The wonders of clay bars, T-cut and 3 stage Megs stuff

[Leigh15]

I'm not trying to have a dig, sly or otherwise mate

My point was that generally, the only time you'll be wanting to strip your wax protection back is during a detail when you'll be using a polish anyway and that this'll do the job of removing any old wax ready for you to lay down fresh protection. The poorboy's polish was merely an example as I remember it states on the bottle that it will remove existing wax protection.

 

[Willie]

Cool

 

[dasmith83]

i've now got some poorboys nattys blue wax....as this has extra UV inhibitors to prevent the paint from fading again

Its also carnauba based, so can be applied over the top of the megs stage 3 wax

Still got half the car to t-cut bloody weather and arm ache! lol

 

[Leigh15]

It'll look fantastic when you're finished though!

 

[ikhlaq206]

yeh u can tell, gives a real deep polishesd look at the back, make sure you finish it off & do the rest off the car or else it will look like its faded in parts

nice job

 

[dasmith83]

yer it will be finished m8....shame the weather isn't helping though! I aim to finish before xmas!

 

[ADAM_84]

can you wash the car then start using the t-cut? the car hasn't been polished in a while and was cleaned on the weekend, so would a quick spray in a BP jet wash be ok then dry then use the t-cut?

 

[dasmith83]

i wash it properly and dry it properly before starting to t-cut, I don't really know what it would be like it left wet.

 

[Number86]

Can I clarify this (as I'm new to this)

You wash/dry
Then either t-cut or clay bar your car.

Then
Optional - Sealant

Wax

Polish

?

I have some autoglym car shampoo, some regular red bottle t-cut and some zymol polish (light turquoise colour, and smells like pina colada/ or expensive sun cream )

Could I make a good go with that, and is it worth doing in the winter??

Thanks guys.

 

[dasmith83]

Just to clarify 1st....T-CUT is very harsh and removes a fair few layers of your paintwork...the only reason i am using it, is because the paint has faded sooooo much, it's the only thing i found which restored it back to original.

BECAUSE i used t-cut i then need to apply lots of layers of protection...waxes or better still sealants.

If your paint hasn't faded...i'd suggest the following:
1) Wash with decent shampoo and wash mitt (i use Meg's Nxt Gen) in the summer use the 2 bucket method
2) Dry using a waffle weave drying towell (the mitt and towell help avoid scratching the paint)
3) Clay bar the car if you have lots of rough bits all over the surface (this will remove these contaiminants and leave you with amazingly smooth glass like paintwork)
4) Personally i'd use the 3 stage Meg's stuff...1) Paint Cleaner, 2) Polish, 3) Carnauba wax (these will give an amazingly deep wet look shine)
5) If you want to prevent any future paint fading...or just want a longer lasting protection instead of the stage 3 wax above use something like Poorboys EX-P sealent, or you could use Poorboys Nattys Blue which is a carnauba wax with extra UV inhibitors to prevent fading (this can also be applied over the top of the meg's stage 3 wax and layered to produce glossier shine).

Any questions jus ask m8.

 

[Number86]

Well, I don't *think* my paintwork is faded.

But on some areas of the paintwork (mostly the rear bumper) there are lots of small black spots, which I assume are tar. Even with some fruity rubbing of t-cut some still remain. So if this clay bar thing is better at removing them (while not cutting away too much paint) I guess that could be an option.

Oh, but I don't want to spend £100 on cleaning products!

 

[dasmith83]

clay bar should remove them no problem m8! it sorted out mine...mine was covered in them!

 

[dasmith83]

UPDATE:

O/S wing and front bumper now completed. All that remains is the rest of the O/S and the roof which i'm NOT looking forward to!

Look closely where the A pillar meets the wing and the difference in paint between the wing and the door too.

Another successful resoration day

 

[dasmith83]

Pics of the finished article can be found here-

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?p=1673578#post1673578

Check them out!

 

[Romeoisgraham]

was your signature pic taken before or after the paint restoration?

 

[dasmith83]

after

 

[karlosR]

i've always used meguiars stuff with reasonable results but now i'm thinking about moving onto better products. in the past i've used megs deep crystal paint cleaner prior to a couple of coats of NXT wax. the paint cleaner always left a really smooth finish, is this an alternative to using a clay-bar?

i'm think about trying some dodo juice diamond white wax and dodo juice lime prime as a pre wax cleaner. either that or invest in some megs clay bar and get some zymol creame wax.

 

[seatcupra]

I have some autoglym car shampoo, some regular red bottle t-cut and some zymol polish (light turquoise colour, and smells like pina colada/ or expensive sun cream )

Could I make a good go with that, and is it worth doing in the winter??

Thanks guys.

Personally I'd wait till the worst of the winter is over with... Once they stop gritting the roads... If you do it all now then your not going to really see the benefits because the car is always dirty and by the time March / April comes your paint will be rough as a badgers bum again!

Do in Spring ready for summer

 

[mikeruss]

Check this out chaps - Plus he is a Cupra owner!!

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=54411

 

[Willie]

Well I've just been out to speak to Richard and Clark of Polished Bliss, they just spen a day with different polishes using hand and machine on hard paint (like VAG) when its done I'll copy and paste it into this thread if people want to help them get the best out of their cars by hand