Workshops
ADVICE TO HELP YOU LOOK AFTER YOUR CAR
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Cutting and polishing is a decades old term for the technique of rejuvenating tired paintwork. A poor quality cut and polish job will leave buff marks, swirls and fine scratches. Be aware that there are some very clever products that claim to remove these but they are only very fine filling polishes that are only temporary and they are possibly disguising improper polishing tool techniques.
Modern paint work is so much softer it requires delicate treatment which I prefer to call Buffing and Polishing. Paint work can require up to 5 separate “buffing” techniques and various materials over many hours to achieve the lustre and an excellent finish to the duco.
Paint technology has changed to the extent that some cars are now sprayed with water-based paint and many colours are actually a clear coat over the base colour. This means the colour is actually brought out by the translucent effect of the added clear. The clear often requires extensive polishing treatment to restore the true colour of the paint. Satin coloured textures and organic paint are also being developed.
On many new cars you can actually view the true colour before the clear has been applied - in the engine bay, the boot or inside the fuel door.
Beware when buying any any one product labelled ‘cut and polish’. They can be abrasive and damage the paintwork. Excellent polishing is a staged process and should require separate products and tools throughout the application and proceedure of each different technique.
After repeated washings your car will lose its brightness, shine and protective coating of wax. Eventually the clear coat will wear dull then disappear and you may be left with exposed paintwork that will need to be buffed, re-cleared or even repainted.
Damage to your car's paintwork could be due to the use of harsh materials or incorrect tools such as brushes or scouring pads. Some drive-through car washes may also cause damage from the use of rough brushes and mops or their over mix of inferior corrosive detergents.
After repeated washings your car will lose its brightness, shine and protective coating of wax. Eventually the clear coat will wear dull then disappear and you may be left with exposed paintwork that will need to be buffed, re-cleared or even repainted.
Damage to your car's paintwork could be due to the use of harsh materials or incorrect tools such as brushes or scouring pads. Some drive-through car washes may also cause damage from the use of rough brushes and mops or their over mix of inferior corrosive detergents.
Windows : Never use any brush of any sort on your paintwork - it will always scratch.To re
HELPFUL HINTS FOR WASHING YOUR CAR Be gentle. Remember, Excell Buff has already left the paintwork in near perfect condition. It has been cut smooth, rejuvenated and protected with the best wax. Adhesion of any foreign material is kept to a minimum by this process and vigorous washing will only reduce the bonding effectiveness of the wax and scratch the duco. Use a special washing wool mitten or an extremely soft sponge and only a small amount of high quality car wash liquid - too much will strip the polishes or damage the paint. Do not let detergent dry on the surface, always keep the body wet and smooth. Dry off with a good synthetic chamois and buff a soft cotton cloth over the glass and shiny bits. ** if you want to be really particular I can offer you a few extra hints:
WINDOW CLEANER can be diluted by half with water. It won’t dry as fast so be quick and you'll have more time to work with it. Use two clean cotton cloths, one on, one off.AMORALL type products are really only good for use on rubber including tyres, but wipe off the excess until dry. For plastic and vinyl a seal and shiner product "CRC-303" is very good as it sticks and dries.POLISHING your paintwork is best done one panel at a time, applying liquid in the same direction and buffing off lightly. Do the sides first and tops last. An easy way is to use a spray polish, I recommend Meguiar's, “Quick Detailer” or “Quick Wax”, but only on a good surface.LEATHER is best looked after more often than vinyl or cloth. Nourish it with a good leather cream or even lanolin regularly. This will also have a cleansing action. Bee’s Wax or a similar product from a Saddler or leather worker is very good.ALIEN DROPPINGS on your paintwork are best removed when wet or dead, otherwise if dry soak them off gently with a wet tissue. Aggressive rubbing is not good, neither is swearing - just call me for advice. Same thing goes for problems on exterior paint or interior trim. MAG WHEELS are soft, don’t scratch them or use a full strength Mag wheel cleaner - it's too strong and best suitable for removing corrosive brake dust. Liquid is best, the aerosol prays may leave a permanent stain. Dishwashing liquid, warm water and a soft brush work well. Hose off the sticky disc brake dust daily if possible, it becomes corrosive with the constant addition of rolling braking heat.
Never use any brush of any sort on your paintwork - it will always scratch.To remove bird droppings - don't rub aggressively, it will scratch – just soak off with a wet tissue.That's about all the best advice I can give you at the moment. There will always be other problems you will encounter. Please feel free to email, call or text mMy Regards, good luck and enjoy clean
WINDOW CLEANER can be diluted by half with water. It won’t dry as fast so be quick and you'll have more time to work with it. Use two clean cotton cloths, one on, one off.AMORALL type products are really only good for use on rubber including tyres, but wipe off the excess until dry. For plastic and vinyl a seal and shiner product "CRC-303" is very good as it sticks and dries.POLISHING your paintwork is best done one panel at a time, applying liquid in the same direction and buffing off lightly. Do the sides first and tops last. An easy way is to use a spray polish, I recommend Meguiar's, “Quick Detailer” or “Quick Wax”, but only on a good surface.LEATHER is best looked after more often than vinyl or cloth. Nourish it with a good leather cream or even lanolin regularly. This will also have a cleansing action. Bee’s Wax or a similar product from a Saddler or leather worker is very good.ALIEN DROPPINGS on your paintwork are best removed when wet or dead, otherwise if dry soak them off gently with a wet tissue. Aggressive rubbing is not good, neither is swearing - just call me for advice. Same thing goes for problems on exterior paint or interior trim. MAG WHEELS are soft, don’t scratch them or use a full strength Mag wheel cleaner - it's too strong and best suitable for removing corrosive brake dust. Liquid is best, the aerosol prays may leave a permanent stain. Dishwashing liquid, warm water and a soft brush work well. Hose off the sticky disc brake dust daily if possible, it becomes corrosive with the constant addition of rolling braking heat.
Never use any brush of any sort on your paintwork - it will always scratch.To remove bird droppings - don't rub aggressively, it will scratch – just soak off with a wet tissue.That's about all the best advice I can give you at the moment. There will always be other problems you will encounter. Please feel free to email, call or text mMy Regards, good luck and enjoy clean
CAREFUL CLUES FOR DISCERNING OWNERS
WINDOWS:If you purchased liquid window cleaner in a spray bottle, it is usually too strong to work efficiently. It dries faster than you can clean! Try pouring half into another container and then add water to both. You will now have twice as much and the dilution will aid the cleaning process. Spray onto the glass (not too much) and rub on with a cotton cloth and then buff off with another clean cotton cloth. In hot weather it helps to use a damp chamois to apply the cleaner with, this increases the drying time. If the glass is really dirty or smoky, wipe over first with a damp cloth or chamois. Streak marks when you have finished are caused by contaminants on your cloth, too strong cleaner, too little liquid or working too fast. In the past, people would recommend using newspaper instead of cloth. It doesn’t work well today because of the different paper making process and chemicals in the inks used for printing. Do not use scouring pads to remove heavy stains as they will scratch severely. Use a razor blade to lift off hardened bird droppings, paint spots or overspray etc. (not the door mirrors - they're hardened plastic and scratch easily).Steel wool ‘O’ grade will not scratch if used carefully and glass can also be cleaned with car polish. Be careful using armorall type products on the interior as they contain petroleum by-products that can leave a spotting type stain permanently on the inside of the windows or perspex.
WHEELS - TYRES:Most Mag. and Aluminium wheel cleaners are way too strong so dilute them as done with the window cleaner. They can bleach the surface or leave streaks if not applied carefully. Do not apply in direct intense sunlight or to a hot wheel directly after driving. It helps to hose the wheel with water first and then apply the cleaner to the wet wheel while using a soft brush to remove heavy brake soiling. Be gentle, it is safer to do the wheel two or three times with a diluted cleaner rather than once with a strong cleaner and aggressive brushing. Remember the wheel material is actually quite soft and will easily bleach or scratch and many types have plastic coatings on them. If you use an armorall or silicone type tyre dressing, use it sparingly and wipe off the excess before driving. Remember that the wheel and tyre get hot and the rubber and its dressing will sweat all over the wheel and splash along the sides of the car. Wheels should also be cleaned more often than in the past because of the new requirements for softer brake pads that will leave a black residue on the wheel daily. This is also of a corrosive nature and will easily spot and stain the wheel unless washed off at least weekly.
PAINTWORK - DUCO:Cutting and polishing is an old fashioned term for rejuvenating tired paintwork. It is actually a two stage operation and maybe more, if you want a truly excellent finish to the duco. Because modern paintwork is much softer, I prefer to call the process buffing and polishing. Paint technology has changed a great deal; some cars are sprayed with water based paint and many colours are actually clear over base. That means the colour is actually brought out by the translucence effect of the clear. On many new cars you can actually see the true colour, before the clear has been applied, in the engine bay or the boot or in the fuel door. Be careful when buying any products labeled ‘cut and polish’, it is very abrasive and can actually damage the paintwork if not used properly - it should be a two stage process with two separate products. The key to successful polishing is patience and gentleness, not quick aggression and abrasion. Most of the scratching on new cars is in the clear coating which can be very soft. That is why your car loses its brightness after repeated washings - the clear coat is being scratched and damaged. Some cars show signs of buff marks and swirls, this is evidence of rushed and poorly performed cutting or polishing. ** Never use a brush of any type on your paintwork - it will always scratch.
WHEELS - TYRES:Most Mag. and Aluminium wheel cleaners are way too strong so dilute them as done with the window cleaner. They can bleach the surface or leave streaks if not applied carefully. Do not apply in direct intense sunlight or to a hot wheel directly after driving. It helps to hose the wheel with water first and then apply the cleaner to the wet wheel while using a soft brush to remove heavy brake soiling. Be gentle, it is safer to do the wheel two or three times with a diluted cleaner rather than once with a strong cleaner and aggressive brushing. Remember the wheel material is actually quite soft and will easily bleach or scratch and many types have plastic coatings on them. If you use an armorall or silicone type tyre dressing, use it sparingly and wipe off the excess before driving. Remember that the wheel and tyre get hot and the rubber and its dressing will sweat all over the wheel and splash along the sides of the car. Wheels should also be cleaned more often than in the past because of the new requirements for softer brake pads that will leave a black residue on the wheel daily. This is also of a corrosive nature and will easily spot and stain the wheel unless washed off at least weekly.
PAINTWORK - DUCO:Cutting and polishing is an old fashioned term for rejuvenating tired paintwork. It is actually a two stage operation and maybe more, if you want a truly excellent finish to the duco. Because modern paintwork is much softer, I prefer to call the process buffing and polishing. Paint technology has changed a great deal; some cars are sprayed with water based paint and many colours are actually clear over base. That means the colour is actually brought out by the translucence effect of the clear. On many new cars you can actually see the true colour, before the clear has been applied, in the engine bay or the boot or in the fuel door. Be careful when buying any products labeled ‘cut and polish’, it is very abrasive and can actually damage the paintwork if not used properly - it should be a two stage process with two separate products. The key to successful polishing is patience and gentleness, not quick aggression and abrasion. Most of the scratching on new cars is in the clear coating which can be very soft. That is why your car loses its brightness after repeated washings - the clear coat is being scratched and damaged. Some cars show signs of buff marks and swirls, this is evidence of rushed and poorly performed cutting or polishing. ** Never use a brush of any type on your paintwork - it will always scratch.
That's about the most advice I can give at the moment. There will always be other odd problems you and your car will encounter.
Please feel welcome to email, call or text me.My Regards. Good luck and enjoy your detailing.
MARK KAYE