Craziest detailing "advise" you have heard...

The first thing my uncle does when he buys a new car is put a coat of airplane wax on. I asked him what is wrong with car wax, and he says that it doesn't offer enough protection. I told him that is what sealant is for, but you can't tell him anything. He washes his cars maybe once a month, and does nothing but applying airplane wax once a year. And he wonders why his cars look like crap...
 
lawrencea said:
For a fast engine detail, spray the engine compartment with WD40 and wipe everthing down.
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Unfortunately, this is still very much alive and kicking at all of the local shops around here. The same ones that hire illegal immigrants. Things never change, even up here in Oregon.
 
lawrencea said:
For a fast engine detail, spray the engine compartment with WD40 and wipe everthing down.
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Forgive my ignorance, but what would be the problem with this? I've used WD40 to clean up greasy mechanical parts many times in the past. I'm pretty sure WD40 contains solvents and is specifically intended to help clean as well as lubricate.



Would the issue be with the residue it leaves behind?
 
12thMan said:
Forgive my ignorance, but what would be the problem with this? I've used WD40 to clean up greasy mechanical parts many times in the past. I'm pretty sure WD40 contains solvents and is specifically intended to help clean as well as lubricate.



Would the issue be with the residue it leaves behind?
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WD40 is ten times a better cleaner than it is a lube. I use it to clean my kart about every day-nothing beats it for removing grease & oil. Personally, I don't think it leaves that much residue - especially if wiped off. Most of the time, I soak everything down and hit it with the air compressor and it comes off clean as can be.
 
kompressornsc said:
WD40 is ten times a better cleaner than it is a lube. I use it to clean my kart about every day-nothing beats it for removing grease & oil. Personally, I don't think it leaves that much residue - especially if wiped off. Most of the time, I soak everything down and hit it with the air compressor and it comes off clean as can be.
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I agree.



I used to clean my Kart with WD-40 as well. Worked great!
 
12thMan said:
Forgive my ignorance, but what would be the problem with this? I've used WD40 to clean up greasy mechanical parts many times in the past. I'm pretty sure WD40 contains solvents and is specifically intended to help clean as well as lubricate.



Would the issue be with the residue it leaves behind?
Click to expand...



There is no problem with WD40 . I just mention it because it usually not used for cleaning engines.
 
I remember a huckster who would "detail" cars for a used car lot that would compound dirty cars with a wool pad. He swore that the dirt was an abrasive that would help cut the paint...can you say "holy swirls batman".
 
GatorJ said:
The title of this thread, "advise", is more than a little ironic.
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:D



Amazing how often people misspell that word (or misuse it). "Advise" is, indeed, a word, but it is a verb.



"Advice" (the word that should have been used in the thread title) is a noun.
 
Hah, i know its been said a few times already, but i wash my car probably once or twice a week and my mom is always telling me im going to wash the paint off. She has a Caddy CTS and a mercedes s420. She probably washes them once a month hah. I like to wax my car once a month as well and she tells me im going to polish the paint off when im just waxing, and normally im doing it by hand. (just because i use NXT 2.0 and it will remove anything under it with UDM)
 
12thMan said:
Forgive my ignorance, but what would be the problem with this? I've used WD40 to clean up greasy mechanical parts many times in the past. I'm pretty sure WD40 contains solvents and is specifically intended to help clean as well as lubricate.



Would the issue be with the residue it leaves behind?
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WD40 is flammable
 
this thread reminds me of the car wash horror stories thread... someone needs to bring that back. I had some good laughs reading it. My mom, when I'm using my PC, ALWAYS comes out and says "if you keep using that, your paint is going to fall off!" she just doesn't understand. Thank god I've convinced her enough that she doesn't know ANYTHING about detailing that she doesn't even try and just leaves it to me.
 
RIDDLE said:
lol my dad says that all the time. he says i polish and clean my car so much that the paint will just fall off one day
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My Father said the same thing! Haven't heard him say it since I've been doing his car! I wonder why??:buffing:
 
A mechanic where I work at told me that I could restore my ugly yellow headlights with Off bug spray and a rag. Just spray it on and work it in. Well I tried it with Off Skintastic. Didn't work.
 
edgar said:
A mechanic where I work at told me that I could restore my ugly yellow headlights with Off bug spray and a rag. Just spray it on and work it in. Well I tried it with Off Skintastic. Didn't work.
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You know, military bug-repellant will melt plastic on disposable cameras, lol. My fam had some old stuff in the amazon in around, oh '96. It was probably different from what they're doing now - but I'd assume it's similar to what some detailers use as part of the headlight restoration process, some type of solvent that cna rbeak down plastic (I forget what specifically can be used for this) I wouldn't be comfortable doing this, considering if any of this touches paint you're done.



I understand what he may have been thinking of though, that's funny.
 
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