ohhh myyyy...!!! Please help me with my black car!

[lammi]

Hey guys, I seriously have spent close to $30 in the last 3 weeks attempting to get my black car to be decently clean!!
I usually go the following order:

High Pressure water
Soap
Foam brush (just to spread the foam around)
then I would use a sponge and hand scrub it!
then high pressure water
wax/clearcoat
high pressure water
soft water

After that.. I tried both driving off and leaving it or drying it with this yellow synthetic (pathetic) chamois... that stupid thing streaks the water and leaves a streak when it dries.. if I drive off then I get water spots!! ARGGGGHHHH

Someone pleassssseee helppppp... I will be willing to PAY FOR YOUR CAR WASH AT WHERE-EVER YOU ARE in MELBOURNE (SE suburbs!) if you could show me the trick of the trade!!

LaMMi

[teK--]

doh double post...

[teK--]

Hey there are a few fundamental things you are doing wrong:

1. I'm not sure what you mean by soap. Do you mean the crap that comes out of the brush at the car wash? Don't use it, it is rubbish and will quickly strip off any wax or other sealant you may have on your paint, after only a few washes. Buy a quality car wash shampoo which does not strip wax/sealants. Autoglym is my favorite brand.

2. Foam brush. If you mean that horse hair brush at the car wash that people use to scrub under their trucks and god knows what, then do not use it as you will scratch the hell out of your paint.

3. Hand scrub with sponge. Again, do not use a sponge as they will drag any surface dirt across your paint and scratch it. Use a thick pile microfibre mitt.

4. The liquid "wax" at the carwash that comes out of the jet is rubbish. No shortcuts here you have to buy a good quality product that is rubbed on and buffed off if you want a good result. This is done after the car is washed and perfectly dry.

5. Soft water... waste of money. You should dry your car down with a cloth instead. Again you can't take shortcuts by rinsing with soft water and hope you don't get watermarks, unless you have a very good wax/sealant on your car which it doesn't sound like you do. Throw that crappy synthetic chamois out as they only scratch paint and take too long to dry. Buy yourself a microfibre drying cloth with a thick, waffle wave pattern on it.

Sounds like your paint may need some serious attention; see the other thread about Final Inspections I suggest you go see them and get your paint fixed up then they could give you a tip or two on how to maintain it

p.s. Don't worry these are all common mistakes people make when starting out (I did too).

[lammi]

WoW! thanks Tek!

Thanks for that long explanation...

I think my paint needs some seriously attention too.. I got this car around a month ago, and I made the mistake of going to those hand car washes and paid 5 guys to *detail* it for me for like $180, It was ok until I washed it a week later, all the scratches came back out!!!

At te carwash just then I saw a guy with an audi, when he rinsed it, the water kinda just slides off, never actually seem to stick onto the car..
when I washed mine, I get blobs of water everywhere and when it dries, becomes water spots..

With your expert knowlege could you help me answer a few quick questions?

1/ if I am going to pay for a stage 3 ($550) detail, is it reasonable to expect a new car look?
2/ Are the black liberty ACTUALLY BLACK!?! mine looks like it's got glitter all over when you look closely!
3/and after detailing, are the swirls and (not fingernail deep) scratches gone PERMANENTLY?? or will they just come back after a few washes?

Thanks!

LaMMi

[Woodduck]

For the Audi, that would be because he has a good wax on it. Making the water run off rather than sit on the car.

1. viewtopic.php?f=11&t=7022 The results tell the story

2. Its a metallic black...so its black paint with metallic fleck.

3. Yes the swirls and (most) scratches will be PERMANENTLY gone. They will CUT and polish if your car is as bad as you say (they would want to for the $550 price tag), meaning they basically remove a very fine top layer of your clear coat where the light scratching and swirl marks do their damage. So when that is removed so are the scratchs and swirls. They will only come back after a few washes if you do this like use the brush at the car wash and use sponges/chamois. If you take care of it they wont come back :

[teK--]

No worries Dave always keen to help out

The Audi may have a good coating of wax or sealant on it. For example with my car I wax and seal it regularly. After I rinse off the car most of the water comes off by itself I just have to quickly sweep over some parts of the car with a cloth and it is dry. If there is no wax or sealant the water will stick all over the car whether it is normal or soft water. Needless to say it takes a LOT longer to dry the car with a cloth in that scenario, and the cloth feels like it's sticking to the car when you do it.

1. Yes. Perhaps even better than new car look. Your car is a 2007 so its paint should still be in good condition despite the surface scratches.

2. There are metallic/pearl flecks all through the paint if that's what you're referring to. Some blacks are a flat black without this, but it sounds like you have the metallic one.

3. After a proper paint restoration all the minor surface scratches and swirl marks will be gone, but they can return if the car is not washed properly again. You can't keep restoring the paint indefinitely since each time you do it you are effectively thinning the clear coat. The paint is not endless . Spending a few hundred on a restoration should be enough incentive for you to wash the car well.

[lammi]

Cool, Thank you both to Woodduck and Tek!

I have decided I will go to Final inspection and get it detailed and learn the proper way to wash a car! I noticed you're in melbourne too Tek! perhaps next time you go wash your car, I could come learn a few things from you?

I actually bought some turtleWax (wash & wax) AND ALSO the (Wax & Dry) AND ALSO the scratch removal stuff..
but they all seem uselesssss.. probably because I don't know how to effectively use them!

I never knew there's soo much stuff to learn about *washing cars*, those indians make it look so easy!

LaMMi

[subyroo]

Cool, Thank you both to Woodduck and Tek!

I have decided I will go to Final inspection and get it detailed and learn the proper way to wash a car! I noticed you're in melbourne too Tek! perhaps next time you go wash your car, I could come learn a few things from you?

I actually bought some turtleWax (wash & wax) AND ALSO the (Wax & Dry) AND ALSO the scratch removal stuff..
but they all seem uselesssss.. probably because I don't know how to effectively use them!

I never knew there's soo much stuff to learn about *washing cars*, those indians make it look so easy!

LaMMi

Black is what detailers call the softest paint finnish and white is the hardest when it comes to Subaru's,
subsequently you will always be fighting swirl marks etc unless you learn how to care if properly from a detailer
or other Black Subaru owners who care for their cars.

[Laps]

someone should post a nice guide with what to use and how to do it, as I would like help with this...

Just washed my car at one of those hand wash places like 10 mins ago, not happy if its gon be scratching my car ;l

[Laps]

I am not fucking blowing up. It looks like someone used sandpaper on my car.

Scratches EVERYWHERE, in the sun there are just millions of swirls...

There are a few heavy ones on the bonnet

[jdm rsk]

someone should post a nice guide with what to use and how to do it, as I would like help with this...

Just washed my car at one of those hand wash places like 10 mins ago, not happy if its gon be scratching my car ;l

why pay someone to wash your car you are better of leaving it dirty then have them scratch the shit out of it, also thats why i brought a white car black cars look great when scratch free but white is easier to look after

[liberty bells]

lammi

Although i dont have a Black subi i agree with Tek and wooduck, like the guys have said, keep away from the car wash joints, weather is the hand wash or do it yourself with the horse hair brush which will scratch the car (millions of swirls), they all use cheap and nasty wash products which can damage the paint, one thing about Subaru's is that they notoriously have soft, thin paint jobs

Use a micro fibre glove with a good quality cars wash, everyone has an opinion one which one to use, i have recently gone to a Meguiar's soft wash that does not attack the paint job and does a good job. I have used Turtle wash and wax before and was not wrapped with the product but like i said everyone has ideas on this.

As my car is new i have gone with a Liquid spray wax, it is super easy to apply and most importantly remove, (Souveran Liquid spray Wax). The water runs off the car like the Audi. It is recommended to do this six monthly but i do it every couple of months or so it takes around 20min so no big deal, and you can use it on chrome,glass clear plastics (lights etc).

I also use a micro fibre cloth to dry the vehicle.

I learnt the hard way with an Audi!

[senator]

you are better of leaving it dirty then have them scratch the shit out of it,

that's what i do.........................

[Laps]

well getting a car detail get these scratches out?

[teK--]

well getting a car detail get these scratches out?

Depends on the level of detail. A basic detail that costs $70-$100.00 will usually only involve washing and waxing the car plus vacuuming the interior and applying some trims protectant.

A restoration service includes buffing scratches out of paint and that is usually at an hourly rate (since some cars need more work than others). Expect generally to pay $300.00+ depending how bad the paint is.