Due to my ankle surgery, I never got the Pontiac off the 20s for the winter. Needless to say, they looked pretty shitty after our winter of snow and ice.

I stopped by an auto detailing place to see how much it would be to have the wheels cleaned. The guy wanted $100 to clean them up and wax them.

I cleaned them up myself. Sure, it's taken the better part of the morning, but they look great now.

Question is, what is this "wax the wheels" stuff? I've never waxed my wheels. Have any of you? Is there some sort of wheel wax to use, or just wax it with my Meguiar's Gold Class I use on the car? WTF?

its made from the ear wax of the endangered Florida manatee.

I suggest that you use a double coat, you'll never know when they will run out of the stuff.

http://scienceblogs.com/retrospectacle/manatee.bmp

Plus you might want to check the headlight fluid, its blue, and it should be in the fridge next to the blue kool-aid, which has similar packaging.

Don't make me ban you.

lol win

Kevin no likey teh BACON

You should wash with automotivesoap and dishsoap mixture, to remove all oils, clay to remove all the break dust and particle contaminants, and then you can apply some wax. I wouldn't use the megs gc, though, that nuba doesn't last for a very long time. A couple layers of a synthetic, like nxt, would do the trick. However, if you don't have any, and don't want to buy some, there's no harm in using the gc

correct, however, for wheels, the price of Zaino makes it totally not worth it. Wheels get dirty so quickly, that it's irrelivant. You should be using something that works, but can be reapplied frequently. Lots of zaino stuff is pretty good, but it's all over priced, and it's definately over hyped.

edit: If you absolutely have to have the longest-lasting wax of all time, order a tin of megs #16 online. You can't buy it in stores anymore, because of voc issues, but it is the greatest carnuba anyone will ever use, and I've tried just about everything out there

Well, I washed them first with wheel cleaner, then washed them with the Meguiar's car wash, then I used wadding polish, then I used mag & aluminum polish. Next, I'm going to rewash them just to get the last of the polish off. They will be about as clean as they can get.

The reason I'm thinking about waxing them is to make it easier to clean them... They get really nasty, and with that big 20" wheel and wide lip, it's really, really obvious when they are dirty.

Black 15" steelies. BAM ,your cleaning needs are over.

LOL. My big ass Grand Prix would look really, really stupid on 15s.

agreed, but 20s are a bit on the pimp side, and they really slow down your acceleration

You know, you'd think so... But I tell you, my supercharged GTP has no problem picking up speed and even spinning the tires.

Besides, if the acceleration were to slow down, that would give me an excuse to mod it. :)

The problem with washing and waxing a black car: Every little nick, ding and scratch shows up. Cool thing: I used some polishing compound and removed all the water spots from the car, so it really shines. Bad news: I also found where some fuck in a white car ran his bumper into my rear passenger side door, probably at my wife's work. It's not dented, but I don't know how I'm going to get the white paint off.

Ideas anyone?

Got a recommendation for a good product for that, Mark?

The problem with washing and waxing a black car: Every little nick, ding and scratch shows up. Cool thing: I used some polishing compound and removed all the water spots from the car, so it really shines. Bad news: I also found where some fuck in a white car ran his bumper into my rear passenger side door, probably at my wife's work. It's not dented, but I don't know how I'm going to get the white paint off.

Ideas anyone?

Mr Cleans Magic Eraser followed by a fine rubbing compound.
I had a shopping cart leave a nice run of gray paint on my daily, used that with the rubbing compound and a little bit of elbow grease....worked perfectly and no sign of anything, even in angled light.

I'd be a little hesistant to use that on paint, unless it's a daily beater

Leaves the walls in the kitchen alone. Latex based paint, those are.

OOHH god. No. A thousand times no. Don't use a compound, and DEFINATELY don't use a magic eraser. Go to lordco, or where ever, and spend $30 on some clay. That's all you need. If it's just paint transfer, then clay will take it out, and won't ruin your paint. You can use a little bit of soapy water as lubricant, and just rub a flattened bit of clay across the transfer in different directions. If there's marring/scratches around the area, then the paint needs an abrasive polish, and it's likely nothing you can do by hand. Short of this, you can pick some megs #9, or find some 'scratch remover', and that will temporarily fill the scratches. Using M#4 will get you no where. It's a fairly high cut, and the abrasive particles are made to be broken down by the heat of a rotary polisher. Using it with your hands is completely useless. I have a hard time breaking that down with an orbital, let alone by hand. So much mis-information

the bottle doesn't say 'particles to be broken down by the heat of a rotary polisher'. I was trying to explain why using anything other than a rotary would fail. But good call, recommend a high cut, rotary-required product, without asking if he has one, or if he has any experience with one. Not like he could do any serious damage with one of those, right?...And the misinformation comment was aimed at the eraser idea, but you can go ahead and get defensive, anyway. Probably a good idea to argue with the professional detailer lol

here's what I said, in context



is that ok with you, mr. detail shop?


I went back and read the posts you are replying to, Why do you have to be so rude Mark? Does it piss you off when someone else knows something in a field you most likely think you're knowledgeable in?


Seriously, give it a rest.

no, it says you have to use a rotary. That's a big difference. If you were recommending m4 because of the cleaning it provides, why not just recommend an all in one cleaner, like zaino or klasse make? Fair enough, you'd get a mild removal of oxodized paint, but then you should really just be using an aio, specifically designed for that. And there's no issue of oxidization here, he's trying to remove paint transfer and scuffing

lol that's such a vague, and useless comment. What kind of 'defect'? I wouldn't try to polish out heavy scratches with an aio, the point of a polish is that his has particulate to abrade away clear-coat/paint, to level the surface around the scratch. When you scuff paint, and you get those white/lightened 'scuff' marks, the reason they appear that way is because the surface has become very rough, and uneven, and so you abrade away the rough surface, until it's smooth(read:shiny) again. And for the second time, no, it's made for an rotary. Big difference.

Orbitals do just that-they orbit. I'm not talking about those $15 ones from walmart. PC makes one, and Flex, and UDM, and a few others. They orbit, instead of pure rotational torque. They apply less direct force to the rotation of the pad, and so you can't burn paint with them, and they don't hologram, like rotaries do. Your makita is a rotary.

orbital:
http://www.tropi-care.com/v/vspfiles/photos/UDM-1000-2T.jpg

rotary:
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/731/MakitaRotaryBuffer9227C.jpg

rotaries are for very high cut, and can be quicker if used by someone skilled. They also hologram, and can burn paint. Orbitals are a step down, power-wise, but don't burn paint, and don't hologram.

If you have lots of spare cash, I'd go for a Flex. If not, the UDM(utlimate detailing machine) is a bit better than the 40-something series that porter cable makes.

edit: autogeek is a fairly terrible website, but they do have a lot of cheap kits with the udm

When you realize you've made a god of your car then.....oops, this isn't in the religion section.

Any suggestions for polishing boat fiberglass? The previous owner drove it to work daily and it sat in water all of the time... the bottom of the hull has some discoloring I'd like to get rid of...

pics would help. I'll assume it clear-coated, so the same techniques apply. If it has any etching, or water marks, you could use a more agressive pad/product, and then work your way up to finer combos. It's pretty much the same as polishing a car. Discolouration could be because of rough clear-coat, or could be uv damage to the pigments beneath. If you don't have access to a machine, I'd look for an all-in-one cleaner, just to remove any oxidation/crap on the outside. FYI Mark, I duno what kind of experience you have with polishers, but the flex is a pretty powerful, it's a middle ground between the standard orbitals, and rotaries, so I'd suggest starting slow with that beast. What pads/products are you planning on using with it?

How the hell did you learn all of this shit about cleaning stuff? Is it a hobby or what?

it was an interest-turned hobbey-turned obsession. Now it's my weekend job. I have a 9-5, still. Hence all the post lol. The XMT product line you're getting isn't half bad. I have a bunch of those products. I wasn't overly impressed with the polishes(though, they weren't bad). I haven't used the #3. The carnuba glaze is fuckin amazing, though. After you're finished polishing, yuo just use some isopropyl to wipe off oils, and apply some of that to a black css pad, and buff it on lightly. It powders pretty fast, and you can wipe it off by hand. I usually take it off with some MF bonnets that I have. You can apply any nuba right over top of it(no sealants/synthetics, though).

Any suggestions for vinyl boat seats? Purple power + a brush has done great so far... then washing it off with water so the purple power doesn't sit on it for any long period of time.

mm I know lexol makes a cleaner specific for vinyl, but I've never tried it. They make good stuff, though. Once it's clean, you can use some Aerospace 303, or a vinyl protectant(think lexol makes one of these, too)

Available at department stores or auto-parts stores?

in the states, I'm not sure. You might be able to find it in an auotmotive store with a good detailing selection. 303 is pretty common, you can find that at the equivelant of Canadian Tire in the states. Walmart, or something
http://www.eshine.ca/303_aerospace_protectant_16oz-220.php?cat=21
http://www.eshine.ca/lexol_spray_vinylex_169oz-3134.php

haha give'r, I'm stuck in this office for 9 hours, and I've had 1 hour worth of work, so far. Anything to stay sane

I wax everything on the outside of the car that isn't rubber or unpainted plastic.

I wax the wheels, the brake calipers (if the wheels are off and they're painted), all of the windows, etc.

Everything seems to be easier to clean that way.

waxing is good. Gotta make sure everything's been surfaced with some clay first, though. Otherwise, you won't get proper adhesion.

waxing is good. Gotta make sure everything's been surfaced with some clay first, though. Otherwise, you won't get proper adhesion.

first ive heard of this. what do you mean by 'clay'?

claying is pretty much just what it sounds like. You can buy automotive clay, it's like tough silly putty. Anyway, you basically just tear a piece off of the bar it comes in, flatten it out, and, using some lube, rub it on your paint in a criss-cross pattern. It lifts off all of the break dust, dirt, and pollution that's embedded in your paint. When the clay gets dirty, you fold it in to it's self, and repeat. It makes a world of difference. I always grab a plastic bag, and clay one part of a customer's car, and then have them rub a clayed, and un-clayed section, through the bag. You can feel how rough your paint really was. keep in mind, though, that claying is a form of abrasion. Even when done properly, you'll still impart some very mild scuffing.

oh, nice, good links. btw paint cleaner is really just for oxidation, and removing no2, etc. You need to physically remove particles with clay.

lol wtf? Links plz. I don't think I'd ever use clay with a machine, that sounds rediculous. Btw, I like the new avatar ;)

I Zaino my wheels all the time. It helps deter all the brake dust these Euro cars produce. Rather than having to scrub them down, I can just hit them with the pressure washer and blast the dust off.