[mkh]

Originally Posted by fine69

After following this thread, participating a little and buying off a few products I decided it was time for a few questions

I'd give all a little background though...

I don't have a dedicated parking for my car. Its parked on the colony roadside when I'm at home. The car is driven about 50-52 kms daily for 5 days a week (Delhi-Gurgaon-Delhi). I've shampooed the car around once a week but the car is covered with dust the very next day and gets in pretty bad shape after 3-4 days. I don't have a Jopasu duster yet and I don't use the MF cloth to dust it (which I guess shouldn't be used for dusting) and just let it be until the next wash.
In office I park in the underground parking so its away from the sun, at least 5 days a week. I do have a car cover, the plastic one, but by the time I'm home the car is so dusty that I refrain from putting the cover back as the dust would scratch the paint (as mentioned above, don't have that huge Jopasu duster yet).

I recently bought Amway Car Wash & Silicone Glaze, already had a Windshield Cleaner, Scratch Remover, Quick Detailer from the Eurogold kit, not too keen on using any of the Eurogold items though and instead have a long list of other items that I shall procure gradually but what has got me thinking was this - I returned from my Delhi-Udaipur-Delhi trip, it rained for about 600 kms while I was going and then not a single drop of rain. My car was in a state that I can't describe. I shampooed the car after 3-4 days of my return as I was taken ill due to the extremely long drive. The car looked better again but there were infinite number of bug & tar spots. Though I shouldn't have rubbed too much I did as the bug spots were just not ready to go off with a mild rub of shampoo. Anyways, I did manage to get the bug (not tar) spots off and was planning on starting with the first few detailing steps (read car wash with shampoo, claying (may be) and applying amway silicone glaze).

However, what I now think is that since I'd be off to long drives on my car almost every month and these bug spots & tar spots along with a lot of dirt and dust would never be off the car would it be advisable to go all the way with detailing or do I stick with weekly car wash with shampoo and up till silicone glaze application every 1 or 2 months. The reason I'm checking with you all is that if I give the car a wash with shampoo I'm sure I'd damage the wax coat to some extent. And if my car requires a shampoo wash every week wouldn't I be wiping the wax off a bit every week. If mild rubbing with shampoo wouldn't hurt the wax then those bug spots would never go off. Also, if there are hard tar spots then without using diesel I wouldn't be able to get them off and using diesel would, I think, damage the wax protective coat.

Apart from this if there are loads and loads of bug/tar spots that too almost all over the front and sides do I still go ahead with using diesel? I don't have a problem using diesel all over but if there's another solution to that I might try that as well, only because I heard diesel usage was neither safe nor recommended for excess usage. Very confused here for the sheer reason that though I have the motivation to keep my car in showroom condition if the circumstances don't allow it I don't want to waste my energy and resources over it.

PS: Whatever the circumstances I still want to upkeep my car in the best possible state :(

Though i did my best to read this entirely, i am sure i may have missed a few finer details
Your conditions are clearly what an average indian faces and mostly in the north, very tough to maintain the car in those situations. My dads car in NOIDA faces the same, no covered car parking, and daily commute means all the harsh elements attacking the surface daily.
Here is what i can suggest what is possible for you
1. Clay and Polish once in 3 months( silicone glaze). Maybe after your long drive do a complete 2-3 hour session.
2. Apply wax once a month if you can. Use Collinite or a high quality wax and apply multiple layers of it. If you can apply 5-6 coats every 3 months, great. Needs some effort, but possible.
3. Use Car Duster for sure and a micro
4. Use a completely wet micro to wipe the car if you must(post dusting)
5. Surely Use Amway Car Wash- its perfectly safe.
Washing will wear the wax layers down, but should not deter you to apply many layers
Nothing much you can do about tar spots, avoid putting diesel etc too much, claying can help( not sure)
If you can get a good detailer spray- useful for bug spots for sure.
Hope this helps

[fine69]

Originally Posted by pras.oct25

He said that a 250g clay bar costs 1500 rs + tax.

For how many sessions would this clay bar last? I'm guessing at least for 8-10 sessions. Did you inquire about this?

1. Clay and Polish once in 3 months( silicone glaze). Maybe after your long drive do a complete 2-3 hour session.
2. Apply wax once a month if you can. Use Collinite or a high quality wax and apply multiple layers of it. If you can apply 5-6 coats every 3 months, great. Needs some effort, but possible.
3. Use Car Duster for sure and a micro
4. Use a completely wet micro to wipe the car if you must(post dusting)
5. Surely Use Amway Car Wash- its perfectly safe.
Washing will wear the wax layers down, but should not deter you to apply many layers
Nothing much you can do about tar spots, avoid putting diesel etc too much, claying can help( not sure)
If you can get a good detailer spray- useful for bug spots for sure.
Hope this helps

Thanks for the response mkh, I know the post was a little long but got carried away with sentiments
Based on your comments I guess I'll start with my detailing process.

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by fine69

For how many sessions would this clay bar last? I'm guessing at least for 8-10 sessions. Did you inquire about this?

1 clay bar can be used for 1 time only.
But being a 250 gm bar - we can cut it to pieces weighing appx 50 gms and use it for 5 sessions.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by blackasta

1 clay bar can be used for 1 time only.
But being a 250 gm bar - we can cut it to pieces weighing appx 50 gms and use it for 5 sessions.

How thin (minimum height) is the clay bar supposed to be? I understand that it can only be used once but we would want to utilize it to the max.

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by fine69

How thin (minimum height) is the clay bar supposed to be? I understand that it can only be used once but we would want to utilize it to the max.

It has to be kneaded and flattened like a 'puri' before frying . 50 gm is enough.

[sohail99]

I have used a clay multiple times on my car!!

I just keep re-kneading it everytime! I just make a nice round clay patty out of it and claying with that is actually fun!

if sometimes it gets super-dirty, I just take a surgical knife and cut a thin slice of the dirty layer and underneath that you get fresh new clay

btw exams over, now's detailing time!

[pras.oct25]

Originally Posted by sohail99

I have used a clay multiple times on my car!!

I just keep re-kneading it everytime! I just make a nice round clay patty out of it and claying with that is actually fun!

if sometimes it gets super-dirty, I just take a surgical knife and cut a thin slice of the dirty layer and underneath that you get fresh new clay

btw exams over, now's detailing time!

Ok so can you give a quick few steps procedure to getting the claying done
I guess it goes something like this:

1) Wash the car
2) Dry completely
3) Take one panel at a time, spray the lubricant in one area at a time, and rub the clay over it gently constantly checking to see that the clay isnt too dirty.
Then what? Do we wipe off that area that was clayed again before we wax? Or do we have to wash the car once more?
And I guess life of the clay totally depends on how dirty the car is.

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by pras.oct25

Ok so can you give a quick few steps procedure to getting the claying done
I guess it goes something like this:

1) Wash the car
2) Dry completely
3) Take one panel at a time, spray the lubricant in one area at a time, and rub the clay over it gently constantly checking to see that the clay isnt too dirty.
Then what? Do we wipe off that area that was clayed again before we wax? Or do we have to wash the car once more?
And I guess life of the clay totally depends on how dirty the car is.

No need to wash the car again. Just wipe with a clean MF cloth, and go straight to polishing+paint correction, and then waxing.

[mkh]

Boy this thread is running faster than i can catch up! this has gotta be the hottest thread now apart from the spotting stickers one, but surely the most interactive!
Clay bar- i have used my clay bar about 6-7 times, just kneaded it into a fresh area and used it again. No need to dump it till its really dirty, which is if your car is a lot neglected!
If you are not sure, just don't use it to be safe, however you gotta be really careless to use a contaminated one.
As for my current efforts- all are just being washed down as its raining every single day and just when i leave office. Its so muddy that its killing almost, so just turning a blind eye to any waxing now, till the "bug" bites. Did a coat of collinite over the i10 since it was a neglected little sister with the ANHC hogging all the time since it came. Collinite shows its effects a day later, the surface is smooth and shining.

[csateesh]

Originally Posted by mkh

Boy this thread is running faster than i can catch up! this has gotta be the hottest thread now apart from the spotting stickers one, but surely the most interactive!

Can't agree more on this.. I normally read this thread atleast once a day but of late just like MKH mentioned I am unable to keep up..

Excellent source of information and very very interactive one.

I was privileged to see mkh's ANHC personally and I was blown away. I have a lot of swirl marks and I am on a mission to get rid of them :-)



Thanks folks

Sateesh

[motomaverick]

I know these question would have been asked a number of times in this thread but seeing the page number I got scared with the amount of reading that will be required. So i hope its not a bother

1. Where do we get good detailing products such as clay, clay lubricant, wax, etc
2. Has anyone used buffer by themselves? any idea about the cost?
3. Which is the best product to make the car surface slippery coz in these rains the water droplets tend to dry in their place.

[aks_karthik]

Originally Posted by pras.oct25

Mr Ramesh from Jopasu Bangalore called me back as promised.
He said that a 250g clay bar costs 1500 rs + tax. When I asked him if that is including the lubricating kit etc he said no specific lubrication is required. It is enough if you spray water on the surface before using it.
When I checked their site Jopasu Car Care Products India it recommends using water with car shampoo as the lubricant.
Can someone clarify this and should I go in for the product?

EDIT: After posting, got a sudden doubt if he said 2 50g bars, or a 250g bar

Called him back and confirmed, the price quoted is for a single 250g bar

Hi,
I need josupa car duster.
I sent mail to ramesh but haven't got any reply yet.
possible ,try to get a josupa car duster for me before that let me know the duster rate.

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

I know these question would have been asked a number of times in this thread but seeing the page number I got scared with the amount of reading that will be required. So i hope its not a bother

1. Where do we get good detailing products such as clay, clay lubricant, wax, etc

U S of A. Certainly better than India. Faster and Cheaper if you have someone to pick them up, put it in their luggage and ship to you for free

2. Has anyone used buffer by themselves? any idea about the cost?

Do you mean a DA or a random orbital machine? Buffer is something different.



3. Which is the best product to make the car surface slippery coz in these rains the water droplets tend to dry in their place.

Wash (good car shampoo) - Clay - polish (abrasive/show polish based on car condition) - sealant wax - insulator wax (optional)

Some quick answers in bold !

[pras.oct25]

Originally Posted by aks_karthik

Hi,
I need josupa car duster.
I sent mail to ramesh but haven't got any reply yet.
possible ,try to get a josupa car duster for me before that let me know the duster rate.

For the duster you need not contact him. You can search for "jopasu" on ebay.in to find what your looking for.

[micrographics]

Jopasu dusters are available in Bangalore at J.C. Road. I've not checked the prices but these are available.