First Post

[AUST_HiTMaN1]

Hi all,



Was wondering what would be needed to bring a black 1991 Alfa 164`s paint back to its former brilliance.



Went out and purchased a few things today:



Meguiars Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner

Meguiars Natural Shine Vinyl and Rubber Protectant

Meguiars Bug and Tar Remover

Meguiars Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner

a Meguiars Polishing Cloth

and finally a Meguiars Soft Buff Chamois.



I know i will need another trip to the store to get some SoftWash Gel, is there anything else that I would need?



Any Recomendations on a Leather care product? I would like a nice Matt finish, not shiney.



Thanks in advance.

[Eros]

First of all:welcome



Well without looking at your car its very hard to tell what you need.



So this is the list I have for you that you should get.



GC car wash

detailing claybar

Meg. DACP

#9

#26

MF



And get a PC with LC Pads

[AUST_HiTMaN1]

Thanks for the welcome. :xyxthumbs



I will get some pictures up soon. It looks rather dirty as it has just came back from a 350km trip down south.



I`ll take some before shots, and have a go at doing my first detail in the next few days.



Any other suggestions guys?



Thanks

Dave

[imported_BretFraz]

Another thing I`d recommend (since you are new here) is seek out our Aussie Autopians and ask their advice about local products. Since most members are in the States we tend to recommend what we can get here, not knowing what is and is not available in Oz. You can use the search function (top right of this page) and look for posts with "Australia" or similar in them. I know we`ve had detailing products distributors from Oz post here so there are a good number of threads about Detailing Down Under.





Good luck and :welcome to Autopia.

[Magellan498]

:welcome to Autopia!

[2wheelsx2]

:welcome



If you have trouble getting the Meguiar`s pro line of stuff that was mentioned, one decent product would be the Medallion Premium Paint Protection. It`s a polymer/wax hybrid that is reported to last as good or better than some of the pro products, but may not have the same shine as say, #26.

[Lowejackson]

Welcome to Autopia :xyxthumbs



I am sure you should be able to buy the Meguiars professional range. I guess the products you need are dependent on the paintwork ie no point buying a heavy polish if all you have is minor swirls.



For a minimum I would recommend buying a good quality shampoo, clay, mild polish and follow with either a wax or sealant.



Nice to see another Alfa driver here.



Do some research and you should be able to find out what products you can buy.



Steven

[C-MDX]

:welcome!!! You must be a big Meguiars fan :D

[Guinnesspounder]

:welcome

[AUST_HiTMaN1]

Thanks for all the welcomes!



I spent 3-4 hours doing the interior and boot (trunk as you americans would call it ;) )



Interior looks absolutly mint compared to what it was like before. :up I took the floor mats, dash mats and all the rubbish out, Gave everything a good vacuum. Used some Meguiars Vinyl and Rubber protectant, Cleaned the leather seats with this BeesWax leather stuff we had lying around, Cleaned the windows with newspaper and Windex :xyxthumbs Looks fantastic... except for the exterior... :down



Will get stuck into it again tomorow.



Just a quick newbie question - When do i apply the Swirl Remover? I presume it goes: shampoo, paint cleaner, wet look polish and sealent, swirl remover, wax? I am probably a fair way out, but hey, thats what these forums are for!



I purchased almost all of those items, except the claybar. I

couldn`t get my hands on one :nixweiss Will it make alot of difference?



Have taken some pictures, I will get them developed this weekend :)



BTW - I don`t actually have the pleasure of driving her yet. As i`m only 15 and it`s my dads car, but i love her more then my father does. And do the majority of the non difficult maintenance on it. :bow



Any feedback will be greatly appriciated.



Thanks

Dave

[fidelfs]

I would use the swirl remover before the polish not after.



Claybar will remove any contaminants from your black car. Yes, It will make a huge difference. There was a posting from another autopian when he was claying his white car. He let half hood without claying to take the picture (http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27405&highlight=white+car) you could see the difference.



I know you have a black car but believe me it will be a difference and :welcome to autopia.



:xyxthumbs

[AUST_HiTMaN1]

Thanks for that advice.



I have done a quick search and found that people are showing a fondness to the Zaino Claybar. However In my searches I also saw that some Australian Autopians were saying that they could not get their hands on a Zaino Claybar. :( Would any fellow aussie autopian have any idea if they are available yet in aus? and if so where?



I am thinking maybe a Mothers Claybar, is this a fairly user friendly bar?



I will keep searching for more info.



Regards

Dave

[fidelfs]

I used it once and it is really good. It is not soft as Zaino Claybar but it is really good.

:up

[Lowejackson]

You should be able to get hold of a 3M clay bar. You will never regret buying clay.

[AUST_HiTMaN1]

I am thinking that I am going to have to do without a claybar.



We went to 5 stores today, (Supacheap, Coventrys, Auto One, Repco, and a euro car shop where we bought the car.)



None of them had heard of the Mothers Claybar kit! And none of them had any other claybar/claybar kits Even though half of them stock Mothers products! Supa Cheap (supacheat) said they could order one in for $45 :shocked , so we gave that a miss and the only other place that could order a kit in was Auto One, and their price of $50 was less then impressive :down



I am thinking I might have to order off the internet, but I will be looking at close to $40-$50 for the kit plus friehgt.



Any ideas?



I think I will just give the car a shampoo to get the dust off it, and see if I can sandback the exhast tip and polish it up.



Regards

A very Frustrated Dave