new to the site, alittle history

D

DarkFox1

New member
hey, I was recommended to this site from another forum.



so I'll throw what I posted there.. on here heh



I got a "shammy" for christmas and a ryobi orbital with an applicator and polisher pad..



my truck is 5 years old, its been garaged since it was bought, I have a "diamondgloss" treatment done once a year.



In the past I have used a "poke around the neighborhood" method for drying the vehicle off after washing it.. I stopped recently since I have the "shammy" I follow up each and every wash of my vehicle with mothers back to black and chrome polish on the rims guards and exhaust tips, I use the back to black on the mirrors rubber around the windows and the black interior parts. I also use meguiars rich leather whipes on the seats dash and door panels, meguiars wax on the paint (has been hand applicated and removed with a bath towel in the past) and use black magic tire gen on the tires.



I have small water spots in the paint that not even waxing removes, I also have small black.. things.. in my paint on the rear hatch that can't be felt on the paint itself, but.. are visible, and the usual tar and all along the wheel wells that I haven't been able to get off no matter what I do.



Can anyone give me any tips on where I can improve? I plan on using this orbital for future wax applications if I can figure out how to use it..



I feel like I dont take well enough care of this thing.. its only 5 years old and it doesn't look new.. theres no reason it shouldn't.. so thtas my goal.. to make it look new again.. and keep it that way.. any insight on what I'm doing/not doing is much apprecited



this is for a '97 mercury mountaineer btw just.. I kinda left that out.



http://members.sounddomain.com/darkfox1



ACK stupid sounddomain always taking their services down.. I'll attach an image I guess
 
A good place to start would be the Autopia E-book. The first 8 chapters are free. Download and Read. See how your skills and procedure match up. The remainder of the chapters are an excellent review or learning experience for many detailing topics ($9.95 with free periodic up-dates for life ( detailing is ever evolving)). Go to the Home Page and look to the left under "Downloads".

Enjoy the read and do some searches on topics that may interest you. After that question away.:wavey
 
I don't have much time so I'll help a little and then post more later.



1. For the water spots, waxing (unless it's a cleaner wax) shouldn't do much in the way of helping you there.



Try the vinegar trick (search the forum for vinegar spot water). If that doesn't work, try claying the area.



If still a no go, you'll need to polish it out.



Try a paint cleaner first and if it still won't come out, try a Swirl Mark Remover.



2. As for Tar removal, check out DavidB's ebook on the splash page. Tarminator works pretty well or you can try IPA (isoproply alcohol). Make sure to apply wax after you complete the removal.



What type of Meguiars wax are you using?



1-2-3, Gold Class, No. 26 (Paste or Liquid)?



3. I'd reconsider using that shammy for drying your vehicle. It contains oils that will be left behind and will become a dust magnet. Considering investing high quality Microfiber towels. They don't scratch the paint, are very absorbent and the best for work on your vehicle. Otherwise, make sure the towels are using are 100% USA cotton.



If you would like to test your towels to see if they will scratch your vehicle. Try a CD test. Rub the towel on the shiny side of CD (that you don't care for) and see if it scratches. The CD surface is a good substitute for the clear coat finish on your car.



One work of advice: Careful!



This place becomes addictive and before you know it, you'll have more products in your arsenal than you would ever care to admit



That is of course, unless your RedCarGuy how loves to show off is multitude of TW Tire Gel and Eagle One Tire Cleaner ;)



Do a search for "RedCarGuy garage" and you'll see what I mean. Trust me, that will be you in 6months!



Cheers
 
thanks yall, I'll definatley be checking out that E-book, I dont trust myself much as far as my capabilities.. my car care library is very very small, as you can imagine by the list I gave, but.. I have a 57 belair that I got as a graduation present a few years ago, and I'm currently restoring a 71 C10.. so I'm going to need show-quality maintanence products for the C10 especially (the belair needs some work)



the wax is a gold class.. but its not a 3 step, its a 1 application yellow-ish colored liquid wax.



I'll try the CD thing soon too I'm pretty sure I already know the outcome of this tho.. if my shirts are too harsh for it then I know a bath towels gonna be.
 
DarkFox1 said:
I have a 57 belair that I got as a graduation present a few years ago,
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Caution, '57 Chevies have to be one of the worst vehicles you could possibly have in your possesion. Contact me immediately and I will help you get rid of it. I might even give you a small amount for the salvage parts, that way it won't cost you anything to dispose of it.;)



Charles
 
lol, well, it needs a lot of work in perspective to be a show-goer my uncle restored it and he did EVERYTHING.. paint body work etc. its the 1st and only car hes ever painted.. and he did it in a carport.. bugs birds and other entities have left their mark heh



the cars a 4 door.. but that just makes it all the easier incase I *cough* need the backseat on a date :) as if I would ever have such luck.. but hey we can dream right :bounce
 
CharlesW said:
Caution, '57 Chevies have to be one of the worst vehicles you could possibly have in your possesion. Contact me immediately and I will help you get rid of it. I might even give you a small amount for the salvage parts, that way it won't cost you anything to dispose of it.;)



Charles
Click to expand...
LOL Charles, you seem to be quite the bargain hunter lately haven't you? ;)





Welcome DarkFox1! :wavey
 
been doing some reading on the site, mostly on the exterior detailing section with what seems to be general "proper" proceduures.. it seems like every tool I have, every procedure I take, and every product I use is bad wrong or harmful..



most of the steps that one is supposed to take I really dont have the proper equiptment.. or the money to obtain this equiptment to do..



Its all gotten be very depressed about the situation.. as my vehicle is cursed.. (anything that can go wrong during a normal precudre will.. this vehicle amazes me in this feild.. ) I know I can't take these procedures that are "high risk" for inexperienced people w/o screwing something up.



I dont know what I'm going to do. its ok if the mountaineer gets what its got I suppose.. but I can't stand the idea of my C10 projects paint ever looking like my mountaineers does now.



maybe I should just stop trying and fork over the cash to have my vehicles detailed once or twice a week
 
DarkFox1 said:
maybe I should just stop trying and fork over the cash to have my vehicles detailed once or twice a week
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No! Don't give up! Properly detailing your car has to be one of the most rewarding "hobbies" you can find! Take it easy and slow with changing your habits - try changing one thing at a time, and you'll be amazed. :xyxthumbs



Claying is very easy to do, and is probably one of the best prep steps you can do on your vehicle. You'll be absolutely amazed at the garbage you pull off your paint. If you do a search here for clay, you'll see what I mean. That, combined with some bug and tar remover, and you'll be well on your way to a beautiful clean vehicle. I'm assuming your Mountaineer is a daily driver - start with that one. The challenges keeping up a daily driver will make taking care of garage queens a piece of cake.



Don't be discouraged. We were all newbies at some time or another. Heck, compared to most of the folks here, I sometimes feel like you do! But, each time I pamper my car, I see an improvement in the way I do things and the way my car looks. Patience and practice, that's all it takes.

:cool:
 
thanks for the encouragement.. I've been thinking about it since I did the reading, it seems the only main changes would be 1 or 2 procedures.. and far more products..



right now I use like a 5 gallon drum for the water and I usually do the rims last in my washing procedure. I've been using a dish washing cloth for the rims.. and.. thats a definate nono cos the thing is so rough it could proablly scratch a diamond heh



I use a brush from walmart, its soft to the touch but its definatley a synthetic fiber..



my main changes are going to be these items.. and the procedural steps.



The water spots.. are hard to describe.. they're like.. IN the paint.. I'm not exactly sure.. but I know elbow grease and meguiars gold class "deep shine" or somethin glike that wax is not enough to get these out..



yes the mounty is my daily driver it sees sun rain and ice.. not really snow since I'm in GA.





A thing I haven't found yet from looking through the forum.. I read the post about exterior cleaning, but I havne't seen anywhere where people say how to dry the vehicle? as I've said before I used to just air dry by driving it around at about 55 on the main road or much sloer here in the 'hood. I aws going to use that "shammy" on it on my next wash.. but since yall have said not to.... that still leaves me with the question of how the truck should dry off.



I dont yhave any cotten towels or wool or a sea sponge... .YET.. I plan on getting these.



My other question would be my rims.. they are american racing chrome plated aluminum "neptunes" (15x7.. yea stock size.. kinda sucks.. shoulda got somehting larger but for all practicality 15s worked best) I use mothers chrome wax and polish every time I wash. Recently however inbetween washes (2-3 weeks is enough to make a chrome rim look like a dull finish aluminum) I find that soap and water wont remove the grime from the rims?? I get on the level with the rims and clean with a rag dipping in the soap mix constantly and it simply will not come off.. I wind up having to wax it off and I know this is a very bad thing to do as it will probably scratch them up... any ideas?



btw the pic I attached is a straight down pic of my hood with the reflection of a ceiling light.. its what I'm "starting" with.. I should be able to see every detail of that light in the paint.. or at least thats my goal
 
DarkFox1 said:
... it seems like every tool I have, every procedure I take, and every product I use is bad wrong or harmful..



most of the steps that one is supposed to take I really dont have the proper equiptment.. or the money to obtain this equiptment to do..
Click to expand...
Don't be discouraged! I wouldn't say everything you own is bad for the car at all. A lot of what makes doing things "right" is simple technique, and you can probably keep on using much of your current supplies.



The ideal of "good car care" (ie, not damaging anything) can usually be tailored around even modest budgets and simple supplies you already own. Sometimes it's easy to lose sight of what really matters at Autopia and we get too caught up with intricate detailing plans that involve several steps, multiple products, and a sizable cash outlay. Sure, doing things that way and using all those products might give you the absolute best results, but do you really have to do that to keep your car looking better than 95% of the cars on the road? Probably not.



Don't get too caught up with all the expensive tools and supplies a lot of us use here. They're bonuses, but not totally necessary. A lot of the specialized, expensive products you read about are often optional or can be replaced with simpler, easier to get products with a similar function. One of the single most expensive items people are fond of here, is a tool referred to as a PC. Think of it as the industrial strength version of your Ryobi orbital. This expensive toy can be easily replaced by elbow grease (just ask Scottwax!), and is just a luxury, really.



There are some very basic principles of good, safe detailing that people should stick to regardless of budget. They are the minimums if you want to do it "right".



1) Safe supplies and equipment. These are things like wax and polish applicators, wash mitt, and buffing towels. Cheap foam applicators are okay for waxing/glazing, and I suggest a real sheepskin washmitt for simplicity's sake. They're not too expenisve, and just don't try and wash really filthy oil-covered areas with it and it should last a while. While you see everyone talking about microfiber (MF) towels, and they can be had for about $2 a piece, you may find various sized 100% cotton USA made towels more economical. Also, you can fold these up and use them for rubbing in polish.



2) Right products for the right jobs. Knowing what each product does and what you need are a great help in wading through the jungle of products. Minimally, all you truly need for polishing and protecting are one (maybe two) polishes and one wax. If your paint is really in need of help and all swirled up, you may want to try a moderate strength polish like Meguiar's DACP. With this you may be able reduce the swirling (and waterspots) and go straight to wax without another polishing step in between (which would be a "swirl remover"). Finish off with whatever wax you have on hand and re-wax it as necessary. You can try using your Ryobi for this (it's safe) but doing it by hand may allow you to rub harder when polishing.



3) Claying is highly recommended and may take care of the "dirt" you can't remove. :)



4) Good technique is most important. All the quality supplies in the world won't help you unless you can use them effectively. Read up on proper washing/drying methods (arguably the most important in avoiding swirls) and how to polish by hand. Neither of these is really that tricky and have a few simple rules to follow. After doing it a few times you should get the hang of it.



5) Learn to keep it swirl free as best you can. This kind of overlaps with the above paragraph, but how to treat your car in between total overhauls is just as important. Things like using QD, dusting, and washing to keep your car clean without damaging it. Eventually you will inevitably cause swirls, but you can slow the process. Once you have the paint repaired and swirl free, it's easier to keep it that way with less work and gentler products the next time you feel the need to polish again.



As an alternative to repairing your paint yourself (for instance if it's really bad) is you can pay a reputable pro to fix it once for you and then just care for it thereafter.



EDIT: man, oh man that took me a long time to type out! :p I see you've posted again since then, but I hope the above helps. :D
 
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