Recommendations please

[red riding hood]

Ok dont know if I should post this here or ?? but here goes - my new wagon is Diamond grey and has bad scratches where someone has used a crap chamois or something to dry it ...What Im after is what would you recommend to wash and polish it , it has had paint protection on it also..So Im unsure which is safe ....I have looked at the Durogloss stuff but am baffled as to what would be the best to use ? http://www.carcareproducts.com.au/produ ... essentials

[EJ25]

Have a read through the carcareproducts how to guides. Very helpful.

I had personally bought the duragloss paint protection pack they had sold and have had no issues with it (applied over 2 months ago).

In terms of the correcting, depends how deep these scratches are. Pictures would be good.

Make sure you clay bar as well. Major difference.

[Alex@Moonlight]

Ok dont know if I should post this here or ?? but here goes - my new wagon is Diamond grey and has bad scratches where someone has used a crap chamois or something to dry it ...What Im after is what would you recommend to wash and polish it , it has had paint protection on it also..So Im unsure which is safe ....I have looked at the Durogloss stuff but am baffled as to what would be the best to use ? http://www.carcareproducts.com.au/produ ... essentials

Hi there,

Regarding paint protection - usually a term that dealers give to a glorified wax or sealant and charge a glorified price for - there really aren't any unsafe products as compared to a car without current protection. You're fine to use most products on the market at this point in time.

Onto the next question -

Wash - I suggest getting Mothers California Gold Wash. It's a soft wash and can be used weekly without stripping too much wax and sealant on the car. The last thing you want to be doing is having to paste wax every single time you wash the car.

Polish - I'm unsure whether you have a random orbital or a rotary buffer. So, i'm going to recommend some apply-by-hand products and suitable applicators. Please know that since you are going to be trying to remove scratches by hand, this could take a very long time and some very hard work. Elbow grease time! I suggest that you begin with a mid-range for aggressive swirl removers which is Meguiar's SwirlX. Make sure you also get a foam applicator pad, not a microfibre (otherwise you won't cut the clearcoat which is what you need to do to remove scratches).

Clay - as stated above me, it is HIGHLY recommended you clay your car. Otherwise when polishing you'll be battling contamination and most probably start putting newer scratches into the clearcoat as the pad pushes those particles around the clearcoat. Grab the Meguiars clay kit as it comes with an excellent lubricant as well.

Steps:
1. Wash your vehicle as normal with a microfibre or lambswool mitt. Dry immediately after rinsing with a microfibre towel (or 4, depending on how many you need).
2. Move the car into a cool or shady area. Open the clay kit, split the clay bar into thirds and place two of the thirds in a glad sandwich bag for future use. Use the remaining third, knead the clay in your palm into a flat biscuit. Work in small areas at a time, using PLENTY of lubricant and only gliding the clay over the paint. Don't push it into the paint.
3. Wash the car once more to ensure all the lubricant and particles are off.
4. Apply a small amount of Meguiars SwirlX on the foam applicator pad and start working in small circles over the paintwork. The product is not designed to 'glaze' onto the surface, so once you are done on an area, remove it immediately with a microfibre towel. You can use a fair bit of pressure with this product, but ensure you keep moving the pad in circles and never stop it on the paintwork (you're looking for circles and not 'streaks').
5. Keep repeating step 5 until happy.

Then, wax the car as you normally would.

We have a couple of videos available which may help in some of these steps:

Washing the car (2 bucket method): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o60BLe4sbz8
Waxing a car (carnauba paste or carnauba liquid): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohiDn4mi4AE

Hope this helps you! If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with us.

Cheers,

Alex