For years we have been working on quality vehicles and time and time and again we are asked for advice on how to properly look after and retain the vehicles finish, So collected below are some hints and tips on how best to keep your vehicle looking its best. Click on the section name below:

Wash Tips  |  Washing Engine Bays  |  Polishing and Cleaning Paintwork  |  Microfibre Polishing Cloths  |   Drywash Option  |  Application of Protectants  |  Power Tools  |  Cleaning Vinyl and Rubber  |   Bird Droppings  |  Tar Spots  |  Bug Splatter  |  Tree Sap  |  Watermarks

Use a quality Car Wash or Shampoo, as these are usually pH balanced, contain gloss enhancers and some even have small amounts of water-soluble wax for protection. Read the directions on the car wash bottle.

• Start with a clean large bucket and add a small amount of the car wash and fill with cool water. Avoid hot water, as it will soften the wax.
  
• Make sure that your car is in the shade and the vehicle surface is relatively cool. Generally, if you can comfortably hold your hand on the hood, you can wash/wax the car.
  
• Thoroughly wet the surface of the vehicle, start at the top of the car and work down. This will loosen any excess grit and grime and will help minimize any minor scratching that this grime may cause during the wash process.
  
• Re-wet then gently wash and then rinse the top then work your way around the vehicle in sections. Rewet each area, wash and rinse. This way, the car wash does not dry and leave a soapy residue on the paint.
  
• Use a wash mitt or car wash sponge to wash your car as these are designed to gently loosen and remove dirt and grime up and away from the paint surface with a minimum of scratching. Make sure you rinse them regularly to ensure they are free from contaminants. You may want to use a separate sponge or mitt for the wheels and other more grimy areas.
  
• Remember to use a steady stream of water at low pressure for your final rinse; this will sheet off better than spraying water everywhere. 
  
• You should dry the car as soon as possible as this will help minimize any water marking or spotting. You can use an Ezydry or a damp towel to remove excess water then a chamois to dry off the remainder. There are two types of chamois, natural and synthetic but we recommend synthetic, as they are easier to look after and don’t tend to smell bad like natural ones. Driving the car to dry it may be fun, but you are re-depositing dirt on the wet surface and allowing the resulting “mud” to dry on the paint.

Remember - Dishwashing liquid is not safe to use as car wash, detergents are formulated to strip everything off of the surface, leaving it squeaky clean. A squeaky paint finish tells you that it has no protection. With repeated use, dishwashing detergents remove everything from your paint finish including waxes, silicones and polymers. Once this is accomplished, they then proceed to remove the life giving oils in your paint finish.

Why should you clean the engine compartment? Rust prevention, early oil/fluid leak detection, early belt wear detection and good looks are among the prime reasons.

• To soften the grease and grunge collected on your engine compartment, start the engine, let it warm up for a few minutes and shut it off. The proper cleaning temperature of the engine is warm but not hot. If you can just hold your hand to the engine without burning it, then it is warm enough to clean. As the engine cools to proper temperature, use the time to cover the few openings on the motor that dislike ingesting water. The air intake/air filter, the distributor, the coil and the oil dipstick/breather are among the few sensitive areas. And these can be covered with plastic bags and rubber bands to minimize the risk of water penetration. Check the tightness of the oil filler cap, the power steering filler cap, windshield washer fluid cap, oil dipstick, battery filler caps and all other engine compartment opening caps. 
  
• Now that your engine is warm and sealed, spray the entire engine/engine compartment with a quality, non-petroleum based degreaser. Try to start from the bottom and work up. This way you will not have the degreaser dropping on your face as you clean the underside areas. There are good citrus-based engine cleaners on the market. I find that these citrus products will clean thoroughly and not harm the paint or finish of the aluminum components and are biodegradable. Remember, all degreasers will remove your nice coat of wax. If you get the engine cleaner on the waxed areas, plan on re-waxing. Allow the degreaser about 3-5 minutes to work and then use a 100% cotton towel or a SOFT brush to GENTLY agitate the heavily soiled areas. Re-spray and re-brush any areas that need additional cleaning. Once the entire engine/engine compartment has been cleaned, rinse thoroughly with water. The stronger the spray, the more likely you will get water in sensitive parts. If all sensitive areas are properly protected, you should have no problems with a stronger spray and if any areas need additional cleaning, repeat as necessary. 
  
• Once the engine/engine compartment is clean, immediately remove all of your plastic bags/rubber bands. Dry any puddles and aluminum parts with a soft, 100% cotton towel. Use paper towels to thoroughly dry the battery (if it is in the engine compartment). Start the engine and allow it to warm up. This will dry the rest of the engine and evaporate any moisture that may have collected in sensitive components. 
  
• I am not a fan of steam cleaning. I have found that the high-pressure steam has a nasty tendency to infiltrate the electrical connections and cause havoc. The modern engine has numerous sensors that continually feed precise information to the computers. If steam penetrates these sensors and corrodes the electrical connections, electrical signals may be disrupted and cause the engine to run erratically or not at all. The amount of time it takes to disassemble, clean and reconnect all these sensors is incredible. 
  
• Once everything is dry and has completely cooled, you may wish to apply a coating of rubber protectant to the rubber hoses, rubber, plastic shields and rubber gaskets. I do not recommend treating the underside of the rubber belts, as this makes them reluctant to turn their respective pulleys, with somewhat interesting results; somewhat like waxing brake pads. 
  
• The painted areas of your engine compartment (not the engine) should be waxed and if the uncoated aluminum areas are dull or have whitish corrosion, a mild metal polish will help restore the finish. 
  
• Check the battery terminals, to insure that they are clean. If not, disconnect the cables and clean both the cable terminals and battery posts with a wire brush. Reconnect the terminals and retighten.
  
• All of the hinges, throttle cables, cruise control cables and hood shocks should receive a thin coating of non-silicone lubricant. Lastly, check all fluid levels, remove any stray plastic bags and you are finished!

We recommend the Meguiar’s range of car care products to help keep you car in tip-top condition; their range has every possible detailing product that you may need. Visit our online store to find a car care product to suit your requirements.
 
How often should you wax and polish your car? – Often, many manufacturers will say that you only need to polish or wax about once every 12 months or so but we believe that wax is a bit like sunscreen for your car, and that more is better in the long run. The general rule of thumb is that you need to re-polish or re-wax when water doesn’t sheet cleanly from the surface any more or if the paintwork has lost its lusture.

Cleaning and waxing are two different things:
 
Cleaning: Cleaning your paint does not mean washing your car, it means removing oxidation and contaminants, adding emollient oils back into the paint and smoothing out the surface of the paint. The correct answer to how often you should do this is based upon several factors.

If your car only sees the light of day once a week or so, then once a year is usually often enough. If it is a daily driver, and sits out in the elements day after day, then several times a year may be required. Your paint will indicate when it needs to be cleaned and simply lose its luster and look dull or feel slightly rough to the touch if you gently run your hand over it. If the finish is subjected to acid rain, and the effects of highly acidic bird offerings, then you may have to clean specific areas of the finish a little more often.

I personally prefer a glaze to a polish to clean and prepare the paint for wax. The difference is that a glaze uses a superfine abrasive cleaning agent, whereas a polish usually uses a chemical cleaner. The glazes tend to smooth out the paint more effectively than the polishes. If the paint does not have any imperfections, then a polish should be enough. As a rule, if you have swirls or light scratches, then use a glaze - If you don’t then use a polish. When in doubt, use the least aggressive product as it is very easy to repeat an application of a mild product to achieve a result, but is very expensive to replace paint when you have gotten too aggressive.

Avoid silicone-based products as they are not beneficial to paint and could cause problems down the track. Ask any professional car painter their thoughts on silicone based products, and be prepared for an ear bashing.

Waxing: A coat of wax is nothing more than a clear, sacrificial protectant for the painted, clear coated, polished, chromed and almost all other areas of your car except the rubber parts. It is far better to have ultraviolet rays, ozone, acid rain, tree sap, road tar, and all the other road hazards attack a coat of wax than attack your paint. The wax can be refreshed with little effort and cost, whereas replacing paint can be somewhat financially painful. A good coat of wax will also add “depth of shine” and reflective gloss to the finish, but cannot transform a neglected or abused finish. For a wax to be effective, it must be applied to a clean surface, as it will enhance the gloss as well as the defects of the surface.

Carnauba wax is the protective coating of the leaves of the tropical Carnauba plant. Pure Carnauba wax is the consistency of a brick. To be useful as a car wax, solvents, lubricants and numerous other additives must be blended with the wax. If you see a wax advertised to be 100% Carnauba wax, they are really saying that whatever wax there may be in the container is 100% Carnauba. There are also numerous grades of Carnauba, and the top grades are expensive but Carnauba will produce, in my humble opinion, the best depth of shine of any type of wax on the market.

You may also apply several coats of a quality Carnauba wax over a period of time without getting “wax buildup”. The downside is that Carnauba is somewhat sensitive to excess car wash. A very strong solution of car wash or the use of dish detergent will tend to strip the wax. The use of the minimal amount of car wash in your wash solution will help your wax last a lot longer. The polymer-based waxes tend to last longer, yet do not seem to give the same depth of shine, as do the Carnauba waxes. Polymer waxes are also usually less sensitive to excess car wash.

There are also highly advertised Teflon based products on the market. It is my understanding that it requires a 350 plus degree’s Celsius environment to bond Teflon to your paint. So, unless you are applying it with a blowtorch, you may not be getting all you paid for. The polymer-based products will also tend to build up with several applications and this buildup may turn off color over time. The solution to this problem is to strip everything off and start again.

If your Vehicle is dusty rather than dirty or if you are pushed for time, then you can use a spray detailer such as Meguiar’s Final Inspection to clean the exterior surfaces. These mist on wipe off products usually contain gloss enhancers and protective properties that will provide a quick and easy clean.

Mist the product on and wipe over with a soft towel (Microfibre is best for this), once the product hazes off slightly your cloth will bring up a good gloss. The main thing to remember is that this is not a method to use on seriously dirty vehicles as the grit and grime on dirtier vehicles will just scratch the surface.

Spray or pour a small amount onto a clean, soft, applicator. Wipe on a thin even coating and allow it to penetrate for a 10-15 minutes and then buff off the excess with another clean soft cotton cloth. Never spray product directly onto the surface as the overspray will land on the paint or wheel or whatever. Applying with a cloth will help avoid uneven coats and splotches. Protectant products will not usually damage the paint or wheels but you have to spend a lot of time to remove the overspray. It is easier to avoid the problem by simply using a cloth.

Power tools or in particular Rotary Polishers are a very effective tool for repairing the shine and finish on paintwork, however they are best used by professionals who are trained in their proper use as they can do all sorts of damage in a short time if used incorrectly.

The edges of your body panels and raised/creased areas of the sheet metal have the thinnest layer of paint. When the body is painted, the liquid paint will tend to flow away from these raised areas. A power buffer will concentrate its energy on the thin paint of these high points and can cut through this quite quickly”. If you must use a rotary polisher, use a closed cell foam pads and use one pad for each product. Do not use lambs wool type of pads, as they are particularly aggressive and require experience to use properly.

Most importantly, use only a polish type product that is specifically formulated for use with a power buffer. The frictional heat of a buffer will cause some product’s abrasives to flocculate or clump together and this can be harmful to your paint finish.

That being said even novices can quickly master the use of a dual action polisher or orbital buffer with little risk of burning the paint finish. These buffers oscillate back and forth while spinning and will yield a more even application of cleaners, polishes and waxes, provide deeper cleaning and safely remove swirls. Because they rotate at quite a slow speed they are great for the home car care fanatic to use to keep their pride and joy looking fantastic.

Our Final Touch operators are all well trained in the proper use of machine polishers and can offer advice if you want to go down that path.

Most rubber/vinyl protectants will gently clean the trim or tires as they protect. If you have dirt or grime that car wash or your favorite rubber/vinyl protectant will not remove, you may want to try a stronger cleaner such as Meguiar’s Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner. Spray or pour a small amount of the cleaner on a clean, soft, 100% cotton terry cloth and gently rub the dirty areas with the saturated section of the cloth. It may take a couple of applications to remove the dirt and grime.

Once you have removed all traces of the dirt, wash the trim and surrounding areas thoroughly with car wash. Rinse the area completely with water to remove any traces of solvent and then dry. Finally, apply a protective coating of your favorite rubber protectant and you are done.

Cleaning White Wax Residue Stains on Trim: One of the more common problems is white wax residue stain on your exterior rubber or vinyl trim. To remove these stains, simply dampen a small spot of a clean, soft cloth with a wax solvent or degreaser. I use a piece of cotton terry cloth toweling or an old cutting pad because the texture helps remove the wax residue from the millions of tiny depressions in the pebble surface. Rub the white stained area carefully with the solvent saturated section of the cloth to dissolve the wax residue.

Repeat as necessary, as it may take several applications of solvent to remove significant amounts of wax residue. If the cloth does not get down into the bottom of these tiny depressions, then you may have to resort to a soft brush. Dampen the stained area with the solvent and gently brush the residue with a soft brush to dig out the remaining residue. Use the brush carefully, as it may scratch your paint. Once you have removed all traces of the residue, wash the trim and surrounding areas thoroughly with car wash.

Rinse the area completely with water to remove any traces of solvent and then dry. Finally, apply a protective coating of your favorite rubber protectant and you are done. To help minimize wax residue stains on your rubber trim, try applying a coating of rubber protectant before you wax. This coating will help prevent the wax from adhering to the rubber or vinyl trim and any that does sneak onto the trim may usually be removed with the application of a little more rubber protectant.

Bird droppings are one of the most damaging “natural” disasters that attack our paint, what comes out of the downward end of a bird is highly acidic and the longer we leave it on our paint, the more damage it will cause. Try to rub this area as little as possible. Birds use gravel to digest their food and grit is one of the major components of their droppings. If you try and rub off the solids, you may scratch the paint.

Once you have gotten home and had a chance to wash the area with car wash, rinsed thoroughly and dried, use a little Polish or Paint Cleaner to help remove any leftover acids. When you have the time, give the area a coat of wax. If the acids have left a slight mark in the paint a gentle hand polish with a mild abrasive polish should remove the damage, if it is more serious give Final Touch a call. We have seen instances where bird droppings have eaten through the topcoat of expensive European cars over one weekend so it pays to remove it as soon as possible after it appears.

These are usually caused by newly surfaced roads or melted tar on hot days splashing onto the paint and they can be removed with kerosene or specialty wax and tar removal products. You should only use these occasionally and be prepared to polish and wax the car afterwards, as kero will strip the wax and dull the paint. Be careful when removing tar as sometimes it is full of grit and this could cause all sorts of scratches and damage. The safest method is to thoroughly saturate the tar in Kerosene then leave it a few minutes to soak in before going over it again to remove it, this will soften it enough that it comes off with a minimum of scratching.

Those nasty little blighters that we hit at night make the vehicle look terrible and can be quite acidic; wash the car or use a quick detailing product to remove the droppings. Where possible remove the bugs within 48 hours or they will become very difficult to remove and they can eat into and destroy the topcoat. In Bad cases you may want to resort to using a bug sponge with plenty of lubricant to scrub away the bugs but you should be very careful not to cause extra damage to the paint surface. In the unlikely event that a bug-sponge was to scratch the paint a good polish should restore the finish easily.

We often come across vehicles that have been parked under trees and need the resulting bubbles of tree sap cleaned off, by product of the active Kiwi outdoors lifestyle. The best solution for removing tree sap is Methylated spirits, soaking a piece of cotton wool or a soft cloth in meths then gently rubbing off the sap should do the trick. Many other methods will just spread it around and cause more damage. Once removed the sap is likely to leave a mark on the paint particularly if it has been sitting on there for a long time- sometimes it will cause the clearcoat to raise slightly, this can be removed with a polish and wax.

There are two basic types of watermarks. First very fine marks, which occur after washing a car, this is caused by product being left on the car or small amounts of water that capture minute dust or dirt particles and can usually be removed with a damp chamois. The other kind of watermark is not a watermark at all but “acid rain” damage.

These types of “watermarks” are caused by chemicals in water, for example, acid rain or “hard” tap water that is high in mineral content. The water sits on the paint and the chemicals are deposited, over time the chemicals build up and when combined with water “eat” into the paintwork; this often affects vehicles from regions with high geothermal activity or lots of heavy industry. Do not underestimate the damage that this can cause.

The problem is that the damage is over large areas requiring a great deal of effort to remove: for example, the bonnet, roof and boot lid even the glass. Prevention or early detection will save time and money and regular washing with a quality car wash combined with a regular polish and wax are the best way to prevent watermarks and damage caused by acid rain. Finishing with a quick detailer will also remove water spots. If that is all a bit much then a regular polish and wax will prevent it from occurring in most cases. Where the paintwork is already damaged the solution is harder. Fine watermarks will come out by using paint cleaner and a good polish; you may also need a mild cutting compound. If that fails the paintwork may need to be cut back.

Before cutting back try giving your car an “acid bath”- Wash your car in the normal way. Then take distilled vinegar and wipe it on with a sponge and rub it in. Work one section at a time and let it sit 30 to 60 seconds before rinsing the vinegar off. Then wash the car again with car shampoo. The vinegar will remove your wax so be prepared to polish and wax your car afterwards. If that still does not solve the problem the paint must be cut back and it is best to get the professionals at Final Touch in to do this for you.
 
Teflon” based products:
According to G.R. Ansul of DuPont’s Car Care Products, Specialty Products Division, “The addition of a Teflon¨ flouropolymer resin does nothing to enhance the properties of a car wax. We have no data that indicates the use of Teflon¨ fluoropolymer resins is beneficial in car waxes, and we have not seen data from other people that supports this position.” Ansul also notes that, “Unless Teflon¨ is applied at 700 degrees F, it is not a viable ingredient, and is 100 percent useless in protecting the paint’s finish.” (Source: Grisanti, Stephen, “The Truth About Teflon¨”, Professional Carwashing & Detailing, January, 1989.)