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-   -   A superb Car cleaning, polishing & detailing guide (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/102011-superb-car-cleaning-polishing-detailing-guide-21.html)

Wow! You know what? I was thinking along the same lines for my black Getz CRDi. An idiot brushed against my front bumper while overtaking me from the left! Now that I have read your post, I am going to go ahead and try it :).

hi everybody.i have scratched my dashboard of verna vgt.any ideas on how to repair it?replacing would be 20000 rs.actually the car was involved in a frontal collision.windscreen broke and the glass scratched it at many places.what to do?can any refnishing be done with professional products?

Cleaned up the Palio last Sunday. I just couldn't bear it being brown instead of the black color. And so last Sunday, got down to the job of tidying her up. There was grime on the wheels, dirt and dust all over and most irritable of all, bird poop in a few places.

The before pics:







The "helpers". :)



The results. :)






The Scratch remover works on light scratches. I had time only to wax the hood.

And yes, the car is back to the same brown color. :( I wish I had / have time.

Nice & Shiney!

I'm sorry, but the purpose of this thread in the "Technical Stuff" section is? :confused:

I almost washed my ride yesterday. decided against it when i saw the clouds. Seems I made a good call.
Got it drenched with mud and then washed off with muddy water yesterday evening and today morning. Its been raining non stop all last night. Good luck!

This is the first time i am seeing someone document washing their car.

Anyway i assume you got your "helpers" form the US?:D

Yeah.. I got them from the US. :)

And ankit, I had written to GTO requesting him to change the thread to the appropriate area. I didn't have access to the right forum (owning a car).

Any pointers for the cars parked outside? i mean the cars which dont have privilege of a garage:) my ca has to bear the rain/sun/dust . what i do is to cover it up with a body cover...

Am mainly concerned about the heat...any suggestions on how a cars exterior could be protected in these scenarios?

I have a simple routine for car wash.
Its cleaned almost everyday by a guy who does a decent job.

Some weekend I clean her up using brisk or colin along with a soft cloth and then a silicon based polish.

Last week I bought a tin of formulae 1 wax.

So after getting her cleaned up I applied wax.
and its remarkable.

If you have those dark stains from swipes in traffic. A healthy dose of wax removes.
Tiny scratches are gone.
The million of lines under the door handle, gone.

A nice way to spend the afternoon.

Yes "Formula 1" wax does a fantastic job...

Lohith,

My car is parked outside too. I got a California car duster for daily dusting. I don't let the boys who clean cars in our neighborhood clean mine everyday. I've seen some of their work and it made me cringe. (its almost like washing clothes!)

If you are parking under a tree, do check if the tree sap will fall on the car. Certain trees will shed a lot of leaves, so don't park under those. Do cover up the car whenever you are letting it sit out. Folding the car cover properly makes it easier to unfold it and cover the car without too much trouble. Hose your car down if possible every other day or so, to remove the grime and dirt. No need for wiping it, just a high pressure hose will do. I am somehow wary of cleaning my car daily, I think especially a black car will result in a lot of scratches if not done properly. (i.e. patience, time and more patience).

And specially for cars parked outside, wax the car more frequently (once a month) so that you are protecting the paint layer. Please don't go overboard with the daily washing, it makes darker paint dull. Lighter colors (silver..) will not show the damage and hence people tend to do that.

Mad Max i agree with you i previously had a mid night blue OHC and i i know how difficult it is to maintain the dark colors esp if your are leaving in a dusty area:)

Presently i own a silver Palio Adventure and its much easier color in comparison.

I make sure i wax it atleast twice a month....

btw your car looks hot when clean:)

Mad Max, your suggestions may not be practical on a day to day basis.

Where can you wash your car with a high pressure hose every other day? Unless one has enough supply of water and the right facility?
I agree with you on car cover. But it should be of a good quality. Though folding it neatly every time may not be possible. That doesn't happen due to many reasons.

Lohith, my suggestion are these:

Get a good car washing guy and teach him to clean your car regularly. I agree again with Mad Max about not washing the car daily. Probably you need to pay that guy more than normal.

Wax your car once a month as Mad Max suggested. Wax will protect paint.

Spend some time (if possible) over the weekends with your car. You'll find lot of small things to do to keep your car healthy.

Off topic: Mad Max, I like to see your 1963 Amby.

Nice going there madmax :D I'm also a polishing buff ehre. Although I dont own a car, I do try to keep my bike in perfect shape, not possible nowadays because of bangalore+work.

I had got myself Meguiars NXT tech wax and some mothers billet polish from the states. Been using them on my bike all the way. As you can see, not even the slightest swirl ;)

As for mothers billet, i'll let my processor speak . Been using it on my bike's head which is buffed. Plus for making head sqishes shine.

If anyone wants to blow big bucks on polishes, shoot me a PM. I know the Meguiars distributor for India in bangalore. Prices are really exhorbitant, but cheap stuff never gives you quality. He had Megs #2611, ScratchX, PlastX, NXT Tech Liquid Wax with him last time I visited.

Hey Rudra,

I agree with the high pressure hose. :) But a garden hose with a squeeze from the finger tips can do a lot better job than some teen trying to get his 30Rs by rubbing the car into scratchdom.

Sunny - your bike looks awesome. I love that color!

I'll take pics of the Amby next time when I am home. Wanna help me re-build it? :)