I don't have time to go through the individual products.

The amount of clear you take off depends on how abrasive the polish and pad are. There are heavy correction pads and polishes and lighter ones. You more then likely will be able to use a relatively non-abrasive polish because the car has been taken care of.

I polish twice a year but I use a very light polish and a light cutting pad on my Speed. I have a heavy correction polish for my wife's car because its paint is ****ed.

Ok makes sense. So do you wax in between your two polishes or no? Or is it just those two polishes a year with washes and quick detail wax between polishes?

I'll occasionally wax in between. I usually don't need to wax again though.

That's one of the reasons I highly recommend the Chemical Guys stuff. It lasts quite a while.

My process, usually in early spring and late fall, is clay bar, polish, paint sealant, then wax. Usually my wife bitches at me when I go through it because she doesn't think the car needs that level of work again.

What about the paint sealer line? Getting a new car and want to use some kind of sealant on the new paint. Cquartz? What else?

I viewed the white one with black leather and red trim, fully manual I think 7 speed. ****ing tits.

This one was an awesome blue with black trim. Manual.

Yeah it was pretty ****ing nice

Two n00b questions. I like learning and I know I'll need to be close to a perfectionist here.

1. What is the best way to remove spots of road grime and bird shit without having to wash the car every few days? Water and let it soak to soften it, then microfiber? Another product? Quick detailer?


2. Since we are tinting the windows, I am also thinking about doing 3M film on the front hood to decrease rock chips and not use that bra which can collect dust and scratch the paint. Can you polish or wax the 3M film since it will show scratches as well? Is it safe against oxidation in the Phoenix heat and discoloration?


Thanks

xoxo
Lewdog

My friend has the film on his CTS-V and I hate it. You can see where it stops from a ways away.

Yea I've heard that too. Almost have to clean the lines around it with a Q-tip I've heard as well. I was going to do whole hood though not just front if I do it. Which might decrease a big line showing on the front of your hood. Other than that, with leaving it bare I would just take a pounding with rock chips I would think. Or I could leave that ugly ass bra on?

Saw a plaque at a car show that said, "It might have scratches. It might have knicks. But one thing is for sure, I drive this bitch."

That pretty much sums up my philosophy on it.

Here is a tip for road tar. Gently rub some peanut butter onto the tar and it will breakdown and wipe off.

You can just use quick detailer and a microfiber if the car is still pretty clean.

A safer way would probably be to use Optimum No Rinse (check YouTube for technique).

Bird shit is the one that needs immediate attention once you see it since it can etch the paint. I keep a bottle of quick detailer and a clean microfiber in my trunk for those.

For other road grime you could likely use a waterless wash but I just tend to let it slide until its time to do a normal wash.

I use Chemical Guys EcoSmart waterless wash. My car is usually is just dusty from either sitting in the garage or road dust from a drive. I also use it instantly after driving to remove bugs.

http://www.chemicalguys.com/EcoSmart.../wac_707ru.htm

I'd still recommend to anyone wanting to do a one step moderate/slight paint correction that diminishes down to polish out to look into Menzerna FG400 with a Lake Country Orange foam flat pad. One product and one kind of pad to correct and polish, doesn't get much easier than that.

I found a beat up slightly oxidized hood off a GMC truck from the mid 2000's and used FG400 and LC Orange pads for some testing. The hood corrected and finished out nearly flawless except for the deeper scratches that would require some wet sanding. I did 5 passes with pressure to the polisher on setting 5 with my griots polisher and then 3 more passes with less pressure each pass, and the last pass only using the weight of the machine itself. I was very pleased with the work time the FG400 allowed. Great product in my opinion.

Ok good to know.

Well that looks like it would work good for doing some quick touchups every few days with bird shit, dust and tree shit. We don't have many trees in the parking lot but I'll find these little yellow dots on my car a lot if the wind blows and they are stuck very lightly, but with just a quick touch, it comes off all together.

I hate those ****ing trees...

She arrives within the hour!!!

Welp, she's in my garage. Dirty as **** and I might need some driving lessons with that Hurst Shifter and just a bit more power compared to my Celica. ROFL

http://i.imgur.com/uAjUyhs.jpg?1

He got shitty film or a shitty installer.

Congrats now take off that insane wheel cover and bra stat.

Alright! Feels good, huh? Drive the 101 loop. Figure that shit out.

It probably doesn't drive well because the trunk is open :D

Ditto, that steering wheel cover looks like crap. The bra probably does more damage than good.

LOL, the wheel cover is insanely hideous. My wife and I laughed so hard about it. I'm not a fan of car bras but this one doesn't look horrible. However, it can easily trap dirt and do more harm than good.

Still not sold on the clear front bra though. Thoughts?

I only got to drive it a block, plus it was late last night when it arrived. Still felt loads different than any manual I have ever driven. LOL

Noted. ****ing wife.

Yea I've heard they trap dirty and scratch easily. I will probably be coming off.

The car's back end is covered in bugs. It was obviously facing backwards on the semi when it was shipped. What's the safest way to remove all these dead bugs covering a large area?

60 grit sandpaper and lots of elbow grease. :evil:

Also, I have a bottle of that Optimum No rinse wash and I am thinking I'll put some of that mixed with water in a spray bottle and that will be my daily touch up for bird shit and dust on the car.

Ok, I'll stop by ACE after the gym and grab some.

Thanks!

Stoner's Tarminator always worked well for me. But if you have mineral spirits or WD-40 already around the house, those work like magic as well. They will not harm your paint.

I tried to post some pictures of my car with the clear bra, but I can't unfortunately.

ChiefsPlanet requires new members to meet certain criteria before posting links or images.

Yea I don't have any special bug remover and I'm about to get ready to clean it. WD-40 huh??? I'll try it, get it clean, then rinse it off again on that section.

So I tried your method near the back end where it wasn't super dirty to start and it scratched the **** out of my paint! Like dude, were you joking about this working well?!?!?

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Scratches1.jpg

Looks like you got the bugs off! ROFL

Plus since you have the "Back to the Future" shit figured out just go back to before you did that.

Holy shit. I wondered when he said that...

01-11-2007

Holy ****. You didn't actually do that, did you?

:facepalm: you did 60 grit on your paint? Wow, clay bar and wax.

Different garage floor too.

And it changed to a BMW

I love that I come off as such a dumbass to do something like that!

I knew I wouldn't have you on this joke. ROFL

Got a first wash in yesterday as it was dirty and buggy from being on that semi for 3 days. Pretty crazy what shows up on black but I can watch the Royals on the laptop in the garage so that a win. Can't believe this car is 10 years old. She's loud as **** too. I learned my FIL removed to muffler along with the addition of the Lunati Cams.


And yes, my car WILL ALWAYS BE GARAGED when I am not at work. No exceptions.

http://i.imgur.com/uEXlHcS.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/mBt0Dxu.jpg?1

Looks pimp brother, nice ride.

Come on man!! Take that damn steering wheel cover off! Would have been the first thing I did.

Looks great though, congrats and enjoy!

I did right after the pictures. I left it on just for the pictures so you guys could bitch some more! ROFL

Thank you!!:thumb:

Looks great man. Really great.

I can't believe I fell for the sandpaper thing. That was well played. :doh!:

Pics look really good. Nice work getting it shipped to you rather than waiting and driving it back.

I am a pretty big n00b so I can see how you fell for it.

Yea it was much better. My wife was getting impatient and she arranged all the shipping. Was quick and painless.

That was great. LMAO


Congrats... I washed mine all the freakin' time when I first got it, and for that reason I'm kind of glad to get away from black. But, it does look pretty damn sharp, and well, I'm washing the new one just as much. :D

Hey you took delivery of the blue BMW? Wheres the damn pics!

Posts like this are why you are one of my favorite posters here. I can't believe you got a few people to fall for it. Well played, sir. :D

Well, I'd have to wash it first...

I have a couple crappy cell phone pics in the rain (it actually started hailing while we were sitting in the car going over stuff inside their dealer delivery room), but I'll see what I can do. And speaking of hail, it actually got hailed on for about 20 seconds the other day, but it was really small hail that didn't do any damage... I'm going to need a carport at work.

ROFL

Bondurant.

Probably the best picture for the true color... some pics make it look lighter.

My FIL is telling me to get an oil extractor and oil filter wrench and just chance the oil myself without having to get under the car. That's how he's done it instead of taking the car for someone to do it. He doesn't trust anyone with it. LOL

Anyone else do this? I don't mind taking the time if it works. If it's easier than scheduling an oil change appointment, since we both work full-time, I'm all for it.

I love that blue on the BMW. Nice ride!:clap:

I always jack the bastard up and do it from the bottom. So I can't speak to the oil extractor. Besides that 2 of the 3 vehicles we have can't get to the filter from the top. At all.

I do mine. And have done every quart since I bought my first car at 14. It's not bad.

Everything about it is awesome.


I guess since we're in a car care thread, I'll mention the dealer showed me a picture of some brake dust covered wheels as a warning to clean them fairly often.... hadn't ever given it a thought, but I guess it's an issue with softer brake pads. I never put much of an effort at all in cleaning the wheels of the Chevy, but after just a few weeks, they were fairly dusty.

It's really bad for you maniac assed city drivers.

This is the truth. BMW pads are high performance and will shed dust like crazy. As soon as mine are ready for replacement I will be switching from the OEM BMW pads.

Wait, is that yours? That's my favorite paint color ever put on a vehicle. Love it.

I've read they have to be replaced every 30k miles? If that's the case, I might eventually get an extended warranty.


Yep. :)

just go buy some dust covers for the back of the wheels you can install them yourself or take it to a shop and pay a half hour labor charge.

Not sure if serious but those look hideous on the ones I've seen.

OK, this is as good of a place as any.

I bought a pickup this winter that has a leather interior for the first time. Of course in my profession it is dirty. Any care tips for leather interior?

Perfect spot for this. I've also never owned a car with leather so this is a first for me as well.

need more specifics and pics.

Good god you go weeks between cleaning your wheels?! I can't stand dirty wheels I may see 3 days between cleaning. Im going to have mine opti coated the next time I have them apart, will make them easier to clean and longer between cleanings.

Pick up a wheel wax.

The pads on my Speed3 throw off a stupid amount of dust as well. I picked up Chemical Guys wheel wax and it makes regularly washing them a breeze.

There are several products out there.

The thing to remember about leather is that it was once living skin. To keep it from drying out and cracking, you need something that has a moisturizer in it.

Most of the nicer products are usually a two step thing. A cleaner and a moisturizer/protectant.

Stay away from the cheap shit for leather care.

pretty late to the party on this one but wtf...
I'm pretty anal about my car. it's badass and I pretty much want it clean as much as possible. I too have detailer and a collection of microfiber towels with me....BUT...even when my car is clean, being a dark blue, if I clean some bird shit off I've made a very noticeable "clean spot". and I just can't have that! :D
I can literally wash my car, shammy it, drive it two miles home....and it's dusty. so I purchased a california duster from oreillys for about 15 bucks. if your car is clean to begin with, you can dust it off in about 2 minutes with this thing. it's a must have. wipe the shit....dust the car....and SPLADDOW! you won't be caught ridin' dirty.

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/73...43_500X500.jpg

I'm going through all the shit my FIL brought down for the car and found this below. So that's what this is, a duster? You really wanna drag that across a dusty paint surface?

Some just wax their wheels with their paint wax. I'll probably do that a few times a year. I've heard cleaning with ammonia free Windex works well for spot touch-ups.

I'm going with the Chemical guys set for leather car.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001TJ3HUG/...0APOR4FS&psc=1

Buy a new one. The one you have is toast.

When they're new, they have a slight charge that attracts dust and keeps it from being dragged across the paint. Once they get full, you have to change them out.

I use the conditioner and love it. I haven't needed the cleaner because my car has a minimal amount of leather and I've never allowed it to get dirty.

Thanks for the suggestions... I'll probably try some wheel wax first, and maybe consider covers over the winter when I'll be lazier about cleaning them.


Heh, I'd say I don't have time for that shit, but I guess it would only take a few minutes... guess I've never had wheels nice enough to care, but the difference in dust was a bit of an eye opener.

And I decided against the 3M clear bra stuff. Seems like you are putting something on that protects your paint but will likely cause some issues solely related to looks anyway. Reading reviews it seems like half like it and half don't. Many issues with discoloration to opaque or yellowish after only 1-2 years. I'm worried about that happening in this heat. Still shows rock dings in the film, although it's not your paint I guess, but it's still unsightly whether it's in the paint or the film. Sounds like quite a chore to keep wax buildup out of the edging of film so you don't have a "glowing" car. I'll take my chances instead of spending close to $700 for part of the hood and front bumper, as these are the quotes I'm getting. Might as well save that money to repaint the car if it came down to that after a few years.