[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by Parthasarathig

Excellent idea sir. If possible, how about making an excel sheet of LSPs, gloss/shine levels, dust attraction levels, and also most importantly durability. Im now in the quest for durability. Nothing seems to be lasting longer than 3 months on a daily drive + car wash guy situation.
Looking forward to your thread.
Regards.

How about trying a combination of the mother of sealants and waxes - Duragloss 105 + Collinite 845? Two coats of each and you should be golden.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by blackasta

I believe the word 'hologram' is used in the detailing trade for shiny long swirly patterns left by improper use of rotary buffers - just for the lack of a better term.

the word 'hologram' is misused in the detailing trade

As they say on the internet, there, fixed that for you!

I suppose that any further on this should go to the English-language thread.

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by Parthasarathig

Excellent idea sir. If possible, how about making an excel sheet of LSPs, gloss/shine levels, dust attraction levels, and also most importantly durability. Im now in the quest for durability. Nothing seems to be lasting longer than 3 months on a daily drive + car wash guy situation.
Looking forward to your thread.
Regards.

That's a good idea but there are too many variables to the durability of a LSP. You know this better than me already - poor prep, incorrect application, improper maintenance, temperature, humidity, parking condition, driving dynamics, rain and so many other things may play a role.

BTW, the thread has been moved to http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post3291193

[N.A.GTC]

Hello people.
I don't know anything about cleaning or detailing. I can just use a wet and a dry cloth to clean the vehicles. I have an Access 125 and have to clean it whenever I have to use it, due to construction of house in neighborhood and the dust, along with other things falling and settling on the body. Just after an hour of cleaning, the amount of dust on it gets very high. Is there anyway to stop the dust from settling on it? Or just making it look less ugly?
This was about the Access 125, which is used around 3 times a day. The condition of RE Thunderbird, which is used only on weekends, is even worse. You can only imagine. Anything that can be done to it to prevent the dirty look?

Thanks in Advance.

[thoma]

Originally Posted by N.A.GTC

due to construction of house in neighborhood and the dust, along with other things falling and settling on the body. Just after an hour of cleaning, the amount of dust on it gets very high. Is there anyway to stop the dust from settling on it?

The best thing that comes to my mind is a cover. Why think outside of it?

[metropolis]

What should be used to remove scratches on solid as well as metallic paint finish? Also, any particular polish for paint protection in general?

Thanks

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by metropolis

What should be used to remove scratches on solid as well as metallic paint finish?
Thanks

Light swirls and scratches can be tackled with a low cut paint cleaner or wsirl remover. Deep scratches might require higher cut compounding. If the scratch is beyond clear coat & paint coat, touchup, sanding and polishing is required to tackle it.

Originally Posted by metropolis

Also, any particular polish for paint protection in general?

Thanks

A polish does not protect paint. A polish might remove light swirls & scratches, and the oils in it enhances the gloss (if the paint is prepped well before). For paint protection, you either need a wax , a sealant or a coating, mostly in that order of longevity.

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by metropolis

What should be used to remove scratches on solid as well as metallic paint finish? Also, any particular polish for paint protection in general?

Thanks

In order to give you a useful response, could you please share the following:

• Which Car are we talking about and what color?
• How old is the car?
• How deep are the scratches? Are you able to insert your fingernail in the scratch?
• What is your usual maintenance procedure, when was it last detailed?

[ankan.m.blr]

A friend today gave me a small vial of this windshield wash concentrate. The vial is unused & sealed. There's no instruction if I should mix it with water and apply that to the windshield using a cotton towel. Or should I pour the concentrate in the windshield water tank under the hood (like the ones available at Maurti). I know this is a stupid question . The manufacturing date is of Sep-2012. Should this still be usable (no use-by date)?

[carrerastrax]

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

A friend today gave me a small vial of this windshield wash concentrate. The vial is unused & sealed. There's no instruction if I should mix it with water and apply that to the windshield using a cotton towel. Or should I pour the concentrate in the windshield water tank under the hood (like the ones available at Maurti). I know this is a stupid question . The manufacturing date is of Sep-2012. Should this still be usable (no use-by date)?

This is added to your windshield wiper tank. 10 ml for a liter of water. This is the best concentrate that I've used.

My bottle is almost over. Reliance autozone used to stock them. Can you check with your friend if he can help me source a bottle?

[metropolis]

Originally Posted by blackasta

Light swirls and scratches can be tackled with a low cut paint cleaner or wsirl remover. Deep scratches might require higher cut compounding. If the scratch is beyond clear coat & paint coat, touchup, sanding and polishing is required to tackle it.

Thanks,can you suggest some specific brands please

Originally Posted by blackasta

A polish does not protect paint. A polish might remove light swirls & scratches, and the oils in it enhances the gloss (if the paint is prepped well before). For paint protection, you either need a wax , a sealant or a coating, mostly in that order of longevity.

Any particular brand of wax ?

[metropolis]

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

[*]Which Car are we talking about and what color?

Santro, Natural Silver

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

[*]How old is the car?

14 years

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

[*]How deep are the scratches? Are you able to insert your fingernail in the scratch?

They are made with some sharp edge object, may be with a tip of pen for instance and to some extent the fingernail impression is there

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

[*]What is your usual maintenance procedure, when was it last detailed?

Cleaned regularly but since the last 4 years, haven't applied any coated polish or wax; paint finish not yet dull

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by metropolis

Thanks,can you suggest some specific brands please
Any particular brand of wax ?

Originally Posted by metropolis

Santro, Natural Silver
14 years
They are made with some sharp edge object, may be with a tip of pen for instance and to some extent the fingernail impression is there
Cleaned regularly but since the last 4 years, haven't applied any coated polish or wax; paint finish not yet dull

14 Year old natural silver santro shall have plenty of oxidation on the paint, even if it has not gone to the point of being dull to the naked eye.

Some photos would be great to judge your case. While I do not think your car is as extreme as this (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...odo-juice.html), I presume the method outlined in this case should be the right one for you, as the car is in its 'teens' and (presumably, correct me if I am wrong) used as a beater car.

I would have used Meguiar's cleaner wax in this case as I have some stock, but you can try the Duragloss DG 101, and top it off with Collinite 845.

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by metropolis

Santro, Natural Silver

14 years

They are made with some sharp edge object, may be with a tip of pen for instance and to some extent the fingernail impression is there

Cleaned regularly but since the last 4 years, haven't applied any coated polish or wax; paint finish not yet dull

I am guessing the car paint has not been machine corrected at least in the last 4 years. In this case, it is more important that either you get the paint machine corrected at a reliable detailer or rope in a friend who owns a rotary / DA polisher or pickup a machine buffer if it is part of your plan to buy one. Your paint will benefit most from good two stage polishing process involving a good compound and a good polish like Optimum Hyper Compound/Optimum Hyper Polish or Meguiar's 105/205. It will remove the oxidation, swirls and scratches and the finish will be worth protecting with a good wax or sealant of your choice.

As a last resort, if you decide to prepare the paint by hand; my recommendation would be to invest in a Tri foam applicator to work the polish of your choice. As far as choice of Polish is concerned, my first recommendation would be Autoglym Super Resin Polish. It is filler heavy and will mask most paint imperfections. It is easily available in India through Autoglym India and a bottle will cost you Rs. 800. You can seal the finish with any wax or sealant of your choice like Optimum Car Wax, Collinite845, Duragloss 111, UPGP etc.

If you want other options in polishes, you can get yourself a bottle of Optimum Poli Seal from Eco Car Care in Bangalore and this is an All in one. It will polish the paint ( works better via a machine but will still clean it by hand) and it has a sealant in it. It will work beautifully if you top it up with OCW or Opti Seal. Or any other sealant or wax for that matter.

The key is to prepare the paint to be in good condition by machine or hand polishing it prior to waxing/sealing. The wax or the sealant won't add much to the finish, it will only protect the finish that you achieve through polishing.

[SoumenM]

Originally Posted by carrerastrax

This is added to your windshield wiper tank. 10 ml for a liter of water. This is the best concentrate that I've used.

My bottle is almost over. Reliance autozone used to stock them. Can you check with your friend if he can help me source a bottle?

You can get this concentrate in the Shell Petrol bunks in Bangalore. If not the big bottles, the smaller ones are available usually.