The Detailing Thread

[BENZ BOY15]

It's basically like using a spray detailer. Spray on the waterless wash, let it soak per instructions, and then wipe away. Probably works fine on average vehicles, but I'd never use it on an actually dirty vehicle.

Yeah I thought there was some sorta catch and that'd be it I guess.

[Lebowski]

OMG, it is you.

Larry just called me!  Wanted to see how I liked his new Reflex product.

[Lebowski]

So I saw an ad at the post office for eco friendly "waterless mobile detailing."

How does that work? Does it work?

The Optinum No Rinse products get really good reviews. They aren't truly waterless (you need a bucket of water), but you don't need to hose your vehicle. I have never used it, but for say CA water restrictions it is supposedly a very viable product.

[Rich]

The clearcoat on these things is corroded all to hell.  The paint is in decent shape at least.  But the polished rim edge is toast.  My guess is that the clearcoat is corroded causing the blemishes, as I'm not exactly sure what would cause polished aluminum to deteriorate.  Can't be rust? 

What's the best advice for making these look better?  Try polishing them?  Wet sanding?  If the fix is more than $150 I'll just leave them as is and buy a new set of wheels when these tires are done.

[Soup DeVille]

The wheels on my wagon looked a bit worse than that; took a refinish and a new powdercoat and clearcoat to get them right.

Cost a little more than $100/wheel.

[RomanChariot]

Aluminum corrodes so fast that it forms an oxide layer that actually protects it from further corrosion. When you break that oxide layer it can break down pretty quickly. If you want to save those wheels you will have to polish them and apply new clearcoat.

[Rich]

Well that sucks.  I googled around and found a couple of guys that sanded, polished, and clearcoated in the same situation.  I was hoping not to have to de-mount and re-mount the tires (I've heard it's bad for them?).  It'll suck having some nasty looking wheels until I wear these tires out, but oh well.

I'll have to find some track days down here so I can beat up on them.

[Byteme]

The clearcoat on these things is corroded all to hell.  The paint is in decent shape at least.  But the polished rim edge is toast.  My guess is that the clearcoat is corroded causing the blemishes, as I'm not exactly sure what would cause polished aluminum to deteriorate.  Can't be rust? 

What's the best advice for making these look better?  Try polishing them?  Wet sanding?  If the fix is more than $150 I'll just leave them as is and buy a new set of wheels when these tires are done.

Metallic or semi-metallic brake pads?  The dust is corrosive.  How often do you clean your wheels and what do you use?  You should scrub off the brake dust with a decent wheel cleaner every time you wash the car.   

[Rich]

It hadn't been properly washed for a long time.  I didn't have a hose and British weather / sludgy roads didn't help much.

I've ordered some 400 grit and 1500 grit sandpaper to try and scrub it off, a drill attachment and aluminum polish to polish it up, and will find some clearcoat somewhere around here.  That will all take a while. 

In the meantime I'm working on the stock wheels.  The first picture is at the end of my road trip, the second is after a wash with a wheel brush/soap/wheel cleaner.  The third is after busting out a scrubbing pad on them.  I threw some wax on it because I'm pretty sure I exposed some metal to the elements that hadn't been exposed in a while.  They had been my winter wheels while in Idaho and spent most of the time off the car in England.  I have some new center caps (hub caps?) to throw on after get the 6UL wheels refurbished and back onto the car.  I'll also do some more heavy cleaning (+sealing?) on these stock wheels while I have the other wheels on.

[Byteme]

It hadn't been properly washed for a long time.  I didn't have a hose and British weather / sludgy roads didn't help much.

I've ordered some 400 grit and 1500 grit sandpaper to try and scrub it off, a drill attachment and aluminum polish to polish it up, and will find some clearcoat somewhere around here.  That will all take a while. 

In the meantime I'm working on the stock wheels.  The first picture is at the end of my road trip, the second is after a wash with a wheel brush/soap/wheel cleaner.  The third is after busting out a scrubbing pad on them.  I threw some wax on it because I'm pretty sure I exposed some metal to the elements that hadn't been exposed in a while.  They had been my winter wheels while in Idaho and spent most of the time off the car in England.  I have some new center caps (hub caps?) to throw on after get the 6UL wheels refurbished and back onto the car.  I'll also do some more heavy cleaning (+sealing?) on these stock wheels while I have the other wheels on.

It looks like they clean up quite nicely. 

[giant_mtb]

Indeed.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

My old meguiars polisher is getting pretty hard to put up with. It was probably junk when it was given to me, heavily used, and I've used it for the past 5 years.

With summer almost here, and a new truck that needs some work along with the fleet of cars, I figured it was time to get something better.

[giant_mtb]

Fuck yeah buddy. Now you'll be flexin while your car gets shinier.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

"Das Original"

Hey Wimmer, what does that mean in english?

[Rich]

I'm not sure how I got the pad to tear off.  Maybe used too much product on the pad while polishing?

Anyway, the paint looks muuuuch better, got rid of a lot of swirls and blemishes.  I washed once, then again with claybar, then polished.  The paint still feels rough to the touch.  Better than before, but I'm guessing it's just got too much wear and tear to bring back to smoothness?  I'll try this all again in a couple of months and see if I can make more progress.  Maybe try a harsher clay bar.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Did you wax or just polish
?

[giant_mtb]

Looks good man. I've never seen a pad do that before...is it old?  Was it dry?  Weird.

[Rich]

brand new pad... was using it to polish and added a spritz of water for each section too.  shrugs

[giant_mtb]

Weird. As long as no damage happened, oh well!

Try using a spray detailer instead of water to dampen the pad next time. Probably wouldn't have made much of a difference, but who knows. It's slipprier anyways. 

[FlatBlackCaddy]

This truck I picked up is really a workout in some spots. I ended up taking the side moldings off because they are all chalky and faded. Plus I think it will look better without them.

Sure enough, they have been on and off a few times and it's pretty rough. All 4 doors are like this, this one is probably the worst.



It took longer to clean up the adhesive, otherwise I think I worked it out pretty well, considering. Should really be painted though.



Even better looking from a bit of a distance.



Digging the new polisher, love the gear drive, can really work a lot faster and better.

[CaminoRacer]

A Chevy?!

[FlatBlackCaddy]

Yes

[280Z Turbo]

Is that chrome shit on the side?

[Eye of the Tiger]

wat

[FlatBlackCaddy]

Is that chrome shit on the side?

Yes, and it's near impossible to remove. A lot of them have that on there.

I'm not a big chrome fan.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Sand blast +  aircraft remover + fire.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

Even if your pulling them off to paint, it's a huge mess. I've had a few guys tell me they almost wrecked the door underneath getting it off.

[Eye of the Tiger]

You have guns, right? Shoot the chrome off.

[Byteme]

Yes, and it's near impossible to remove. A lot of them have that on there.

I'm not a big chrome fan.

How is it attached?  Adhesive?   If so a heat gun might work, but you'd destroy the chrome piece removing it.  Solvent might work as well, but it may not be kind to the paint.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

3m adhesive or tape film. Apparently it's over the entire surface, not just the perimeter.

The good 3m stuff makes even small emblems hard to remover. A 6 x 24" solid piece is almost non removable.