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Old 06-07-2001, 09:31 PM   #5
Wreqs
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 6642
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Redmond, Washington, USA
Vehicle:
02 WRX AT sedan
Blue

Post

Hi There
You may remember me from such posts as "help, I can't get rid of the swirls" and "Are you gonna be out there ALL day?
I just got done washing / buffing / a waxing my rex for the first time. The dealer gave me a pretty good place to start as the lot lizard didn't wash it with a brillo pad.
(Hey, I can call him a lot lizard because I was one).

1. Rinse with high pressure (note, this may be the only time I do, becase this paint does chip easily, and if you get a high pressure stream under a chip, you could peel off a whole lotta paint, as I did to my mom's car many years ago.)
2. wash with a clean terry cloth mitt, cleaning it frequently. (note, always work from the top down, covering all areas. Leave the lower doors and bumpers for last, as these areas hold the most dirt and if you wash them first, you will be grinding all of your paint.)

3. Rinse with high pressure
4. Dry immediately in the shade. Right now, water spots are your enemy. Use clean towels or a chamois. Drive around a bit or let sit so the hidden drops dry up. This is best done in one place. If your like me and can't afford a house here, your washing at a gas station ( self serve ). Do not drive home without drying it as you will get dirt and pollen stuck to your paint.
5. use Meguiars overspray clay with meguiars final inspection to remove tar, sap, bugs, and whatever is left...keep the clay wet with the final inspection.
6. Buff out the scratches with 3M machine polish #39003, if you have a buffer. If not, I can't recommend a good hand compound at this point.
I waxed the car with 3M Imperial Hand Glaze. Do not do this on hot paint or in the sun. This product goes on easy, comes off very hard! but, it will last for 6 months or more if you don't wash it all the time. As a rule of thumb, the easier it comes off, the less it will last. Wax with clean sponges, (I use the little colored ones, cello, I think. Get it wet and wring out as much as you can. Do not drop it, it will pick up gravel), remove with cotton cheese cloth. When your sure you have it all, take it into the sun and inspect, rub out any swirls. Flourescent light is best for this, it never lies! ( If you have dark paint, blue or black, chances are you have swirls from the wax residue, that is if you haven't picked up final inspection, water, or armor all. Wash your hands, get a clean towel and rub till you can't rub no more. You need good light, look at it from every angle with the light directly on the panel your working on. Walk around, this is the most important part, and can be the hardest because now your beat.)
use a clean toothbrush or tooth pic to get the compound and wax from cracks.
Do not use armor all, it will kill your wax job, it's looks anyway. If you must, use it before you wax and then avoid those areas while you wax.
Wait your not done. Now you gotta clean all the compound and wax off the glass. With windex, you'll need to wash each window 3 times, essentially, to get it all off. Keep the windex, or whatever else you use, off your new wax job.

Tips, water and final inspection / lubricant can hide in cracks, if you pic this stuff up while your removing wax, stop ditch what your using, rewax the panel and wait. Don't even try to get the smears out, it's too late.
don't let bugs sit on your paint in the sun for very long, I've seen bug guts eat through paint and into plastic, this is common on rear view mirrors. some bugs are worse than others. Same goes for dird do.
Whatever your wiping your car with, if it hits the ground, it's done.

Finally, don't sweat the dings and chips, it's a car.

Next time it rains, if your car is still fairly clean, you'll have huge puddles of water sitting on your paint, dancing around, that's my favorite part!

Within 2 hours of finishing, it took me 6, my car was covered with pollen. I love Washington.
See you in the twisties

posted in NW forum a few weeks ago
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