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Old 25th May 2010, 22:34   #2371
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Once a month or once every 2 months max!! ( actually I never let it get that dirty)

and I never let anyone but pros touch my car
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Old 26th May 2010, 00:20   #2372
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Garipagol View Post
Where are you stopped - looks like the highway. You have your hazard on I see but be careful when stopping on these roads. A colleague of mine (in Chennai) stopped since his wife was feeling sick. Fortunately they both stepped out of the car - a corolla. It got collected by a truck !
Those pics were taken at the exit of a toll road where the road was sufficiently wide & speeds within control to avoid collection ! I take extreme care to avoid stopping at the side of the highways & generally park well off it when i pull over !

Rajesh - your observations are entirely true The overhead pic was taken after a 300 km drive & what you see is a light film of dust.
When we got the car it did have a lot of swirls & the surface was really rough with bird droppings & mud, etc. Don't know how the previous owner was maintaining it (2007 model done 30 K kms) After a couple of washes, first waxed at home with 3M wax & then washed with Sonax shampoo & NXt wax.

The swirls have reduced a lot with the NXT & Im researching what next do i do to get a show car finish. I was thinking of - washing, claying, polishing,paint cleaning & then waxing. Will be going in for Meguiars products initially to maintain uniformity from a particular brand.
I prefer the DIY route as im yet to find a professional detailing center here in B'lore & the satisfaction of doing it myself. Am open to detailing suggestions from yourself & other Tbhpians !
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Old 26th May 2010, 00:55   #2373
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DIY?
Then you need to check this out - ** Test - Swirl Removal By Hand ** - Autopia.org

according to this test, Autoglym Super resin polish is the best for filling in swirls(by hand)
(in case we dont wanna cut the clear)

I seriously wanna get some and try it on my mom's ride!

Last edited by sohail99 : 26th May 2010 at 00:57.
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Old 26th May 2010, 10:05   #2374
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nirmaljusdoit View Post
Those pics were taken at the exit of a toll road where the road was sufficiently wide & speeds within control to avoid collection ! I take extreme care to avoid stopping at the side of the highways & generally park well off it when i pull over !

Rajesh - your observations are entirely true The overhead pic was taken after a 300 km drive & what you see is a light film of dust.
When we got the car it did have a lot of swirls & the surface was really rough with bird droppings & mud, etc. Don't know how the previous owner was maintaining it (2007 model done 30 K kms) After a couple of washes, first waxed at home with 3M wax & then washed with Sonax shampoo & NXt wax.

The swirls have reduced a lot with the NXT & Im researching what next do i do to get a show car finish. I was thinking of - washing, claying, polishing,paint cleaning & then waxing. Will be going in for Meguiars products initially to maintain uniformity from a particular brand.
I prefer the DIY route as im yet to find a professional detailing center here in B'lore & the satisfaction of doing it myself. Am open to detailing suggestions from yourself & other Tbhpians !
Nirmal,

In your process you forgot something. After polishing wipe it down with a degreaser. It will remove any polishing material hiding the swirls. Sohail is right you could remove the swirls by hand, but I prefer using a DA polisher. It reduces the elbow grease. You beamer has hard paint unlike soft Japanese paint. So the swirls will be a little harder to remove with the 30K misuse. Once you examine the final results after polishing use a bright light like halogen at an angle of 30 deg to examine the results. I use a battery operated halogen light which immediately shows up any defects. Once you have a finish free from swirls and holograms then proceed with the waxing. Put 2 thin layers. The frequency would depend on climate, and the parking conditions of your beamer.

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Old 26th May 2010, 10:49   #2375
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Which DA polisher do you use??

any sources for getting them locally?( AFAIK Bosch does make one!)
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Old 26th May 2010, 17:11   #2376
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sohail let me know after you try a swirl remover.

Finally I have decided to stop getting my car washed from our watchman daily. I'll be washing it myself on the weekends and dusting it over the week. I am sure it will definitely reduce swirl addition and will prolong the 'wax-effect'.

The only problem: monsoons are coming and everyone knows how it is in Bombay. My run per week is 200-400km. Might have to wash it more often than just the weekends.
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Old 26th May 2010, 17:27   #2377
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Quote:
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Which DA polisher do you use??

any sources for getting them locally?( AFAIK Bosch does make one!)
Sohail,

I use a Milwaukee DA polisher. It is very heavy duty. I have been using it since the last 3 years without any maintainence problems.

By the way, has any one deduced why dust collects on a moving car on its flat surfaces and less on the sides. As you noticed on the photographs. It is like on a room fan though it rotates constantly the dust still sticks on. Some feel it is static, but then there would be static on the sides of the car also.

My thinking is the flat surfaces are more hotter than the sides. So it has to do with heat too.
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Old 27th May 2010, 03:45   #2378
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I've come across following two Random Orbit Sanders at Bosch's website(aka DA Polishers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_orbital_sander ) which I think can be used for Detailing as well. Link to Bosch India's website: http://www.bosch-pt.co.in/papocs-in/...9882/index.htm

I searched one of these sanders with reference to car detailing and read this page: Malaysia Honda Odyssey Forum • View topic - Bosch GEX 125-1 AE

Last edited by tsk13 : 27th May 2010 at 03:48.
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Old 27th May 2010, 09:46   #2379
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Sohail - Thanks for the video, very informative !

Rajesh - Thanks for the tip ! Can you give us more details on the degreaser & how to go about applying & removing it ? Any recommended brands ? Btw, how about gravity being the factor why dust sticks on horizontal surfaces more than vertical surfaces ? Another example which comes to my mind is a TV. Theres always more dust on the top than the screen

Guys, ive shortlisted the following Megs products after some research, please suggest if any additions are required :

G1016 Smooth surface clay kit
A3016 Deep crystal System paint cleaner
A2116 Deep crystal System polish
G17216 Ultimate compound
G17616 Swirl X
G12718 Nxt generation tech wax 2.0
G14422 Ultimate quik detailer
X2020 Supreme shine microfiber towel - 3 pack
X3070 Foam applicator pads
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Old 27th May 2010, 10:52   #2380
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nirmaljusdoit View Post
Sohail - Thanks for the video, very informative !

Rajesh - Thanks for the tip ! Can you give us more details on the degreaser & how to go about applying & removing it ? Any recommended brands ? Btw, how about gravity being the factor why dust sticks on horizontal surfaces more than vertical surfaces ? Another example which comes to my mind is a TV. Theres always more dust on the top than the screen

Guys, ive shortlisted the following Megs products after some research, please suggest if any additions are required :

G1016 Smooth surface clay kit
A3016 Deep crystal System paint cleaner
A2116 Deep crystal System polish
G17216 Ultimate compound
G17616 Swirl X
G12718 Nxt generation tech wax 2.0
G14422 Ultimate quik detailer
X2020 Supreme shine microfiber towel - 3 pack
X3070 Foam applicator pads
Nirmal,

If it was gravity, then when you car is going at above 50 km/hr the dust should have flown off. There was a very good comment by a lady who was telling me that her old car which was a Maruti 800 bought in 1983 had less dust on the flat services while all the other cars parked in the same parking area were filled with dust. She asked me why was this? She was right. I saw the whole parking lot of 40 cars in the morning at 7 am. She was based in Chandigarh. Her oldest car was the cleanest while her new Santro was as dirty as the others parked beside them. Her old car basically was painted with NC paint while all the other cars were with clear coats. So it had to do with heat and the clear coats which attract the dust. The NC paints were without clear in the earlier days.

Another observation of this is you can see that many cars the bonnet is dirty but the side fender which bends over to meeting the bonnet is less dustier. Both the bonnet and part of the fender which are flat have different degree of dust accumulation. So flat surfaces and heat is what could be the factor. The side fender does not get so hot as the bonnet has the engine to heat it up. The side fender has air (which is a bad conductor of heat) between both the sides of the engine chassis and the exterior surface.

It is worth analyzing this phenomena as everyone would want a finish which attracts less dust but is as glossy as ever.

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Old 27th May 2010, 15:02   #2381
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I dont remember the name of the glass cleaning stuff in the gas stations in US? One with a sponge on one end and a rubber wiper like stuff on the other. Is it a squeege?

Where can I get a similar one for personal use in bangalore?
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Old 27th May 2010, 15:31   #2382
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Its called a squeegee. You can get cheap ones used in restaurants or good brands like Oxo. Oxo is available in Lifestyle, but is quite expensive.

If you can get it from Amazon.com, it should be $5-$10.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ramkris View Post
I dont remember the name of the glass cleaning stuff in the gas stations in US? One with a sponge on one end and a rubber wiper like stuff on the other. Is it a squeege?

Where can I get a similar one for personal use in bangalore?
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Old 27th May 2010, 15:40   #2383
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Nice video. That presenter had a prosthetic leg. How cool is that !!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by sohail99 View Post
Actually the swirls are a result of wrong washing technique!!

always use the 2 bucket method with grit guard if possible! -
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Old 27th May 2010, 15:48   #2384
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ramkris View Post
I dont remember the name of the glass cleaning stuff in the gas stations in US? One with a sponge on one end and a rubber wiper like stuff on the other. Is it a squeege?

Where can I get a similar one for personal use in bangalore?
The best one around is the one below :

Amazon.com: Glass Master Pro: Automotive if you can get hold of it somehow.

Rgds
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Old 27th May 2010, 18:35   #2385
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nirmaljusdoit View Post
Sohail - Thanks for the video, very informative !

Rajesh - Thanks for the tip ! Can you give us more details on the degreaser & how to go about applying & removing it ? Any recommended brands ? Btw, how about gravity being the factor why dust sticks on horizontal surfaces more than vertical surfaces ? Another example which comes to my mind is a TV. Theres always more dust on the top than the screen

Guys, ive shortlisted the following Megs products after some research, please suggest if any additions are required :

G1016 Smooth surface clay kit
A3016 Deep crystal System paint cleaner
A2116 Deep crystal System polish
G17216 Ultimate compound
G17616 Swirl X
G12718 Nxt generation tech wax 2.0
G14422 Ultimate quik detailer
X2020 Supreme shine microfiber towel - 3 pack
X3070 Foam applicator pads
Do add a California car duster to that list!! or get a Jopasu locally.

do get more than one UQDs as one tends to use it quite frequently(as it does give awesome results on a properly detailed paint)

Do check out their waxes(they have a wide selection of polishes/sealants etc.) - Car Wax, paint Sealants,Car Waxes, Show Car Wax, Best Car Wax, Carnauba Car wax, P21s Car wax, Pinnacle Souveran Wax, Meguiars car wax, Mothers
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