Lots of questions from a newbie

[Wicho]

Let me start by saying that I have been reading this forum for about 2 days and and had to join. I have never seen such a group of people that care for their car as much as you guys do. I just recently purchased a 97 deville, gray with beige cloth top. The exterior of the car looks beutiful, no swirl marks, dents or dings. The interior looks as good as the exterior. My questions are :



1. I want to maintain my paint the way it is right now, what can I purchase and apply to keep my car the way it is now ?



2. What are the steps when waxing a car ?



3. On one of my rims, it seems as though the gloss is chipping off, can I go anything to prevent further flaking ?



4. I want to clean up the roof in the inside of the car, any tips, what should I buy ?



Thanks in advance to anyone who replies and feels good to find a forum like this. THANKS !:xyxthumbs

[dcswd]

Welcome to Autopia!



Keep on reading, click the learn! button at the very top of the page and go through there. You will also find the Autopia guide to detailing to be very useful. http://autopia-carcare.com/freeguide.html

[scottabir]

1). Seeing the paint is in good condition already, just take the proper measures to reduce the marring from washing/drying ect.



2). Wax on wax off...the wax you are using will determine how much time is needed between these two steps. Some waxes like S100, trade secrect you can wipe on and wipe off, while others you should let dry to a haze before buffing off.



3). Maybe touch it up with some c.c. depending on what type of rim it is.



4). Be Very careful not to soak the headliner too much because the glue can give way causeing it to sag. I usually try to VERY lightly wipe it with a damp rag that has the woolite mixture on it.



And :welcome

[chris0626]

Originally posted by Wicho

Let me start by saying that I have been reading this forum for about 2 days and and had to join. I have never seen such a group of people that care for their car as much as you guys do. I just recently purchased a 97 deville, gray with beige cloth top. The exterior of the car looks beutiful, no swirl marks, dents or dings. The interior looks as good as the exterior. My questions are :



1. I want to maintain my paint the way it is right now, what can I purchase and apply to keep my car the way it is now ?



2. What are the steps when waxing a car ?

Wicho, I`m glad you`re finding Autopia helpful to you. Yep, we`re definitely an anal bunch. You need to read a bunch to get the principles, and not just the product recommendations.



And congratulations on the car purchase! :up You`ll find a ton of good info here that will save you a lot of grief. Let me offer a few of my favorites.



To get started, I’d recommend that you read the Autopia Guide to Detailing – it only costs $9.95, and that money helps to support Autopia … so it’s a good cause. :up You can also find lots of good, basic info for free by reading David`s articles at the "Learn" icon at the top of the page.



And reading the House Rules (upper left of the home page) will tell you a bit about our operating procedures here at Autopia. We`re a little different from some of the more free-wheeling forums. (Thank goodness!) We put a premium on civility as well as critical analysis.



Also on the home page you’ll find a link to all the acronyms (AIO, CWB, PC, PUPP, etc.) that get bandied-about regularly. In my early days on Autopia, I kept that page open all the time like it was my "secret decoder ring." :lol



Then, what some new folks do is read thru the previous posts in the Autopia Univ forum; in addition to teaching you lots of the basics, that will give you a sense of which questions have already been asked and answered a gazillion times.



Also, a lot of folks take a while to discover our Reviews section, where we`ve posted lots of our own evaluations of products; it`s at http://www.autopia.org/review/index.php, if you`re interested.



And if/when you get ready to place orders, be sure to check on all the discounts Autopians get. Lots of those get posted in the Good Deals forum.



By the way, be aware that we ask newcomers (no matter how experienced they may be!) to post all their questions in the Autopia Univ forum until they get 30 posts. This is just a way to be sure that we give focused attention to newcomers’ posts.



You`ll find that Autopians are really happy to share their info and experiences. Read, learn, be sure to ask us for more info. :up

3. On one of my rims, it seems as though the gloss is chipping off, can I go anything to prevent further flaking ?

To me, this sounds like maybe a serious problem. You might want to expound on that question and ask it in the Autopia Univ forum to be sure that folks address it.

4. I want to clean up the roof in the inside of the car, any tips, what should I buy ?

Like scottabir said, this can be tricky. I always start by using a dry latex sponge. (HomeDepot etc. sell these as wallpaper-cleaners -- they`re about the size of a brick, look beige colored). I`ve been surprised at how much surface dirt they can remove. Is your soiling more extensive?