Care and feeding of your car's paint

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mwalsh

Well-known member
Leaf Supporting Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
9,781
Location
Garden Grove, CA
Do you really take care of your car's paint? I always have, but only kinda. I was quite happy for years only using one bucket and bath towels for washing and drying, even for the first couple of years after getting my LEAF. But seeing how fast the LEAF's paint lost it's luster, I decided to be more diligent in it's care (and in the care of all my cars, especially important now we have a black car!).

So I made the following changes:

Two buckets - one for clean soapy water and one to rinse the dirty washcloth clean. The second bucket only has to be partially filled with clean water (and a grit guard is recommended, though I don't use one myself but am careful that the washcloth doesn't touch the bottom).

Washcloth - I ditched the bath towels for this chore and went to a mitt with long microfiber tentacles.

Drying towels - I still use a bath towel for drying, but ONLY for dabbing off excess water. I never, ever pull the towel over the paintwork or rub the paintwork dry. Actually, I recently discovered that microfiber cloths are an excellent way to thoroughly dry the paint once most of the moisture has been removed - they don't scratch the paint the way ordinary toweling does. Though you have to know your microfiber towels - some do not wick moisture very effectively, and out of my selection of towels I've found the Meguiars Ultimate Wipe detailing cloths work the best.

Machine polishing - it's inevitable that you'll pick up some light scratches in your paint, even if you're careful, so once a year I like to machine polish my paint before applying wax, and I try to make this a pre-winter ritual so my car is protected from the elements. I use the Harbor Freight 6" Variable Speed DA Polisher with the HF 6" Finishing Foam Pad (the black one) along with Meguiars Ultimate Polish. Cheap but good! The pads are only good for a couple of uses before they start to shed foam, but they are cheap enough to be considered disposable. Set to a medium speed, you'll find if very difficult to overdo it and damage your paint with the polisher. For any stubborn spots, like those from small bird poops, I first use Meguiars Ultimate Compound (which isn't too aggressive) by hand on a microfiber cloth until the spot is all but gone. I don't know yet how many years I'll be able to get away with this without wearing through the clear coat, but there is definitely no sign of it happening anytime soon.

Waxing - Meguiars Ultimate wax by hand on a Meguiars black foam pad, with removal using a Meguiars microfiber cloth. There used to be a waxing kit that conveniently included all these items, but I'm not sure about it's current availability.

All this (plus an application of protectant on exterior trim and tire dressing) will leave the outside of your car looking beautiful.
 

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Some links:

Wash mitt:

http://www.amazon.com/Carrand-Microfiber-Total-Clean-Over/dp/B008LDCXN0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Meguiars Ultimate Wax kit:

http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G18216-Ultimate-Liquid-Wax/dp/B004HCM9H4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Meguiars Ultimate Compound:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001O7PNNM/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=1944687722&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B004HCM9H4&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1PWSVF3636HH549K39V1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Meguairs Ultimate Polish:

http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G19216-Ultimate-Polish-oz/dp/B004HCOE8Q/ref=pd_bxgy_auto_img_y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Meguairs Ultimate Wipe Detailing Cloth:

http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-M9910-Professional-Ultimate-Detailing/dp/B0002SQYC8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

HF DA Polisher:

http://t.harborfreight.com/6-in-57-Amp-Heavy-Duty-Dual-Action-Variable-Speed-Polisher-69924.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

HF Finishing Foam Pad:

http://t.harborfreight.com/6-in-Finishing-Foam-Pad-60310.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Nice post Michael. I was never comfortable using electric buffer so I do it the old fashioned way, by hand.
Having a black model, it really pays to do all that you said. Scratches really show easily. I washed 3 cars here
in the PNW last weekend. They had all kinds of crap around and behind the wheel wells that really would not come off with a garden hose. Using sponge or washing mitt would only rub into the paint the stuff the hose would not take off.

For years now, I have used my pressure washer to do wheel wells and areas of grime that hose will not remove. It does a wonderful job then washing mitt is not rubbing crap into paint.

When I am done with the three cars I can pressure wash the driveway to make cars and driveway pretty.
 
downeykp said:
Nice post Michael. I was never comfortable using electric buffer so I do it the old fashioned way, by hand.

I was a bit hesitant too, trust me. But I've found that the combination of the medium speed on the polisher, using the the finishing pad vs. the polishing pad I probably should use for polishing, plus the relatively mild Meguiars products are really the key. I've successfully used the same methods on our black Volt with equal satisfaction.

I'm not saying that you couldn't damage your paint, but I think it would be hard to do.
 
The dealer I bought my Leaf from gives me a "free" Zak Tek external detail every year (basically a fancy wax job) that I've been pretty impressed with. I occasionally give EV presentations and show my Leaf, so it's sort of a promotion for them as well.
 
Nubo said:
Looks nice. Would you say it helped at all with any orange-peel issues?

Not really. You're not really taking that much material when you polish.

I would say you'd need to compound for that, and I'd be very reluctant to do it when the paint is known to be very thin to begin with.
 
I was washing by hand and really liked the results. I added Turtle Wax spray for waxing while drying and found it works quite well.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/16888957?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227016736687&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40840033592&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=78653949752&veh=sem" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


I've been using zymol
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Zymol-Natural-Concentrate-Auto-Wash-48-oz/19864190" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
to wash and have been very pleased with the results.
 
I've tried all of them but the one wax I always return too is Amway's Silicone Glaze Wax. Love this stuff.

Silicone Glaze Car Polish is not a conventional wax, but a custom blend of cleaning and polishing agents which gently lifts soil and old polish without harming the car's finish

Easily applied, it combines the shine of wax and the recognised protective qualities of silicone
Resists grime, tar and water spotting

Creates a high gloss that lasts for months

http://www.amway.com.au/Product/Detail/36?c=EN-AU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Fred
 
Machine polishing - it's inevitable that you'll pick up some light scratches in your paint, even if you're careful, so once a year I like to machine polish my paint before applying wax, and I try to make this a pre-winter ritual so my car is protected from the elements.

I'd be reluctant to polish a Nissan more than once total - the paint is too thin, and you are removing material uniformly rather than as-needed, making problems later in the car's "life" more likely.
 
I have pretty much followed mwalsh's cleaning and polishing regime. My LEAF is garaged in a heated garage, BTW. I wash it once a month even in winter, use a soft polishing cloth to apply a wax and buff coatvafter drying. I use a type of glass wax made for aircraft windscreens (which a buddy of mine at Ft Campbell gets for me. It is a silicone based stuff that most likely costs us taxpayers $50 per ounce, no doubt. Only problem i had was a 3" longitudinal scrape inflicked in the office garage. A blue paint. I found the culprit's vehicle BTW and put a raw potato in the exhaust pipe. Anyway, my LEAF looks like new - 26,000+ miles and still all bars on the GOM.
 
I just bought my Leaf.

First chance I had, I did my usual just-got-a-new-car ritual.

I washed the car using regular Meguiars auto soap.

Then used the Meguiars "clay bar" treatment. This takes any imperfections off the paint, leaving the surface perdectly smooth.

Then, I waxed it using Mother's Carnuba cleaning wax.

Then, followed up with a coat of pure Carnuba wax - not sure if it is Meguiars or Mother's now (I'm at work).

The paint job now looks about 3 feet deep.

The cool thing is, that after you do that, you can wash the car with clear water once a week, and the water just flows off. Using soap every time you wax the car just takes off the wax, and probably some clear coat (who knows what they put in those soaps...).

The other thing I always avoid is car washes - they use kerosene in their soap, which makes the car shiny, but takes off the paint !

This works for me, the cars look perfect, I wasx them three or so times a year, and rarely have to use soap on the body of the car - jsut the wheels and tires, usually.

It's a bit of work to do this, but I can wash our Mercedes with clear water in about 5 minutes - no streaking, and the water just drips off.
 
A product that is dear to my heart, and that everyone who likes to wash her own car should know about:

Optimum No-Rinse Wash & Shine http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D8DR0AO/ (known as ONR)

This stuff is blue magic in a bottle. A couple of capfuls in 2 gallons of water, a soft sponge, and some microfiber towels for drying, and you're set. It has some sort of magic compound in it that captures dirt the way Febreze captures smells. Wash your car with this stuff, a section at a time, dry it carefully (splurge on some good microfibers, they're really worth it), and your car will shine like you wouldn't believe. It isn't good at removing sap or tar or bug remains, but for plain ol' road dirt it is unparalleled. It also conserves water (and I assume a Leaf owner is more environmentally conscious than the average bear, right?) because there is no need to rinse.

I know I sound like a late-night TV commercial, but really, try this stuff out. If you aren't impressed, drop me a PM and I will buy the rest of the bottle from you. It's that good.

I also ditto the person who recommended claying their car. Take a piece of slick thin plastic--the cellophane from a pack of cigarettes is ideal--and put it under your fingertips and rub the finish of your car. Feel that graininess? After you clay your car, it will feel as slick as glass. Do this after washing and prior to waxing. Any auto-supply store will have one or more clay kits. I like Mother's California Gold http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002U2V1Y/ mostly because the lubricant smells like cinnamon and the clay (yellow) seems to hold up a little longer than the other one (blue) I've used. It takes a while to clay a car, but the results are, again, well worth it!
 
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