Hi guys, What is best thing you can do to your paintwork that is almost as good as a respray ?

[Mike 2121]

Yeah I know it's abit of a silly question lol. 

I know the obvious is too polish it, but all polishes are abrasive, is there anything you can do that's not abrasive ?

[FROSTYBALLS]

May be better to describe your actual issue and include some pictures of the affected area/s.

[Cyker]

Polish and ceramic coat it maybe?

[Catlover]

3 hours ago, Mike 2121 said:

Yeah I know it's abit of a silly question lol. 

I know the obvious is too polish it, but all polishes are abrasive, is there anything you can do that's not abrasive ?

Because I use it and find it satisfactory I can recommend a liquid wax with Carnuba wax in it. Has goneunder the name of Grease Lightning and Showroom shine in the past but now Williams, Renault, and even Top Gear. Regularly shown and demonstrated on Ideal World tv shopping channel.  Easy to apply and unlike most polishes, it doesn’t dry had and difficult to polish up, so it can be used on hot sunny days and even damp days. Works out at £20 for 5 litres with a spray bottle. One litre can do 5 to 8 cars, depending on size, and therefore very cost effective.

[DaddyBaddy]

Ceramic coat, or clear vinyl full body wrap I guess. 

[Steveirl]

Nothing is as good as fresh paint! 

[Big_D]

I've just bought some Showroom Shine from Greased Lightning. I'm hoping to try it out this weekend.

[Catlover]

36 minutes ago, Big_D said:

I've just bought some Showroom Shine from Greased Lightning. I'm hoping to try it out this weekend.

You will find it easy to apply, easy to shine. Do everything except the external windscreen.

[Big_D]

14 minutes ago, Catlover said:

Do everything except the external windscreen.

I tend to use Autoglym Fastglass on my windows

[Cyker]

Isn't showroom shine a waterless cleaner? I think I tried some once; It's better as a quick-detailer than a cleaner as isn't really good for shifting lots of dirt - At the minimum a good rinse to get the worst of the dirt off is essential before use.

It did shine up fairly well when I used it after cleaning the car from what i remember tho'!

 

[Big_D]

3 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Isn't showroom shine a waterless cleaner?

Yes, it is.

I will be rinsing first before I apply it though 😀

[Catlover]

I seen the demo when the car is pretty dirty, but they used loads of microfibre cloths. Excessive amount of cloths.  Microfibre cloths are a must both for applying the polish and a different one for buffing up.

[Cyker]

Mmm, yes I do remember being impressed and horrified how black my cloth was after wiping it off!!

Definitely could do with a 2-bucket system to clean the cloths  

[Catlover]

1 minute ago, Cyker said:

Mmm, yes I do remember being impressed and horrified how black my cloth was after wiping it off!!

Definitely could do with a 2-bucket system to clean the cloths  

If you clean the cloths then you are washing the Carnuba cleaning agent out of the cloth. Carnuba encapsulates the dirt so it doesn’t scratch. Wash it out and that protection is washed out. If you pre wash the car, and I do, but don’t rub too hard. The water wash can scratch your car. If you have bird poo blobs (I sure they use my car as target practice) simply spray you greased lightening omit, leave it for a while to soften the blob and the wipe off with microfibre cloth. I have been using variants of the waterless wash/wax for over 10+years and use it regularly. Once you get a coating, and it doesn’t last more then say 6 weeks, you can build it up. If some scumbag spray paints your car, spray on your grease lightening, gently rub with you finger and it will lift the spray paint, but not you car paint. Wipe off using the microfibre cloth. (Get a supply of microfibre cloths).              
As I have said in an earlier post, I get my Carnuba wax product of Ideal World tv shopping channel. They do regular programmes and it’s around £20 for 5 litres plus a spray bottle. Depending on size of your car that 20 litres will do 16-30 cleans - that’s value for money. Ideal World also does microfibre cloths in a bundle of 20 for a silly low price too.     

 

[Big_D]

Thanks Catlover. That's good to hear.

[Cyker]

But if you have to keep using new cloths, they won't have the wax on either so it's not so different from cleaning the dirty ones...?

I must admit I'm super lazy and like the idea of ceramic coatings more - It's more work to apply but hopefully it'll last a year at least...!

[Catlover]

3 minutes ago, Cyker said:

But if you have to keep using new cloths, they won't have the wax on either so it's not so different from cleaning the dirty ones...?

I must admit I'm super lazy and like the idea of ceramic coatings more - It's more work to apply but hopefully it'll last a year at least...!

Depends on how big the microfibre cloths are, but I can do my Prius with two cloths, one for applying the Carnuba wax and one for buffing up. I leave wheels to the last as the brake dust is very dirty.

[Cyker]

Very true! Ugh, always hated cleaning the wheels... brake dust and iron oxide is so nasty

I think you clean your car a lot more frequently than I tend to... I reckon I'd need 4-8 cloths per panel   I should take lessons from you clearly!!

 

 

[robt100]

For the brake dust/iron oxide, something like Bilt-Hamber Korrosol or Auto-Wheel works a treat, spray on, agitate, let it sit for 5-10mins then wash off. Makes all the oxide water soluble so it rinses away, no more dirty hands from trying to clean the wheels😉

[Catlover]

So, it was a nice day today, this morning quick washed the car, this afternoon polished it using a Carnuba wax polish.  It was Renault waterless wash/wax which is Carnuba wax based with a ceramic coat included - not seen that feature before in these waterless wash/wax.

It took me about 70 minutes to do the whole car with the Carnuba wax and then polish it, plus two largish microfibre cloths, one for applying wax, other for buffing. Just got the tyres to black up now.

 

[TonyHSD]

Who said it’s a storm today with high winds of 100mph., I just had washed my car 😂, all safety precautions were taken 👷🏻‍♂️🥽☢️. 

[Cyker]

You're a braver man than I!!  

[Catlover]

That’s not Tony, it is his other half. Tony’s not that brave.😄

[Rosgoe]

I wouldn’t mind finding a product that would improve the paint finish on brand new cars. The corolla I have got now is not the best and the 2015 auris before that was worse in fact I nearly rejected that car for the paint finish orange peel effect was awful.

can’t remember the paint finishes being that bad on 70’s 80’s and 90’s cars

[robt100]

Sadly there isnt too much you can do about orangle peel, a lot of it now is down to price vs quality and water based paints that are used now.