My red 5k-t-q quattro Digest, Vol 30, Issue 41

[Brett Dikeman]

On Apr 22, 2006, at 1:37 PM, capnkidd wrote:

> Why don't you share the brand name of that "miracle paint product"  
> that you
> don't believe in?

Chances are it's just polishing wax, with a very aggressive compound  
and lots of fillers and gloss enhancers.  It breaks the "do as little  
as possible" rule with paint care; stuff like that is a great way to  
remove a quarter of your clearcoat in an afternoon.

I recently cleaned up the paint on a friend's VW Cabriolet.

1)Started with a complete wash with P21S auto wash (the orange citrus- 
y stuff).  This removes all the loose dirt, oil, and previous wax if  
any.
2)Did each panel with a clay bar.  This  removes any embedded dirt,  
sap spots, etc.
3)With a porter-cable random-orbital buffer, applied Pinnacle's swirl  
remover (not a filler- an actual abrasive swirl remover).  I then  
wiped it down with a damp microfiber cloth, and looked over the  
surface; any heavy scratches were removed with Mother's pre-wax  
cleaner.  Supposedly the abrasives in the swirl remover break down  
and become smaller and smaller; whatever- it worked.
4)Sealed the car with Zaino.  Liquid Glass would work for those  
looking for something quite a bit cheaper; if you want "really cheap"  
then try liquid NXT wax from Meguire's, though I would strongly  
recommend steering clear of the paste wax, as I tried it and found it  
very difficult to apply (felt like it had dried out.)

Seeing perfectly finished white paint is something special, I have to  
say.  I really wish the car had been pearl so I could have seen what  
really clean pearl paint looks like.

It is virtually critical that you do some form of #1 before #2, and  
same with #2 before #3.  You want to remove dirt, especially before  
you hit the car with a polishing pad.  Once you've done the car, it  
is important you not put any scratches  back into the paint if you  
don't want swirls. This means:

-remove compounds and such with either a completely clean cotton  
towel, or completely clean microfiber cloths.
-wash the car with a boar's hair brush.  Everything else presses dirt  
against the paint and leaves scratches.
-dry it with a squeege (California water blade is nice) or if the car  
is beading water nicely, you'd be astounded at how well an electric  
leaf blower works. This will garner many strange looks from your  
neighbors, but nothing's better for getting the water off the car,  
particularly our older cars with a billion nooks and crannies and  
trim pieces.

You may have used a "glaze" or "swirl remover" before- unless they  
are abrasive, they are nothing more than fillers, and next season,  
you'll find all those swirls staring you in the face again.

Liquid Glass, by the way, seems rather good at protecting wheels, but  
any wax will make life easier...

Brett