Maintaining My Daily Driver

[Draug]

Well it`s been a long road but my project car is almost complete - it will become my new (well if a 1985 RX-7 is new) daily driver. I`ll be taking it in to a shop to redo the rocker guard and also to do a pretty agressive power polish; the paint`s been neglected for quite some time and I don`t think I want this to be my first experience for the polishing. Plus everything else took so long I`m also out of time. :)



Anyways my question is what I should do to keep the car looking good year round. My main concern is preserving the state of the paint as it is when I get it back from the shop. So I`m thinking maybe just do AIO and then multiple coats of SG. How long does the SG last? That`s important - the longer it protects the paint without having to be redone the better. Also how many coats should I do? I think I`ll forgo the wax just because it`s not in perfect condition anyways and it doesn`t last long enough to make it worthwhile for this car.



And last, is there anything else that`s as good as AIO and SG? I see Meguire`s a lot in stores, do they have similar products? I live in Calgary and would prefer something I can get locally. Would anyone around here stock Klasse?



Thanks for the help everyone.

[rickindy]

I have a 92 Miata that`s also a daily driver. The AIO and SG will make the car look great. You may want to top it with several coats of NXT and the just keep it washed during the winter.

It will look great .

[6cyl's_of_fury]

Probably the *most* durable sealant is Zaino or Klasse.



I would tend to favour Klasse, but thats just me. I dont think you can go wrong with either really.

[Accumulator]

Originally posted by Draug

...I`m thinking maybe just do AIO and then multiple coats of SG. How long does the SG last? That`s important - the longer it protects the paint without having to be redone the better. Also how many coats should I do?



I put a total of six layers on our MPV (family beater/dog hauler) last year, with the last applications being the entire vehicle on 27 July and two extra coats on the roof on 10 August- oops that makes seven layers on the roof. It only now could stand to be redone, nearly eleven months later, and even now, only is some areas.



The roof is still beading fine, I won`t bother doing it for some time. The sides are still protected (you can see and feel that the SG is still there and it still looks great), but are now sheeting instead of beading, especially in the areas where I spot-clay frequently (such as behind the wheels). The hood is still beading well, even along the leading surface where, again, I spot-clay as needed.



This vehicle does not get QDed, only washed.



This vehicle gets used hard in all kinds of weather, but YMMV. I credit my Griot`s Car Wash with some of the SG`s longevity. This shampoo does not seem to strip the SG to an appreciable extent.

[shaf]

Originally posted by Draug

Anyways my question is what I should do to keep the car looking good year round. My main concern is preserving the state of the paint as it is when I get it back from the shop. I don`t know how much reading you have done, so I am going to recommend what is arguably the most important thing: Washing. Make sure that you only use safe materials and methods to wash your car, and this also goes for pretty much any time you have to touch the paint. This goes a long way towards keeping the swirls at bay.



Keep the car clean (obviously) and watch out for acid rain and letting dirty water dry on the car.



Klasse is very tough in multiple coats, and that is a great choice as long as you reasonably maintain it.



Accumulator that`s a great story about your MPV. :cool: I had a pretty much identical experience as you did - it was wearing thin and sheeting after a year, but you could definitely tell the Klasse was still there. A QD would wake up the slickness right back again.

[imported_Unreal]

Accumulater that is some darn good results you got going there.

[Accumulator]

MPV just got rained on and it looks even better protected than it did during the wash- beading great, even where I`ve been doing all that spot claying. Gotta say that I`m pleasantly surprised; I`m gonna rethink my need to redo it, at least for a few more weeks.



Sorta funny how it was sheeting when I rinsed it after the wash, but it was definitely beading in/after the rain. Nice small, round beads, too.

[Draug]

Thanks for all the tips... Looks like I gotta get me some AIO and SG. :) Is it only available through ordering?



For washing I only ever use the public hand wand car wash bays. Nothing ever touches the paint, but I have no idea what soap they use. Calgary has a stupid bylaw about washing a car outdoors too; it`s illegal to use soap when washing your car outdoors (theory being that the detergent is washing into the sewars and causing problems with the river systems...) But twice a year (spring and fall I suppose) it would be no problem to head out of town to wash and detail it with any necessary means.



I assume that the Klasse AIO will take care of whatever sealant the body shop leaves on there eh?

[shaf]

Originally posted by Draug



I assume that the Klasse AIO will take care of whatever sealant the body shop leaves on there eh? Yes, not that body shops usually put anything on there to begin with anyway AFAIK...



You can get Klasse online only for us up here. www.eshine.ca carries it, as well as here http://www.carcaresmart.com both Canadian sources. Plenty of other US sources.



Wow, that`a a pretty stupid bylaw if you ask me! (Remind me never to move to Calgary. ;) Nice place, but.....) You might want to try PMing some Calgary members for how they get around this, as well as searching for "QEW". :)

[Draug]

Thanks for the tip.



I actually did some asking around and our storm sewers are actually built differently than our regular water system. Basically the storm sewers on the side of the street drain right into the river, whereas plumbing from inside a house (dishwasher, etc.) is processed before being discharged. So I guess it kinda makes sense, though I don`t see how car washing soap could make a dent in the fertalizer run-off from lawns that likely occurs each time it rains...



Calgary`s good, and so is Vancouver. It`s Toronto that I always love to hate. :)