jonw440

The first stwp I wouldd take is to thpuroughly clean the area with a quality car shampoo. Dry the entire car and see how bad the actual damage is. If there is infact primer showing, then the only way to fix this problem is with touch up paint. I Here is the way I apply touch up paint. If you know your car’s factory paint code, you can purchase an exact color match touch-up paint from your local dealer. If you don’t know the factory paint code, look in your owner’s manual for the location of the code, or ask your dealer. If you have a late model car, chances are you will find a color match at your local auto parts store. Use a small artist’s paint brush (#2 is ideal) or a round, wooden toothpick to apply the touch-up paint, not the fat brush included with the bottle of touch-up paint. Always test the touch-up paint for color match in an inconspicuous area. The area to be repaired must be perfectly clean and free of wax, rust and oils. Don’t attempt a touch-up if the temperature is below 60 degrees F. Here’s what you need to properly repair nicks and scratches: Color matched touch-up paint Automotive or metal primer Citric acid based cleaner like P21S Total Auto Wash Prep solvent (Prepsol) or denatured alcohol Foam swabs (from electronics supply) or pop swabs containing alcohol Meguiar’s Unigrit Sanding Block and 1200 grit wet & dry sand paper Sonus SFX-1 Restore Polish #2 Artist’s paint brush and round toothpicks (wood) Cotton terrycloth towels New pencils with unused erasers Rubber cement Plastic cups Blue masking tape (easy release type) Large diameter paper hole punch (hand type) PREPARATION PROCESS Before applying paint, you must prepare the chip to accept paint. Although paint may adhere for a while to a chip with rust, dirt or oil, eventually the repair will fail. The preparation process begins the day before you repair the paint chips and scratches. The afternoon before starting your chip repairs, wash your car. After washing with your normal car wash, spray the areas you plan to repair with P21S Total Auto Wash, allow to sit for a minute, then scrub well with your sponge. P21S Total Auto Wash will remove all wax and oil from your paint. Dry your car thoroughly and put it away for the night. After washing your car, make up several sanding pencils. Use a hole punch to punch out a few dots from the 1200 grit wet and dry paper. Apply the sandpaper dots to the end of your pencil eraser with rubber cement. Allow them to dry over night. You will use the sanding pencils to scuff-up and clean out nicks. To make a chip ready for touch-up paint, you must make sure it does not have loose edges, clean it, and sand it. I use a toothpick to check the edges of a chip. If loose or lifted, I use the toothpick to knock off the loose paint. To clean, I like to use denatured alcohol or Prepsol and a foam swab. I pour a little bit into a plastic cup and use a foam swab to clean the chip and surrounding area. Next, I use a sanding pencil to clean out the chip and rough-up the edges. Simply dip the sanding pencil into a cup of clean water, dab a few drops of water on the chip, and gently rotate the sanding pencil over the chip. Keep the area you sand as small as possible. Rotating the sanding pencil back and forth in your fingers 8-10 times should be enough to do the job. If the chip has exposed bare metal, or if you can see rust forming, use the edge of the pencil erasure to remove the rust. When you finish sanding the chip, dry it with a terrycloth towel and clean it again with Prepsol and a foam swab. APPLYING TOUCH-UP PAINT Once the damaged areas are cleaned and prepared, you can begin the touch-up itself. If a chip exposed bare metal, you must primer the chip before the color touch-up. After mixing thoroughly, pour or spray a small amount of your primer into a plastic cup. Next, use a clean toothpick to apply the primer. I do this by dipping just the tip (2-3 mm) of the toothpick into the primer. If I get a blob, I wipe it back. Next, I touch the tip of the toothpick to the center of the chip and allow the paint to flow off of the toothpick into the chip. You will be amazed how well the capillary action works. If you prefer, you can use the #2 artist’s brush. Do not allow the primer to overflow the sides of the chip. Allow the primer to dry for 2-3 hours. You can speed dry the primer with a hair dryer after allowing it to air dry for one hour. Simply wave the hair dryer 3-4 inches over the primered chip for 30-40 seconds. Do not touch the chips with your hands, as the oils from your skin will prevent the color coat from adhering. Now, mix your color-matched paint thoroughly and pour a small amount into a clean plastic cup. As with the primer, use a clean toothpick or #2 artist’s brush to apply the color coat. Touch the toothpick or brush to the center of the chip and allow capillary action to pull the paint into the chip. Apply a small dab at a time and allow it to dry for 2-3 hours. You must repeat this process several times, so don’t try to fill the chip in one pass. Apply several thin layers, and you will get much better results. The color touch-up process is complete when you have applied enough coats to slightly overfill the chip onto the roughed up area surrounding the chip. Once you’ve filled the chip, allow it to dry for another 24 to 48 hours. The longer the better. I’m often asked if it’s necessary to apply a clear coat over chip repairs. I don’t think it’s necessary or adds any noticeable difference. If you get the proper touch-up paint from your dealer, it will match without using a clearcoat. However, if you’re a purist in pursuit of perfection, substitute a clearcoat for the last 2-3 coats. Here is a close-up picture of a scratch after being repaired with touch-up paint. The touch-up creates a raised surface. In order to perfect the repair, the raised touch-up paint must be leveled. I will use 1500 grit sand paper to level the repair. If you are new to wet sanding, use 2000 or 2500 grit paper. I recommend 3M brand paper or Meguiar's UniGrit. LEVEL & BUFF Until you level or mill the paint repair down to the same plane as the original paint, all you’ll have is an ugly looking blob. This is easily done using the Meguiar’s Unigrit Sanding Block, which helps remove sags, runs and other isolated defects with surgical precision. Don’t forget to soak it overnight before use, as the directions indicate. To level your paint chips, use your finger to put a small dab of car shampoo on the chip repair for lubrication. Next, use the Unigrit Sanding Block or 3M sanding paper to mill the high spot off of the chip repair. I always pull the sanding block towards me. Never rub it back and forth or in a circle. When the block dries out, dip it into your bucket of water again. Keep the area well lubricated with water and shampoo. The sanding block will dull the paint. Don’t fear, as your polish will easily restore the luster. When the surface looks level, dry it with a clean towel and inspect with your fingertips. If you can feel a high spot, it needs more work. This picture shows the repair area after a couple of passes with 1500 grit wet & dry sand paper. The scratch touch-up is almost level, and you can clearly see the surface scratches (micro-marring) I put in the paint surface. The final step is to buff out the repair with a good hand polish. I like to Sonus SFX-1 Restore Polish (fine or medium grit compounds) followed by Sonus SFX-2 Enhance polish Apply the Sonus SFX-1 and SFX-2 polish to a clean foam applicator pad, rub into the paint area using a short back and forth motion (not in circles), then buff out with a clean terrycloth towel. Tada! The blemish is gone Once the paint damage is fixed, the next step would be to polish the repaired area with a finishing polish likeSonus SFX-3 Finishing polish

I was paid $250.00 for detailing a Cadillac De-ville yesterday. I had to use detailing clay then polish the paint once with a rotary, then follow up with a PC then seal the paint. I also cleaned and treated the later interior, vacuumed, spot cleaned the carpets, treated all exterior rubber, cleaned, clayed and sealed the wheels. It really depends on your location, level of detail wanted, the detailer 's prices, etc. My customers don't have the time nor the desire to detail their own cars. Here is a great place to read up and learn detailing if you want to attempt certain areas of keeping your car clean. Click below my signature to read about car care at Lexus detailing articles. ← What do you mean seal the paint? Sorry, noob here. ← To seal the paint is the same as applying a wax. Except it is a sealant (acrylic, polymer, etc) Sealants last longer then most carnuaba based waxes. The sealants are Klasse All In One, Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze, Autoglym Super resin Polish and Autoglym Extra gloss protection, Zaino, Wolfgang, Liquid glass, NXT, Maguires #20, the list goes on. Carnuaba Waxes are P21S, Meguiars #26,and #16, Mothers carnuaba,Eagle One, etc. On my own cars i apply a sealant like Klasse AIO then HGSG, then I add a carnuaba wax like P21S just for a different look. Lexus car care articlesLet me know if you have anymore questions. Jon

Sonus Cockpit Detailer his stuff is great at removing dust from the vinyl. If you want to use a different protect-ant, I use Sonus total eclipse vinyl protector. It has less shine than the armour all and does nt attract as much dust. Sonus Total Eclipse

I was paid $250.00 for detailing a Cadillac De-ville yesterday. I had to use detailing clay then polish the paint once with a rotary, then follow up with a PC then seal the paint. I also cleaned and treated the later interior, vacuumed, spot cleaned the carpets, treated all exterior rubber, cleaned, clayed and sealed the wheels. It really depends on your location, level of detail wanted, the detailer 's prices, etc. My customers don't have the time nor the desire to detail their own cars. Here is a great place to read up and learn detailing if you want to attempt certain areas of keeping your car clean. Click below my signature to read about car care at Lexus detailing articles.

I personally use car shampoo as my lube. I wash the car normally, then rinse. Then I start on the roof and re apply the soapy water and use the clay. Once the paint feels smooth I just rinse the soap off and move to the next section. I can clay a 04 Dodge Durango in about 40 minutes using this method. The important thing is no matter what you use (clay lube or car wash ) be sure you use plenty of it and do NOT clay any areas dry or you will leaves smear marks and possibly drop the clay on the ground). Sonus Detail clay bars(For use with the car shampoo) Clay lube, clay bar and towel kit

I only use dedicated leather cleaning and protecting products.(Thats what they were designed for) I used Sonus Leather cleaner and Sonus Leather protector on the this volvo X70 the other day. The Sonus leather c;leaner just gets wiped on and lightly scrubbed with the Sonus SFX applicator (Yellow side for cleaning). Work it in to loosen the dirt, then wipe off with a dry MF towel. Once they are clean the Sonus SFX conditioner is just wiped on-using the black side of the applicator.. No buffing or drying needed. I like the way the leather looks after. Natural looking!! Oh these two products are made in Italy a few blocks from the Gucci tannery, Sonus SFX Pro applicators Sonus Leather cleaner Sonus Leather conditioner

Thank you for the very warm welcome!! I have been detailing cars for going on 22 years (Im 40). I will be just a PB, Post or email away. See you on the board. Jon

Autoglym Interior shampoo Simply spray this on a towel and gently scrub the entire headliner, applying more product as needed. Remove after with a damp towel, then dry. I would also vacuum the headliner before cleaning and after cleaning. Sonus Detailing Towels I use these for cleaning, rinsing and drying the headliner)

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Personally I use Autoglym glass polish on all glass surfaces to clean them. Its a liquid paste that safely cleans and polishes the glass and removes water spots the first time. If the mirrors are in fact plastic use plexus plastic polish. Autoglym Glass cleaner/polish SONUS Polishing towels Sonus MF applicators I apply a quarter size dab of the polish to the applicator, work the polish around the glass in small circles. Once it dries, to a slight haze, just buff off with the polishing towels. I use it inside and out. Like I said IF the mirrors are plastic please use Plexus plastic polish/cleaner. Apply by spraying it on the plastic and take a MF applicator and work it around to remove any dirt or fine scratches. The simply buff off with the polishing towels.

If the bumpers have paint on them, yes its safe to wax. If they are molded color with no paint, I would use Vinyl rubber protector(Autoglym, 303,are two I use) Yes you can apply wax by hand. Although a PC 7424 will make life easier. PC 7424 Buffer with Pad Kit AutoglymVinyl and Rubber carel

Agreed on the woolite. The problem with woolite is its to mild for some dirt stuck to leather. I like to use Sonus leather cleaner. It's safe for leather, vinyl, rubber, and any other materirl inside the car. Then I apply their leather protectant. Both wipe on. NO NEED TO WIPE OFF! I use the SFX sponge applicator Yellow dide for cleaning, blcak side for protecting. Sonus leather cleaner Sonus Leather Conditioner SFX Pro applicator How to detail the interior

Looks great!! NOW Top it with S100 and you will be all set!

Autopia Detailng Guide V.3.3 is out. Alot of new stuff inside

You are on the mark when you said Klasse twins then top it with P21S!!!!!!! But I dont think GC will actuall remove the Klasse. Klasse is a sealant and it can be a real pain to remove if you want to try something besides Klasse. The only products that remove Klasse is a polish like Menzerna Intense polish2, Meguiars smr,#7, #9. Once Klasse is applied (AIO+SG it usually on there for a while. Thats what meks it a great "Base" for P21s, Meguiars #16, Soveran type carnuaba waxes. Here is a link to waxes. It pretty interesting. Wax article Here's one on the ultimat shine Ulitmate Shine Enjoy and have fun!

You should be able to find "Lexol" at most auto parts store or "farm store"(Like Agway) If not I would use Einszett Leather Care (Lederpflege) Here is a link to interior cleaning. It has a great section of taking care of leather.Interior cleaning