A few notes about polishing your car
UPDATED - link corrected (how embarassing!)
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Since Beren mentioned a question about how he should best go about keeping his Jet Black Metallic Saab Turbo X looking good I thought it might be a good time to link up a couple of previous posts on the matter for people to review. Some of you may not have been around when these were originally posted.
Jan 2006 - Caring for your paintwork
This was a post full of notes written by local Tasmanian paint pedant and Saabnut, Drew B, who has a fleet of magnificent Saabs and a very fussy eye.
Beren mentioned putting his polisher away and I know that Drew would say that unless it’s a trade quality machine, it should definitely be kept away from your Saab. You can buy buffing machines pretty cheap nowadays but many of them spin too fast and can actually ‘burn’ the clearcoat on your car. Either get a proper professional grade buffer or do it by hand.
May 2007 - Springtime Car Clean Regime
This was Tim S’s program for keeping his black Viggen clean enough to eat off. This is one incredibly tidy car and one look at the photo at that link will tell you that Tim doesn’t cut corners.
Both articles come highly recommended
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Link correction
http://www.trollhattansaab.net/archives/2007/05/springtime_car.html
What’s the general view here on new paintwork? I’ve used nothing but clean water on the Turbo X so far as per the Saab manual, but I want to get some wax on it for protection as soon as I can.
I assumed my dealer had put on some wax - but I guess I should ask. I’ve used two lines in the past: Mothers and Zymol. I always thought Zymol was better - but it could have been the ‘ol “pay more and it must be better” type of placebo effect.
I highly recommend some kind of paint protection before you even take your car out of the showroom. Here in Aus, there are companies that specialise in this.
See link: http://www.waxguard.com.au/
The clear coat that is applied to your car at the factory is to protect the duco. So what about protecting the clear coat?!
This is expensive, but worth it (about $800-$1500 Aus).
Without a protective wax coating on your new paint work, within a couple of months you will notice water droplets, grime and tar that cannot be removed by washing or using a chamois.
This now leaves you to polish the car to remove the embedded water droplets and inevitably dreaded SWIRL MARKS will appear if not polished professionally.
My new snow silver 08 BioPower has had this treatment and I have washed it three times so far and it’s a pleasure to feel the sponge glide over the car.
It’s hard to justify the price at first, especially when two brand new cars are side by side, you can’t see the difference!
Bring these vehicles together in 12 months time and I can assure you the waxguarded car will be still looking like new. Swirl-less.
Ask you dealers about this process.
Trust me I won a concourse.
I have found that Zymol does not work as well as Mothers products. It does not last as long. Also, with Zymol you remove the wax after applied without letting it dry, this (at least for me) caused a good amount of streaking and double wipe overs. With todays paint systems and clear coat applications, the need for orbital buffers should be left to the body shops . Mothers clay bar system+showtime spray with the cleaner wax works very well and is priced proper. I take great pride in my Saab and it gets done from top to bottom weekly. (I’m nuts, I know.) Also, Meguiar’s Tech wax does a great job of creating a “wet look” deep gloss for the darker color cars. Mine is nocturn blue metalic. Beren, when I come home with a new Saab, it get detailed again with the products I know and trust. Also, turtle wax put out the “ice” line of products. It has a 100 oil base and feel. I tried it and have to say that overall it worked better than I expected with exceptional shine. One product for the paint and vinly/rubber. I just cant get used to spreading oil all over the car.
Joe G: For new paint work, I would go with Mother or Meguiar’s tech wax. As this paint is new, it should not have inbeded contaminents just yet. Being a deep black, DO NOT wax in the sun and have a spray bottle of water handy. After the wax has been removed, give each section a quick spray and wipe with a separate micro fiber towel. This will remove any streaking and “even out” you shine.
meh so far the paint on my 9-3 has been very disappointing, dont know how the car left the factory with all the defects.
I’ve used Mothers’ stuff before so I’ll give that a shot. I think I’ll also try Scot’s suggestion for the Pinnacle. I’ll experiment on my wife’s black acura. I’ll get bonus points from her…and not screw up my car.
My 2 cents:
Firstly, ‘defects’ on a brand-new car rarely come from the factory, in some cases cars can be damaged during shipping, but in most cases (unfortunately) dealer-prep is at fault. All brand-new cars leave the factory with a protective wax on, which is removed at the dealers. Depending on the level of training of dealer staff, most just get out the pressure washer and then hand-wash with a gritty sponge and soapy water. Swirl-tastic.
Second, I have to disagree with Mike C. Orbital buffers to be left to the body shops? I hope not! Most body shops get their apprentices or trainees to give customer’s cars the final ‘buff’, often these people are not trained or trained using old-fashined techniques.
I’ve seen the horrors of body-shop buff jobs. Burnt clear, scuff marks, holograms, buffer trails…..basically the staff working the polish to a dust, creating too much frictional heat and burning the paint. Remember: Always leave polish ‘wet’.
And modern paints DO benefit from orbital buffer applications. Clear-coats are soft and scratch easily, depending on brand of couse. Almost all modern polishes are designed for clears and are to be used on a orbital buffer. Sometimes for ‘better’ production-line efficiency, new cars paint does not have sufficent time to cure, making the clear very soft. Often owner’s recive these cars with horrific swirling due to dealer prep and the ease in which the paint marks *cough* GM-Daewoo *cough*. An orbityal buffer, used properly, is the most effective way of removing these defects. Hand polishing doesn’t doesn’t quite do the trick, as the compounds in the polish don’t have the chance to break down properly and do their job.
And remember, claying is an important part of car-care, but is best followed by a polishing stage, as clay bars to marr the paint, regardless of how much lube you use.
I’ve started my spring cleaning on the viggen. This year I have more professional tools at my disposal. At this point the car has been clayed and rewashed, and the engine bay cleaned.
Once its complete, I’ll post up some pictures.