Paint Depth Meter

C. Charles Hahn

CCH Auto Appearance, LLC
I've never really paid much attention to detailing the underbody and wheel wells on my vehicles, but I've seen some where they have been done and it looks dramatically better...... whats best to use?
 
On my show car I have used Griots Undercarriage Spray which is pretty good at detailing the undercarriage. For the wheel wells believe it or not, I use Pledge. Makes them shine pretty nice. Of course it won't last long.
 
For wheel wells I really like 303 aerospace protectant. The only problem is it's kinda expensive to be using in your wheel wells, it works nice for garage queens or show cars. For the daily driver an el-cheapo product like Armor All will work fine in in the wheel wells.
 
Wheel wells: I clean them with tire cleaner and a brush.



Then I get some cheapo tire protectant like STP or Armour all crap and spray it in there. I let it sit as I do all the wells then I come back and wipe off.



Yeah I use AA here but it is cost effective and helps prevent crud from sticking due to the silicone.



Ps I put an old towel over the towel when spraying so the tire does not get any on it.
 
During weekly washes, I just like to rinse it out with water and couple squirts of EF-HI cleaner. About every two months, I like to take off the wheels to clean the wells. I use an old wheel brush and all-purpose cleaner (like EF-HI) to get the majority of the gunk off, and then use a chenille wash pad with Dawn to get it squeaky clean. Dressing it with a PDMS dressing such as 303, Z-16 or Armor-All (new version) will help too.



As with the underbody, get yourself some ramps and EF-HI cleaner. NuFinish works great on all most of the metal parts.



Good luck!
 
Yep, just wash it real well with Dawn and wax it. I prefer to use a paint cleanser or clay first to get rid of any contaminates before waxing it though.
 
Concur, with Rasky. I have the Highline II Meter that runs about $225 on average. It's a good meter to have before stepping up the game and getting the kind that costs over $1000.
 
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