to do
the oxidizing, not the paint.)
Once you've cleaned and polished down to the paint, then it's time to
put the protective coating back on. Here, as I said earlier, I like
Harly wax, but any good hard-shell carnauba wax is a good bet. (For
those who might not know, carnauba wax is produced by a Brazilian palm
tree, as a protective coating for young leaves; it keeps moisture and
sunlight from damaging the leaves till they grow to an age where they
can deal with the environment. No, I don't know whether carnauba wax
despoils the rain forest.)
When you're done with this, you can relax for a couple of months.
I normally do the complete detail job -- clean, strip, polish, and
re-wax -- only about twice a year in California (where the sun and
smog are the worst culprits for paint). I typically do this once
at the beginning of warm weather, to prepare the car for it, and
once at the end of warm weather, to repair the damage that the UV
does to my finish. Between these two extremes I wash the car about
once a month, more often for special occasions or new cars. :-)
Washing consists of nothing more than running the mitt over the
car with dish soap, drying it carefully, and then detailing any
black rubber trim (see below).
> > I also have used Maguire's Deep Crystal Polish, which I really liked (but
> > since I used it for the first time two days ago, I can't speak on its
> > longevity).
Oh, you found it. Yeah, it's good stuff. There are probably other
equally good products on the market, but I've always had good results with
the Meguiar's line, and it's easy to find. It needs to be sealed for
best protection; once you've used it, add a coat of wax to the top so
that your paint stays protected.
> > For the leather, I have used Lexol, which is great. For the plastic parts,
> > I have used Son-of-a-Gun, but it makes me nervous (and doesn't last very
> > long IMHO).
>
> I use Lexol too and it is great. I'm not exactly sure how frequently I
> should use it. Right now, I sorta wing it; when the leather feels 'funny',
> I drag out the bottle and the cloth.
Lexol is the right choice, but be sure you get the cleaner and the
conditioner. You almost can't overdo it. Clean with a soft sponge,
working a mild lather into the surface of the seats. Wipe dry with
a damp but not soapy sponge. For spills and dirty spots, you can
get away with a very soft-bristled brush and working the cleaner into
the surface of the leather, but be gentle -- imagine it's a wire
brush and your, um, tenderest parts (gums, yeah, that's it, gums).
When you've cleaned the leather, use the conditioner to return the
oils, moisturizers and protectants to the upholstery. That goes
on with a clean cloth; I've been using the blue paper shop towels
for this, as they don't leave fluff or lint, but the best thing for
general-purpose car care is an old diaper. Use it to rub out the
paint, to run in the wax, to clean and condition the leather, etc.
> > I'm particularly worried about my paint and my dashboard.
As well you should be. My current favorite dashboard stuff (and
general rubber and vinyl trim dressing) is Eagle One's tire dressing.
This stuff is great, and you should see what it did to the (new)
dashboard of our 122S. It will remove small amounts of dirt, but
a plastic cleaner or plastic polish is the best way to clean.
For vinyl seats, door panels, dashboards and the like, I use a
plastic polish sold by Tap Plastics, a local store. Meguiar's also
makes a plastic polish that is the recommended cleaner for convertible
top rear windows, as it removes oxidation without discoloring. I
work the polish into the surface of the vinyl with a medium-bristled
brush; you'll be amazed at how much crud you get out of the cracks,
versus just wiping down the surface. Once it's clean, then apply
the tire dressing. I also use this on the Zed Ex, which has a lot
of black trim on the exterior -- rub strips, light gaskets, vent
window strips and even on the black sunshade across the rear window.
Someday I'll have to try it on tires... :-)
For carpets, occasional use of a carpet cleaner (Woolite makes a
good one) isn't a bad idea. Just follow the directions on the can,
vacuuming carefully before application.
For chrome, Turtle Wax makes an adequate chrome polish, but I use
a brass polish from a small outfit called The Brass Monkey, hence
the name -- Monkeyshines. If you can't find it, Turtle Wax's chrome
polish works well. Be careful about what you think is chrome --
new cars have been using so much less chrome since the days of my
122S, and what does appear to be bright metal is often plastic with
mylar sheeting bonded to it, or stainless steel, or aluminum. For
aluminum, nothing beats Happich's Simichrome, a jewelry polish in
tube or tub. It smells like ammonia as you use it, but what it
does to the dashpots of your SU carburetors is nothing short of
miraculous.
The most important component of car care, however, is the same
wonder compound that works for engine care, and surprisingly enough
in the garden as well. It's a simple compound, mostly water with
a little salt and some oil: the owner's sweat. :-) Use it regularly
and you'll never have to take really drastic measures (like buying
a new car or having the old one painted).
--Scott
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