Quick Detail

[Carl Anderson]

I have a Jet Black BMW and it scratches easily. Because of this I end up doing frequent detailing with my PC. I recently have come to the conclusion that perhaps my attempts at quick exterior details with Mequiars Final Detail have been misguided. The only occasions I quick detail is when I have recently washed, and perhaps a fine layer of pollen or light dust has accumulated. The technique I have used (probably wrong) is to spray the FD onto the car and then gently wipe off using a MF towel.



My questions are: (1) Is quick detailing on a late model BMW with such a soft clearcoat a bad idea and should just be abandoned?

or (2) Would it be OK if I were to thorougly moisten the MF cloth, then spray the cloth with FD, gently wipe a section, and then dry with a clean MF cloth.



The reason this is important to me is that I do wash my car at least weekly, and sometimes biweekly in the summer as I do not have a garage. But I can't wash it every day. My neighbors already think I am a lunatic, and those other days I am washing my less finicky cars.

 

[togwt]

Quote: Quick Detail







~One mans opinion / observation~



a)I have a Jet Black BMW and it scratches easily. Because of this I end up doing frequent detailing with my PC.

The top layer of the paint film system comprising clear polyurethane or urethane paint that provides outstanding hardness, premium gloss, distinctness of image and long-lasting colour retention and a hard protective layer. This protective layer highlights scratches and surface abrasions due to its glass like properties, every pit and scratch is a noticeable, especially so on darker paint colour. Clear coat has a thickness of 2-3Mils; the top half of this layer contains UV radiation protection. Removing more that 0.3 mil (0.0003�) of clear coat will cause premature paint film failure. As a point of reference a sheet of copy paper is 3.5Mil (0.0035�)



1) “A bad idea and should just be abandoned?�



2) Should be OK







~Hope this helps~





Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*

 

[shaf]

As far as I know, your method of QDing is straightforward, and also very common - it's what I do. However, something I always do before QDing is to dust the car off first.



Run a search on the California Car Duster (CCD) and also check out the similar tool DavidB sells on the Autopia store. These tools have been tested thoroughly and safely work wonders in the summer (just don't use it on hot or damp paint). A duster will take care of the vast majority of dust off that settles on the car. By the time you're done, your MF towels won't have much left to remove and should come back much cleaner than before, meaning that you're rubbing less dirt into the paint as well.



Some other suggestions might be to make sure you're not rubbing too hard, or with the MF towel edging (which can be harder sometimes), and also look into DavidB's QD method http://www.bettercarcare.com/articles.php?articleId=22 what he doesn't really mention (unfortunately) is that he is always "rolling" or turning the towel as he wipes, so that he's always wiping with a fresh area of towel...

 

[GoodnClean]

I know Jetzzen (Jet if I misspelled your handle wrong I'm sorry!) has come to the conclusion that its best not to QD his black Passat because of micro-marring. I dont see any problems when QDing my Lexus, but its not pure black.