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Detailing your VW - updated!

vanderaj - May 2nd, 2003 at 07:51 PM

I've got some basic instructions on detailing here:

http://www.greebo.net/detailing/

I've added some basic information on going those few extra steps. More as I learn about these aspects myself.

Andrew

[Edited on 11-5-2003 by vanderaj]

70AutoStik - May 3rd, 2003 at 12:24 AM

Hey, are we going to get into the silicon-based polished debate here?

vanderaj - May 3rd, 2003 at 12:43 AM

Absolutely!

I like it, and it produces very shiny cars.

Andrew

helbus - May 3rd, 2003 at 02:21 AM

What's the debate?

It is not used in panel/paint shops, but ouside that go for your life.

Just choose a polish that doesnt leave excess white reside on your rubbers.

amazer - May 3rd, 2003 at 03:24 PM

:alien I thought greebo was your cat, not your car.

amazer - May 3rd, 2003 at 03:26 PM

I steer clear of all polishes as much as I can. They can give you a sore arm yaknow! Every year or so I throw caution to the wind though.

70AutoStik - May 3rd, 2003 at 07:57 PM

Silicon polishes are great - easy to apply and produce a great result. But the painter has to add an additive to the paint to cope with the residue, and he wants to maximise his profits, so many say they are bad.

But if you saw what one did with the old and faded paint on my beetle, you'd think you were watching an ad! :cool:

pyr0 - May 3rd, 2003 at 08:34 PM

u use to use turtle cut and polish but it left crapy white stuff on the rubber around the windows and stuff, now i use the same stuff we put on my dads show mustang i think its called "the final inspection 34" it goes on ever surface rubber platic paint steal it kool

The_Bronze. - May 4th, 2003 at 12:37 AM

Sorry - I'm a Baja owner.

Whats Silicon? Isn't that used in tits and computers?
What's it do to cars?

fatboy - May 4th, 2003 at 12:40 AM

I was eating some Kool mints the other day and noticed that the glazing on the ingredients list was Carnuba Wax ?? :o

[Edited on 3-5-2003 by fatboy]

vanderaj - May 4th, 2003 at 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by amazer
:alien I thought greebo was your cat, not your car.

Both

Lucky for her, Meebles (my other cat) can't read, or else there'd be hell to pay.

Andrew

vanderaj - May 4th, 2003 at 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by pyr0
u use to use turtle cut and polish but it left crapy white stuff on the rubber around the windows and stuff, now i use the same stuff we put on my dads show mustang i think its called "the final inspection 34" it goes on ever surface rubber platic paint steal it kool

Abrasives like "cut n polish" are a last resort for a really badly stuffed up paint job. You should never use them on normal, half decent paint.

Silicons and the carnuba waxes like Meguiars Gold Class paste wax literally sit on the surface of the paint and don't take any of the clear coat (if you have it) off.

Polishes do take some of the surface away. I tend to use these with extreme care - just enough to do the job. For example, I only use bug and tar when I absolutely must, I clay only once or twice a year, and I use a low grade paint cleaner at other times to get the paint clean prior to protecting it with a final coat of Glide on Glaze.

I have used carnuba waxes and silicones -

Meguiars Gold Class paste (hard!)
Meguiars Gold Class liquid (hard, but easier than the paste)
Zymol Creme (not bad, but $$$)
and most recently Polyglaze's Glide on Glaze.

The last is simply spectacular. Easy to go on, easy to come off and the results are soooooo shiny and smooth. You can get great results out of the carnuba waxes, but realistically, you can get better results for less work and far less money with a silicon doohickey like Glide on Glaze.

But do try 'em out. You'll see.

Andrew

BUG11Y - May 4th, 2003 at 04:48 PM

i use Sonax cut polishand then the liquid wax. Goes a long way but it is expensive. Use Austosol on the rims and chrome then polish off so shiny....

70AutoStik - May 7th, 2003 at 11:44 PM

Hey! PPG recommend only using wax on chrome; any thoughts (OK, I'm really looking for experience) Vanderaj?

manxed69 - May 7th, 2003 at 11:59 PM

I don't have paint, so any scratch or mark that I get is there for live.

The hardest part of having a buggy is getting out the sand from a day at the beach. No matter how much you vacuum, the sand still keeps coming out of every nook and cranny. The trick with the seats is to put pressure on the stiching which then seperates. The hiding sand is now exposed to the vacuum.

I then wash the Manx with ordinary car wash, I then give it a coat of turtle wax. I do the tyres with a tyre foam, and very very very occasionally I hit the aluminium bars with Autosol. Did I mention that I use the Autosol very occasionally? I use a vynil protectant on the fibure glass dash and on the rear of the seats. Clean the glass and your away.

:thumb

Steve

[Edited on 7-5-2003 by manxed69]

vanderaj - May 12th, 2003 at 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 70AutoStik
Hey! PPG recommend only using wax on chrome; any thoughts (OK, I'm really looking for experience) Vanderaj?

PPG sell many types of wax as the paint brands they're famous for, so I'm surprised to hear this. Do you have a link or something that says that you shouldn't wax paint?

Here's what PPG have to say about the care of new paint finishes:

http://www.ppg.com/car_autocoat/enthusiast.htm

Waxes (and hydrocarbon equivalents like Diamond Glaze) can go on nearly any surface but glass, rubbers and black plastics. For example, I wax my wheels to make getting the brake dust off easier, and my bumper bars are pure plastic.

If you want a good finish and have a decent paint job, you will want to protect it. Those few microns of product provide protection from atomspheric pollution, sap, bird droppings, and minor cosmetic scratches etc. Not total protection, and you need to be particularly quick with bird droppings and sap.

Minor scratches are not actually removed, but are hidden as a by product of how waxes work. All paint has little fine scratches in it - it's very hard to avoid this. Using a wax or hydrocarbon fills in these microfine scratches and reduces the edge, thus reducing the appearance of swirling and so on.

With premium products like Zaino, Diamond Glaze, and Megiuars Gold Class, multiple applications one after another gives a very wet, reflective and deep look to the paint. I don't bother - I stop with one as I don't have time to do more. A coat takes me about an hour to apply and remove by hand.

Andrew

blompod - October 5th, 2003 at 09:28 AM

Is Ployglaze "Glide on Glaze" a new product? different to Polyglaze Dimond Finish? I have always thought Polygalze gives just as good a finish as ones four times the price, just dont put too much on.

vanderaj - October 5th, 2003 at 10:25 AM

Yep - it's a fairly newish product, and does a very similar job. It comes with its own applicator.

Andrew

helbus - October 5th, 2003 at 06:32 PM

We use Polyglaze "glide on" in our panel shop.

It is reserved for the brand new black or very dark Merc's, RX-8's etc..

koolkarmakombi - October 6th, 2003 at 08:12 AM

Greebo??

Isnt he a big softie......

Does that make you Mr Ogg?

kkk

jonno-t3 - November 7th, 2003 at 09:54 PM

what happened to the kitten cut'n polish (red bottle), then the kitten final polish (green bottle)....they work...gets the panels all shiny with a nice lustre..i think u call it...or are we talkin sumfin different?

jonno

oval TOFU - June 28th, 2004 at 12:52 PM

the cut'n'polish (red) is the stuff you shouldn't use unless your paint is fairly chalky (like so many blue VN Commodore bonnets). The Teflon Final Finsh (green) is like it says... for paint in good condition. How have you found the permanance of the gree stuff yourself?

I was a nutter when I was younger - I went the 3-step Meguires path: Clean, Polish and Wax. This would've been ok if I had a black bug, but I had a bright yellow one... ah well, it was still F^%$ing shiney after I finished with it!

MickH - June 28th, 2004 at 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by manxed69
I don't have paint, so any scratch or mark that I get is there for live.

The hardest part of having a buggy is getting out the sand from a day at the beach. No matter how much you vacuum, the sand still keeps coming out of every nook and cranny. The trick with the seats is to put pressure on the stiching which then seperates. The hiding sand is now exposed to the vacuum.

I then wash the Manx with ordinary car wash, I then give it a coat of turtle wax. I do the tyres with a tyre foam, and very very very occasionally I hit the aluminium bars with Autosol. Did I mention that I use the Autosol very occasionally? I use a vynil protectant on the fibure glass dash and on the rear of the seats. Clean the glass and your away.

:thumb

Steve

[Edited on 7-5-2003 by manxed69]

Yeh buggies can be hard to clean....Drove mine into the auto carwash 2 weeks ago (I got out) and gave it the delux treatment-inside and out.:thumb I then went home and "polished" the gelcoat with some 400 wet and dry:o which removed the excess color that wasn't required. I then liberally applied acetone to make sure it was all clean-and not so shiny. Now it looks great!!!! (Don't try this at home I'm reapplying the gelcoat:thumb)

warb - June 28th, 2004 at 02:13 PM

Soft toothbrush
Handy for pits on rims and chrome touches.

Also good for getting white gooey stuff out of the pores of leather seats. <-

:jesus

ctefeh - August 17th, 2005 at 09:59 AM

Doing my Commandos hubs and other aluminium I always finish off with Mothers mag/auminium polish. This stuff is less harsh than Autosol and really gives a gleam.
I only use Autosol after fine wet 'n' dry. If the part is shaped nicely I'd rather use tripoli on a buffing wheel (going gently as I am not a pro) and again finishing with Mothers.

Green rouge on stainless steel has bought back the lustre to some otherwise dull parts.

Type3Sicko - January 1st, 2007 at 08:12 AM

Why not have someone else detail your VW...really, it's a matter of personal taste. If you steer clear of products with petroleum, almost impossible as they ALL use it to some extent, it comes down to clean water, elbowgrease and a lovely large shady shed. applying wax by hand is the best way as you get a feel for the finish, if you want a good result that lasts...take your time, a thourough detail takes days/ hours not minutes. just use good quality products on your VW, keep it garaged if that's not possible at least put a cover on it, wash with clean water, obviously paying attention to H2o restrictions. I've washed our bay window kombi with the equivalent of four ten litre buckets of soft water(slow tap pressure) and it has come up a treat. mind you just about anything you use on your paint will leave scratches UNLESS you rinse and wash your chamois and woolen mitt.Bottom line. IT SHOULD BE A JOY TO WASH YOUR DUB, NOT A CHORE. CLEAN WATER AND ELBOW GREASE AND A GOOD ORBITAL BUFFER FOR THOSE NOT UP TO WASHING 12 PORSCHES A DAY. GOOD LUCK BOYS AND GIRLS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL. Now that water is becoming? precious...it's a priveledge not a right! I can recommend Karcher pressure washers (not endorsing just commenting) their new systems enable you to extract water from a bucket so that you can monitor how much water you use, the waterless wash is a sticky one for me...unless your car is garaged it's going to be difficult to use these products and not scratch your duco. Moving particles all over your paint with a microfibre towel is still going to scratch it no matter how gentle you are, just splashing half a bucket of water over your car will move most of the grime but face it, if your pride and joy is grubby and muddy..a towel and a spray bottle ain't gonna cut it. Please feel free to email me with any enquiries or questions. I don't claim to be a guru but I appreciate water as a precious commodity and understand that everybody feels different about their VW's Thanks. Adam p.s I use Meguiars, Zymol and Autoglym as they are all quality products available almost everywhere and my clients have different requirements and taste[ Edited on 31-12-2006 by kombinationdetailing]

[ Edited on 22-2-2007 by kombinationdetailing ]

[ Edited on 22-2-2007 by kombinationdetailing ]

vw 4 life - July 26th, 2008 at 10:18 AM

ok...

maxomous - December 6th, 2009 at 06:03 AM

broken link?

surf77 - February 9th, 2011 at 03:08 PM

What about Chalky and flaking paint? A respray would be good here but what should I use in the meantime? Any suggestions? I'm guessing red cut'n'polish then maybe some wax?

Lucky Phil - March 13th, 2011 at 11:27 PM

If you are planning on a respray then stay away from the silicone polishes. It can cause real trouble when painting.
If you want to polish in the meantime make sure you use silicone free polishes.
If you have trouble finding some, try your paint supply store. They will have a range of silicone free products.
I worked at the mitsubishi factory for a few years and they were so paranoid about silicone that all silicone products were banned from the entire factory
with no exceptions!
Phil.