*Official* Ask A Detailer Thread

I'm not a big claybar fan, but when I do, I use it on everything. Claybars are a very mild abrasive, and therefore pretty safe to use. Be careful when working around the rocker panels though, you have an increased chance of picking up junk in your claybar and spreading it around, thus scratching your paint. You want to keep that claybar super clean and clear of anything that could scratch your paint.

 

Thanks! I've never used claybar before but was told it will get all those little red dots out of my paint (rail dust or so I'm told...) I've tried hand washing, I take my time washing, etc, they don't seem to come out otherwise and I don't have a polisher/buffer. Even if I did, I wouldn't trust myself doing that for the first time on my truck, you can do a lot of harm in a hurry with those...

 

You definitely can do alot of harm with a buffer quickly, especially if you don't have the right one. If the claybar doesn't work for you, you can use a mild polish or compound and do things by hand, which I'm starting to prefer over the buffer nowadays. Just don't focus on one spot for too long. Try to use the palm of your hand, and not your fingertips. Remember to apply some fresh wax once your done.

 

idk about everyone else but i get bugs.bad on the grill and conventional elbow grease scrubbing dosnt help. anything i could do to get the grill back right again?

 

Ragg Top cleaner then protectant. It really works!

Lay a warm soapy cloth on the bug splattered grill for 15 min. It should soften them up. This will be a time consuming process to do the entire grill.

 

Dryer Sheet FTW!!!

 

What is the best wheel cleaner for polished aluminum wheels?

 

The product works well but is expensive.

 

I apologize if this has been covered already, but I'm totally freaking out!

We moved to a new condo and where I have to park, the sprinklers hit my truck all night. I guess it's pretty crappy water and my truck has rust spots all over the hood and fenders. It looks like crap and I'm pretty worried because it's not coming off with just washing it. I tried some Meguiar's clay today and some of it came off which made me feel a little better.

Will a tougher claybar do the trick? Or is there anything else I should do? Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

Personally, I'd go and have it professionally buffed/detailed if possible and if that works go buy a truck car cover

 

Thanks man. I may wind up doing that. M Dad's new Tacoma is getting the same rust spots too

 

Florida does have hard water. I think its because of all the lime rock in the springs/water sources. My hood is covered in water spots and I cannot get them out no mater how much I clay and wax. I need to get it professionally detailed but $ is toght right now so that will have to wait

 

Dang man. That sucks you're having these problems too. I clayed a spot again today and hit it with some of the Meguiar's Ultimate Polish and the polish actually took it right off. I guess I'll try the entire truck one day soon. Here's a pic of the spot I worked on.




Sent from my iPhone

 

Mine are more lil spots but my hood is covered. Yah your hood looks terrible. Maybe you could file a claim to the city or whatever and get them to pay to gave your truck detailed. Looks like there is a lot of iron in the water. Do buildings in that area have Orange stains on them?

 

That's a good idea man. Thanks for letting me know about that. My Dads brand new Tacoma is even worse than mine too! I'll see about us making a claim with the city for sure. Oh and the building next to our condo actually does have orange stains on it, but I'm not sure about any others around to be honest.

Hope you can get your paint corrected too. I'm thinking about that Porter Cable polisher to do my entire truck with?


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Porter Cable for the win!

 

I've never used a portal cable but I've always wanted one but dont have the funds. Hmmmm maybe that could be on my Christmas list along with some other car care stuff

On a side note, does anyone know a good way to clean the undercarriage? Specifically getting clay off?

 

I used Chemical Guys Water Spot Remover from Detailed Image. www.detailedimage.com/Chemical-Guys-M31/Water-Spot-Remover-P194/16-oz-S1/ I had good results with it. I had tried claying and waxing with no success in removing the water spots. I did use my Porter Cable with a Hex Logic blue pad. It did take quite a bit of elbow grease, but it removed about 90% of the water spots on the first try. You might have faster results with a more firm/abrasive pad.

 

After reading through here, it seemed like Meguiar's was the best cleaning product that was over the counter. Picked up this set up at wally world for 40 bucks.



The kit comes with the ultimate wash/wax, liquid wax, endurance tire gel, wash mit, drying towel, applicator pad, and a towel all for 22 bucks. Not bad huh??

So how is this set up? Pretty good?

 

Ok guys, I did a search of this thread for rubbing compounds and didn't really see what I'm looking for so her goes.
I have a lot of light scratches, swirl marks, some paint chips, water spots and i noticed some very light oxidation on the roof near the top of the windshield yesterday. Except for the paint chips, I know that I can remedy most of this using rubbing compound and an orbital polisher, I picked up a used ten-inch from a friend that should work fine. My question is which compounds and pads to use for the compounds and finish polishing. I know there are specific compounds to get out oxidation and others to buff out scratches and water spots. If I can't fix the problems with one or two passes then it's too deep to fix? I was contemplating payin a body shop to do all this but I don't want to pay for something I could learn to do myself.
Thanks TW, you guys are awesome!