[paras211]

Originally Posted by HighOctane

says

You can use microfibre cloth or wash mitt to wash/shampoo the car. I prefer wash mitt. Use dried Microfibre cloth or Chamious to wipe the car.
It is good if you wait for 9months or one year to clay the car. Brand new car may not have contaminents. After washing & wiping the car, put a thin plastic cover to you hand and slightly run your hand on the paint surface. If you can feel the roughness, then its time to Clay.
Most of the productsvto be sourced from Reliance Autozone or Online like BB Impex or Autofresh.
You can use left over shampoo and brush to clean the wheels or use a Wheel Cleaner spray and brush.
I hav'nt heard of wheel sealant, is it tyre shine?
Jopasu Duster is used only to clean dust and its a must for every car owner as the car will not get swrils while dusting.


.

That cleared up my head a bit, now my next problem, NO reliance autozone in Mumbai, I've already called for the jopasu from snap deal , I am still not sure where to buy the shampoo and the microfibre from. I ll check the local supermarket tomorrow.

[Pedaltothefloor]

This is the first time that I ever used Clay, Polish or a Sealant. I wasn't able to do a top notch job because this isn't for the faint armed (Read: Hit the Gym). Here's what I managed to do:
1. Dusted the entire Car with Jopasu duster
2. Washed with DG Rinseless Cleanser
3. Clayed about half the Car & then called it a night
4. In the morning, dusted with a brand new Jopasu duster
5. Clayed the remaining Car with the Clay Bar and Clay Bar Lube made from ONR
6. Polished with the Sonax Car Polish
7. Applied the DG 105 Paint Sealant
8. Waited for about 10 Minutes and then Buffed it Off

In hindsight, should have used a stronger Clay and a Stronger Polish; next time both would be Meguiar's. In fact, I would get the car washed at the car wash next door and get it home while it is still wet so it can be easily clayed and I could save some energy by avoiding the wash.

The results and the tools:

[archat68]

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

6. Polished with the Sonax Car Polish
7. Applied the DG 105 Paint Sealant

The car looks great!! But the steps 6 and 7 should be reversed for the optimum durability of the sealant. You can apply wax on sealant but not the reverse (the sealant needs to bond with the clean paint surface directly).

EDIT

Also, three of the products Duragloss waterless wash, ONR and Meg's QD are similar product. Why do you need three of them? ONR would suffice as waterless wash, QD and clay lube at appropriate dilutions.

Also, adding Meg's Ultimate polish as paint cleanser before applying the sealant would have worked wonder for this colour!!

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by archat68

The car looks great!! But the steps 6 and 7 should be reversed for the optimum durability of the sealant. You can apply wax on sealant but not the reverse (the sealant needs to bond with the clean paint surface directly).

EDIT

Also, three of the products Duragloss waterless wash, ONR and Meg's QD are similar product. Why do you need three of them? ONR would suffice as waterless wash, QD and clay lube at appropriate dilutions.

Also, adding Meg's Ultimate polish as paint cleanser before applying the sealant would have worked wonder for this colour!!

Thanks. I wasn't even going to use the polish but folks here convinced me that it will prep the surface and help bond the sealant. If you go back a page or two n this thread, you can read the advice. Also, you are recommending Meg's Polish to be used prior to the sealant but the Sonax Polish should be used after the Sealant? Why is that?

As for DG Rinseless, I used it to wash but then realized that it can't be used to make Clay Lube was it has Aquawax in it. So I used ONR to make some Clay Lube. Even with that, I wasn't very happy so finally switched to Meg's QD.

[dre@ms]

I have the jopasu duster/microfiber cloth and Collinite 845. Usually I first dust my car using the duster and then pour water on the car and claen using the microfiber. Once done, take a dry microfiber and wipe of the wet.
Since I now have Collinite, how and when should I apply it. What is the exact procedure.

[arup.misra]

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

Thanks. I wasn't even going to use the polish but folks here convinced me that it will prep the surface and help bond the sealant. If you go back a page or two n this thread, you can read the advice.

Great job with your DIY session. You've said it correctly. It requires some serious gyming

Since there's a lot of talk of polish before sealants or after, thought I'll add my bit here. Polishes contain extremely fine abrasives that are designed to cut and refine a vehicle’s clearcoat. Thus it needs to be done first thing post claying. Megs SwirlX is an example of milder polishes. Aggressive polishes are called compounds (e.g. Megs UC) because they have larger, sharper abrasives that quickly flatten a paint’s uneven, swirled surface. Polishes have a small shelf life. Thus the need for sealants arose, hence sealants needs to applied post polishing.

[archat68]

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

Also, you are recommending Meg's Polish to be used prior to the sealant but the Sonax Polish should be used after the Sealant? Why is that?

IMHO If the polish is used to clean the surface (such as Meg's UP) then you can use it pre-sealant. But if the polish is without abrasives and contains mainly wax then it should not be used before applying sealant. Some polishes contains some fillers as well as abrasives which reduces the swirls. The wax hampers bonding the sealant to the paint. If you read the directions for applying sealant on the package you'll see that some mentions wiping the car with IPA to strip any existing wax. Some calls for use of APC ( all purpose cleaner).

Read the directions on the Duragloss package and you'll find out what is best for it.

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by HighOctane

Brand new car may not have contaminants.

They do, standing in the stock yard with all the dust & grime. Run a clay bar and you did be surprised.

Originally Posted by paras211

When am I supposed to use sealant and clay?

BB Impex for Meguiars clay bar and DG 105 paint sealant. Contact Sanjay and he will guide you through. Have bought most of my car products from him. You could use Amway car shampoo for washing and same left over after washing for wheels.

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

This is the first time that I ever used Clay, Polish or a Sealant. I wasn't able to do a top notch job because this isn't for the faint armed (Read: Hit the Gym). Here's what I managed to do

Very good results obtained, no doubt. I need to push my current level even higher in my next DiY sometime in Jan'13.

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

In hindsight, should have used a stronger Clay and a Stronger Polish; next time both would be Meguiar's. In fact, I would get the car washed at the car wash next door and get it home while it is still wet so it can be easily clayed and I could save some energy by avoiding the wash.

Use Meguiars clay bar, way better than Mothers. Claying is a very important step and should be followed religiously if you do detail your car.

Do get the rear wiper fixed, looks bad on such a beautiful car.

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by arup.misra

Great job with your DIY session. You've said it correctly. It requires some serious gyming

Since there's a lot of talk of polish before sealants or after, thought I'll add my bit here. Polishes contain extremely fine abrasives that are designed to cut and refine a vehicle’s clearcoat. Thus it needs to be done first thing post claying. Megs SwirlX is an example of milder polishes. Aggressive polishes are called compounds (e.g. Megs UC) because they have larger, sharper abrasives that quickly flatten a paint’s uneven, swirled surface. Polishes have a small shelf life. Thus the need for sealants arose, hence sealants needs to applied post polishing.

So it seems I should have either used Meg's polish or DG 601 bonding agent. However, the Sonax Polish does mention that it has some abrasives in it and some Carnuba wax. My primary concern now is if the Sealant will hold at all for a month or two?

[Pedaltothefloor]

[/quote]
Do get the rear wiper fixed, looks bad on such a beautiful car.[/quote]

Have ordered it with Tata Service, will take a while. Can't wait for the Fiat Authorised Service Center to open.

[torque18]

guys i posted a problem in the last page...seems it got lost

need the expert's help on it

[Thad E Ginathom]

Here's my Stuff Of The Week...

Wurth Rapid Windscreen Wash Concentrate



The part of the car that I insist on being clean at the start of every journey, and that I like to keep clean throughout the journey is the glass, especially the windscreen.

For the last few years I've been adding a littl colin or similar to the screen wash, and yes, it works.

I bought a couple of bottles of this Wurth screen wash at an expo a while back, and, as the washer tank came empty this time, decided to try it. This is an "individual dose" bottle, said to be enough for 2-4 litres of water. It is expensive at Rs85! Quite shockingly expensive, in fact! I put just half a bottle in tank and...

It's brilliant! It makes the glass sparkle almost straight away, and doesn't leave any kind of frothy residue.

Next thing is, I was going to ask them to aim the washer jets properly at the next service, and then I noticed that there is an easily accessible way to do this oneself (VW Polo), so I'm no longer spraying half that water on the roof, wasting that expensive additive.

I've tried lots of screen-wash additives over the years. I think this is the best. Verdict: well wurth it!

(But I wish I could buy a decent-size bottle of the stuff instead of paying for it like printer ink)

[archat68]

^^ I haven't used Wurth but it must be good.

I use the Sonax Clearview 1:100 concentrate during monsoon. It is available in a 25ml bottle which has to be added to 2.5ltr of water. Cost Rs 60 last time I bought it (was one year ago when I bought 6 of these). Amazing product. It is officially imported and marketed in India by Xenos or Pricol (forgot :( ).

http://www.sonax.com/Car-Care/Produc...00-concentrate

EDIT

Available in 250ml pack from these sites (was available in snapdeal and futurebazar too but now OOS):
http://www.carsingh.com/car-accessor...concentrate-40
http://shop.cardekho.com/exterior-cl...ner~10467.html

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by torque18

hi..

need nelp! i noticed a pen mark on my car's dashboard today ans since the dash is cream colour so the mark is quite evident! what cud remove it? i havent tried anything yet for the fear of worsening it.
:(

Nail polish remover
Should not make it worse.

[HighOctane]

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

This is the first time that I ever used Clay, Polish or a Sealant. I wasn't able to do a top notch job because this isn't for the faint armed

The picture says it all, it has come really good and nice to see the reflection of building on the bonnet. Nice first time detailing.

You can buy a D.A next time in case if you find difficulty in applying polish/sealant/wax.