gonna debadge the car soon. What do you guys recommend to get the ghosting of the letters off and what techniques should I use to apply it. Is this quoted post sufficient?

 

Hi George,

Are you able to ship to Canada?

I know that after reading all of the post here, I'll be informed enough to know what products to buy from you to take care of my G.

I hope you'll be able to ship here, cause I know a few others that would benefit from the products you have =)

Thanks


JoMaC

 

Sounds good, keep us posted on how things turn out for you.

Basically when you see ghosting after a debadge, what you're seeing is clean paint under the letters and swirled paint around where the emblems were. What you need to do is simply polish that area using a light polish (depending on the level of imperfections). If you plan on doing it by hand, I'd suggest picking up either Meguiar's Scratch X or Meguiar's M205 polish. This can be done by hand but would be ideal when applied with a quality buffer.

By polishing properly, you shouldn't see any more ghosting.

Good luck

Unfortunately, we do not ship internationally. A lot of our Canadian customers will ship to someone in the states and have them send it. I apologize for the inconvenience.

 

Are Meguiar's liquid waxes any good? Like for example their new Tech wax 2.0 or their other one the gold class carnauba?

How are they compared to some of the paste waxes that you offer on your site? Like some of the cheaper ones.

 

^ Yes they are great, I use them very reflective and bead nicely, but they do not last too long based on the beading.


My Q: How the heck can I clean the wax residue that's in the crack in the side molding, Toothpick trick does not work.

 

I haven't used any of the liquid waxes by Meg's but their Ultimate QD is a great product. Bang for the buck, Poorboy's World Natty's Blue is tough to beat, especially on darker colored cars.

Try to find a paint safe brush (boar's hair ideally), mist some degreaser between the panels or on the brush and use the hairs to agitate and clean between the gaps. That would be what I'd use assuming I couldn't get a microfiber towel between them or something like a q-tip or a foam swab.

Hope that helps.

 

Detailed Image:

Thank you for this thread. What a fantastic idea! I didn't have time to read all 38 pages on the thread, and I'm sure my topic has been addressed. I couldn't find anything specific when I did a search, so here goes.

I have always felt black is the most elegant, sophisticated, sexy color on a car (no offense to other colors), but I've never owned a black car because of easily they show swirl marks, dirt and dust. But I've finally given in and am about to purchase an 08 black G35x. So my questions are:

--I'm guessing the car will come with swirl marks. What is/are the best product/s to use and what is the best technique to use to remove them?

--Once the swirl marks are removed, what's the best way to keep them from coming back (I'll be doing all the detailing of the car)?

--This may be the same answer as the one above, but what are the recommended cleaning/polishing techniques and products to use to maintain the beauty of the black paints' finish?

Thanks so much. Please PM or post any questions you may have of me. I am fanatical about the appearance of my cars, so please don't spare any minute detail or process.

 

Thank your for the reply and I'll definitely look into getting a few bottles of Meguiars ultimate QD.




Picus made a thread that has been stickied up on top that shows you all the steps on how to wash, wax and etc to keep your car's paint in the condition that you'd like it to be. It's very long, but you just have to take the time to read through it a couple times. I've done that on many occasions.

You don't necessarily have to polish it unless needed.. because that takes off layers of the paint, but following the other instructions.. like to wash and wax it and to use a booster every week or so. Yeah take those to heart.

 

Thanks, Prinny!

I'll definitely check the sticky out.

Do you or anyone think caring for a black car requires any special care, products, procedures, or techniques? Or what's good for all colors is good for black too?

Any specific dos and don'ts associated with keeping a black car clean and swirl-free?

Thanks!

 

No problem! On black cars.. it's really just like any car. Just make sure you keep it clean and waxed. Along with the booster quick detail sprays. On black.. waxes usually look better and personally i'd recommend Poorboys Natty Blue because just got it in the mail today and its AWESOME. It's one of the cheapest out there and it does a very nice job on dark colored non metallic car paint coats. Such as black. If you have the money to spend. Then there's other options out there.

If you really care THAT much about the car then I would suggest that you get a car cover as well. CCA. California car covers. Get one made of NOAH and you'll be set. Just make sure your car is clean before your put it on.

 

Prinny offered some good info, here are my thoughts on your situation:

Swirls and other imperfections typically come from improper washing and drying techniques and dirty wash tools or drying towels. I'd read this washing and drying article until you have it drilled in your head the proper process to start with. This will save you a lot of work and headaches in the long run.

Quick side note, that article is labeled as one of our Best of our Ask-a-Pro blog, which I'd highly recommend reading all of those best of articles to further your detailing knowledge.

Prior to polishing, you'll probably want to clay your paint to get a fresh start. I'd look into this Pre-Polishing Kit to give you everything you need to properly prep your car prior to polishing.

On to addressing the swirls. I'd take the car under some good florescent lighting or pick up a Brinkmann handheld light and inspect your car over. If there are imperfections (which I'd expect on a used car) that you want to remove, you'll need to properly polish the paint. This is going to be best accomplished with a quality buffer, such as a Porter Cable 7424XP. I'd highly recommend looking into this buffer kit which includes the buffer, proper backing plate, 4 pads (2 orange and 2 white) and 2 of our best polishes to pair up with the Porter Cable buffer. Then with that kit, read this how to polish with Meguiar's M105 / M205 article and that combo will get you the best results possible for first time users.

After polishing you'll want to properly protect your paint with a sealant and/or wax. My choice for a sealant is Blackfire Wet Diamond and there are a variety of quality waxes for black paint depending on your budget. Keep in mind the prep work (wash, clay, polish but primarily properly polishing) will yield the greatest difference in your results. Once you've perfected removing all contamination and imperfections in your paint, then you can begin to appreciate the subtle differences between sealants and waxes.

Products used for black don't really differ than lighter colors, especially the wash, clay and polishing steps. When it comes to choosing a sealant or wax and you've had enough experience working on variety of colored vehicles, then you may develop some preferences to what products to use per color. Blackfire Wet Diamond will look great on a properly prepped black car and like I said there are a variety of quality waxes depending on your price range to get into. Natty's Blue as Prinny mentioned is a great bang for the buck wax on dark colored vehicles.

This should get you started in the right direction. If you have any questions on anything, please do not hesitate to ask.

Looking forward to hearing how your car turns out.

Best!

George

 

Hey bro, I started a thread, but I guess I should have just asked you. I'm in Iraq, and my G is put up in my friends garage, so my gf is down there checking on it and there is mold growing in it. She cleaned it once, but it's starting to come back. What can I or she do to make sure it doesn't come back?

 

what can I use to clean my aftermarket wheels? they're machined polished alloy lip and hyper silver finish


I want to keep them looking new.

 

George. All I can say is "WOW!" Thank you so much for this valuable information. I will definitely follow your advice, read the articles, and take my time preparing the car for each step. Thanks again! I'll post before and after photos.

 

just ordered this... should i set it off in the trunk or in the main part of the car?