chris1965
Senior Member
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2016
- Posts
- 381
- Reaction score
- 204
- Location
- South Carolina
- Ram Year
- 2014
- Engine
- Hemi 5.7
I was reading a lot here and I already see, what I see everywhere on car wash or in the cleaning- accessory isle at wal mart. Lots of products and lots of possibilities to get rid of your money and the psychological effect let you believe, you've done something good.
years ago I owned a smart repair business- and I admit- I'm a worker and not a business man, so I was honest to my self and closed it down.
but there are some things I know and lot of things I learned about cleaning and paint, plastic care, aluminum care, leather care, even glass care.
I know, a lot of you guys love to use as many high end products as possible to preserve the shine of your vehicles (ok- I'm not talking about the muddin' freaks who love to carry 2 tons of mud around).
I want to give you some thoughts and some of my experience about cleaning and detailing.
Where to start?
A new vehicle shines. the reason is not a thick layer of wax how a lot of people think. the reason is because the paint is smooth. You have to see the paint under a microscope. highly enlarged it shows, the paint is not as smooth as thought. the surface is a landscape of mountains and valleys. over time, the mountains get higher and the valleys deeper. what happens is, the light reflects not directly to your eye no more, it reflects in all directions and likely more sideways than straight. this let the paint look dull. If now the paint gets waxed, all you do is, you fill the valleys up and reroute the reflection of light. your vehicle will shine again....until the next car wash, where you wipe the wax out of the valleys. The problem here also is, wax binds dirt particle. this makes it even worse, because if you wash the vehicle, you actually scratch the paint with mix of solvent (soap) wax and dirt and over time the vehicle becomes more and more dull. don't forget- we are talking about tenth of a micron!
Now- what to do?
A new vehicle don't need wax. it also don't need special cleaner. Car wash soap is all you need. I love micro fiber rags. wash it out often while washing your vehicle, use plenty of water and make circle movements while wiping.
don't let the soap dry on the paint- I usually do 1/4 of the vehicle and rinse the soap off. After finishing, rinse the vehicle good. now use a new micro fiber rag and dry the vehicle. I don't have to say- also clean the corners and hard to reach regions. I also spray the wheel arches good with water.
Now- what to do, when the shine starts dimming?
There are products on the market with very soft sanding material included.
what these products do is, the sand the tips of the mountains in the paint off and reroute the reflection of the light in the desired direction- toward your eyes and the vehicle will shine again- but remember- don't use this every time- one time that's it. we don't want to strip the paint, we just want to refinish the surface! I usually polish a layer of Teflon polish (yes expensive) after washing and cleaning. the Teflon finish will protect your paint for almost a year. I usually do this before winter time- this protects the paint in the worse time of the year.
If the paint is really dull, then a sanding polish is necessary. don't press to hard, just polish with low pressure . you will be shocked first- because the vehicle will look like stripped off of clear coat. but the next stage fixes it. take the fine sanding finish polish. this will smoothen the paint and the paint will shine. after Teflon finish- the shine is there to stay and don't come off after next car wash.
yes- it is so easy. it's not the amount of products or brand names- it's about the right stuff.
If you have flies or dried bird poop on the paint- take a old newspaper and layer 4-5 layers on it. wet the newspaper and keep it wet. after ~20 minutes, take the newspapers off and you will see- the stuff wipes off like it's nothing and it's soft, so nothing scratches.
Chrome- if you wash your vehicle chrome does not scratch. before washing, I use a old hand towel and wipe the dirt off from the chrome- bumpers and rims. this way you will have no streaks in the chrome after washing. After washing also - wipe the chrome with a damp micro fiber rag. it will shine like new.
now plastic. I know, there are a lot of products out there in all price and quality categories- the newest is this wipe new stuff.
here is what you can do: forget about it.
all you need is amoral tire shine.
Amoral tire shine has uv-protection, is not sticky and also don't let the plastic shine that you don't see anything else in the windshield than the reflection of the dash board.
outside plastic stays black- even through rain. I apply it after every car wash and all black plastic parts looking like new. even bleached out dash boards looking like new and keep their natural new shine without being an annoying reflection in the windshield.
I also use amoral tire shine for the plastic headlights. try it- you will be amazed.
last but not least- I use tire shine for the rubber door seals. it keeps the rubber flexible, it does not dry out and it prevents the seal from freezing to the door in the winter, which destroy the seals.
At the end- one more tip- take your time. cleaning a car takes hours. take breaks, drink something, smoke your cigarette, and go on. I am usually 4-5 hours on my truck every other weekend (yes- washing too often is not good either) except in spring when the pollen are around.
Glass- don't use glass cleaner for cleaning inside if the windshield is not so dirty from smoke residue that it's already part of the vehicle. honestly. try a t-shirt or a normal bath towel. another possibility is newspaper. you will have no streaks in the glass. even grease spots from fingers will be gone and leaves no streaks.
if you got dirt or (women have that often) make up on the headliner- first wipe with clean micro fiber rag. hard spots- put very little grease lightning on the rag and wipe. your headliner will look like new.
Just a last hint- clean always in the door gap to body- if that is kept clean, the vehicle has a very taken care- appearance. If you want to sell your vehicle- this can be the last kick for somebody to buy it.
I know- there are many more things to do- but this are just the basics. But I think it helps to prevent somebody from overspending on cleaning supplies and disappointing experiences after hours of detailing.
Overall: a indicator of a clean vehicle is how the water rolls off. if the water sits in small balls on the paint- all is good. if the balls getting bigger- it might be just dirt. if the water sits in big spots on the paint, action is needed.
Keep it clean!
years ago I owned a smart repair business- and I admit- I'm a worker and not a business man, so I was honest to my self and closed it down.
but there are some things I know and lot of things I learned about cleaning and paint, plastic care, aluminum care, leather care, even glass care.
I know, a lot of you guys love to use as many high end products as possible to preserve the shine of your vehicles (ok- I'm not talking about the muddin' freaks who love to carry 2 tons of mud around).
I want to give you some thoughts and some of my experience about cleaning and detailing.
Where to start?
A new vehicle shines. the reason is not a thick layer of wax how a lot of people think. the reason is because the paint is smooth. You have to see the paint under a microscope. highly enlarged it shows, the paint is not as smooth as thought. the surface is a landscape of mountains and valleys. over time, the mountains get higher and the valleys deeper. what happens is, the light reflects not directly to your eye no more, it reflects in all directions and likely more sideways than straight. this let the paint look dull. If now the paint gets waxed, all you do is, you fill the valleys up and reroute the reflection of light. your vehicle will shine again....until the next car wash, where you wipe the wax out of the valleys. The problem here also is, wax binds dirt particle. this makes it even worse, because if you wash the vehicle, you actually scratch the paint with mix of solvent (soap) wax and dirt and over time the vehicle becomes more and more dull. don't forget- we are talking about tenth of a micron!
Now- what to do?
A new vehicle don't need wax. it also don't need special cleaner. Car wash soap is all you need. I love micro fiber rags. wash it out often while washing your vehicle, use plenty of water and make circle movements while wiping.
don't let the soap dry on the paint- I usually do 1/4 of the vehicle and rinse the soap off. After finishing, rinse the vehicle good. now use a new micro fiber rag and dry the vehicle. I don't have to say- also clean the corners and hard to reach regions. I also spray the wheel arches good with water.
Now- what to do, when the shine starts dimming?
There are products on the market with very soft sanding material included.
what these products do is, the sand the tips of the mountains in the paint off and reroute the reflection of the light in the desired direction- toward your eyes and the vehicle will shine again- but remember- don't use this every time- one time that's it. we don't want to strip the paint, we just want to refinish the surface! I usually polish a layer of Teflon polish (yes expensive) after washing and cleaning. the Teflon finish will protect your paint for almost a year. I usually do this before winter time- this protects the paint in the worse time of the year.
If the paint is really dull, then a sanding polish is necessary. don't press to hard, just polish with low pressure . you will be shocked first- because the vehicle will look like stripped off of clear coat. but the next stage fixes it. take the fine sanding finish polish. this will smoothen the paint and the paint will shine. after Teflon finish- the shine is there to stay and don't come off after next car wash.
yes- it is so easy. it's not the amount of products or brand names- it's about the right stuff.
If you have flies or dried bird poop on the paint- take a old newspaper and layer 4-5 layers on it. wet the newspaper and keep it wet. after ~20 minutes, take the newspapers off and you will see- the stuff wipes off like it's nothing and it's soft, so nothing scratches.
Chrome- if you wash your vehicle chrome does not scratch. before washing, I use a old hand towel and wipe the dirt off from the chrome- bumpers and rims. this way you will have no streaks in the chrome after washing. After washing also - wipe the chrome with a damp micro fiber rag. it will shine like new.
now plastic. I know, there are a lot of products out there in all price and quality categories- the newest is this wipe new stuff.
here is what you can do: forget about it.
all you need is amoral tire shine.
Amoral tire shine has uv-protection, is not sticky and also don't let the plastic shine that you don't see anything else in the windshield than the reflection of the dash board.
outside plastic stays black- even through rain. I apply it after every car wash and all black plastic parts looking like new. even bleached out dash boards looking like new and keep their natural new shine without being an annoying reflection in the windshield.
I also use amoral tire shine for the plastic headlights. try it- you will be amazed.
last but not least- I use tire shine for the rubber door seals. it keeps the rubber flexible, it does not dry out and it prevents the seal from freezing to the door in the winter, which destroy the seals.
At the end- one more tip- take your time. cleaning a car takes hours. take breaks, drink something, smoke your cigarette, and go on. I am usually 4-5 hours on my truck every other weekend (yes- washing too often is not good either) except in spring when the pollen are around.
Glass- don't use glass cleaner for cleaning inside if the windshield is not so dirty from smoke residue that it's already part of the vehicle. honestly. try a t-shirt or a normal bath towel. another possibility is newspaper. you will have no streaks in the glass. even grease spots from fingers will be gone and leaves no streaks.
if you got dirt or (women have that often) make up on the headliner- first wipe with clean micro fiber rag. hard spots- put very little grease lightning on the rag and wipe. your headliner will look like new.
Just a last hint- clean always in the door gap to body- if that is kept clean, the vehicle has a very taken care- appearance. If you want to sell your vehicle- this can be the last kick for somebody to buy it.
I know- there are many more things to do- but this are just the basics. But I think it helps to prevent somebody from overspending on cleaning supplies and disappointing experiences after hours of detailing.
Overall: a indicator of a clean vehicle is how the water rolls off. if the water sits in small balls on the paint- all is good. if the balls getting bigger- it might be just dirt. if the water sits in big spots on the paint, action is needed.
Keep it clean!