Runnerman

Hi all,

Sorry if this is a regular question!

My 2006 WRX hasn't had the attention it deserves recently and the paintwork could do with some special treatment!

Washed car today with Autoglym S & C which did quite well, but what do folks recommend happens to it now to make the paintwork a lot better?

S

Jon T

Clay bar or clay mitt, machine polish and a good coat of wax

Runnerman

Thanks, Jon T, will try this on a panel.....have some clay as it happens.......but not a machine......

S

SteveKozy

Hey,

Just some standard safe wash tips and techniques to help you. There are more steps than this and feel free to ask if you have any questions -

First stage - Pre Wash
1. Citrus Cleanser Pre Wash (removes stubborn road film/bugs/layers of muck). Put it directly on a dry car, let it cling and soften the dirt before you go at it with any pressure washer. Else you run the risk of dragging particles along wiht the water over the car. Making your job larger.
2. Snow Foam - You can maybe skip the first stage if you need to or don't feel the car is that dirty. Snow Foam gives you a thick clinging foam that softens and takes dirt deposits with it as it dwells and comes off the car.
3. Whilst the snow foam is dwelling - Use a soft brush to do hard to reach areas and to make sure the foam is worked into the areas that maybe aren't being captured at that point. Wing Mirrors, grills, corners etc.
4. Rince. Use your pressure washer to now rinse the car of foam. Start at the top of the car and work down.

Stage 2 - Wash & Dry
Two Bucket Method. Grit Guards. Wash Mitt. Brushes (if you don't have Grit Guards, still use two buckets and make sure you rince the mitt after each pass of the vehicle)

1. Good quality concentrate shampoo and mix with pressure washer to foam it up.
2. Wash the car top to bottom. Rinse the mitt in the rinse bucket to remove debris and then back to the clean water and then onto the car. Don't wash in circular motions. I prefer to go in squares, with as little force as possible.
3. Rinse. Make sure you rinse the car thoroughly.
4. Dry. Use a good quality, high gsm drying towel. Its worth spending money on a good one as they are invaluable at this stage.

Stage 3 - Decontamination

Clay Bar/Clay Mitt. Iron Fallout Remover.

1. Use the fallout remover. Spray sills, bottom of doors, arches, rear with Fallout remover to remove heaviest iron deposits from brakes/exhausts. This is not wheel cleaner - that is a separate product. Leave to dwell and react - you'll see it change colour. Once done, don't let it dry on the car. rinse.
2. Use a QD or Clay Lube (often same kind of stuff) and spray a panel and then section by section using a bar (medium grade) go over the paint in straight lines till it feels smooth and has removed any tar or debris left over from previous wash steps. Now. You have the option to purchase a quality clay mitt and these will save a lot of time. Its personal preference. I used to use just bars. But a mitt came into my possession and i've never looked back. They are quicker. Go in straight lines. Make sure to lube the paint and mitt to make sure you are minimising contact with the surface and its lubricated and do this over the entire car. You will know when you are finished when you can run your fingers over the paint and it glides, feels like glass and no longer grabs the mitt. Depending on the state of the paint this can take some time if the car has never been clayed before. Take your time. Use lots of spray to lubricate the process and you'll minimise risk of further damage. You can do this on glass and plastics as well.
3. You can/I would choose to wash the car again as per step 2 above at this point.

Now at this point i would normally begin a correction phase including the use of a machine polisher. However i read in your post you don't have a machine and if you are novice i don't recommend you go straight and buy one and start work on the car as that is a whole other level of technique involved.

However, there are polishes you can use by hand that would give decent good results if you are willing to take the time needed do it. I would recommend something like a 1 step product like Gtechniq p1 nano composite polish - it works well by hand and will give good results.

Alternatively, if you don't think you can get a good finish by hand (its not impossible but hard) then i would think about using a glaze. A glaze is a product that will restore the appearance but fill a percentage of the defects in your paint, masking, rather than removing the problem. Chemical guys Blackhole is a good one and has good results for the price point. But there are many out there.

Once this is all done a good wax or sealant will seal in your finish and enhance the finish you've achieved.

Those are just a few hints/tips/techniques to apply that would/should give you a good finish. Hope it helpts

Runnerman

SteveKozy, thank you so much for all your advice - surely it should become a sticky for other members?
Marvellous help. I haven't a pressure washer as yet but the spring will see one arrive!

Thanks again for your excellent reply!

S

SteveKozy

Hey no worries. Glad you've found it helpful

Runnerman

Hi SteveKozy, just an update on progress following your brilliant cleaning schedule. Perhaps others would be pleased to read as well.

i washed the car twice using autoglym shampoo/conditioner. This alone did very well, especially when rinsed then fried using proper Kent drying towels, which are fantastic!

I then wet the car again, used a weak mixture of car shampoo in a spray bottle to act as lube for the G3 clay mitt. I did one panel at a time, rinsed then dried. The results amazed me. The surface was smooth, clean and the colour brighter!

Having done the whole car and surprised myself at how easy it had been to achieve a huge difference I decided to polish one panel with Meguiars ultimate polish, and one with blue T Cut. The T Cut won this battle easily, and once again amazed me at the difference in finish quality.

So I've just finished the whole car with T Cut. It looks fantastic. Like new. And DPD have just delivered the Gtechniq P1 so my afternoon will be spent using that as prescribed by you!

I've then some decent wax paste to apply. I've never had time to do anything like this but the results are so satisfying.........

Thanks again for your superb help!

Best wishes from a happy Steve!!

SteveKozy

Hey Runnerman,

Good to hear the update from you on the cleaning and i'm glad you've noticed a big difference and are happy - ultimately that is the main object.

I would point out one point and its around your comment concenring Meg's Ultimate Compound - It's a SMAT (Super Micro Abrasive Tech) product so its abrasives either remove defects or if they are not aggressive enough and leaves them in place (at which point a more abrasive compound is needed). Therefore, what that means is It does not contain any "oils" or "fillers" that would usually hide imperfections in the paint.

The T-Cut on the other hand has those "oils" and "fillers" that, instead of fixing the issues, works to mask them. Usually only for a short time, so you might note in direct sunlight and at certain angles or after a corresponding maintenance wash. That you notice more of those marks back in the paint.

My comment is not to deride your work - i am really happy you are happy and satisfied with the finish achieved vs what you started with. But more as an education piece around the product types and differences and why you felt you got a "better" finish from one over the other.

I would be more than happy to discuss further with you if you or anyone ever wants to chat about car care/cleaning/enhancement - not my business anymore but as an accredited detailer of old i am happy to share advice and chat about car cleaning to anyone. Talking of which, now Spring is almost on us, my car will be up for a full decontamination and 3 stage machine polish - i'll be posting up pics and steps to go along with this both here and on my instagram page.

As said. really happy you are satisfied with the finish. Good work mate

Runnerman

Thanks, Hatred, will have a look on e bay!

Runnerman

From wash to wax, using clay mitt and polish as recommended by SteveKozy........just wheels to do

SteveKozy

Honestly, i would consider staying away from a rotary unless you have experience and competency in working on paint with a machine. A rotary will burn through paint literally in seconds if you don't know what you are doing and it costs alot more to repaint a panel than it does to buy a DA polisher and a scrap panel to practice.

There is a big difference between them. That is Rotary polishers spin on a single axis in a regular circular motion and a Dual Action (DA) spin in 2 different ways, so the head spins in concentric circles and the spindle turn spins in a wider circulating motion. The reason i say stay away from rotary as a beginner, is that spinning fast in one direction creates friction and heat...a lot of heat. And you don't want to burn through your clear or base coats and i'm not exaggerating when i say this can be done in seconds if you leave it one spot too long. LIkewise, moving over the paint quickly will do little but clean the surface you aren't actually correcting paint. You'll end up with holograms/buffer trails all over the car if you aren't using it correctly (likewise with a DA)

The DA and how it spins, is designed to dissipate much of that heat - it will generate heat but not as much. So fundamentally it's a lot harder to damage the paint beyond (not impossible). It does as good a job at correcting in my opinion though there are many different pools of thought. Rotary can correct quicker and require less time. But honestly, most of the detailer's i know will have both in their arsenal and choose the product and equipment based on the job. So no one answer is correct, its just a point of view.

This is something you can consider a starting machine - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DAS-6-v2-...sAAOSwAKJdenel

If you do go for a rotary or a DA and working on a car with thin and soft paint like a subaru, i would recommend the purchase of a paint depth gauge. They are useful in a number of ways. But i guess its just an added precaution. It will give you an indication of how thin the paint is in a given area of the car. So if the reading is low you may wish to mask off that area and only work on it by hand (or as i said use a DA for that portion instead of rotary which has a higher chance of burning through it). It can also tell you where the car has perhaps been painted before or had accident repair (filler work) carried out - so they can be handy to have regardless. - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Paint-and...YAAOSwHMJYIi87

The G3 Mitt is great, i totally agree, saves a lot of time and energy over a clay bar, particularly in this weather as clay becomes very difficult in the cold and causes as much damage as it solves unless you have heated it up and have clay to spare to keep warm and swap between. I used to use clay and now use a wo wo mitt - comes in a nice bag to keep it clean and safe. I use it all the time before correcting a car. Its a go to product now.

@Runnerman Nice picture , it indeed looks very clean. Good work

The above is all just personal opinion, its not meant as a "you must do this". Just my experience.

SteveKozy

Apologies if you thought i was having a pop at you @Hatred , my comments were directed @Runnerman so that he understood the difference between DA and Rotary and why i would not recommend rotary for the reasons i stated. You'd be amazed at the number of jobs i would be called up to come fix issues with people trying to machine polish themselves - having bought a rotary and thought "how wrong can it really go" and in some cases the damage was too much and it required a repaint.

I understood and totally and agree with you that its very unlikely to cause damage (albeit possible). You are positively correct in your comment.

A DA and a scrap panel is always a good place to start out - bonnet is a tenner from a scrappy - get one that is dark in colour and practice practice. Helps teach you about the weight of and holding the machine, the amount of pressure it takes to correct. You learn how the machine moves over the paint, how it can catch edges or strike on the side if you aren't holding or moving it correctly. Learn how to work a product, how and why you can create holograms. Understanding the steps needed to achieve a "great" (subjective) finish. All avoidable and things you can learn before attempting on your own beloved scooby (other cars are available).

Russell38

Do not use a rotary polisher unless you have previously used one you will burn the paint or cut to much lacquer start with a da

Runnerman

Thanks to SteveKozy for your kind comments on my first attempt at a "proper" clean of my beloved WRX...........your help is much appreciated.

Sorry for late reply - have a tricky family situation to deal with at moment.....

Thanks to Hatred for advice on DA use and thanks to Russell38 for backing that advice up.

I used a DA in the early '80's on a Transit panel and had no problems in cutting in fresh paintwork......so if I do get one I'll take care to teach myself proper use before touching the WRX.

Have just noticed that rear bumper lacquer is peeling.......any thoughts on this please?

Thanks again to all.....

S

John 37

Quick question, I've got 2 DA sanders, ons air operated, one electric. The air one is for rubbing a car down prior to respraying. The electric one is meant for sanding wood. Are these the same as DA polishers?