[vinuchel]

My Tiago has been sparingly used for the past 1.5 years and has spent a good amount of the time inside garage. Presently its parked out in the open with all the sun and rain (no covered parking). Last time I did car detail was car wax and polish (Carz spa, Mangalore) and the effect lasted for around 6 months.
Now what should I be doing to get my car back to shiny and new like (Tiago sunburst orange). Please advice

[Artyom]

Originally Posted by vinuchel

My Tiago has been sparingly used for the past 1.5 years and has spent a good amount of the time inside garage. Presently its parked out in the open with all the sun and rain (no covered parking). Last time I did car detail was car wax and polish (Carz spa, Mangalore) and the effect lasted for around 6 months.
Now what should I be doing to get my car back to shiny and new like (Tiago sunburst orange). Please advice

The short answer is how much time and money you are planning to spend with money not being the primary factor.Additionally are you looking for just gloss or gloss and protection as well.Depending on your requirements the approach differs.
Just to start wash your car with a good shampoo(Turtle/Sonax/3M) followed by a spray wax (SONAX BSD is a good option/Turtle Ice and Shine) which will offer gloss and protection for some time.If you like the results continue the same routine.
If you want more in depth cleaning(Wheel Wells,Wheels,Tires,Plastics,Interiors etc..) then you have to spend more time and a few more products to accomplish the level of detail you want.
All said and done please do invest in some good Microfiber towels and a wash mitt for regular washing and cleaning. Amazon Basics Microfiber towels are perfect for starting the detailing journey.

[mankuthimma]

How to clean rain water mud splashes on the plastic cladding?

Something is not right with Seltos wheel well design or the mud flaps. Even a short ride on normal roads after light rain splashes so much muck on the wheel cladding, running board, lower part of the doors, it looks as though the car has come back from 4*4 muddy trail !!

ONR (blue) is all I have for cleaning. Paint sections can be cleaned easily using ONR, but the muck on plastic part has remained stubborn. I have tried cleaning it with different dilution ratios of ONR and also mild scrubbing too, but didnt help. Any tips will be useful.


On a separate note, I did this test and oh boy! the surface was rough almost everywhere! All these days I was in denial mode assuming that a new car doesnt need claying as it 'looked' clean. So went ahead and clayed the whole car and topped it up with two rounds of spray wax. The surface looks much better now even with limited set of tools that I have now! May be next time, I plan to do a complete job once I equip myself with a proper sealant and a wax.

Originally Posted by johannskaria

Even though the paint surface visually looks clean 99% of the times it contains contaminants. You can personally check that by wearing the rubber gloves and running your hand over the paint surface slowly.you'll feel the defects and contaminents more prominently and can make an informed decision about your next step.

[Artyom]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

Attachment 2056954

How to clean rain water mud splashes on the plastic cladding?

.

There could be 2 possibilities:-

->Mud and grime which gets deposited due to regular use.
->White water spots which remain even after cleaning the cladding.

ONR doesnt have enough cleaning power and is best suited for light dirt and grime.

Use a car shampoo to wash the cladding first.
Use a APC solution and spray it liberally and wait for a minute before scrubbing the surface with a tooth brush or any brush to agitate the dirt.
Wash it with shampooo again.This should make a considerable difference.

If the white spots still persist then you have to use a hard water spots remover like Carpro Eraser or similar.

[adi.mariner]

Hello, kindly suggest a good conditioner for leather seats. There are many options available on Amazon and all of them have good reviews which makes things more confusing. Primary requirement is ease of application and should be long lasting.

[Mr. Nobody]

Did some detailing today with the black bumper portions with Proklear APC and a kitchen scrubber after inputs from the detailers here . Had to use it nearly undiluted to get results along with scrubbing. Any suggestions for something stronger to clean those edges and holes where physical agitation is very hard? Will diesel work better?

[greendream]

Booked a Kia Sonet intelligency BLUE colour. I am totally new to this detailing wonderworld. Am planning to purchase the following to maintain my NEW car at home.

1. Turtle wax hybrid ceramic sealant spray. Would do two applications initially and an application once every 4 months.

2. Turtle wax Carnauba wax wash or any other wash which goes well with the above mentioned hybrid ceramic sealant spray. Please suggest other washes too. Two bucket wash method will be employed once a week.

3. Meguiars car wash mitt, 3m microfibres and detailing microfibers.

4. A jopasu duster. Or dusting with a microfiber on a daily basis.

I have a covered,protected, well ventilated car parking, primarily drive in the city and
choose safe parking wherever I go. Planning to avoid cleaning everyday with water.

Please feel free to edit my product list, maintenance process and pass on tips for the long run. Thanks in advance.

[AntPaul]

Originally Posted by Thilak29

Also, I used Meguiar ultimate polish to bring shine.
At the end of polishing, to my surprise the polisher sponge (originally white) had picked red from car surface.

Hi Tilak,

The red color you picked up would most likely be from touch up done on very small scratches. These are done without clearcoat and minimum surface prep, so will easily be picked up while polishing. I can see a few scratches in the rear bumper LH corner.

My understanding is that clear coat is much harder than the color coat which is your paint. Also, generally, the color coat is thinner than clear coat. So if you make your way through the harder and thicker clear coat, you are most likely to do a quick work of your color coat and leave the primer or other lesser colored layer exposed.

PS: I am not an expert in this field, all observations are from reading about detailing online and limited hands on experience/experiments. Experts please correct me if i am wrong.

Thanks,
Antony

[anantpoddar]

Originally Posted by greendream

1. Turtle wax hybrid ceramic sealant spray. Would do two applications initially and an application once every 4 months.

2. Turtle wax Carnauba wax wash or any other wash which goes well with the above mentioned hybrid ceramic sealant spray. Please suggest other washes too. Two bucket wash method will be employed once a week.

3. Meguiars car wash mitt, 3m microfibres and detailing microfibers.

4. A jopasu duster. Or dusting with a microfiber on a daily basis.

I have a covered,protected, well ventilated car parking, primarily drive in the city and
choose safe parking wherever I go. Planning to avoid cleaning everyday with water.

Please feel free to edit my product list, maintenance process and pass on tips for the long run. Thanks in advance.

My mantra to paint maintenance: Less is More

2. A complete wash every week sounds a bit excessive to me. Maybe once a fortnight/month would be appropriate (refer mantra). Also, not sure if the sealant will last 4 months if washed every week.
You can use the Hybrid Solutions Wash & Wax from the same lineup. Or if using any other wash, you can use the Ceramic Wet Wax as a top up post wash.

4. I'm personally scared to use a dry duster like Jopasu. In my 2 years of owning one, I've used it only like 5 times. Maybe you can replace this routine with a waterless wash/wax on alternate days. Our desi brand Proklear does a fine job at this. If you want to (over-)do, Hybrid Solutions' Ceramic 3-in-1 Detailer is also good.

Swirls are unavoidable, but you can minimize them if you always have some form of lubrication when wiping the dirt.

[Thilak29]

I am just about to run out of Polish I use ( Maguire Ultimate), I am looking to switch into Maguire Glaze but I am supremely confused which one to pick ?

They seem to have numerous nomenclature and confusing explanation for each product.

[Bhatia.D17]

Hey guys. I've been looking to detail my car. After going through this thread, I started searching for various products.

My first query is regarding the claying process.
I've been looking at various options and brands like meguiars are quite expensive for what I was looking. I want to begin with something economical.
It would be great if you guys can recommend some product.

I found this product on Amazon with good reviews but still not sure about it.

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by Bhatia.D17

My first query is regarding the claying process.
I've been looking at various options and brands like meguiars are quite expensive for what I was looking. I want to begin with something economical.
It would be great if you guys can recommend some product.
[/ATTACH]

I would suggest that you skip actual clay altogether and get clay replacement products which are reusable , like elastrofoam or nanoskin sponges. They are reusable and is not wasted if you drop them by mistake.
Look around in different websites for something that suits your budget and usage.

[MunnabhaiMBBS]

Originally Posted by greendream

Booked a Kia Sonet intelligency BLUE colour. I am totally new to this detailing wonderworld.

Please feel free to edit my product list, maintenance process and pass on tips for the long run. Thanks in advance.

Since it’s a brand new car, I would stick to the basics of paint protection instead of getting into detailing all guns.

You want to have the “factory” (=Shiny) look for prolonged period of time. Clear coat is one of the the most important factors behind the shiny look. Now, you need to prolong the life of clear coat.

What you can do:

- As soon as you get your car, keep at least 2 hours aside for paint protecting your car. Enthusiasm/Energy in Week 1 > Enthusiasm/Energy 1 Month onwards.

- Firstly, Pour gallons of water on your car. Then, wash it with any mild car shampoo (Don't scrub or apply pressure), Rinse off completely and Wipe it dry gently with a microfibre cloth only.

- Apply a good quality wax (My choice is Colinite 845 or Meguire’s ultimate) on the metal surfaces and let it haze. Your car will look like a person with bhasma on his forehead Just wipe if off with multiple microfibre clothes.

- If possible, do not drive your car for the next 18-24 hours.

- This will create an additional layer on your brand new car’s clear coat and save it from regular wear and tear for at least 2 months (Conditions Dependant).

- Use Jopasu duster twice/week to pull off the dust from the surface. Be gentle, Don’t scrub.

- If you anytime wash your car with a shampoo, I will recommend you using the wax right after it as car shampoo usually strips the wax off. Therefore, wash less.

Always remember that you have to protect your car’s clear coat in the initial years. Get into detailing once the clear coat starts fading off or your car has many visible swirl marks.

Enjoy the car!

[AntPaul]

Originally Posted by Bhatia.D17

I found this product on Amazon with good reviews but still not sure about it.
Attachment 2063667

I have tried similar clay bars from ali express few years back.

In my daily driver's 13 year old silver paint, I found the paint really smooth after claying. Passed plastic paper test. Could not find any swirl marks, but silver masks swirl and I was not looking hard either. I was impressed.

On my other ride's 4 year old black paint, the clay bar left a lot of swirl marks that were visible. But claying easily removed a lot of tiny white paint over spray that was left while spay painting furniture near the car without fully covering the paint, and did not go by washing or hand polishing. I was not fully impressed.

In my experience, these clay bars do remove surface contaminants in my experience. But are too rough and leaves a lot of scratches on the clear coat. I stopped using them now.

Thanks,
Antony

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,

I am facing a problem of mildew in my car (Honda Jazz with leather upholstery) since the last 3 months. I thought it would disappear after the monsoon but it is still in the car around the gear lever, handbrake and steering wheel.
Even daily wipe down does not help.
Can anyone suggest a remedy for this please?

Regards,
SS