PROPER Car Care

[BadBong]

Hi guys, as most of you would appreciate - we've all got great little cars that we want to keep for as long as possible. Although I know that circumstances in life would always change, I have no intention of parting with my NB in the near future (unless it's for a ND?...) and if a family springs up then I'll just get a 5-seater runabout.

So on that note, I want to make sure my car stays in top condition for a very long time and here are a few questions I have to keep its cosmetics in tip-top shape:

1) What can I do to prolong the life of the paint job on my car?
2) What products can I use to keep the car looking clean without damaging the paint? (i.e. even after a few rainy days)
3) What can I do to prevent the interior from fading or cracking under the sun (since MX5s are meant to be dríven especially on those days...)
4) What I can do to fix minor stone chips?

My ride's a 99' NB8A that has only done 80kkms. It's in pretty good nick, always taken care of and always parked inside a garage. It currently has no blemishes internally and only a few stone chips right behind the rear wheels.

My habits:

- Hand washed at a local carwash every 2-3 weeks. Unlike crappy Crystal Car Wash that uses brushes that scratch the surface, I made sure I've found a place that uses foam / shammies instead. The car wash consists of a clean from a pressured hose, rubbed out with soapy water with foam blocks, quick rinse to get rid of the soap, windex glass surface, wipe down any dust from the interior, vacuum the cabin and carpet, scrub rims and rinse plus a quick wipe down of everything at the end.

- I'd drive home right after each wash and...

*Open the bonnet, boot and fuel lid and wipe down any water drips that the carwash didn't catch
*Mr Sheen the leather seats
*Apply some kind of chemicals to wipe down all of the internal upholstery
*Polish the plastic headlights and taillights
*Put a layer of (forgot the name of the product) to protect the roof and give it that shine

- Everytime it rains, i'll spend about 10-15mins wiping the car down so that there's not dirty rain marks, but even then, it looses the shine that I get right after the car wash.

- For stone chips, I apply a thin layer of touch up paint to cover the spot(s).

Any tips or suggestions? (I have absolutely no clue what polish, claybar or waxing does - whether it's a short term gain with long term damages etc etc)

Thanks...

[DaveWA]

mate check out these sites
they'll give you a full and reliable run down on what you can and should do

be careful you could become a car polish junkie.....

good luck with it mate


[url]waxit.com.au[/url]
[url]chemicalguys.com.au[/url]

[Juffa]

- Everytime it rains, i'll spend about 10-15mins wiping the car down so that there's not dirty rain marks, but even then, it looses the shine that I get right after the car wash.

In addition to DaveWA's response I would suggest that wiping the car down after rain is not a good idea, unless you wash it first. The reason I say this is that there will be dust/dirt/particles/nasty stuff on the paint and wiping the paint at best will just redistribute the afore mentioned gunk, and at worst will scratch the paint (don't ask how I know). I'm guessing that the car wash product you are using will have some time of 'shine' built in, many have 'wax'.

I used to use Meguiars 3 step process.
1. Paint cleaner to remove contamination that washing alone couldn't,
2. Polish to enhance the colour
3. Sealer to protect the finish and extend the duration of the shine.

Used to take me about 5 hours including applying each product by hand, wait for it to dry and then remove with a polishing pad on a random orbital sander. I used to do this every 3 to 6 months. A side benefit is that you have to get up close and personal with the car and you will spot any body/paint work issues before they become a bigger issue.

J.

[BadBong]

Thanks guys, finally had time to look into this tonight.

Quick question J - doesn't polish 'damage'/ eat into the paint?

Given that my paint's in quite good nick - I was wondering whether this process would suffice?

1) Go get my regular car wash from the local store (wash and dry)
2) Come home and clay bar the car and wipe it down with a micro-fibre cloth
3) Wax the car as a sealant
4) Quick rinse and dry

If that's the go, then all I need is a clay bar, a wax-kit and some micro-fibre clothes... any recommendations? (planning to pop to Supercheap tomorrow night if that's a suitable place to get these things)

[Hot Rodders]

I use Maguires and these products give my duco good protection and a great shine. They are of the higher end quality and price but give good value for the money. I also use their soft wash car wash and use a lambswool mitt to wash my car.
Cheers!
HR

[BadBong]

Thanks HR - I'm assuming that there's a Maguires wax + clay combo pack somewhere then...?

[and1]

I use pretty much all Meguiars:
-NXT Gen car wash
-Microfibre chamois
-Swirl x with a G220 DA polisher on with a Lake Country CCS white pad
-Autoglym Super Resin Polish applied with G220 DA polisher with Lake Country CCS white pad
-Nxt wax 2.0 with applicator pad or G220 with Lake Country CCS red pad depending on how lazy I am.
-303 convertible top cleaner
-303 aerospace protectant on top and interior and black plastic exterior bits
-Nxt Gen metal polish for polished metal trims

The Meguiars G220 Dual Action polisher was one of my best investments..

[BadBong]

Hey And1,

Would you only need a polisher if you have alot of scratches on your car?

Do you use clay/wax at all? (since my car wash place will take care of the wash/rinse part already)

[BadBong]

Looks like I've found the jackpot:



I've also found another place at Rozelle that does Workshops for car clubs - will give them a call and see how this works and maybe we can get a group of MX5ers together in November!

[and1]

Hey And1,

Would you only need a polisher if you have alot of scratches on your car?

Do you use clay/wax at all? (since my car wash place will take care of the wash/rinse part already)

By polisher do you mean a machine polisher? If so not really. You can get a very fine pad that has little to no cutting power and you can use a less aggressive compound. This will just help bring the colour out.

And yes I do clay bar. I just forgot to add that
I use Meguiars clay bar kit with a mix of Nxt Gen car wash and water as the lubricant.