Wax & Paint Care Advice

[John_D4]

The D4 is the most expensive car we’ve owned, so I’m after some advice on what products are good for paint protection. I understand that eventually it’ll get some Bush scratches.

I’m confused about ceramic sprays, nufinish, waxes/polishes and clay bars.

Could someone pls import some advice?


Cleaners, Polishes & Wax | Car Care - Autobarn (https://www.autobarn.com.au/car-care-accessories/cleaners-polishes-wax)

[V8Ian]

AFAIK, clay bars are a cleaner rather than a protectant.

[John_D4]

AFAIK, clay bars are a cleaner rather than a protectant.

From what I understand, you use a clay bar if your paintwork feels a bit ‘bumpy’ after washing. But then there’s ceramic, polish, wax...

[V8Ian]

I think clay bars are a mild abrasive.

[Tombie]

John. Take a look at the Bowdens Own website.

We use a lot of their gear - it’s great stuff and Aussie made.

[16PMark]

Ignore Ceramic coatings.
Ignore most of what you read about ceramic coatings.
Ceramic coating is the new "Ming".
It's bull****!
If you want to totally protect your paint, from the environment in which it lives, vinyl wrap it!

In a previous life l was a detailer (for over 15yrs). So here we go... [emoji849]

Wash car. (With your chosen flavour)(not a wash and wax)!
Use clay bar (or equivalent) to make it smoooooth and lush. (Lubricate as per instructions)
Polish car. (Insert your fav polish here)
Then wax. (I'd suggest Carnauba Wax in a tin)
(Something like Mother's Gold for example)
Elbow grease is the ONLY way to keep your paint protected, shiny and new! (Apart from the aforementioned wrap)
Spray on products are absolute bull****!

[Pickles2]

The D4 is the most expensive car we’ve owned, so I’m after some advice on what products are good for paint protection. I understand that eventually it’ll get some Bush scratches.

I’m confused about ceramic sprays, nufinish, waxes/polishes and clay bars.

Could someone pls import some advice?


Cleaners, Polishes & Wax | Car Care - Autobarn (https://www.autobarn.com.au/car-care-accessories/cleaners-polishes-wax)
The main thing is,...don't get confused by going too "complicated".
First of all, if your vehicle is garaged when not in use, will be a big plus for your paintwork & go a long way to saving you heaps of work, ....rain, dew, frost etc followed by sunlight is not a good recipe for car duco.
I would firstly concentrate on keeping the car clean with a good car wash,....there are heaps of them, just get an ordinary basic car wash,...it will do the job. Make sure you clean in all of the nooks & crannies etc, do it in the shade, & make sure you've got rid of all dirt & dust before you chamois off the water residue,...I use an "ärtificial" chamois, some use a micro fibre to dry off
As far as waxing/polishing is concerned, once again don't get anything expensive. If your car hasn't been polished for a while you may need to start with a cleaner, just a little bit more abrasive than a normal polish, but if your duco is ok & not rough to touch, an ordinary protective wax is all you need.
If you ever cop bird droppings, insect hits etc, get rid of them asap, as they can "ëtch" your duco.
Everybody has their own idea, just plod along, take it slow, depends how finicky you are!
Pickles.

[John_D4]

Ignore Ceramic coatings.
Ignore most of what you read about ceramic coatings.
Ceramic coating is the new "Ming".
It's bull****!
If you want to totally protect your paint, from the environment in which it lives, vinyl wrap it!

In a previous life l was a detailer (for over 15yrs). So here we go... [emoji849]

Wash car. (With your chosen flavour)(not a wash and wax)!
Use clay bar (or equivalent) to make it smoooooth and lush. (Lubricate as per instructions)
Polish car. (Insert your fav polish here)
Then wax. (I'd suggest Carnauba Wax in a tin)
(Something like Mother's Gold for example)
Elbow grease is the ONLY way to keep your paint protected, shiny and new! (Apart from the aforementioned wrap)
Spray on products are absolute bull****!

Thank you very much for your advice Mark, I’ll do that. All though I do have quite a lot of CT20 wash and wax to use up. I’m not convinced that the wax component actually does anything though.

[John_D4]

The main thing is,...don't get confused by going too "complicated".
First of all, if your vehicle is garaged when not in use, will be a big plus for your paintwork & go a long way to saving you heaps of work, ....rain, dew, frost etc followed by sunlight is not a good recipe for car duco.
I would firstly concentrate on keeping the car clean with a good car wash,....there are heaps of them, just get an ordinary basic car wash,...it will do the job. Make sure you clean in all of the nooks & crannies etc, do it in the shade, & make sure you've got rid of all dirt & dust before you chamois off the water residue,...I use an "ärtificial" chamois, some use a micro fibre to dry off
As far as waxing/polishing is concerned, once again don't get anything expensive. If your car hasn't been polished for a while you may need to start with a cleaner, just a little bit more abrasive than a normal polish, but if your duco is ok & not rough to touch, an ordinary protective wax is all you need.
If you ever cop bird droppings, insect hits etc, get rid of them asap, as they can "ëtch" your duco.
Everybody has their own idea, just plod along, take it slow, depends how finicky you are!
Pickles.

Thanks Pickles, that’s in line with what Mark just advised also. I do like the idea of vinyl wrapping, but a quick over the phone quote was about $5k. I think I’ll wash and wax it more regularly instead.

[John_D4]

The car is not garage, so once a month or so for waxing with canubra?

[Tombie]

Mines been washed about 20 times in 8 years.

Detailed every 2 years.

Parked outside, 300 Mtrs from the Sea.

Like new [emoji41]

[John_D4]

Mines been washed about 20 times in 8 years.

Detailed every 2 years.

Parked outside, 300 Mtrs from the Sea.

Like new [emoji41]

Washed every 4.8 months. Good to see your doing your bit to save water!

[bsperka]

I suggest Bowdens, Meguiars, or Mothers products. Personally I use Meguiars. Use a two bucket wash (rinse the micro cloth in the second bucket). To see if you need to clay bar (or do other surface prep work using Ultimate Compound etc) get a thin plastic bag (eg a thin fruit bag, similar in thickness to the old grey shopping bag), put your hand in it and see if it glides over the paint or sticks. If it sticks then clay bar to get rid of the contaminants. Gives you a better feel than your hand alone. And if you drop the clay bar, then theow it away.
I use Meguiars Ultimate wax (actually a sealant), rather than a carnauba wax. I also have started to use the hybrid ceramic wax.

[16PMark]

Thank you very much for your advice Mark, I’ll do that. All though I do have quite a lot of CT20 wash and wax to use up. I’m not convinced that the wax component actually does anything though.The CT20 you mention make an awesome truck wash. (Without the 'wax') The wax component is just smoke and mirrors. It will just degrade the rubbers and plastics. [emoji846]

[John_D4]

The CT20 you mention make an awesome truck wash. (Without the 'wax') The wax component is just smoke and mirrors. It will just degrade the rubbers and plastics. [emoji846]

I’ll just have to wash more so I can use it up faster, after all I’ve got Tombie’s water allocation to use up!

[ATH]

I give ours a good wash after we've been up the coast on a trip, underneath and on top. Heaps of water everywhere, leathered off then a good wax (Mothers) about 3 times a year. Although we're quite close to the ocean and it is shielded from the spray which drifts far inland, I don't reckon relying on rain will keep it looking good or stop rust.
When I had another vehicle make I read on their forum of a bloke spending 700 bucks on cleaning gear for his pride and joy. That's over the top by about 650 I reckon. :)
Happy polishing.
AlanH.

[John_D4]

Thanks for the help everyone. Just thinking back to teenage years, I used to canubra wax my Toyota Tercel fortnightly. The paint, unlike the rest of the car, was in good condition when I sold it.

[rar110]

IMHO regular washing is important. I wash/wax our cars at least every two weeks. The brands previously mentioned are good. I would add 1Z wash/wax. I wouldn’t use truck wash.

A specialist wax product in addition to a wash is important for paint protection, especially as our cars live mostly outside and are in sea air. Bat and bird crap really bite into the surface. A wax provides good barrier protection and usually means crap will easily wash off, as will dead bugs.

I use a range of wax products, which one depends on how much time I have. The following is my order of preference and most to least time to apply.

- Bilt Hamber double speed wax. An excellent long lasting wax. If I had more time it would be my go to wax every time. Probably as good as the more traditional hard waxes but quicker to apply and leaves a nice finish.
- Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax. Also a very good product, quicker than above BH DSW.
- Auto Glym spray on wax. I buy this in bulk and is what I use most. It provides good protection for about 2-4 weeks. Then protection drops off.

I will clay bar our cars about every 6 months. It doesn’t take long if you wash as regularly as me. To health check your paint put a freezer plastic bag over your hand like a glove and run that hand over the paint after a wash when the car is dry. If you feel roughness it needs a clay bar to more thoroughly clean the paint. Do the same again after a clay bar. It will be a lot smoother. I don’t know why but the freezer bag really highlights the paint contamination.

[John_D4]

Interesting to hear about the plastic bag trick. I’m sure that I don’t need to do that though. What stimulates this thread was after washing the D4 the other day I noticed the paint work was still rough. As I intend to keep this car for a while I wanted to get some advice on how I should start a better cleaning regime. The paint work on the D2 was no where near as nice as Alaska’s paintwork. Obviously there’s a 13 year difference between them, but I’d like to start now before it’s too late.

[Eevo]

I’ll just have to wash more so I can use it up faster, after all I’ve got Tombie’s water allocation to use up!

or you can give it to me.

[V8Ian]

So does the clay bar fill the valleys or file the peaks?

[Tombie]

So does the clay bar fill the valleys or file the peaks?

Collects the particles and lifts them from the surface.

[V8Ian]

Collects the particles and lifts them from the surface.
So a good clean with Prepsol (or similar) would do the same, before waxing?

[rar110]

Clay bar somehow captures fine particles, and my preference to a solvent.

[Tombie]

So a good clean with Prepsol (or similar) would do the same, before waxing?

Nope. Not even close.

[John_D4]

So... Autobarn have 30% of this weekend. I’ve ordered:


MOTHERS CLAY BAR SYSTEM
MOTHERS Pure Brazilian Carnauba Wax Paste
and to make the round black things look good also-
MOTHERS Naturally Black Tyre Shine

Would anyone know where I can buy an extra few hours to put into each day so I can find time to use my purchases? I still have to actually take Alaska off road... sad face

[Tombie]

We installed a 28 hour day. Works wonders.

[V8Ian]

We installed a 28 hour day. Works wonders.
Good move. I recently submitted two time sheets for a 2,000k return trip. I was told to tear them up and resubmit on three pages.[bigsad]

[scarry]

Mines been washed about 20 times in 8 years.

Detailed every 2 years.

Parked outside, 300 Mtrs from the Sea.

Like new [emoji41]

But i recon the D4 has very good quality paint,and white doesn't seem to fade,like some of the D3 colours did.

If you compare it(D4) paint to the paint on the commercial range of tojo's,as an example,there is just no comparison.
That french vanilla is chalky after 4 yrs,even with a good regular wash,and stored out of the weather.
It comes up with a good wash and polish,but gets chalky again in a few months.
Just poor quality paint.

[rar110]

Solid colours like white will fair a lot better. But I’ve learned to not take the chance as a respray is very expensive.

[rar110]

So... Autobarn have 30% of this weekend. I’ve ordered:


MOTHERS CLAY BAR SYSTEM
MOTHERS Pure Brazilian Carnauba Wax Paste
and to make the round black things look good also-
MOTHERS Naturally Black Tyre Shine

Would anyone know where I can buy an extra few hours to put into each day so I can find time to use my purchases? I still have to actually take Alaska off road... sad face

Mothers Pure Brazilian Carnauba wax is a paste wax like Bilt Hamber.

[John_D4]

Washed Alaska today. She looks even cleaner than last week. Waiting for my order to be ready for pickup. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191116/50e56610b3ddf93078d18c5eab9d6b72.jpg

[John_D4]

Mothers Pure Brazilian Carnauba wax is a paste wax like Bilt Hamber.

Sorry I’m ‘in training’ to become a car buff. Is Bilt Hamber a good brand also?

[rar110]

I think so. But Mother’s also has a good name.

[Tombie]

Search “Ammo NYC” on YouTube....

[Homestar]

Mine gets washed when it’s in for a service. The 101 got washed once too. 👍

[BMKal]

MY2011 with ~ 140,000km on the clock. Spends much of its life outdoors in Kalgoorlie when we're not traveling somewhere (only in the shed overnight). Paint is still like new.
I use Autoglym products on it - Super Resin Polish and Extra Gloss Protection twice a year, Polar Wash foam to wash it about once a fortnight (depending on how much use and how dirty it gets) and Polar Seal hydrophobic coating every couple of months or so.

Works for me. [biggrin][wink11]

155723 155724

[John_D4]

MY2011 with ~ 140,000km on the clock. Spends much of its life outdoors in Kalgoorlie when we're not traveling somewhere (only in the shed overnight). Paint is still like new.
I use Autoglym products on it - Super Resin Polish and Extra Gloss Protection twice a year, Polar Wash foam to wash it about once a fortnight (depending on how much use and how dirty it gets) and Polar Seal hydrophobic coating every couple of months or so.

Works for me. [biggrin][wink11]

155723 155724

How do you find the light bar on the roof? I’ve heard that the light reflects off the white bonnet. Also, does the ARB bullbar allow you to change the headlights without taking the bullbar off?

[John_D4]

My sole reason for choosing Mother products was solely on price. I’d be happy to use an Australian brand, but it was more than $20 extra. That’s $20 towards the upcoming cam belt & service next month

[Loading...]

Another vote for Bowden's Own products! Their new Happy Ending product is amazing to use, creates a hydrophobic surface on the paint, not ceramic!
Also their instagram stories are very good and informative to watch!

[FisherX]

If you are having your white paint go chalky within a few months I'll bet you are using those "touchless" automated car washes.

Those things strip the polish off your car with one wash, leaving your paint bare with no protection.

(I like the ceramic spray on waxes over a waxed finish and I'm using the mothers one at the moment. Just for it's hydrophobic properties. Dust doesn't stick to it as much, and if it does just a quick hose off before a drive and the car comes up clean. Half my customers here live up long dirt driveways and the dust drives me nuts.)

[BMKal]

How do you find the light bar on the roof? I’ve heard that the light reflects off the white bonnet. Also, does the ARB bullbar allow you to change the headlights without taking the bullbar off?

Light bar does not glare off the bonnet at all - it is set back far enough (mounted between the front legs of the roof rack) that the bonnet is in shadow.
Yes - I have no problems removing the grille and popping the headlight assemblies out onto the main channel of the bull bar to get access to the light globes etc. I have not yet needed to replace any globes etc in the headlights (I have the HID option), but I have had the headlights out more than once to fit LED running lights beneath them.

[scarry]

If you are having your white paint go chalky within a few months I'll bet you are using those "touchless" automated car washes.

Sorry to say,never used one ever,but definitely had chalky paint on a number of vans,all tojo.
Its the poor quality paint,the D4,and the old mitsy vans got the same treatment,no issues.

[Tombie]

Sorry to say,never used one ever,but definitely had chalky paint on a number of vans,all tojo.
Its the poor quality paint,the D4,and the old mitsy vans got the same treatment,no issues.

All the work toymotors suffer the same issue.
My current work Rollux is 3 years younger than my D4, paint is chalk, sills full of rust.

[John_D4]

So it’s now warned weekly (mostly). I’ve clay barred the bonnet and used McGuire’s wax on the bonnet. Just a quick job, but today after some rain there’s some nice water breading. Still have to do the rest of the car and afterwards I’ll finish it with some Happy Endings. Thanks for the help everyone.

Only frustrating bit now is I blackened the tyres and over the next week the oily stuff left oil all over my nice clean rims. Next time I’ll apply it with a wrag instead of just spraying it on

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191201/b2f90b0caff1b71503c0dabe2be2e538.jpg

[Tombie]

What did you blacken your tyres with?

The one I use isn’t oily...

[John_D4]

What did you blacken your tyres with?

The one I use isn’t oily...

This stuff was on salehttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191201/2e74dc867303f5d47c573653e458eea9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191201/aecf822cb9b22d642d3ad590cb57c3b8.jpg

[V8Ian]

[bigrolf] WARNING Do not use on motorcycles.
Reminded me of the time I Armouralled my motorbike seat. [bighmmm]
Only did it once. :eek2::eek2:

[John_D4]

[bigrolf] WARNING Do not use on motorcycles.
Reminded me of the time I Armouralled my motorbike seat. [bighmmm]
Only did it once. :eek2::eek2:

... and you’ve had a limp ever since?

[V8Ian]

... and you’ve had a limp ever since?
No, but it certainly improved my puckering skills.

[coopers1969]

Turtle wax seal and shine is excellent if your paint i is good nick. Cheap easy to put in lasts for ages and water beads like crazy.