Detailing Q's answered

nice work man...........

 

Very nice, the bonnet on the Porsche is excellent, i know from experence they can be hard to get looking like that. Your work speaks for it's self.

Could you please tell me how you get the carpet to look like that in the boot shot you posted?

 

I guess no answer.

 

Thanks for the information. I'll look for it on the net.

 

Hello Darren,

I have a question about prepping a car before using claybar treatment.

Light Silver Color Mercedes CLK (2004) that has not been waxed in about 8 months and is always parked outside without cover.

When Applying the claybar to the paint, the bar immediately started to turn black. I rewashed the car using a sheepskin washglove and applied more pressure to the surface with the washglove. Upon claying the 2nd time, same situation happened.
So, obviously, there is some grime embedded into the paint. Its not visible to the eye at all.

Does 3m, Mequires, or another co (im in the U.S.) make a product I can use to clean this up prior to claying and waxing? I have a porter cable power buffer and pads which is made for home/amature use as to not burn the paint.

Thanks,

 

I use a lot of different products so I don't sell my customers short, its my belief to educate my clients on various choices so they can have we can find a good fit for them. Also, don't let SWISSVAX's marketing trick you into thinking its all natural. I think you be suprised at the solvents used to liquify carnauba wax, very far from "natural" or safe.

 

I hope you don't mind if I field this one since I am on here...

The claybar turned "black" because it abraded and removed the contaminets on your paint. It is doing its job. Rewashing won't help (not with normal soaps anyways) because car soap is not designed to remove embedded contamination, but rather lubricate water to help float away dirt.

FK1 does sell a special decon system that will remove contaminents with out clay, but it is pricey. If they clay is turning "black" then its working so stick with it . You will want to clay the paint, so when you take your PC to the paint, you don't have the risk of the contaminents sheering off and getting trapped between the pad and paint, causing more damage.

 

Thanks.

That makes sense. I will try that and just turn the clay over onto itself as needed.

 

What method, technique or tools do you use to clean and polish the areas around emblems and badges?

The Ferrari badge on the top of the rear engine hatch on a 360 is particularly difficult to clean. What do you use to get into the tiny spaces between the lettering?

Also what method do you use to buff areas like the sharply curved areas like the air intakes where a buffing machine will not fit?

Do you tape off rubber and plastic parts like window molding before buffing?

Thank you for making your expertise available for questions.

 

Darren,
Wonder if you could advise on an odor problem? I messed up when bringing a MOP pizza[mushrooms,onions,pepperoni] home awhile ago and tho it's almost cleared out the pizza aroma lingers still abit. That fine Italian leather scent is one of the joys of having a F-car so I wonder what product you might recommend to help the offending smell away but yet not overwhelm what's worth keeping.
Thanks,cheers

 

being held in my passengers lap,,,so it didn't really touch leather so to speak,,,

but yeah,,,no more food in the 360 ,,,experience reflected upon is the only teacher,,, huh,thanks for the effort anyway

 

This is a great site,glad I found it.Im useless mechanically,but man I like to polish and clean. My wife will poke her head in the garage after about 4 hours and walk away shaking her head.Im sure Im not the only guy around who gets that reaction, but I find it quite relaxing and get a lot of thinking done. Anyways,my question is regarding interior cleaning.I have an all black interior 348 and it appears to me that parts are leather and others are vynl .I want to use a product with uv protectant.Can I use a product like,say,mothers leather conditioner on everything? Is it that important to differentiate these two materials with different products? Also,the only product ive ever used on the yellow paint is autoglym super resin polish. What do you think of this product ? Is it enough ? The original paint is in very good condition but if you look close you can see those faint little lines that pretty much every car seems to have. Muchas Gracias!

 

I'll do it...some more...I've been using Meguiar's One-step Leather Care...might you have a suggestion or a preferred brand in the cleaner/cream/leather'food' catagory
Again thanks for your insight&experience

 

For UV proteciton, it is hard (if not impossible) to beat 303 Protectant. Those faint lines would require machine correction to fix, and are generally caused by improper washing/drying techniques.

Be careful on the 348's interior (as I'm sure you know) as certain parts on the center console become tacky if cleaners touch them.

 

The best leather feeding product on the market is Leathequie (sp). It uses a two step conditioner/cleaner and works backwards from traditional leather treatments. With most leather treatments, you use the cleaner first and follow with a conditioner. This is great for spot cleaning, but only cleans/conditions to uppermost layer of the leather. Leather rots from the inside, and its our (human) oils that cause the most "rot".

Leathequie is backwards, in that you apply the conditioner first, and let it set for 5-10 hours. Their conditioner penetrates the depth of the leather and fills the pours, which floats the dirt from the inside out. After 5-10 hours, the seats will blead some of the conditioner out, which will feel tacky. Then you use the cleaner to wipe away the dirty bleed out. Best feeding the entire depth of the leather, the orginal smell returns (hides don't tend to loose their smell, they become clogged). It is simply the most amazing leather product I have ever used.

 

What is the best way to wash/dry a car to avoid messing up the paint?