WRX Cosmetic Advice Please
 

Hello everyone,

i've been running around for 18 months in this now:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/a.broad...s/image001.jpg

and today i gave it a good wash and had a good look up close at it. theres a few things i wanna touch up on it.

1. theres some light scratches, tar marks and other bits of stuff like caked on bird turd which i can't get off. years ago i would have used T-Cut on my old bangers to get it gleaming a bit more and take out all the little paintwork blemishes.......what should i use now???

2. My wheels are showing black brake dust stains which wouldn't come off with a bit off elbow grease and a soapy sponge. How can i get them back to their former glory???

3. A while ago a f**king wheelie-bin was blown over in a storm and fell onto my rear wing behind the wheel arch. Do these Paintless Dent Repair services (like http://www.dentwiz.com/site/UK/EN/index.htm) work and are they cheap???

I nearly sold this a little while ago but after cleaning it and going out for a blast I know I can't get rid of it yet. It's just too much fun.....;)


I know someone out there will give me some sensible advice......

Cheers.

Andy.

1) Buy Swissol products

2) Either use a wheel cleaner or buy some new wheels. Then wax them to stop the same thing happening again.

3) Depends on how bad the dent is but they normally work well.

Chris

Step back from the T-Cut and we won't shoot :eek:

Sounds like someones been a little lazy. Might be your joy, but not a lot of pride ;)

I'd recommend some Maguiars Scratch X, for about a tenner. Follow it up with some Maguiars Gold Class Carnuba Wax Polish, and if you're really thorough, I always finish off with a solid Carnuba Wax (Simoniz Original is my fave, fiver a tin :cool: ). Set aside an hour or two for the Maguiars products, but at least another 4 if you use Simoniz (although you won't need to do it again for a long time). On the wheels, Wonder Wheels normally does the trick. Best to take them off and do them properly one at a time.

Right, now I've told you what I do we'll sit back and wait for all the loonies to refer you on to Swissol and Zymol at 150 quid a pop :D

Oh, here's my results (piccy taken about 2 months after treatment, but it did have a wash that day)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/08...enay-Dazza.jpg

hmmmm, auto-glym and zymol for the paintwork, littleknocks/dentmaster for the dents, wonder wheels on the rims. job done.

Dave
www.scoobyphotos.com
dave@scoobyphotos.com

a bit lazy? i think you know me Corradoboy! i've always just taken it down the local hand car wash place cos i can't be bothered....up until now - a new start, more pride in the thing and more care.

the dent is only the size of a fifty pence piece, and about 10mm deep and not too creased round the edges.

thanks for the suggestions - i'm gonna get off my arse and tidy the thing up now.

Can you touch up the back end to make it longer :D
Just kidding lol

ha






ha

:)

I was always born to be centre stage LOL.... and no, not in the 1800's via a live post mortem :D

I am led to understand that oven cleaner is the best to use on the brake dust

thats cool.. I get nothing but break dust **** from my new carbon pads.. I aint getting those again for sure.. too much hard work!

IIRC someone on here said babywipes (Dettox ?) are great for a quick spruce up between proper cleans.

since when have Dettox produced babywipes? You wanna make your baby sterile :D

Maybe Dettol then :lol:

Dettol is an antiseptic... you cannot use that on a car LOL

Why not :confused:

<loony>
You could do worse on the scratches and swirl marks than Swissol Cleaner Fluid - the medium or strong version depending on how bad you think the marks are. It is slightly abrasive, but very unlikely to leave you staring at a patch of bare primer. (I had this with T-cut on an old banger once, oops!)
</loony>

For tar marks and other stubborn grot, I use Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover. Wipe on, leave for a minute or two and wipe off with a cloth.

WD40 sprayed onto a rag is great for cleaning brake dust off wheels

I'd recommend AutoGlym wheel cleaner for the alloys. It's not as harsh as Wonder Wheels etc. and it does a great job of romoving brake dust.

As regards the paintwork, T-Cut is probably overkill for a fairly new car like yours. Many of the good polishes (Autoglym super Resin, Zymol etc) have a mild cutting agent in them which will be sufficient to take out shallow scratches like the ones caused by car washes. Use a good wax over the top and your paintwork should come up like new!!

The only problem is getting the weather for doing it, unless you're lucky enough to have a workshop or a big garage.