Re: Re: Just Say NO To Waxes!

I had a bird bomb my car the other day. I believe that I got to it within 30 minutes, but it was hot day and it may have cooked a bit. I dabbed the creation with a wet napkin. When I got home I immediately cleaned the hood then proceeded with hand glaze, then detailer, then prewax cleaner then a wax.

But there is an apparent circle (etching of the clear coat?).

I talked with an owner of a well detailed car at the Fabulous Fords Forever car show yesterday. He suggested using a Mother's compound with a 2000 grit applied with a micro-fiber cloth. I could not find this at my regular auto parts stores (nor is there a grit spec. for the products that they do have). Are there other similar products that would work without damage?

Any other suggestions?


Thanks.

Tony

... a great polish for clear plastics which also works very well on clearcoat.
It's made by Meguiar's.



Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

simple rubbing compound (I still prefer 3M), followed by hand glaze, then wax it.

#03900 (removes 1500 grit sanding scratches) or #39002 (removes 1200 or finer sand scratches)?


[3mcollision.com]


[3mcollision.com]

Use least invasive method possible.

If not correcting, then move onto something ever so slightly more aggressive.

Before I'd go w/ either of those rubbing compounds, I try the following in order:

- clay bar w/ detail spray
- white vinegar and water
- hand glaze
- swirl remover by hand
- swirl remover by machine
- very mild polish by hand
- very mild polish by machine
- mild polish by hand
- mild polish by machine
- medium polish by hand
- medium polish by machine

Unless this thing was a Pterosaurs, above should more than resolve (my guess is mild polish by machine at the latest) before having to move to any rubbing compound...

Good luck



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/2012 04:17PM by Burg Boxster. (view changes)

Thank you.

There are a host of products on the market, many of them very good. Also, lots of website how-to's.

Griot's Garage has good stuff, but not inexpensive.

[www.griotsgarage.com]

I've also used some of the Sonus line, which clearly identifies the level of abrasiveness (e.g. SFX-1 to 4)

[www.autopia-carcare.com]

3M Imperial Hand Glaze has lots of fans.

It's good to have varying degrees of abrasiveness on-hand, so you won't be tempted to use something too harsh, which you might quickly regret.

BTW, if you didn't know what a Pterosaurs was, don't feel bad; neither did I. I think it's just Burg showing off again.

What available products are considered a very mild polish and a mild polish? I am ready to proceed to the next level.

I don't what this bird ate, but the stain of her poop does not disappear. Based on the size of the original dropping, it may have been a seagull.

Have you tried White Compound, which is a mild abrasive used to get rid of dead paint?

Am curious as to what wax or polish you used that the bird paloopy ate thru?

Driving a new-to-me '09S in Aqua Blue Metallic. It does .5 past light speed. I made the Kessel run in less than 12-parsecs.
Motto: If you have your top up, that storm outside had better have a name!
Motto 2: Having the top up on a convertible is an oxymoron. Don't be a (oxy)moron.

surfaces after every other car wash. Ocean Blue shows many microfiber drying wipes. Wax is the best sloution for me to wide those swipes.

Quote
Tony in Whittier
Ocean Blue shows many microfiber drying wipes. Wax is the best sloution for me to wide those swipes.

If bird poop is a problem, consider a polymer polish like Zainos. I've been using it for a few years and scoff at bird poop.

Driving a new-to-me '09S in Aqua Blue Metallic. It does .5 past light speed. I made the Kessel run in less than 12-parsecs.
Motto: If you have your top up, that storm outside had better have a name!
Motto 2: Having the top up on a convertible is an oxymoron. Don't be a (oxy)moron.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2012 08:07PM by KevinR-MedinaOhio. (view changes)

Quote
Burg Boxster
Use least invasive method possible.

If not correcting, then move onto something ever so slightly more aggressive.

Before I'd go w/ either of those rubbing compounds, I try the following in order:

- clay bar w/ detail spray
- white vinegar and water
- hand glaze
- swirl remover by hand
- swirl remover by machine
- very mild polish by hand
- very mild polish by machine
- mild polish by hand
- mild polish by machine
- medium polish by hand
- medium polish by machine

Unless this thing was a Pterosaurs, above should more than resolve (my guess is mild polish by machine at the latest) before having to move to any rubbing compound...

Good luck

I don't really want to get into a war about products and techniques or anything but I have read bad things about using clay bar. It would not be at the top of my list of products to try. I'm not even sure about white vinegar though I don't have any literature on it. Vinegar is basically acetic acid. The idea of applying even a mild acid to my paintwork gives me pause.

I would start with hand glaze, then go down this list. Stop when you get to an effective product, then work your way back up the list to erase the scratches left by the products you used at the previous level. But skip the vinegar and clay bar.

One last thing... when rubbing by hand do not rub in circles. This will leave visible swirls no matter what product you are using. Rub in an up and down motion always in the same direction (front of car to back of car). For the same reason I do not ever use any kind of powered machine to clean, wax, or polish my paint. You end up having to hand rub out the swirls left by the machine. The machine will always do a worse job than hand polishing, it just does it quicker and easier which is why paint shops use them.

regards John



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2012 01:06AM by NuovaZeta. (view changes)

Quote
Leeper
simple rubbing compound (I still prefer 3M), followed by hand glaze, then wax it.

I had the same problem today on my hood. It was a hot day and didn't get to it 'till I got home later in the day. I used 3M hand glaze, had to rub like heck three times to get the blemish to go. Then, like Leeper says I used wax. Now it looks OK again.

regards John

Read this about clays. It might change your mind... [store.carcareonline.com]

regards John

Quote
NuovaZeta
Read this about clays. It might change your mind... [store.carcareonline.com]

regards John

As I use clay, I read this article with interest. It was informative, with the last paragraph being the what I was looking for:

Overspray clay is a double-edged sword. It can be a scratch waiting to happen. It must be used only on a well-lubricated area and must be continually checked for contaminants. If you rub it on areas of the paint that have not been well lubricated or a piece of grit lodges in the clay, you have made "sandpaper" that will scratch the paint. The trick to properly using a clay is use copious amounts of lubricant and "float" the clay over the surface. The clay works best when it hydroplanes over the paint surface. You must continually refold the clay to expose a fresh clean surface. If contaminants lodge in the clay, simply tear off the section and discard. Once you have ground off all the surface contaminants, wash with a car wash, dry thoroughly, apply a quality polish to add emollient oils into the paint and finally wax.


I use clay as Zainos recommends and follow their instructions for its proper use. Clay's ability to get rid of contaminants like bug guts and tar really helps the finish when waxing--or in my case, polishing; surface smoothness before and after use is noticeable. Zainos is a fairly hard clay, but gets softer and more pliable as it warms up to skin temperature. If you want a softer clay, try Griots.

And here is a good article on how to clay:

Autopia Claying Article

Driving a new-to-me '09S in Aqua Blue Metallic. It does .5 past light speed. I made the Kessel run in less than 12-parsecs.
Motto: If you have your top up, that storm outside had better have a name!
Motto 2: Having the top up on a convertible is an oxymoron. Don't be a (oxy)moron.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2012 08:11AM by KevinR-MedinaOhio. (view changes)

Might want to go on the Autogeek website as it has a very active detailing forum. The owner is also very helpful answering questions.

dghii
2000 Boxster S 6speed 112k miles

go with least aggressive and be patient.

When you are done, try our Rejex. Once you treat the vehicle with Rejex you would be surprised how long bird poop can remain on there without marring the finish. Trust me - I have Rejex on my kids cars, and they sit for weeks with sap, poop, etc. They know how to clean them, but the stuff does the trick and protects well.

If you are a wax only person, well, that's fine, just build up enough coats so this won't be a problem in the future.

Good luck with it. I would never EVER consider 2000 grit for bird poop. I've used it for rock chip repairs, but never stains.

Glad to hear Burg is nailing something....anything!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2012 12:06PM by Gary in SoFL. (view changes)

I followed Burg's checklist from top down to "swirl remover by machine". I am not sure how a very mild or mild polish is specified. I was also a bit apprehensive about using any additional abrasives.

So, I went to the Meguiars website and read up a bit on the products. Then I called their helpline and learned about the abrasiveness of their different products. The rep. suggested that I try their product called ScratchX. I found this at AutoZone (And also saw it at Pep Boys at a lesser price. Too bad I already bought it.). I believe that it is classified as a mild polish.

I also bought another product of theirs called SwirlX. I already tried a different swirl remover, but I wanted to try this level again before proceeding to the mild polish.

The SwirlX did not work. Then I tried ScratchX by hand and I could see some effect. Then I used my orbital machine and the result got better. I got the stain down to an acceptable level. There are a few small dots left. Since I have to hunt for the stain now and not totally visible...I am satisfied.

I then applied the SwirlX, hand glaze and wax for the remainder of the hood. It looks pretty good. The products I used in the removal process did not add any more swirl backs.

Thanks all for your advice. Given the amount of wax that I regularly apply and the lack of protection it provided when needed, I am going to switch to the polymers that others have suggested.

....the maid a raise



Heck, maybe both of them: