Seeking advise for a noob.

[Izhar]

Hi Guys,

Been trawling the forums for a bit and am super amazed at the kind of detailing that some of the guys here have gotten.
Decided to seek some advise from the masters here in the forums and to actually go on the right path and move into the world of detailing.

I have two pretty bad scratches on my car and am wondering if this can be salvaged.
Here is a pic of both the scratches. both are attempts to get rid of bird poo on the roof.

I have gone to a detailer, but he told me was he was not able to remove the scratches.

Would a session with some scratchX or ultimate compound by hand, work?






Another query i have is that, i recently did a mini project where i sprayed my rims white. Well, i thought i knew what i was getting myself into but i guess i was wrong.
The brake dust went into the paint and now im left in a fix.



Im all ears in getting the whiteness back in my rims.
Not too sure if any products are able to remove the brakedust stains or would i need to resort to sanding?

Appreciate your kind inputs. I do intend to go all the way on my own to make my car a showroom shine car and i am looking forward to doing it with the advise that i will get from the forum members.

Thanks,
Izhar

[wifpd4]

Re: Seeking advise for a noob.

Izhar,

Just a few questions. Please tell us about your car. Model, age, color?
What have you tried to remove the "bird poo"?
What made you believe it was bird poo?
You said the detailer was unable to remove the two scratches. Do you mean areas of scratching? There appears to be more than two scratches.

How fresh was the white paint before it became stained? Like same day it was painted or over weeks?
What have you used to try and remove the staining?

Thanks,

[Izhar]

Re: Seeking advise for a noob.

Hiya wifpd4,

It's a 2007 Honda Fit. I got it second hand. Not too sure about the color code but it's black with blue metallic specks.

Well, I have not tried using any product to remove the bird poo, It was in my moment of folly that I used a scouring pad to try and remove it, which resulted in two large scratched areas. (sorry bout the bad description :-))

What the detailed told me was the stain has gone into the 'clear coat' and the only best solution is to respray the car.

On how I determined that it was bird poo? It just looked like it, white, irregularly shaped, on the hood of the car.

For the wheel, to date, it is about 5 days old only. I'm doing my frantic best to try and keep it white... I've only tried to use normal car wash soap with a brush to try and clean it.

Thanks,
Iz...

[Murr1525]

Re: Seeking advise for a noob.

You can certainly use Ult. Compound on the scratches... I dont know how it will remove them, but certainly will be an improvement.

The wheels are tougher... usually there are specific wheel paints, etc. But a good wheel cleaner, or even UC could help. But if it isnt a good quality job, I dont know what may damage it.

You may want to look at the Break Dust Barrier after you get them cleaned off at least. A good coat of that seems to allow just car wash soap to rinse dirt off easily.

[Izhar]

Re: Seeking advise for a noob.

You can certainly use Ult. Compound on the scratches... I dont know how it will remove them, but certainly will be an improvement.

The wheels are tougher... usually there are specific wheel paints, etc. But a good wheel cleaner, or even UC could help. But if it isnt a good quality job, I dont know what may damage it.

You may want to look at the Break Dust Barrier after you get them cleaned off at least. A good coat of that seems to allow just car wash soap to rinse dirt off easily.

Hiya Murr1525,

Thanks for the advise. For me to do ultimate compound, (please do fogive me for the dumb question). Would it mean that i will need to go through the 5 step process?
As the car was recently detailed, the surface is smooth, however, do i need to clay before using Ult Compund?
Also, i hope its fine to do by hand, albeit taking a while to do it.
i do not have access to a DA currently,is it something i should look at right now?

Have you got any recommendations for a wheel cleaner? I would try UC and then will do the brake dust barrier on it as well.

[Murr1525]

Re: Seeking advise for a noob.

Well, you dont 'need' to do anything... it is just a matter of what you feel like.

You can certainly get some UC, and apply it, and see how it goes.

As far as applying, that is a bit up to you. By hand, you would want a smooth foam aplicator... and then work on about a 1 foot sqaure at a time. You dont want to just rub with a lot of pressure on a small spot, that causes problems.

A machine can help, but same product by hand, so no problem trying by hand first.

Well, I like the Aluminum Wheels Wash (mildest), or the Wheel and Tire Cleaner, or All Wheel Cleaner. Those are good wheel cleaners on OEM wheels... but like I said, no idea what your paint job is like.

[Izhar]

Re: Seeking advise for a noob.

Well, you dont 'need' to do anything... it is just a matter of what you feel like.

You can certainly get some UC, and apply it, and see how it goes.

As far as applying, that is a bit up to you. By hand, you would want a smooth foam aplicator... and then work on about a 1 foot sqaure at a time. You dont want to just rub with a lot of pressure on a small spot, that causes problems.

A machine can help, but same product by hand, so no problem trying by hand first.

Well, I like the Aluminum Wheels Wash (mildest), or the Wheel and Tire Cleaner, or All Wheel Cleaner. Those are good wheel cleaners on OEM wheels... but like I said, no idea what your paint job is like.

Thanks for reverting. the paint job on the wheel is not a professionally done one, it was done with spray paint. I was also contemplating just sanding it down and respraying them again if i cannot get them clean.

Ill pop by the nearest hypermart to grab the ultimate compound, all wheel cleaner as well as the Brake dust barrier.
I am hoping that these guys can do the job on the wheels, else i may also try to sand down a bit to see if the paint clears up and then clean them up again.

Will try to post up results soon.

[Humbled]

Re: Seeking advise for a noob.

Im a noob too. As you can see by my thread "embarrassed" from last week. I followed the advice from some of the fine members on here(thanks again). The ultimate compound is great!!! I have a cheap orbital polisher and I found some foam bonnets this past weekend. I went ahead and picked up the ultimate polish as well. I did my whole hood(one small section at a time) First with the UC and following with the UP. Then I put on a coat of NXT wax by hand. Simply Awesome!!! I cant believe it turned out this good. I know there are products out there that might work faster and more aggresive but if your new to all this, The UC and UP cant be beat!! I know this for a fact!! Im getting a new DA polisher in a few weeks, then Im going over the rest of my camaro with the UP and wax(No need for the UC on the rest of the car since I only screwed up the hood!!!) I started with the UC by hand because I wanted to make sure I wasnt going to make my problem worse. Then I went to the polisher,using just a little more pressure than the weight of the polisher(very little).Then changed the bonnet to another new foam one and used the UP. This stuff can even make a moron like me look like I know what Im doing!! Im not trying to give advice(im the last person for that!!),but these products are great!!!!

[h_bomm]

Re: Seeking advise for a noob.

Thanks for reverting. the paint job on the wheel is not a professionally done one, it was done with spray paint. I was also contemplating just sanding it down and respraying them again if i cannot get them clean.

Ill pop by the nearest hypermart to grab the ultimate compound, all wheel cleaner as well as the Brake dust barrier.
I am hoping that these guys can do the job on the wheels, else i may also try to sand down a bit to see if the paint clears up and then clean them up again.

Will try to post up results soon.

If your wheels weren't painted by a professional and the UC and Wheel Cleaners don't give the result you want, I see no harm in sanding them down and starting over, but maybe as a last resort.

[Izhar]

Re: Seeking advise for a noob.

Humbled,

i am very certain that we are in very good company here. Which is why i have decided that im going to care for my car on my own, aided with all the advise from the experts here.
Going to pick up the phone to give the local distributor in Singapore a call and place my order for the whole slew of Meg's products.

h_bomm,
That would be my last resort, at least once i re do the paint, i would be able to protect it properly. :-)

[Izhar]

Re: Seeking advise for a noob.

Heya guys,

Some updates for today.

I went out to the nearest automotive store and found out that they had a sale or all Meg's products. Yay to me!!

Bought clay bar, ultimate compound, ultimate wash and wax and most importantly, All Wheel and tire cleaner.
I was ready to go to WAR with the rims. However, something inside told me to give the wheel and tire cleaner a try first before even going to claying and UC. Also because i had to go and pick up my kid from school in 1.5 hours, lol..

So i listened to the little voice in my head and:-

Sprayed down to clear loose particles off the wheel.



Rims super dirty. My confidence was not very high.
Ok, no problem, lets wash it with Ultimate Wash and Wax and agitate with a tyre and rim brush.



Heart sank even further. OH S**T... does not look good. Never mind, persevere. believe in the product.... i told myself. It was not looking good.
Get the Hot Rims All Wheel and Tire Cleaner out and read the instructions and SPRAY already!!
First Pass - with finger agitation and brush... going into every crevice.



Hot D**N.. this product is DA BOMB... it freaking works.. yes yes yes...
take a break, catch your breath.

Ok break over...
Second pass...



OHH YES!!!! its cleaner than i thought it could be.. i was ready to clay and even to sand down but the Wheel and Tire cleaner saved me...!!
Left it as it is for a while as i worked on the other wheel and then sprayed the Brake Dust Barrier.




Now... I'm a very happy customer and i am glad to know that i did it myself with the help of Meg's products.

I do have some queries though.

1) I am still not very happy with my work and would like to clean the rims further. Any suggestions on what i could look at? Claying and Ultimate compound?
2) Should i want to use the Wheel and Tire Spray again, do i need to remove the brake dust barrier? If yes, can i do it by Claying?
3) Now that i have gotten the rims somewhat clean\ i would like to look at other parts of the car as well. I am quite busy and can only spare pockets of time with the car. I was wondering if i could work on a part of the car a different day of the week to carry out the 5 step paint restoration?
Do i need to wash the car every single time i want to work on a different part? Also should i have already down a some parts, i'll just have to maintain every time i was the car and work on another area?
4) When do i need to use sealant?

Appreciate all the advise provided which has shown me that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for me.

[Murr1525]

Re: Seeking advise for a noob.

1. Claying and UC would be fine. Just start off gently, and apply with more effort if you feel comfortable.

2. Well.. probably shouldnt have applied the BDB if not finished working on them... just kind of sealing in the dirt. I think I saw something about a 50/50 alcohol/water mixture for removing the BDB. Clay probably would not... I guess UC would, but not sure.

Once you get them cleaned well, and the BDB applied when you are happy with them, you really should only need the regular soap and water. If that isnt quite enough, you could still use the Wheel and Tire cleaner, just would start removing the BDB faster.

3. Yeah, a panel or so a day is perfectly fine. You do want to be working on a clean panel, so either would want to wash the car, or just that panel.

4. You would want to use a wax or sealant at the end, when you are happy with how the panel looks.

[h_bomm]

Re: Seeking advise for a noob.

Glad the Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner did the trick for you! It really is an amazing product. I was always skeptical of wheel and tire cleaners but not any more. I also think it helps with the appearance and longevity of any tire dressing you apply as well.

[Izhar]

Re: Seeking advise for a noob.

hi Murr1525,

I know what you mean with sealing of the dirt in. i was kind of worried that i would be adding more dust/contaminants in if i do not seal it.
Will keep it in mind next time and i hope to be able to work on the wheels a bit longer this time round with the claybar and UC.

thanks for your advise on the rest of the questions however i am still puzzled (sorry, noob...) on the Wax or sealant.

When should i use wax and in what situations do i use sealant?
Is it overkill if i use both? Should that be possible, which do i apply on first?

Also if i have worked on the surfaces but its not complete and i need to go back to it the next day, do i wax or just leave the surface unprotected after ultimate compound?
Could i ask for your advise on what i should do?

Also i am currently in touch with the distributor here in SG and am looking at using the professional hand pads instead of the G220V2.

Firstly due to me not being able to get a wall plug somewhere near my car at where i will be parking it. Well there are actually, just that it would be illegal to use.
Secondly, its a cost that i would not want to incur now.

Would you or any other members in the forum have any opinion on the unigrit hand pads? 3" or 6"

h_bomm,
i am certainly glad that it did the trick but im gonna have to get rid of it before i re do the whole surface.. :boohoo:

[Murr1525]

Re: Seeking advise for a noob.

When should i use wax and in what situations do i use sealant?
Is it overkill if i use both? Should that be possible, which do i apply on first?

It can be a little fuzzy... there is no set way of naming things, so a company or person can call stuff whatever.

In general, a wax may be carnuba based, and a sealant entirely synthetic.

A synthetic product can be more durable. If you were to use one of each, most people would apply the synthetic product first.

Other than that, you cna just use what product you like.

Also if i have worked on the surfaces but its not complete and i need to go back to it the next day, do i wax or just leave the surface unprotected after ultimate compound?
Could i ask for your advise on what i should do?

Just for one day, I would leave it alone. Just clean the panel off the next day and keep working. Then wax, etc when finished.

Would you or any other members in the forum have any opinion on the unigrit hand pads? 3" or 6"

Havent used those.