Protecting Paint.

[abbott]

well guys just wondering to those of you who have cars with good paint or just general knowledge. I'm just interested to know how people look after it with most success? how often should the car be cleaned is there such a thing as too often? what products are good and what methods do you use? any good rust preventative methods?

 

well I have my own ideas but thought there's a lot of guys with a lot more experience and people that work in the industry.

 

cheers Tom

[philbey]

Depends on the paint to start with. My wagon was in reasonable nick a few years back when I bought it, it'd had a respray in what I suspect is enamel. Over the last few years, keeping it shiny is futile; to get a shine, I need to give it a serious cut and polish (hand only, buffers in the hands of the unwary are a nightmare) and then I slap loads of wax.

 

The paint seems to take an enormous amount of wax. Nowadays, I'm lucky to keep a sheen on the paint for more than a week, I've basically given up. The bonnet is almost impossible to keep a shine on it, it'll oxidise almost overnight.

 

My old AE86 on the other hand had fantastic condition factory paintjob, the dark blue. I never cut that, I would simply wax it with Polyglaze Diamond Finish car wax, and that kept it in good condition. It was parked outdoors/carport for a couple of years and it stayed in good repair.