Team-BHP - A superb Car cleaning, polishing & detailing guide

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivekshukla (Post 2703247)

Though Harpic removes the water scales but it's very dangerous as one of the key ingredient is HCl (acid). I once tried using it on a mirror and as it reacts with chrome, it turns it black. Especially it can negatively affect rubbers and plastics. I would not use Harpic at all or if nothing works, I will be extremely cautious while using it.

Agree Harpic or any other pure toilet cleaner are too acidic. I have used diluted Mr. Muscle bathroom and toilet cleaner (all in one cleaner) that is much lighter than Harpic to remove water spots from glass and not on paint. This is completely safe on chrome/plastics as it is recommended for cleaning hard water marks on our chrome plated bath room fittings like taps/showers. After spraying it using a spray can, I leave it for half a minute, then clean it up with RO/distilled water and wipe it dry using news paper/mf towel.

Thanks a lot mate, would go ahead with Meguiars then.

@ALL: Please suggest some good synthetic sealant that does not contain any abrasives. Also, is there anything that can be used while drying the car? I am aiming at some sort of a liquid spray type wax that can be sprayed & used while drying the car or while wiping the car clean using an MF cloth.

Drive safe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061 (Post 2704014)

Well I believe Meguiars is the best you can get. There are two type of towels available from Meguiars, one is Supreme Shine Rs. 297 and another is Water Magnet(Waffle Based) Rs. 749. Price wise they are very competitive considering the quality.
I had purchased Viking 6.25 sqft drying towel which costed me Rs. 900+ and right now it costs above Rs. 1200+. It makes no sense, better than Viking is Meguirs in price point of view.

In the end I would sum it up as "Meguiars is what Apple is in the tech world". Go with Meguiars and you wont be disappointed.:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackfire_9 (Post 2704124)

@ALL: Please suggest some good synthetic sealant that does not contain any abrasives.

I had recently purchased BlackFire Wet Diamond sealant + BlackFire Gloss Enhancing polish. That's the current best I have known. I had purchased it from BBImpex but currently it is not in stock. Link.
Haven't used it till now for the want of time.

Meguiars have Ultimate Liquid Wax, which is a sealant and liquid based. Don't know if its available in India. Mostly after applying the sealant for protection and shine, it is to be topped up with paste wax for the deep gloss shine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackfire_9 (Post 2704124)

I am aiming at some sort of a liquid spray type wax that can be sprayed & used while drying the car or while wiping the car clean using an MF cloth.

Car surface needs to be dry before applying any liquid wax. I don't think any liquid wax would be available that can be used while drying the car or while wiping the car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SAS (Post 2501636)

"Flat black paint" is a matt finish paint. Your Cruze does not have it and has a 2 coat (basecoat clearcoat) paint. Go ahead and use it.

Personally, I have found the formula 1 scratch out pretty useless. I now use a normal paste rubbing compound which is much more better. Try motomax or other good brand. Use it very carefully since you don't want to remove too much topcoat off your paint and only use it on the areas where you have deep scratches. After using the rubbing compound, apply a wax (whichever one you normally use) to protect the paint.

The Formula 1 Scratch Out is indeed pretty useless. I ordered it, so now and then every time I see a small swirl or the kind of 'scratches' it is supposed to fix, I apply it the way the instructions specify, and it has no effect.

Another fraud product is the Touch Up Pen (at least the one they sell on Tele Brands). It does not work either.

I have a couple of superficial scratches on the black paint on my car, on the (metallic) door and one on the plastic bumper, which the Scratch Out couldn't fix, nor could the pen. I am going to try Com Paint.

Quote:

Originally Posted by darthvader (Post 2705157)

Yes, both products are useless and a fraud.

Regarding your superficial scratches, first try using a good rubbing compound. Try motomax 2k rubbing compound. It is one of the best for scratches. After compounding it, use a wax to protect the paint. If the above does not work, then only try the com paint.
Motomax rubbing compound is available for around Rs. 100 and a simple wax polsh (waxpol or similar) for a few hundred more....

Quote:

Originally Posted by SAS (Post 2705205)

Where in India is the Motomax 2k rubbing compound available? I couldn't find it on EBay or Rediff.

Also, is the rubbing compound specific to the color of the paint? And why do you suggest that the Com Paint be used only if the rubbing compound doesn't work?

PS -- Also have a look at http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post2701849. Will manual painting or touching up help in this case? (This is different from the superficial linear scratch on the door. These 'stains' appear to be impregnated, and happened during the course of the stay of the vehicle at the workshop.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by SAS (Post 2705205)

Regarding your superficial scratches, first try using a good rubbing compound. Try motomax 2k rubbing compound. It is one of the best for scratches. After compounding it, use a wax to protect the paint. If the above does not work, then only try the com paint.
Motomax rubbing compound is available for around Rs. 100 and a simple wax polsh (waxpol or similar) for a few hundred more....

Quote:

Originally Posted by darthvader (Post 2705435)

One has to be very very careful while using rubbing compound since it can do lot more damage than good. Below is a finish I've got by only using rubbing compound and nothing else. No scratch remover no polish no wax.

A superb Car cleaning, polishing & detailing guide-img_9088.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by raghu230506 (Post 2705352)

Swirlx is good but only with buffing machine. I spent 3 hrs by hand on my HRed ANHC but it only masked the swirls not eliminated.

Is once you I mentioned heavily swirled I propose do it with machine if possible.

Agree. Removing swirls by hand is useless and cannot be done.

Quote:

Originally Posted by seedyk (Post 2705644)

WHAT :Shockked: are you kidding me ?
can you post some more pictures of the same ?
that looks as good as a waxed one.
Which rubbing compound did you use and the process ?

I prefer not to disclose the products/techniques I use, however an older iteration when I was still into bikes can be found below. Go thru the entire thread to see what products I've used.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...g-up-bike.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunnyBoi (Post 2705689)

Thanks sunnyboi.

So it seems like you're a professional detailer, if not, a professional at such work for sure!
The work done in the thread was brilliant. Helped clear some queries i had.:)
We would surely love to see some more pictures of your work.:thumbs up

Quote:

Originally Posted by darthvader (Post 2705157)

The Formula 1 Scratch Out is indeed pretty useless.
.....
Another fraud product is the Touch Up Pen (at least the one they sell on Tele Brands). It does not work either.

I have a couple of superficial scratches on the black paint on my car, on the (metallic) door and one on the plastic bumper, which the Scratch Out couldn't fix, nor could the pen. I am going to try Com Paint.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SAS (Post 2705205)

Yes, both products are useless and a fraud.

I do not know what is Com Paint, but for scratches, I have used Quixx scratch remove and it magically makes the scratches go away.
Used it twice on our Activa and once on our Cedia. I would give it 8/10.
It comes with sand paper for wet sanding and two tubes. Worth Rs. 450 or so.

I will try to locate some before/ after pictures if you are interested.

Quote:

Originally Posted by S_U_N (Post 2706114)

The 2 products ineffective products were Scratch out liquid rubbing compound and the "fix it pro pen" from Simoniz. Both are pretty useless. Com paint on the other hand is pretty good for touch up jobs.

Yes, I too would recommend Quixx. It's a German product and is very effective. It should be available on Ebay..

Quote:

Originally Posted by darthvader (Post 2705435)

Sorry didn't see your response, else would have multiquoted.
1. Rubbing compound is not paint specific.
2. You need to use it carefully and sparingly and only on small areas / touch up jobs with little pressure. For larger areas, use a polish like either SwirlX, Sonax polish or Autoglym super resin. All the above have minor abrasives which should help remove the swirls and paint defects like scratches, hard water marks, etc.
3. The stains should easily be removed with a rubbing compound. However apply it slowly / carefully. The preferred route would be to use a polish mentioned above like Sonax car polish or autoglym.
4. Motomax 2k rubbing compound should be available at any car accessory shop (it's by Pidilite, so should be widely available). If not available, use any compatible rubbing compound for 2k paint

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Please use "Multi Quote" option for quoting Multiple posts, instead of creating another back-to-back post.