NutmegeR
Shared on Sun, 05/25/2008 - 10:08This will probably more likely run over into a few blogs, but technically, it is a continuation of my previous blog...
Another hobby that I enjoy and one that can make me absent from gaming is auto detailing. So let me just humbly say this:
PLEASE, WASH YOUR CARS!!!!!
Now, I was never obsessed with my cars being clean. Like most people, I only saw a car as a way to get to point A to point B (and on weekends point C) and figured if it rained...hey, mother nature wants to wash my car for free. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that.
I got into detailing after looking online for help for an issue I was having with my Ford. And yes, I know all the acronyms for FORD so you can save your fingers the extra keystrokes! This'll be my last Ford anyhow. Ha!
Anyway, I found a site that solved my problem (bad cam sync) and saw that there was a section on cleaning/detailing and I happened to poke my head in. After that, I was drawn into the world of detailing and like most hobbies I've ever had, I was going to find out that it isn't a cheap hobby to pursue. But I find it to be a nice way to relax, while at the same time get a bit of a workout!
Let me just say, I'm not one of those people who puts their car over everything else. Heck, I have a 97 Taurus. If anything happens to it, there's thousands of others that can take it's place. Just look around at the next stop light...you're bound to see one! But I've seen new model BMW's, Audi's, etc, that look like crap against my over the hill, 100k+ Taurus. Seems like the more expensive the car, the less the owners take care of it.
For some people, a car will be the most expensive property they'll ever own. Up until my wife and I bought a house, that was the case for me as well. So, it makes sense that you'd want to keep that expensive piece of metal and plastic not only running its best, but looking its best also.
Some assume that the most expensive part of a car, is it's engine. It's actually the paint. If you get into a fender bender, most of the cost for repair will most likely come from the repaint. Not taking care of it can lead to paint oxidation, clearcoat failure and the cancer of metal...rust. When it reaches to that point...oh well.
The panel of most cars consists of a two stage paint system:
Here's something you can do to tell if your car can benefit from a detail. The next time you're parked in the sun (any light will do, but the sun is the best, followed by halogen lamps) look at the surface of the car. Do you see what looks little silvery strands gleaming in the sun? Those aren't supposed to be there. Those are actually scratches in your paint's clearcoat! Some call them spiderwebs. Hardcore detailers call them a few choice other names as well. They look worse on a black car; especially one that has SS paint. Basically, the darker the color, the more noticeable they become. A white or silver car are the best at hiding them. All the reflecting light robs the car of it's true color and just gives an uneven look to the entire car.
You can get these scratches a number of ways. Just regular driving can cause them. There's plenty of things floating around in the air or getting kicked up by other cars (trucks without mudflaps especially) to scratch up your paint. But most likely, you get them from not washing and/or not washing correctly. Depending on how deep the scratch is, you might be able to remove them by polishing them out. If you can "catch" the scratch with your fingernail, that is, if when you gently run your finger over the scratch and your nail can drop into the groove...then polishing won't work; you'd have to do the more dangerous procedure called wet sanding, where you use sandpaper and water and hope you have enough paint to play with to safely remove the scratch and not reach the primer . I can benefit from it myself, but it's something I haven't even attempted to tackle yet.
I should probably talk about what polishing and waxing are, because sometimes people use the two terms interchangeably, and that's not the case.
Then there's automotive clay, paint cleaners, compounds...so many chemicals, so little time.
I'll go over proper washing/drying techniques next blog and why you shouldn't use dishwashing soap to wash your car and dry with that old T-shirt and to avoid those touchless car washes. Or at least save them for when you absolutely have no other choice.
Another hobby that I enjoy and one that can make me absent from gaming is auto detailing. So let me just humbly say this:
PLEASE, WASH YOUR CARS!!!!!
Now, I was never obsessed with my cars being clean. Like most people, I only saw a car as a way to get to point A to point B (and on weekends point C) and figured if it rained...hey, mother nature wants to wash my car for free. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that.
I got into detailing after looking online for help for an issue I was having with my Ford. And yes, I know all the acronyms for FORD so you can save your fingers the extra keystrokes! This'll be my last Ford anyhow. Ha!
Anyway, I found a site that solved my problem (bad cam sync) and saw that there was a section on cleaning/detailing and I happened to poke my head in. After that, I was drawn into the world of detailing and like most hobbies I've ever had, I was going to find out that it isn't a cheap hobby to pursue. But I find it to be a nice way to relax, while at the same time get a bit of a workout!
Let me just say, I'm not one of those people who puts their car over everything else. Heck, I have a 97 Taurus. If anything happens to it, there's thousands of others that can take it's place. Just look around at the next stop light...you're bound to see one! But I've seen new model BMW's, Audi's, etc, that look like crap against my over the hill, 100k+ Taurus. Seems like the more expensive the car, the less the owners take care of it.
For some people, a car will be the most expensive property they'll ever own. Up until my wife and I bought a house, that was the case for me as well. So, it makes sense that you'd want to keep that expensive piece of metal and plastic not only running its best, but looking its best also.
Some assume that the most expensive part of a car, is it's engine. It's actually the paint. If you get into a fender bender, most of the cost for repair will most likely come from the repaint. Not taking care of it can lead to paint oxidation, clearcoat failure and the cancer of metal...rust. When it reaches to that point...oh well.
The panel of most cars consists of a two stage paint system:
- The metal (of course)
- Primer
- Base coat - actual paint color
- Clear coat - clear paint
Here's something you can do to tell if your car can benefit from a detail. The next time you're parked in the sun (any light will do, but the sun is the best, followed by halogen lamps) look at the surface of the car. Do you see what looks little silvery strands gleaming in the sun? Those aren't supposed to be there. Those are actually scratches in your paint's clearcoat! Some call them spiderwebs. Hardcore detailers call them a few choice other names as well. They look worse on a black car; especially one that has SS paint. Basically, the darker the color, the more noticeable they become. A white or silver car are the best at hiding them. All the reflecting light robs the car of it's true color and just gives an uneven look to the entire car.
You can get these scratches a number of ways. Just regular driving can cause them. There's plenty of things floating around in the air or getting kicked up by other cars (trucks without mudflaps especially) to scratch up your paint. But most likely, you get them from not washing and/or not washing correctly. Depending on how deep the scratch is, you might be able to remove them by polishing them out. If you can "catch" the scratch with your fingernail, that is, if when you gently run your finger over the scratch and your nail can drop into the groove...then polishing won't work; you'd have to do the more dangerous procedure called wet sanding, where you use sandpaper and water and hope you have enough paint to play with to safely remove the scratch and not reach the primer . I can benefit from it myself, but it's something I haven't even attempted to tackle yet.
I should probably talk about what polishing and waxing are, because sometimes people use the two terms interchangeably, and that's not the case.
- Polish - the true workhorse when it comes to getting a flawless (or close to it) paint finish. Think of it as exfoliation for your car's "skin". You actually remove the paint around the scratch to bring it level to the lowest point of the scratch. By doing this, light won't reflect and cause that spider webbing effect. It'll also add moisture and revitalize the paint.
- Waxing - the true purpose of wax is to protect the paint. It does help on some level in producing a shine, but you won't nearly get as good a look as you would if you polish first.
Then there's automotive clay, paint cleaners, compounds...so many chemicals, so little time.
I'll go over proper washing/drying techniques next blog and why you shouldn't use dishwashing soap to wash your car and dry with that old T-shirt and to avoid those touchless car washes. Or at least save them for when you absolutely have no other choice.
- NutmegeR's blog
- Log in or register to post comments
Comments