Cleaning, Polishing waxing and in between - how do you keep the car clean?

[Formaleins]

Firstly, this probably sounds a bit strange but I really would like to know what is the best way to maintain the bodywork on a motor over here. When I grew up my old man only bought cheap secondhand motors, never paid more than 300 quid for any of them, most were between 40 and 50 quid. They obviously were not exactly showroom condition. some were finished in a nice coat of Red Lead. Anyway, because of his fear of water ingress into their electrical systems, plugs, points distributors etc. we were never allowed to give them a good wash with a hosepipe, at best they got a wet rag.

 

Now I have my own trucks and this is 45 years on, I honestly do not understand the correct process to maintain the paintwork!

 

I have always rinsed the truck down first, then give it a good wash down, then rinse then dry off with a chamois then polish - sometimes once a week or once a fortnight.

 

But recently I discovered 3M Car Shampoo and Wax, and another product from 3M called Wax and Seal Protect.

 

So I understand the washing bit, but I read a lot from the internet about people waxing their cars maybe twice a year or 4 times a year...how do you make sure the paint is protected?

 

Am I wrong to keep washing it with shampoo? wrong polishing it each wash? wrong waxing it after washing and polishing? How do you keep the gloss finish for a year if you only wax it two or 4 times?

 

Is there a way to just wash over the car when it gets dirty then rejuvenate the original wax? Do you need to wash polish wax everytime  you clean it? (i.e. weekly) - We never bought car polish or any other cleaning products for cars when we were growing up, it was fairy liquid on a damp rag, no rinse, dry it off and maybe give it a shine with a spray of Mr. Sheen!

[Lacessit]

With modern clearcoats on vehicles, polishing and waxing is totally unnecessary. Just use a tar remover spray, then wash with clean water to remove mud grime. Do not use detergents or proprietary cleaners, they promote crevice corrosion.

I own a 2006 Toyota Vios, it gets washed every 3-6 months. It has zero rust.

[Formaleins]

16 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

With modern clearcoats on vehicles, polishing and waxing is totally unnecessary. Just use a tar remover spray, then wash with clean water to remove mud grime. Do not use detergents or proprietary cleaners, they promote crevice corrosion.

I own a 2006 Toyota Vios, it gets washed every 3-6 months. It has zero rust.

Thanks, but I am not 100% convinced that my truck hasn't had a respray. The plastic front fender is a bit dull and rough, it chips from stones really easy. Rust is not an issue for me, it is how to try to protect the surface from the usual grime, cats walking all over it, and Tokraw dropping, oh, and the usual bug splatter. Do you need to cut everything back with detergent / shampoo then rebuild it with polish and wax after every wash?

 

Suppose I wash the car every week with a good car soap, will that strip all off the wax and polish or can I just re-wax it? Can you apply wax on wax?

 

When it is first washed, polished and waxed the paint is like glass, but after a week or two with all the grime it turns dull and greasy, you can sort of rebuff it but it never feels the same, so do I need to do everything all over again?

[Lacessit]

2 minutes ago, Formaleins said:

Thanks, but I am not 100% convinced that my truck hasn't had a respray. The plastic front fender is a bit dull and rough, it chips from stones really easy. Rust is not an issue for me, it is how to try to protect the surface from the usual grime, cats walking all over it, and Tokraw dropping, oh, and the usual bug splatter. Do you need to cut everything back with detergent / shampoo then rebuild it with polish and wax after every wash?

 

Suppose I wash the car every week with a good car soap, will that strip all off the wax and polish or can I just re-wax it? Can you apply wax on wax?

 

When it is first washed, polished and waxed the paint is like glass, but after a week or two with all the grime it turns dull and greasy, you can sort of rebuff it but it never feels the same, so do I need to do everything all over again?

If the vehicle has been resprayed, all bets are off. Might be best to use a cutting compound, then wash and wax. I only ever wash with plain water and a soft cloth, to me detergents/shampoo are a waste of money, and promote crevice corrosion besides.

I would probably just wash with water, then rewax. I believe in keeping vehicles in top mechanical condition. I don't particularly care about external appearance.

You haven't said what color the vehicle is. I only buy light-colored vehicles, white, silver or sand. Far less prone to showing dirt.

[DavisH]

11 minutes ago, Formaleins said:

Thanks, but I am not 100% convinced that my truck hasn't had a respray. The plastic front fender is a bit dull and rough, it chips from stones really easy. Rust is not an issue for me, it is how to try to protect the surface from the usual grime, cats walking all over it, and Tokraw dropping, oh, and the usual bug splatter. Do you need to cut everything back with detergent / shampoo then rebuild it with polish and wax after every wash?

 

Suppose I wash the car every week with a good car soap, will that strip all off the wax and polish or can I just re-wax it? Can you apply wax on wax?

 

When it is first washed, polished and waxed the paint is like glass, but after a week or two with all the grime it turns dull and greasy, you can sort of rebuff it but it never feels the same, so do I need to do everything all over again?

You can get some high quality "wash and wax" shampoo for your car. It won't strip of any underlying wax. Use the best products that are within your budget. I generally use meguairs products. When I had my civic I would generally wax it monthly. My current car has a ceramic coat (which i would recommend if your car is new or near new). I don't really need to do anything with that. Only wash it. It ads a bit of hardness and protection to the clear coat. On my wife's car, I find the paint can get damaged from bird droppings, but I don't get that problem with the ceramic coat. 

 

 

[Airalee]

It depends.  
 

Is your car parked outside or in a garage?  Sun will oxidize and fade your paint quite quickly.

 

How often are you driving it?

Are you looking for basic protection or show car shine? 

 

Wash it with a decent car wash soap as needed and a good polish/wax combo (Meguires/Zymol/Mothers) every 3-6 months should suffice.  No need for the super expensive stuff.

 

If you see bird poop on your car, spritz and wipe (softly...don’t scrub) ASAP as it will eat into the paint.  Same with bug splatters on the front.

[JAS21]

It hasn't been my experience that it is OK to leave your paintwork unprotected.

 

There have been quite a few topics about how to look after your car paintwork ... I have pulled three out for you ... got bored as the search function leaves just a little to be desired!!

 

 

 

I seem to have settled on Dry wash with ONR (the green one) as that also contains polish and then Optimum Opti-Seal on top. Of course if the paint work is really dirty then best to wet wash after hosing down..  A chamois is so NO NO these days ...use a good quality micro fiber towel.

 

At present I seem to prefer using a paint sealant rather than a polish ... but in the future I may change my mind ...

 

ALSO loads on the internet about how to look after car paint work. As said somewhere above if the bird poo's on your paintwork get it off ASAP.

 

By the way ... nothing lasts in this climate ... I opti-seal mine every couple of weeks ...

 

 

 

[bodga]

Want it  to last well keep it out  of the sun ,I  polish  mine every  month using Autoglym which I bring from the UK as its darned expensive here. For black   plastic  parts you can ceramic  coat them to keep them looking new, I wouldnt bother doing the whole car as its a RIP  OFF 35 k hahahah must be mad

[canthai55]

[JAS21]

1 hour ago, bodga said:

Want it  to last well keep it out  of the sun ,I  polish  mine every  month using Autoglym which I bring from the UK as its darned expensive here. For black   plastic  parts you can ceramic  coat them to keep them looking new, I wouldnt bother doing the whole car as its a RIP  OFF 35 k hahahah must be mad

I used to use Autoglym, last time a friend brought it from the UK for me. Compared to a paint sealant, it is hard work and I was not convinced any better either. YMMV

[fredob43]

All this waxing lark with modern paint's isn't needed. Find yourself a good valeting place and let then do it every few weeks. They will keep it in good condition.

 

I have mine done twice a month at my local place they hand wash it, clean underneath, inside, seats/door panels, windows, carpets, also the engine. Cost for that is 200bht for a Tuna. It's now 3.1/2 years old and looks like new. Did the same with the last Tuna that was coming up to 9 years old when I sold that, looked like it had just come out of the showroom. Neither had seen any wax treatment. 

 

N/B it takes 5 men around 1 hour to do. If anyone thinks I'm going to spend 5 hours on my own doing it without the stuff they have they are living in a dream world. Two snap of how it looks were taken at 8am this morning so no sun. You'll get the general idea.   

[transam]

In the old days cars rusted from the inside out, not the outside in, though there were exceptions via panel joints. Auto paint is very different now, also gone is wax protecting the colour, now the colour is protected by layers of clear coat.

 

Clear coat does scratch though, we have all seen those white scratch lines that are a bit annoying. I used to build up wax polish layers, in other words, apply another layer say a week latter, that seemed to "take" the scratches before meeting the clear coat.

 

Of course, you can take your ride to a shop, but I would prefer to use my own choice of wax and do the application myself, so I knew it was done properly, the shop is the lazy-mans way. ????

 

So, keep the car clean using a hose, not a pressure washer, they can put water where you don't want it, soap and water wash, washing up liquid does the job, rinse off, chamois dry, the wax with a non-silicone based wax of your choice (build up those layers)...Job done..????

PS. The plastic stuff, buy something like "Back to Black" or similar, the plastic will come back like new...

[JAS21]

On 11/3/2020 at 8:19 AM, fredob43 said:

All this waxing lark with modern paint's isn't needed. Find yourself a good valeting place and let then do it every few weeks. They will keep it in good condition.

 

I have mine done twice a month at my local place they hand wash it, clean underneath, inside, seats/door panels, windows, carpets, also the engine. Cost for that is 200bht for a Tuna. It's now 3.1/2 years old and looks like new. Did the same with the last Tuna that was coming up to 9 years old when I sold that, looked like it had just come out of the showroom. Neither had seen any wax treatment. 

 

N/B it takes 5 men around 1 hour to do. If anyone thinks I'm going to spend 5 hours on my own doing it without the stuff they have they are living in a dream world. Two snap of how it looks were taken at 8am this morning so no sun. You'll get the general idea.   

Toyota chose a really nice white and in my opinion looks far better than what Ford chose for their Everest. and adding the black roof makes it really stand out.
 

Every time I see that model, in white, I think it really does look the biz.

 

Of course, after 3 1/2 years it should look like new. Our Everest looks like new after five years.

 

And five man hours for 200 baht is an absolute steal.

 

You could be right, putting anything on top of the clear coat is a waste of time... but you arn’t.....????

 

 

 

 

[fredob43]

8 minutes ago, JAS21 said:

And five man hours for 200 baht is an absolute steal.

Where I live everything is Thai prices. They have just put their prices up for a full valet to 200bht used to be 150bht. Did all the Thais moan you bet. Now a lot of them only have the small Valet but they don't do under or the engine. I have had to bite the bullet and pay out big time. No one said life would be easy. 

[transam]

On 11/3/2020 at 8:19 AM, fredob43 said:

All this waxing lark with modern paint's isn't needed. Find yourself a good valeting place and let then do it every few weeks. They will keep it in good condition.

 

I have mine done twice a month at my local place they hand wash it, clean underneath, inside, seats/door panels, windows, carpets, also the engine. Cost for that is 200bht for a Tuna. It's now 3.1/2 years old and looks like new. Did the same with the last Tuna that was coming up to 9 years old when I sold that, looked like it had just come out of the showroom. Neither had seen any wax treatment. 

 

N/B it takes 5 men around 1 hour to do. If anyone thinks I'm going to spend 5 hours on my own doing it without the stuff they have they are living in a dream world. Two snap of how it looks were taken at 8am this morning so no sun. You'll get the general idea.   

Your front bumper has been painted, it's a different shade...????

[fredob43]

2 hours ago, transam said:

Your front bumper has been painted, it's a different shade...????

So speaks a man that hasn't even seen it but as usual cant be wrong. Yes it has been painted but it's not a different shade. I'm very fussy and I would never except anything that wasn't first class. 

Suggest you look at my snap again then you can come back with the top of the wing is a different shade. I think you will find it's a bend in it that make it look different. Oh by the way also look at the Bonnet/Hood that's also a different shade. 

[canopus1969]

On 11/2/2020 at 9:08 PM, canthai55 said:

 

Bet that's on hire 

[Airalee]

For the people saying “clear coat protects the paint”...well...that’s wrong.  Clear coat is paint...just without pigment and can oxidize (and look hazy) just like the color.  
 

The clear coat can also be damaged by a buffer (if the detailer doesn’t know what he’s doing, which is why you will see swirls (ghosting) in a poorly detailed (polished/waxed) car.  Especially black cars.

 

I had a sideline detailing business where I only detailed high end cars for physicians.  All done by hand.  Here are my tips.

 

1.  When wiping, polishing, waxing or doing any touching of your car with a pad or towel, follow the body line and never wipe in circles.

 

2.  Wash and rinse your towels thoroughly.  I do not recommend cotton terry towels as grit can hide in the loops.  Microfiber is what I used and if a towel ever hit the ground, it went into the trash.  After washing my towels, they went into plastic bags...then to the car, then back into another plastic bag and then to the washing machine.  Any towels that I used to clean a wheel well or any other area with caked on dirt, mud, grit was only used once and then discarded.   For removing the polish (Zymol HD cleanse) and wax (Zymol Vintage glaze) I would use completely different towels than my wash towels and the two would never mix either in a bag or in the washer/dryer.

 

Take care of your car correctly and your original paint can look like my 25 year old car (since sold to a friend) but granted, I had to spend about 16 hours just polishing it when I first bought it (second hand as a 10 year old car).

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PFMills]

5 hours ago, fredob43 said:

So speaks a man that hasn't even seen it but as usual cant be wrong. Yes it has been painted but it's not a different shade. I'm very fussy and I would never except anything that wasn't first class. 

Suggest you look at my snap again then you can come back with the top of the wing is a different shade. I think you will find it's a bend in it that make it look different. Oh by the way also look at the Bonnet/Hood that's also a different shade. 

That is very astute of you Mr Trans to pick that up and from a picture!

[JAS21]

4 hours ago, Airalee said:

For the people saying “clear coat protects the paint”...well...that’s wrong.  Clear coat is paint...just without pigment and can oxidize (and look hazy) just like the color.  
 

The clear coat can also be damaged by a buffer (if the detailer doesn’t know what he’s doing, which is why you will see swirls (ghosting) in a poorly detailed (polished/waxed) car.  Especially black cars.

 

I had a sideline detailing business where I only detailed high end cars for physicians.  All done by hand.  Here are my tips.

 

1.  When wiping, polishing, waxing or doing any touching of your car with a pad or towel, follow the body line and never wipe in circles.

 

2.  Wash and rinse your towels thoroughly.  I do not recommend cotton terry towels as grit can hide in the loops.  Microfiber is what I used and if a towel ever hit the ground, it went into the trash.  After washing my towels, they went into plastic bags...then to the car, then back into another plastic bag and then to the washing machine.  Any towels that I used to clean a wheel well or any other area with caked on dirt, mud, grit was only used once and then discarded.   For removing the polish (Zymol HD cleanse) and wax (Zymol Vintage glaze) I would use completely different towels than my wash towels and the two would never mix either in a bag or in the washer/dryer.

 

Take care of your car correctly and your original paint can look like my 25 year old car (since sold to a friend) but granted, I had to spend about 16 hours just polishing it when I first bought it (second hand as a 10 year old car).

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have a friend .......actually most of the damage to paintwork is done during drying off. And normally a respray is not the same quality as original paintwork and will oxidize more easily.

 

That car doesn't have a clear coat. does it. Is it the light or does that paintwork just look a little aged. Still looks good though.

 

[Airalee]

38 minutes ago, JAS21 said:

I have a friend .......actually most of the damage to paintwork is done during drying off. And normally a respray is not the same quality as original paintwork and will oxidize more easily.

 

That car doesn't have a clear coat. does it. Is it the light or does that paintwork just look a little aged. Still looks good though.

 

Yeah...I can see where most of the damage when washing and drying would be during the drying from rubbing too hard with an “over dry” towel, (you have to kind of “prime” the towel first) but those hologram looking swirls you’ll see on the side of a black car are from machine polishing.  I had to polish out quite a few black cars where the customers originally took them to the dealership for details.  
 

As you say, a respray is never as good as a factory paint job.  I worked as an auto claims adjuster and spent so much time in so many bodyshops that I learned that the insurance line of “it will be just as good as original” was a load of BS.  But...what can you do?   I remember handling a claim on an Abarth Zagato Double Bubble coupe which needed a complete respray and the paint came back from the shop with such a horrible color match to the original rosso corsa that I fought my supervisor to have it completely painted again.

 

My old 993 was original paint.  It actually looks much better in person than it does in the picture.  My friend took that picture a year after buying it off me.  Original paint.  One thing for sure was that there were none of the big circular webs that you will see on the hood and fenders of most cars when under harsh unforgiving light.  It doesn’t have a clear coat (even though many guys on Rennlist will argue up and down that after (insert year here) all Porsches came with a 2 stage paint).

 

I wish I had the energy (and desire) to detail my car now like I used to but since it’s an MX5 (can’t afford a Porsche here), I just find myself not caring like I used to.  I’m gonna have to change that attitude somewhat, but I’m trying to lose my OCD mentality when it comes to cars.

[canthai55]

8 hours ago, Airalee said:

 As you say, a respray is never as good as a factory paint job.

Tell that to Chip Foose, or any other winner of the Ridler

[Airalee]

2 hours ago, canthai55 said:

Tell that to Chip Foose, or any other winner of the Ridler

I’ve seen his work at Petersen....but that’s not what we were talking about.  I was going to put a disclaimer in that I was referring to the garden variety respray that people think they can get at your local bodyshop.  And I’m not talking about Earl Scheib. 
 

 

[transam]

12 hours ago, PFMills said:

That is very astute of you Mr Trans to pick that up and from a picture!

The bumper/wing joint, even with the light/shadow, tells all in that photo, but, photos can be deceiving....... ????

[fredob43]

5 hours ago, transam said:

The bumper/wing joint, even with the light/shadow, tells all in that photo, but, photos can be deceiving....... ????

You missed a trick with an earlier post that showed the Red Porsche. The N/Side front wing had been repainted. Go have another look you will find that the bonnet and most of the rest of the car is a different shade/colour.

[transam]

4 minutes ago, fredob43 said:

You missed a trick with an earlier post that showed the Red Porsche. The N/Side front wing had been repainted. Go have another look you will find that the bonnet and most of the rest of the car is a different shade/colour.

Not interested in other dodgy paintwork photos...

[wombat]

Turtle Wax and polish the car at night....worked for me

[canthai55]

Car gets dirty - wash it, rinse it, let it dry, clean the windows.

 

Car gets dirty - ...

[richard_smith237]

As I don’t drive a Ferrari or other ‘high end car’ I’ve never really worried about getting any of my cars into ‘show condition’ shine. 

 

The paint on any modern car seems decent enough. We just get the car washed at a shopping mall if we think it needs a clean. 

 

Given the rains recently its been washed once in the last 3 months !

[Andy from Kent]

On 11/3/2020 at 8:19 AM, fredob43 said:

Cost for that is 200bht for a Tuna.    N/B it takes 5 men around 1 hour to do.

 

Begs the question of how much the owner pays 5 men for an  hours work that generates a total of 200 THB.

 

We have the car washed probably once every 3 weeks and have it washed and  waxed every other month.