Detailing Tips & Tricks....

[Troyziee]

Righto had a proper read of your response Toey, thanks for all the detail.

I'll start with the fact that i know i should/need to machine polish the car, however at the moment i just can't justify 300 odd dollars for a machine that i will only use once a year if lucky. maybe i will put it on santa's list considering how fast christmas is coming up!

whats the best light to see swirls under, LED torch, direct sun, overcast sun, fluro tubes? as i know where some are (mainly bonnet) but can never see them greatly.

the claying issue is fine, i will do it when still wet, and just use ALOT of lube.

would you recommend doing a round of lime prime in between my clay and paint protection, or will i just be wasting my money? (theres some slight clouding on my door that i do not know what its from that I'm afraid clay will not remove, but the lime prime might. I will try and grab a pic of it now)

And yes i was referring to the dodo juice waxes, they have lots of soft and hard.
so you think i should put some wax on after my paint protection, and if so, whats your choice?
if its from the dodo juice range ill get the pack that contains lime prime, wax and cloths. though open to all suggestions that would look best on my colour (Poison Ivy)

 

[toey@carfx]

haha, u may think that the polisher will come out once a year, i bet you will be doing friends and family cars in no time.

yes the lime prime will make a difference as the micro abrasives will get rid of light marks and clean the paint. using it may deem the bonding agent a waste of time and product (but worth using if not using lime prime) as the sealant will work with it. if you are going to use dg 105, you cant layer this as it has cleaners in it so doing layers of this is pointless, but on the other hand dg111 can be layered with no porbs. 1 coat of dg105 will last longer then dg111 but using multiple layers of dg111 will get alot better life from the sealant (and dg111 looks better in my eyes). or better still a layer of dg105 then 2 layers of dg111 then wax.

for the wax i would go probably purple haze or supernatural. the sample pots got a very long way, you should get 8 coats out of it easy. end of the day it comes down to your own tastes

 

[Johnny01]

Hi everyone just wondering what's the best way to get rid of overspray from my car, it's a dark blue/purple (Bermuda blue I think) vt wagon and ever since I've owned it there has been mad amounts of white overspray all over like someone has sprayed a car right next to it ive tried some cut and polish but ir just seems to dull the paint a bit and not take the overspray away any help would be great cheers

 

[toey@carfx]

Clar bar then a good polish to remove the marring you put it. It depends how long it has set on the paint and what type of paint the over spray is as to how easy the job will be. All the cutting compound has done is dislodge the surface contaminates and scratch your paint. That is why you need to clay before any form of polishing.

Also, did you try the polish by hand or machine? If by hand, you have put too much pressure on the harsh abrasives before they started to break down which has scratched the paint and made dull. You will need a finer polish to bring back the gloss. If you used a machine, you have gone too hard and will need to step down a couple of times to refine the paint, basically the same as what I said about doing by hand.

 

[Filippimini]

Hi all,

I have been given my grandfathers VP Calais, which is in very good condition. However, as he got older he didn't pay as much attention to detailing the car.

The paint on the roof is a little faded/dull. What is the best way to restore it?

Ryan

 

[toey@carfx]

Depends on what it's like, post a pic up of the roof then we can tell you what is needed

 

[Filippimini]

here are some pics. As you can see, the paint isn't bad, just a little dull.

 

[toey@carfx]

Look like red on my phone (or is it maroon?). If it is red it won't have a clear coat hence why it will go dull. If it is maroon it will be clear coated and the dullness maybe from the clear starting to fail.

If it is the red a good going over with some compound on a machine polisher then finish down with a finer polish and pad combo. Doing it by hand may get results your happy with but it will be hard work getting through the oxidization. Also this may result in patch look to it where not all the oxidization had been removed.

If its maroon there isn't much you will be able to do if the clear is failing. Whatever you do must be very light as effectively you are removing a very fine layer of clear and if it is failing you will only speed up the failing process by removing clear. Only way to fix it is respray.

Good idea is to jump onto car care products website and check out their how to guide which has text and videos explaining every part of the processes needed to do the job

 

[TinSnips]

Yay for non-cleared holden red! Needs to have the oxidation removed by machine polishing. There's no fancy wonder product that will help. If you're handy with a polisher, you'll be able to have a crack at it yourself with a bit of help from some products from Car Care Products.

 

[Troyziee]

I'm back with more silly questions!

About to buy the dodo juice like prime and dodo juice purple haze, but need to know if/what applicators I will need and how to apply it.

Lime prime, don't know what sort of applicator is required. And also how to apply it, circle work or straight lines? Let it dry or work it then wipe straight off?

Purple haze, looking at dodos website they have a little tutorial applying by hand, would you recommend doing it by hand or one of those finger mits?

Plus for the lime prime and any waxing, do I need to tape up the lights, plastics and all that?

And hopefully last, say a month or so after waxing the wax is wearing off, can I top up the layer of wax, or need to go through the whole strip, clean, reapply paint protection and wax stages?