Any suggestions on car wash detergent and wax??
choroman
I am in the process of winterizing the cars and one of the items on my
list is a good wash and wax. I have never been please with any of the
car washing detergents I buy, they only seem to get the layer of dirt
off amd never the chunky road grime off. I have tried the cirtrus
based cleaner too with little luck. Any suggestions?
Also, any suggetstions on a good wax. My brother-in-law is pushing a
product call "zymcol" or something like that. He bought it on a
suggestion from a Pep-Boys clerk and seem to like it, it has Carnoba
and bees wax in it. I have used Blue Coral previously.
And lastly, I am noticing that some of the black plastic on the
exterior of the cars are starting to fad. Any ideas on treating these
or at least cleaning/protecting them?
Thanks in advance,
Ed
Benjamin Kaufman
> Also, any suggetstions on a good wax.
I like Meguiars Gold Class clear coat paste wax. It's easy to apply
manually and looks good. However, I haven't seen how it holds up over
the winter yet.
Ben
--
Ben Kaufman
antispam: To Email me, change domain from spam_sync to pobox.
- 11/16/98
Dr. Bob
dwindles at the ned of an Explorer wax session. There's a lot to wax!
The Pep Boys version of Zymol is a watered-down product made by Turtle
Wax, at least that's the rumor. Use appropriate caution.
I've had good luck with the Blue Coral products over the years, and
currently use their Autofom line of products on my black Explorer.
The Autofom Car Wash product has a bit of the surface treatment in it
so the car gets a little wax at every wash. I like the paint cleaner
and their wax-- seems to last a lot longer than the Mequiars that I
use on the Porsche.
For a bit of interesting reading on the subject, look at Larry
Reynolds' site at <www.carcareonline.com>. Larry is a recognized
finish guru, and offers a lot of great tips, techniques and products.
Note that the Autofom I use is not mentiona anywhere on his list of
preferred products, though.
All in all, the best wax is the one you use regularly. Lots of
multi-step treatmenst are great products, but sometimes the effort is
more than the regular owners care to expend.
dr bob
On Mon, 16 Nov 1998 13:50:57 GMT, chor...@yahoo.com (choroman) wrote
something like:
M Raisler
they last long and give a great shine. If you don't mind a little extra
effort get the hard wax which is a part of their 3 step cleaning system.
As for washing, Meguires also makes a car wash concentrate. However, it
won't get off road tar and sap and stuff like that. Get a separate road
tar, bug, sap remover that will do the job fine. Make sure you wax the
areas you use that stuff on afterwards. And unless you like to wax your car
everytime you wash it, don't use the old dish soap to wash your car. You
will see that layer of wax striped off very quickly.
Dennis Fowler
<mrai...@mci2000.com> wrote:
I use the Meguiar's products and have been pleased with the results. You
don't need to buy their (slightly overpriced) carwash soap. Just about
any plain carwash product (without extra additives) will do just as well.
As mentioned above, don't use any common household soap as most will
remove the wax you spent so much time applying and/or leave a film on
the finish.
As far as tar remover goes, most of it is simply kerosene. If you have
a kerosene space heater or know someone who uses one, just get a few
ounces and save yourself a few dollars (learned this when I joined a
company that used to make a complete line of car care products).
I've been doing this for over 30 years and have never had any
problems whatsoever. It's also good for removing the sticky tape
adhesive from almost any plastic without damage.
FWIW,
Denny
Sylvan Butler
>I've had good luck with the Blue Coral products over the years, and
>currently use their Autofom line of products on my black Explorer.
>The Autofom Car Wash product has a bit of the surface treatment in it
>so the car gets a little wax at every wash. I like the paint cleaner
>and their wax-- seems to last a lot longer than the Mequiars that I
>use on the Porsche.
Hmm, so I tried to find out about autofom, couldn't find it. So I
checked http://www.bluecoral.com/ and found that but no mention of
autofom. Found out they also do Slick 50... Ugh. Does that mean they
are part of quaker state now also...
sdb
--
Do NOT send me unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE)!
Watch out for munged e-mail address.
User should be sylvan and host is cyberhighway.net.
Dr. Bob
Butler) wrote something like:
>Dr. Bob (n...@address.available) on Mon, 16 Nov 1998 21:00:56 GMT wrote:
>>I've had good luck with the Blue Coral products over the years, and
>>currently use their Autofom line of products on my black Explorer.
>>The Autofom Car Wash product has a bit of the surface treatment in it
>>so the car gets a little wax at every wash. I like the paint cleaner
>>and their wax-- seems to last a lot longer than the Mequiars that I
>>use on the Porsche.
>
>Hmm, so I tried to find out about autofom, couldn't find it. So I
>checked http://www.bluecoral.com/ and found that but no mention of
>autofom. Found out they also do Slick 50... Ugh. Does that mean they
>are part of quaker state now also...
>
No clue on the ultimate ownership issue, but I wouldn't be too
suprised if Quaker State is at the head of this family.
I buy a bottle a year of this stuff, maybe. It's sold locally
(California) at Pep Boys stores for about $6/bottle. The recommended
dosage is a little high for my applications, so just a little dab 'll
do ya in my book.
As for the finish protector, I'm just starting my second bottle,
about six years into the program.
For those that aren't following along with this lifelong saga of best
wax/ best cleaner/ best wash/ best polish episodes, let me tell you
about my collection-- There are three storage boxes (about copy paper
size each) in my garage with various wax and polish solutions gathered
over the years. This started when I was in high school, and worked at
a parts place to keep costs down. The "Classic" car wax rep believed
that users were good salesmen, and I sold the hell out of his products
at $5 a can. The competition played on this too, and gave me plenty
of their products to try. Didn't hurt that I had a bright red Porsche
SC for a demo car, either. In the many years since then, I've tried
and trashed a slew of miracle products, including industrial,
aircraft, marine and automotive products.
Today, I have it narrowed down to a few that I really like. For the
black Explorer, the Autofom line gets the nod. The paint cleaner does
the dirty work, and leaves the surface smooth and ready for the
surface treatment stuff, the equivalent of the wax step. If the paint
has tar or road stains on the lowers (it always seems to get those...)
they are removed with kerosene or mineral spirits. Stone chips in the
lowers are repaired and painted, then the last two steps. Note that
the Autofom is NOT the shiniest stuff for dark colors. The optical
enhancers aren't up to some of the show-car products. The redeeming
factor for me is the long life, especially when the correct wash/wax
soap is used regularly.
For the black Porsche, the treatment is almost all Meguiars. Same
cleaning for road tar and slime, touch up any stone chips and paint.
The car is then cleaned of any fallout, overspray, surface crud or
whatever is --on-- the paint, using Meguiars overspray clay. In just
a few minutes, you can strip off all that stuff that makes the
surface feel rough. The next step is 3M Imperial Hand Glaze, and this
is by far the hardest work of the whole project. When you are done,
the paint finish is glass smooth, with no swirl marks, haze, etc.
showing at all. It is show-car shiny at this point, and could easily
stay in this state if the car wasn't a regular driver. Since the crud
and chemical pollution seem to love black paint, it gets a protective
coating of Meguiars #26 as a paint sealant. This stuff does nothing
to improve the finish, by the way-- all the good looks are already
there via the glazing step.
The downside to the Meguiars treatment on the Porsche is that it only
lasts a month or so before it starts to haze. Most folks would never
notice, but I do. A quick pass with the #26 brings it back, though.
The Autofom on the Explorer gets a lot more weather, abuse and
washing, yet lasts at least six months in my service. Since I was
overseas so much this past year, it's now almost a year since it was
last cleaned, and the water still beads up big time when I wash it.
Both cars get the wheel wells cleaned and detailed regularly with a
brush and sponge, and also get a spray with the tire foam whenever the
tires get it. Great stuff for keeping the plastic liners looking
brand new. I've settled on the ArmorAll foam because it's cheap at
WalMart when it's on sale. I also like their spray wheel cleaner for
the platinum-plated wheels on the 928-- no streaky stains like a few
other cleaners. The Explorer wheels are painted with clear-coat, and
get cleaned and waxed just like the rest of the truck's paint.
In between detailings on the lowers on the Explorer, I cheat a little
and use some Turtle-Wax Color Magic to hide any stone chips. There's
no salt or rust problem here, so this is an OK solution. It does a
credible job on those rockers and the lowers on the doors, and removes
easily with mineral spirits prior to any paint repairs.
The Subaru parts chaser gets cleaned and waxed every few months. I
use Meguiars combination cleaner wax on that and it works fine. It is
the only clear-coat paint in the fleet, and is also the only car that
lives outside full time. After the second month the wax is pretty
weak, but overall it seems to be holding up well enough to get regular
compliments. I may switch this one over to Autofom next time around,
but I have a BIG bottle of Meguiars to justify somehow.
dr bob
Dennis Fowler
dr bob,
As usual, great info!
Sorry to include the full text of the thread - lately I've seen a number
of posts where the original text has been omitted and I find it hard to
figure out what the question was.
I also have been using the Mequiar's #26 along with many other products
in their line to deal with specific issues. Agree that the #26 doesn't
seem to last as long as I would like, but it does give a nice shine
and is easy to apply and remove. Some of the other products I've used
over the years like Turtle Wax or Simoniz went on well but were a real
bear to remove.
I've had good success using a WaxMaster random orbit buffer with the
Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze and #9 Swirl Remover along with the #26
Hi-tech Yellow Wax. Also have been using the Quik Detailer after each
washing, which seems to prolong the life of the #26.
Did the Blue Coral thing years ago with good results, but boy what a
job that was! Haven't tried it in a long time just for that reason.
Is the Autofom much improved over the original stuff?
Just a word of caution to other NG readers. Some of the products
out there (including some of Meguiar's), call for a high-speed
rotary buffer. Unless you have a lot of experience using one of these,
and particularly on today's finishes, I would try practicing on
something *old*, i.e., a 60's vintage car. Today's finishes on
most cars are so thin (less than a mil) that you can go through
them in a blink of an eye. Back in the old days, paint was several
mils thick, didn't have the metallic/clearcoat type finishes so
common today, and had a lot more tolerance for rubbing/polishing
compounds.
The low speed random orbit polishers are less prone to do damage
unless you pick a very aggresive agent to attempt to restore that
neglected vehicle to showroom condition. My advice is to never use
anything that contains abrasives such as rubbing compounds or polishes
unless it is really called for and you know exactly what you're doing.
FWIW,
Denny
are
Dr. Bob
<<snipped a lot>>
>I've had good success using a WaxMaster random orbit buffer with the
>Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze and #9 Swirl Remover along with the #26
>Hi-tech Yellow Wax. Also have been using the Quik Detailer after each
>washing, which seems to prolong the life of the #26.
>Did the Blue Coral thing years ago with good results, but boy what a
>job that was! Haven't tried it in a long time just for that reason.
>Is the Autofom much improved over the original stuff?
Yes, but still a lot of work on a big car, especially if the finish
has not been maintained well. I've been using it on the Explorer
since new, so it's pretty easy to stay on top of the shine.
>Just a word of caution to other NG readers. Some of the products
>out there (including some of Meguiar's), call for a high-speed
>rotary buffer. Unless you have a lot of experience using one of these,
>and particularly on today's finishes, I would try practicing on
>something *old*, i.e., a 60's vintage car. Today's finishes on
>most cars are so thin (less than a mil) that you can go through
>them in a blink of an eye. Back in the old days, paint was several
>mils thick, didn't have the metallic/clearcoat type finishes so
>common today, and had a lot more tolerance for rubbing/polishing
>compounds.
>The low speed random orbit polishers are less prone to do damage
>unless you pick a very aggresive agent to attempt to restore that
>neglected vehicle to showroom condition. My advice is to never use
>anything that contains abrasives such as rubbing compounds or polishes
>unless it is really called for and you know exactly what you're doing.
I agree with Denny on this, and may take his warning a step further--
I can't think of a reason to use a power polisher or buffer on your
car, especially if it is clearcoated. There is no forgiveness with
clearcoat-- if you accidentally go even the slightest bit through
that thin clearcoat paint film (less than a mil on most cars) , your
finish is doomed. There have been many horror stories about "failed
paint" where the clearcoat is breached by somebody with a little
polish and a machine to apply it, or even hand cleaning with a
too-harsh cleaner or compound. If you are seeing paint damage on the
hood that looks amazingly like where your brother-in-law cleaned it
with his polisher or buffer, that isn't the paint's fault.
Be careful! A factory quality repaint is darn expensive!
dr bob
Jon M. Pearsall
<73dm4j$l5e$2...@usenet43.supernews.com>...
>In article <dbf-ya02408000R...@news.dca.net>, d...@dca.net
(Dennis Fowler) spit out:
>
>>As far as tar remover goes, most of it is simply kerosene. If you have
>>a kerosene space heater or know someone who uses one, just get a few
>>ounces and save yourself a few dollars (learned this when I joined a
>>company that used to make a complete line of car care products).
>>I've been doing this for over 30 years and have never had any
>>problems whatsoever. It's also good for removing the sticky tape
>>adhesive from almost any plastic without damage.
Try lighter fluid.
Dennis Fowler
<j...@dxiNO.SPAMcom> wrote:
> Old Hip...@freak.com (PhineasŽ) wrote in message
Lighter fluid will also work, but contains slightly more volatile
ingredients than plain old kerosene. It's also more expensive.
Denny
james.decker
protection as well as making things look sleek.<73dlq7$l5e$1...@usenet43.supernews.com>...
>In article <36502b65...@netnews.voicenet.com>, chor...@yahoo.com spit
out:
>
>>Hi all:
>>
>>I am in the process of winterizing the cars and one of the items on my
>>list is a good wash and wax. I have never been please with any of the
>>car washing detergents I buy, they only seem to get the layer of dirt
>>off amd never the chunky road grime off. I have tried the cirtrus
>>based cleaner too with little luck. Any suggestions?
>
>best shine in my opinion. Depending on what that "chunky road grime"
consists
>of and how long it's been on there, you may need another product. But I
get
>everything off of mine doing a little "presoak" first and then a little
elbow
>grease and frequent sponge rinses..
>
>>Also, any suggetstions on a good wax. My brother-in-law is pushing a
>>product call "zymcol" or something like that. He bought it on a
>>suggestion from a Pep-Boys clerk and seem to like it, it has Carnoba
>>and bees wax in it. I have used Blue Coral previously.
>
>longer...
>
>>And lastly, I am noticing that some of the black plastic on the
>>exterior of the cars are starting to fad. Any ideas on treating these
>>or at least cleaning/protecting them?
>
common
>from what I can see. I got some really good flat-black spray paint. I
sanded
>the trim pieces carefully, masked everything off and on a windless day in
my
>driveway I repainted them with several light coats. Then I NuFinished them
>after about a week. They still look good. I impressed even myself.
>I wonder if that fade is due to UV deterioration? If so then a UV
inhibitor
>coating of some sort periodically may slow it down but I am no expert.
>I do know that pressurized spray washers, hasten their demise....Probably
the
>brushes at the auto car washes as well.
>
>>Thanks in advance,
>>Ed
>
>Phineas
>:^)
>
>
>
>--
>
>Old Quote; "Necessity is the plea for every infringment of human liberty;
>it is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves".
>
>New Quote; "For the children is the plea for every infringment of human
liberty;
>it is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
>
> E. Vigilance 1998