hi i live in las vegas and if u guy didnt know water in vegas is HARD WATER so when the sprinkler hits ur car the water mineral hardens and stick to peoples car . . What is the best way to get this off my car. . i already tried ACID wash from my friends carwash . . it took some of it out but the rest is stuck to my clear coat any advice i dont want to repaint my car cuz thats alot of cash!

 

How long does the polish and sealant stays good If not used ? I have a bottle I haven't used for 2 years ?

 

Can you recommend the best product and process for cleaning off and removing polish splatter, polish dust that adheres to the finish, and polish that collects in rock chips and such. I have an OB G35 that is a daily driver with several chips in the finish, and after polishing the hood, it's obvious that the polish (white menzerna polishes) are filling in the chips. Thanks, as always, for the guidance and feedback.

 

For something you can do easily, keep a plate of baking soda in the car, it will help absorb odors and keep it fresh. Aside from that, look for a deoderizing carpet cleaner that kills bacteria. I use Chemical Guys Fabric Clean when something like that happens to me. Good luck and be sure not to drive w/ the baking soda so it doesn't spill all over!

Unfortunately, it's the luck of the draw with bird droppings. Whether or not the dropping etch into the paint or not usually depends on what the bird ate for that day. Bugs and berries can be very acidic and sometimes it only takes a minute or two of sitting on the paint to permanently etch into your clear coat. You can continue to polish to try to remove. Chances are you'll need a quality buffer to put a dent in the etching though. If you end up buffing with a quality polish and still no results, you may have to resort to wet sanding. Hopefully you'll be able to minimize the mark though.

Same advice that I gave for the bird dropping etchings above, there's a good chance the hard water deposits etched into the paint as it was sitting in the sun if the acid didn't help. You want to try polishing using abrasive polishes, ideally with a quality buffer. Here's a link on how-to properly polish.

Most products have a shelf life of around 5 years when stored properly. Should be good to go still.

After polishing, many people opt to wash with a stripping shampoo, like Chemical Guys Citrus Wash & Gloss or Citrus Wash & Clear. This will help remove any polishing dust, residue and oils and prep the surface for your next steps. Another option is to use a 50/50 mixture of Isopropyl Alcohol and water in a spray bottle and use it like a quick detailer.

Hope this helps,

George

 

I have some tiny scratches on my trunk around the letters from debadgeing, Im planning on taking some 1500grit + polish + wax to it. Which products would you recommend?

Will the paint ever become dull (like after sanding) when the wax wears off?

 

Depending on how bad the scratches are, you may not need to wet sand your paint. You always want to start with the least aggressive method and work your way up, especially on soft Infiniti paint.

I use the Menzerna line of polishes personally, I'd start with Power Finish and work up from there.

If you don't properly buff out the 1500 grit wet sanding marks, then yes, the paint will remain dull.

Are you using a buffer to polish or via hand? If you're going by hand, I'd reconsider wet sanding altogether.

Hope this helps,

George

 

Hey George,
I bought some detailing products from your website a few months ago and have enjoyed the results (Optimum Spray wax and the Prestine Clean and Rejuvinator leather treatment kit). I've noticed on the glossy black plastic that covers the b-pillar of my doors is hazy and not as shiny as it once was. What do you suggest to do to bring it back? I have Meguirs Scratch X and PlastiX polishes and will not have access to a polisher. I also have a new clar bar and clay lube.

Thanks for you help!

 

I'd start off by trying some of the PlastiX polish and see if that helps bring back some of the gloss. Remember, polishing requires some elbow grease so you'll have to apply some light pressure when working it into the b-pillars. After polishing you can treat it with an all in one product that will clean and protect. I like using something like Klasse All In One for that.

Let me know if that helps.

Cheers,

George

 

ok i have a few questions your always so helpful and reliable so here it goes.

my girlfriend has a 1996 red caviler and the paibnt has some bad scrathces in it not past the clear coat. she said i can practice on it i tried wet sanding it a very small section heres what i use tell me if the steps are wrong 3m wet dry p400 sandpaper 3m rubing compound then nu finish polish followed with megs deep crystal carnuba wax. i bought everything from walmart and all i have is a orbital which isnt fast enough so my question to u is do i have to but the pc along with the correct polish from you to get the results i want?? i wanna get most of the scratches out iwanna wetsand the whole car and make it look really nice please help

 

I wouldn't recommend jumping into wet sanding, especially if you don't have any experience polishing with a buffer. I'm not familiar with the p400 sandpaper, but if it's 400 grit that's WAY too low. You'd want to wet sand using something like 2000 grit if anything.

I'd start with the buffer and a multi-step polish combination and assess your results from there. Even with a buffer like the Porter Cable, you may not be able to effectively remove deep wet sanding marks without a lot of time, effort and good experience working the buffer.

My advice would be to start with something like Optimum Hyper Compound on an orange pad, see what type of results that's giving you. Follow that up with some Optimum Polish II on a white pad to remove any hazing left behind from the more aggressive polish. Optimum polishes are great to work with when you are first starting out polishing because they have long work time and are easier to finish down than Menzerna polishes.

Be sure to read over our polishing guide for step-by-step instructions on how to get the most out of your buffer.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

George

 

George,

Currently I have the Menzerna IP or SIP (can't recall which) and PO106FF from you. I need to do some work on a metallic black VW GLI. Now I know the Menzerna products would work but I was just wondering if you think the OPT Compound 2 followed with the OPT Finish Polish would be a better option. I know they have longer work times but am not sure if they are good enough to spend the money and forget the products I already have. It would be followed by CG EZ-Creme Glaze, CG Jet Seal 109, and Natty's Red. Thanks.

 

If anything, I'd add Optimum Hyper Compound to your arsenal so you have a more aggressive polish to turn to than IP/SIP, especially on the harder clears you typically find on VW / Audi paint. Unless you are dissatisfied with the results of the Menzerna IP/SIP there's no reason to change, it will finish down better than Optimum from my experience, it's just not as easy to work with in certain conditions, especially if your polishing outside in direct sun and humid weather. PO106FF should finish down finer than the OPT Finish Polish, so again, unless you were disappointed with the performance of the PO106FF, no reason to change.

Rest of the steps look great. Keep us posted on how things turn out.

Cheers,

George

 

Hey George, first of all let me say thanks a ton for helping me choose what I needed for my pcxp. It has been treating me really well so far (only have worked on debadging scratches and headlights so far), but I have a few questions..

Firstly, I really want to polish my entire car but I have a spot or two where previous tree sap has gotten on there. I have tried cleaning them off with goo gone and clay bar, but they only took off a small amount and there is still a good amount of residue left on there that I cannot for the life of me get off. Any ideas? I didn't want to polish it because I thought it might burn through the clearcoat or possibly worse...

Also from where I debadged, I still have some scratches that are a bitter deeper, you can see a bit of white but you cant feel them with your finger. What would you think would correct this? Or is it something that I should just have professionally fixed at some point? Also there is still a little bit of an outline of the mt. fuji symbol, much less than before but I wanted to get rid of it totally. When I first polished, I used an orange pad /w Mezerna IP, followed by FP with a white pad, and finally some sealant over it with a blue pad.

Thanks for all the help

 

hey george, i just bought a 1999 ford escort with 93k miles the paint looks like some1 buffes it and has some bad scratches near the door handel and ima be buying the pcxp from you but i wnated to know what is the best polish to get for heavy scrates and i have minor swilrs on my g that i want top use it on as well. and what finishing polsih shouldi use???

 

Good questions. Sap can be a difficult thing to tackle. Usually, the way I approach sap is soak the sap with something like Stoner Tarminator, let it dwell for 30 seconds to a minute, then wipe clean and clay. If that doesn't do the trick, sometimes some isopropyl alcohol on the end of a towel, soak the sap mark with the alcohol, then what I try to do is gently pick at the top of the sap to loosen it from the surface (only if it's raised up a bit). Usually if you continue to clay you'll be able to remove it. Perhaps you could move to a more aggressive, medium grade clay bar. Hopefully one of those suggestions helps remove the sap.

Regarding the scratches and the outline, my suggestion would be to continue to polish in those areas. If the IP / orange combo is making an improvement, continue to reapply and polish until you achieve your desired results. If it's not putting a dent in the marks, then you may need to step up to a more aggressive polish and pad combo. You could look into something like Optimum Hyper Compound on an orange or yellow pad. Also, I forget what size pads you were using, but the smaller the pad, the more aggressive you'll be able to work the polish. What speeds were you using, how much pressure was applied? Ideally, you want to work the buffer at full speed, applying roughly 10 ~ 15 lbs of pressure to the head of the buffer.

Let me know how things turn out when you give it another go.

If this is your first time using a buffer, then going with the Optimum line of polishes is a good move. They are very easy to work with, have long work time and don't dust much. From their polishes, I'd recommend going with Optimum Hyper Compound on an orange pad followed by Optimum Polish II on a white pad.

A lot of pro's use the Menzerna polishes, especially for finishing, but they can dust a bit and aren't as easy to learn on. Something like Menzerna Super Intensive Polish on an orange pad followed by Menzerna PO106FA on a white pad are popular polish and pad combinations for a majority of imperfections. The optimum combo I mentioned would be able to remove deeper imperfections than the Menzerna combo.

Let me know if there's anything else I can give you a hand with.

Cheers,

George