paint care

[Hoffman Anthony J A1C 552 CMS/MXMVC]

Several years ago I had the opportunity to work for a detail shop for a
while, and we did all the work for the local Audi dealer (New S4 just came
out.........YEEEHAAA). We used a clay bar on cars with paint overspray, hard
water stains (sprinklers), and various other things stuck to the paint which
buffing wouldn't get out. It was just for looks, as the buffing/waxing is
what gets the contaminants off the paint and protects it. Cars which have
been taken care of keep their shine longer (obviously) and also tend to have
more paint left over the years. If you take a car which gets washed or waxed
very seldom, after about 10 to 15 years you can actually see the primer
through the paint in a lot of cases. On a side note, interestingly enough,
buffing takes a very small layer of paint off the car, so I'm not sure if
this is better, or the contaminated layer on the car is better for
longevity. I'd love to do a test, but my cars are all too old and faded to
be able to.

Tony Hoffman

-----Original Message-----
From: Konstantin Bogach [mailto:konstantin.bogach at morganstanley.com] 
Sent: 13-May-2004 9:14 AM
To: quattro at audifans.com
Subject: paint care


Folks,

can you clue me whether the efforts spent on using clay bar and/or 
polishing compounds before waxing are purely for look or for paint 
longevity?  I've read that contaminants eat the paint but is it 
something which results can be observed in lifetime?

Thank you.
Konstantin.

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