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Summer Is In Full Swing And It's Time To Get Your Car Looking Great!

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I have to park on the street next to a park with sprinklers, and our city water is terrible. Consequently my car is covered in calcium deposits. What do you suggest I use to remove them? Regular washing hardly does anything.
 
Originally posted by: Sukhoi
I have to park on the street next to a park with sprinklers, and our city water is terrible. Consequently my car is covered in calcium deposits. What do you suggest I use to remove them? Regular washing hardly does anything.
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A light rubbing compound and mineral spirits. But if there is some type of cover or something you could do it would be the best solution, because otherwise it will ruin your car's paint over time.
 
Originally posted by: Sukhoi
I have to park on the street next to a park with sprinklers, and our city water is terrible. Consequently my car is covered in calcium deposits. What do you suggest I use to remove them? Regular washing hardly does anything.
Click to expand...

I hear vinegar will take care of those deposits. I probably read that over on Autopia.org
 
Originally posted by: FeuerFrei
Originally posted by: Sukhoi
I have to park on the street next to a park with sprinklers, and our city water is terrible. Consequently my car is covered in calcium deposits. What do you suggest I use to remove them? Regular washing hardly does anything.
Click to expand...

I hear vinegar will take care of those deposits. I probably read that over on Autopia.org
Click to expand...

mineral spirits works better
 
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
Originally posted by: FeuerFrei
Originally posted by: Sukhoi
I have to park on the street next to a park with sprinklers, and our city water is terrible. Consequently my car is covered in calcium deposits. What do you suggest I use to remove them? Regular washing hardly does anything.
Click to expand...

I hear vinegar will take care of those deposits. I probably read that over on Autopia.org
Click to expand...

mineral spirits works better
Click to expand...

Use vinegar. It's dirt cheap and doesn't smell as bad, and despite what he says, it works just as well. Let it sit on for a few minutes, then use windex or something on it and a rag.

By the way SVT Cobra- very nice. Been a detailer for years at a ford dealership, and I'm glad someone took the time to make sure people know what to do.

Sorry you own a mustang 🙂

trade it in for something else, and not only will you have a killer thread, but also a killer car!!
 
I just picked up a Dual Action Orbital Buffer and put it to use last night. Holy cow what a difference it makes!

I picked up an Ultimate Detailing Machine and a few pads, along with Menzerna Super Intensive Polish and it made short work of the nasty, nasty swirls and holograms I had. The car sat on the dealer showroom for awhile and apparently they used sandpaper to dust the cars periodically 😛.
 
Personal favorite OTC brand found @ carquest is the Duragloss line.

There's my .02 cents.

If you are talking about paint correction, purchase a Porter Cable Random Orbital, or an Ultimate Detailing Machine.

onza
 
My CUV is black and it needs a good clean up. It hadn't been done for a while

Questions:

1. What is the best cleaner and wax brands for black. I am more concern about durability and easy of use than the super duper shiny look.

2. What is the best way to fix the door dings? Just minor dings but a few of them.

3. What is the best way to fix paint nicks. I have two. One of them is the size of the pencil eraser and one of them is about the size of a pen tip. Both of them have erosion and both of them on the hood <at the edge near the radiator).

TIA.
 
Originally posted by: Howard
Can you apply wax with a damp/wet towel?
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My experience has been that when water contacts the cloth, you can't get it to spread properly anymore. For instance, if I'm waxing and I accidentally touch a few drops of water that were hidden at the bottom of a body panel, it just starts smearing the water all over and not applying the wax. I have to switch to a dry part of the towel again. I'm guessing that's why SVT makes such a big deal out of having the car be bone dry before you start, because otherwise you run into hassles.

You also can't properly buff off the wax with a wet towel for more or less the same reason. It just makes everything damp and smeary again instead of buffing off.
 
Originally posted by: Howard
Hm, that's too bad. It'd be nice if you could use the same cloth to wax as you did to dry.
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Costco and Walmart are good places to pick up big packs of microfiber towels (Costco's stock varies, of course). I think the pack at Costco was roughly $10 and had tons of them. It is really nice to not worry about using up all the rags or not having enough. And when I drop one on the ground, there is always a clean one ready to replace it. They're washable, of course.
 
Originally posted by: thomsbrain
Originally posted by: Howard
Hm, that's too bad. It'd be nice if you could use the same cloth to wax as you did to dry.
Click to expand...

Costco and Walmart are good places to pick up big packs of microfiber towels (Costco's stock varies, of course). I think the pack at Costco was roughly $10 and had tons of them. It is really nice to not worry about using up all the rags or not having enough. And when I drop one on the ground, there is always a clean one ready to replace it. They're washable, of course.
Click to expand...

That 36-pack from Costco should only be used for interior cleaning and the like. They are not soft enough to use on your paint...they leave swirls.
 
Great guide. I just tried the Meguiars Clay Bar Kit for the first time on a 10 year old Chevy Silverado with 110 K and it was very easy. It was definitely smoother after.
I expected to see a lot of black in the clay after using it on sections but it was almost not noticeable. I did the whole car with it instead of just the hood and roof. There were some areas where it did seem to smooth out the paint like over the wheel wells or just behind it.
I'm not sure what the wetting agent is for the clay. I'm almost out of it after just one use so I'll need to find some more if I do this again.
 
I got a 06 Black MB E350 used in Jan. This is my first attempt at detailing. Should I clay bar the sucker (after wash) first?
 
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