Hello! (And questions)

[Ryoken0367]

Hello everyone. I`m new to the forum, and detailing in general. I`ve been lurking for a couple of weeks (though this is my first post), and have soaked up quite a bit of knowledge so far. I, however, have a couple of questions I haven`t quite been able to answer through reading (mostly through lack of time to really dig in and read through everything as properly as I should). So I decided I should post and ask (be warned, this may be a long winded!). And since I`m not sure where to work this into the following information, I live in Nevada: hot summers, cold winters (though sub-zero Fahrenheit temps are rare), and lots of dust storms.



The car that I currently own, I am about to sell to some friends. I`m trying to make it look nice for them, without going overboard. I don`t want a temporary fix to the little blemishes it has, but I don`t really want to spend an exhaustive amount of time on it either, since I know they aren`t likely to take better care of the car than I have over the years. That being said, I didn`t exactly abuse the car, but before finding this forum, my idea of taking care of a car was semi-normal washing (normally by hand with dish soap, sometimes in an automatic car wash), and the occasional waxing. The paint isn`t in bad shape in general, though the hood isn`t pretty, and that is where I will be spending most of my time.



A little background on the car: it`s a 2005 Orange Chevy Cobalt, I forget the exact name of the color, but it`s a very bright orange. I`ve owned it since it was new (and it`s been a daily driver since then), and as mentioned above, haven`t taken the greatest care with it, but haven`t really abused it either (though occasional washes and even less frequent waxing may be considered abuse by some of you!). That being said I lived in an apartment complex for roughly half the time I`ve owned it, and often had to park next to sprinklers, which would get spray on the car. There were trees close to where I had to park as well, which means I likely had some tree sap, and definitely bird bombs. Sadly, the car didn`t get washed as often as I would have liked during this time, so a lot of that stuff stayed on the car longer than I would have liked. This has created some mottling in the paint on the hood (and to a lesser extent, the roof), and some water spots on sides. The mottling is smooth, doesn`t appear to be peeling, etc. I`m hoping it`s something superficial, that can be "fixed." My biggest question is how to "fix" the hood, if possible. If it`s not possible to truly fix it, how can I cover it up, and make it look the best I can for the longest amount of time? Attached is a picture of the hood. It`s taken with a phone camera, and not in the best light, so the color doesn`t really come through, but the mottling can be seen pretty well.







My guess would be, I need to spend some time polishing. My only concern there is I`m not really sure how to polish: IE can I do it without power tools; if so, what kind of pad/mitt/etc. would I need; and what do I use, as far as a compound?



I just did a little shopping at my local Wal-Mart, since I am a beginner to this, and they have decent pricing. I picked up a range of Meg`s products: Deep Crystal Car Wash, Smooth Surface Clay Kit, GC Carnuba Plus Paste Wax, and Hot Shine Tire Spray. Since I want to take better car of my new car, when I get it, there are a couple things I`d like to add to my collection and would like some feedback on what I should pick up for those. Mainly a synthetic wax/paint sealer (something I can use for a long lasting protection for the winter, when washing and waxing will be harder to do on a regular basis), hopefully one that won`t have any issues if I put Carnuba over the top of it (since I prefer the look of a Carnuba waxed car); something for spot cleanup between washes (bird bombs, etc; not necessarily a full wash product); and something for cleanup of minor scratches/paint rub/etc., since it`ll be a daily driver, they are bound to happen.



For the suggestions, I would prefer something I can get locally, ideally at Wal-Mart. My local Wal-Marts carry a range of products, with Meg`s being near the top end (price-wise anyway) of what they carry. At this point I just want to take care of my new car, I don`t plan to show it, or go overboard. As long as the products you suggest will keep it in good (hopefully near factory) condition, I`ll be happy, even if it takes a little more time/effort than something more expensive/harder to find would.



Thank you all for your time in reading this, and thanks in advance for your suggestions/help!

~Ryoken

[cptzippy]

Haven`t used a lot of meg`s products lately but they are some of the best over the counter stuff and think what you`ve got already should work fine. However, ordering on line would open up a lot of options that would produce better results and make your life easier. Duragloss is another good product line you can find locally I believe (though never used it myself). As far as polishing, not sure what you get locally. You *can* polish by hand - without a machine - but it is A LOT OF WORK - ask me how I know. After one go with result less than I hoped and at least one arm that fell off, I bought a machine.

[Ryoken0367]

Thank you for your reply. I`m not against buying anything from the internet, necessarily. At this point though, I have less than a week to get this car ready, and not sure anything I ordered would arrive in time. Whereas Wal-Mart, Napa, etc. are all local, and I`m assured to have what I need in time. I just to make sure whatever I do pick up is decent quality, so I can use it in the future as well. When I get low on the products I have, in the future, I will be more open to shopping around and getting the best I can afford moving forward.



At this point, all I really need to polish is the hood of the car (I should do the whole car, but as it`ll soon be off my hands, and I made no promises, the hood will do). What would you recommend for hand polishing just that section? I will look into a machine in the future, but for now, I doubt I can afford it.

[cptzippy]

Looked at walmart, Meg`s ScratchX is ok, used it when I first started on a friends car and it came out ok. They also have meg`s ultimate compound and polish which I haven`t used but would be worth a try if someone else doesn`t speak up with more experience with these.



What auto parts stores do you have in your area? They might have something as well.

[cptzippy]

If you lucky you`ll have the stuff listed in this thread at walmart: http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-det...s-walmart.html

[cptzippy]

Here`s a thread with info on the polishes most Walmarts have: http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-det...walmart-2.html

[Ryoken0367]

Thanks for digging those posts up for me Cpt. My local Wal-Mart only had UC (out of the Meg`s line), but since I`ll be doing it by hand, I`m hoping it won`t be too abrasive. I also picked up some Meg`s UQD, hoping that`ll be good for bird bombs and other little in-between wash spot cleanings.



That should give me a full line-up of products to do anything I need. And I have a few cars I can practice on (Parents and friends), to get a feel for how the products work and look. If I`m not really satisfied with them, I can slowly pick up replacements from this forum, starting with the things I`ll use most often.



I`ll post pictures of before and after on my hood when I get around to it this weekend. If it doesn`t turn out how I like, hopefully I`ll be able to get a little help on what I`m doing wrong!



Again, thank you for all your input thus far!

[Ryoken0367]

Update on this. Today I got around to doing the detail work I was hoping to do on my car.



(As mentioned above, I was only doing the hood, as it shows the imperfections the worst, and I am selling the car. If I was keeping it, I would have clay barred the rest of the car, and at least polished the flat surfaces (top and decklid) as well.)



To start, I washed it, then I hit the hood with a Meg`s clay bar. I was amazed at the difference in how it felt. Sandpaper vs. glass. Then I took a MF applicator and hit the hood with Meg`s UC. One application got 95% of the mottling out. It`s to the point where it`s really only noticable to someone who really knows to look for it. I then washed the hood again, and waxed the whole car with Meg`s NXT 2.0 paste. It`s a little shinier and darker than I really wanted, so I`ll hit it with a paste carnuba in the next couple of days. But I think the NXT will make a great base, and hoping it`ll help provide some protection after the carnuba has worn off.



Here`s an after picture. Still a cellphone camera, so not the greatest picture, but I think you can really see the difference.





The picture in my first post was taken in the morning, and the car wasn`t really in the sun. This picture was taken in full afternoon sunlight. The paint always shows a stronger color in the sun than it does in the shade, but even so, I think a picture in the morning, with some shade will look a lot different/better. I`ll try to get one in the same conditions next time I`m at work, so you see the difference in similiar lighting scenarios.

[cptzippy]

Nice work. Dont` expect the NXT to last too long - think a couple of weeks to a month is what I`ve heard out of it. The carnuba might actually make it darker but will give it a glow.

[Ryoken0367]

I was looking for something that will last a couple of months, and hoped the NXT would do that for me. If it`s a short lived product, then I need to do some shopping around. What would you recommend as a sealant? Just grabbed "The list of questions" from Scott`s noob post, and thought I`d answer those to give you an idea of what I`m looking for.



Do you want durability - Yes, 2-3 months would be good, more would be great.

Sharp reflections/Super wetness/Incredible depth - Sharp reflections, with good depth. The wet look doesn`t really appeal to me (more than happy to use a carnuba wax over the sealant to tone it down).

Is your car a daily driver/Garage queen - Daily Driver

Do you have acid rain/fallout issues where you live - Maybe a little bit of fallout (Nevada deserts did see some nuke testing in the past), not so much on the acid rain.

What is the annual rainfall in your area - What rain? (12in average annual rainfall)

How harsh are your winters - Generally below freezing (32F), occasional temps below 0F. Not a lot of snowfall, but when it does snow, we get quite a bit. Roads tend to be plowed/sanded, not salted.

How hot are your summers - Average temp is around 90, with highs over 100. Dust, wind, and sun. Very little cloudyness, rainfall is almost non-existant.

Do you have to park under trees - Very rarely.





The SS I`m getting is Imperial Blue Metallic. From what I can tell in pictures and the paint samples I`ve seen, it`s a darker blue. What I`d really like is a sealant/wax combo that will actually lighten the paint some (if I can`t get that, I`d hope for a combo that at least wouldn`t make it any darker). I don`t mind having to re-wax every 3-4 weeks with Carnuba, but I`m looking for a base that would last if I went a month or two between waxes (mainly an issue in winter time). I`ve looked at HD Poxy and FK1000P, both seem to get get good reviews, but I`m not really sure if those are the correct route for me to go.



Also, looking for suggestions on an AIO/polish for use after claying the car. Something that could be used twice a year for 10+ years, and not eat so much clear that I have to worry in the future.



Thanks again!



***Edit -- I`ve been reading on Leather seat care, and have seen mention of Leather Master Leather Protection Cream. However all the links I have found seem to lead to a tee-shirt. SO before I ordered any, I wanted to verify that this is the right stuff: Leather Master Car Interior Leather Protection Cream, leather conditioner, leather protector

[cptzippy]

Good leather products - widely used and respected. If you are up to ordering now for your new car I`d look at the Optimum line for ease of use. If you like waxes and want good depth and still have good durability out in the dessert I`d say Dodo Juice Supernatural hybrid (haven`t used but heard really good things about it). Haven`t used poxy but again, great reviews for a sealant. If you want something that will really last then nano-coating like Wolf`s body wrap. Then of course there`s the permanent route of Opticoat but if you want to play with waxes (which is fun to me) then the fact that it sheds them pretty quickly then it`s probably not right for you.



If it were me, I`d go for the DJ Supernatural Hybrid and then you could layer another wax (DJ Rain Forest Rub for one example, plenty of others) on it monthly. Key to making your car look good for years is least marring wash techniques and DON"T LET THE DEALER TOUCH IT!!!



Never used AIO`s myself so I`ll let other comment on that. I know Optimum has a new one out. Also look at cleansers like Werkstatt Prime, Prima Amigo, and DJ Lime Prime.

[Ryoken0367]

Thank you for all of your input so far Cpt. Zippy. I hope you don`t take this the wrong way, but I was hoping a couple others would have chimed in as well, to get a little more diverse suggestion base. But there are plenty of posts on this forum, and a little searching got me what I needed (I think anyway).



I`m going to stay away from Opti-Coat for now. Except on my wheels, I plan to OC those ASAP. But I`ll have the left over OC for a few years down the road when (if?) I get tired of playing with LSPs. As for your Dodo Juice suggestion, I appreciate the recommendation, but after looking at some reviews, and pricing: I think I`ll pass. It`s a little expensive, and seems to get less recommendations than FK1000P does (which is a lot cheaper!).



I`ll make sure to tell the dealership not to touch the exterior of the car. I`ll wash and wax it when I get home the first day. Most likely I won`t have any of the stuff I`m going to order by then, so I`ll end up doing a coat of Meg`s NXT 2.0. A couple weeks afterwards I`ll do the whole process with OC on the wheels, FK1000P after a good wash/IPA wipedown(/clay/polish if needed), and LM Protectant on the seats.



Thanks again, I really appreciated all of your help and suggestions!