narky

Today I washed my car for the first time after a week of ownership. The car was slowly becoming gray (it started as Arctic White), and especially with the bird poo on my pano roof from two days ago, I was anxious for some alone time with the car.

After the wash it looked so pretty I had to choke down tears. It took a little over 2 hours, inside and out, and I consider it a Sunday afternoon very well spent. The rims especially came back alive without all that brake dust. All I have to do now is vacuum the inside carpeting.

But the problem remains: I not only park in an outside parking lot at work but also park outdoors at home. I have no garage. What can I do to somehow lessen the inevitable fading and paint damage from the constant exposure to the sun?

I also have an added bonus of living on a street lined with trees of all types. They spray pollen and seeds and all kinds of bs all over the car. as;dlfkja;sldkjf;alskjd;lfkajsd;ljf;alskdjf;lasjd; lfkja;sldjf;alskdjf;!!!!!!!! Wow. The frustration kills me every day as I look at the growing buildup. What to do? Any tips? I promise to move to a place with a proper garage ASAP.

Derspeed

You'll need clay bar to remove the tree sap and pollen and other contamininants. I would get some sun shades (those silver screens that go in the windows) to keep the UV light from fading the interior.

narky

Money. I'll get one soon, thanks. And window tinting too.

tmehanna

Clay bars are abrasive and you wouldn't want them on brand new paint that hasn't been really contaminated yet. I would recommend a good paint sealant (Wolfgang or Klasse) at least twice a year and regular waxing, every 2 months or so. Contaminants have to be removed as soon as possible and car has to be washed regularly with a good car shampoo.

theraj2

How long is a safe/good amount of time after getting your car to start:

1)waxing the exterior?
2)Conditioning the leather and dash?
3)what do you condition MB text and the dash with?

tmehanna

1. Right away, factory paint is fully cured.
2. Right away.
3. I never condition MBtex or dashboard, just wipe it clean with a distilled water dampened cloth.

mingo

if you haven't done so yet, you should get a clear bra for the front end of your car to prevent any rock chips from hurting your car.

AsianML

Wax, polish, seal.

tmehanna

I hope you didn't mean them in this order

AsianML

It should be polish, then wax/seal, right?

tmehanna

Car Polish is also abrasive, albeit mildly, so only use when really needed, so if you must, polish, seal, wax

If you wax then polish as you previously suggested, the polish would strip off the wax.

RLE

<<Clay bars are abrasive and you wouldn't want them on brand new paint that hasn't been really contaminated yet.>>

Baloney. Clay bars are not abrasive. There comes a time when they have picked up so much crap that they must be replaced.

tmehanna

Why do you have to use a lubricant with clay bars then?

RLE

<<It should be polish, then wax/seal, right? >>

No. Polish to remove swirls if needed. Then paint sealant followed by wax.

My car has been washed about sixty times since mid-October and so far no swirls. It's beginning to pick up something on the lower parts of the doors so I will be claying those areas soon.

It has not been polished so far and now I have been told by a detailer that nano-particle clear coats do require different polishes than I had been using on my C320 but I don't know the brand names as yet.

Out here in the West, we like Griot's Garage products. Can be a bit pricey, but high quality.

RLE

<<Why do you have to use a lubricant with clay bars then?>>

Because it sticks to the surface (and your hands) otherwise. All of them require a lubricant. I use Griot's and lubricate with their Speed Shine. I spray the paint and my hand with it and then just glide it back and forth and all the surface schmutz is picked up. Tree sap, bits of road tar, stuff like that. Ends up smooth as glass.

The whole idea is to take the real work out of keeping the car looking good and eventually, after trying all kinds of potions and lotions, you find something that you don't dread using.

tmehanna

That's all fine, but you should know that clay bars are abrasive by definition, and if they weren't, they wouldn't be able to pick up all the stuff you mentioned. I suggest you google clay bar.

webada

detailing products defined abrasive because when applied with friction their chemical composition will work like a sandpaper (ofcourse not as extreme) smoothing out surfaces, cleaning the surface at the same time. It might appears that swirl marks have disappeared but in reality its the entire suface area has been "flatten"

clay works differently... Its not abrasive and I'm not sure what you mean by "abrasive by definition" now if you improperly used your claybar (dropped, not folding, overused), that's different story.

google clay bar? Have you actually used one?

edit: oh as for whether to clay a new car, it really depends on your paint surface condition. Check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfEfLGL59GI

and +1 for polishing/waxing. new car paint curing rule is a thing of the past.

misterng

^ thanks!

itcrashed

nope

if you are going to claybar, it should be: dawn wash, claybar, wash, polish, seal, wax

tmehanna

Unlike some people, I don't argue when my proof is "because I say so" or "because I used one and I say so." I also don't contradict myself in the same sentence. How can you apply anything to any surface without friction?! May be you meant pressure? What chemical composition? It's the PHYSICAL attributes that decide if a product is abrasive or not. What is a clay bar made of and what are the physical properties of the ingredients? A clay bar is a mixture of fine clay (minerals) and OTHER ADDED ABRASIVES. Do you have any idea what you're talking about?

webada

er... so basically you are saying anything is abrasive as long as you apply enough "pressure".

wow, i think we have a genius here.

edit: oh and by the way, I don't think you mean pressure, force is the porper term here. also, incase you didn't know, its the chemical composition that makes the physical attributes....

tmehanna

May be if you could comprehend what you read, we wouldn't be having this argument to begin with.

Another moronic statement. What is chemical composition of charcoal and what is that of diamonds. Are they physically alike?

Moron.

webada

wow, you are really a "big picture" type of guy....

AsianML

Charcoal and diamonds are allotropes of carbon, iirc. The atoms are bonded differently.

norcal5

I read an ad from Turtle Wax that their Ice synthetic wax is made for nano-particle clear coats. Anyone have experience with this product?