Just venting, a guy at the drinking hole was complaining about the drive-thru car wash snagging some trim off of his vehicle.

First off, , , , , , DO NOT use cotton rags and towels. ONLY use microfiber. Today's automotive finishes are not near as "robust" as they used to be. Anything made from cotton, and the like, will leave visible swirls in your finish.

So, I was doing fairly good washes on my brand new Civic but, the finish would still have a little bit of "friction feel" to it from what? I Thought that the paint job was faulty? But, I did some YouTube learning and studied up on "contaminates". I was being told that I needed to "clay bar" the finish. Hmmmmmmm, sounded and looked tedious. Found out that there are plenty of folks who use a "clay bar mitt", which looks lots mo easy. Gave it a try and it worked pretty good but, the finish still seemed to have some "feel" to it. Oh ya, do it again but, this time instead of using regular household detergent (cloths or dishes) I used a "cleaner" similar to 409. The clay mitt (or bar) needs a lubricant, plain water does not work. The 409 did a real good job at cutting through the "contaminates", dirt and oil, and the previous "polishes/waxes" and such. The second time with the mitt did the trick. Very clean and very noticeable from "un-done" sections. I'm not sure if it was the "second" time or just the 409?

Then, water spots. Most acidic products will work, in that they do disolve a lot of "spot" but some products need to sit for too long. Vinegar does so-so but, how do you keep your car wet with vinegar for a half hour? Found a lot of guys use CLR on their car's water spots; for both glass and paint (right or wrong?). Works just about as good as you're going to get without mechanically polishing the finish, and it is a hell of a lot cheaper than the "car care" water spot products.

My new process for a "start from from the beginning wash" before putting on a new "wax" is to do the regular wash to get the hunks off along with most of the stuff from the "road"; you don't want to start with the clay mitt and rub all the junk into your paint. Give it a good rinse and you don't need to dry it. From there I do a section at a time with the clay mitt and 409 and then give everything a good rinse. Then, the CLR followed by a good rinse and dry. Then the polish/wax of your choice. I've been using a "ceramic" that works pretty good.

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Dora Hates You

Edited: 12/21/2022 at 02:50 PM by dingpatch