*Official* Ask A Detailer Thread

I have not kept up with cleaning them, I tried wheel cleaner and couldn't get it off.

 

what product?

 

Mother's foaming wheel cleaner that I picked up from auto zone.

 

Did you use anything to scrub? You need something similar to Iron X. Some Autozones carry Griots Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner. It is similar to Iron X.

 

I did use the wheel scrub. I will try to get some griots. Thanks for the help!

 

Need some advice or help here. I have a 2020 Army Green Tacoma about 2 months old. There seems to be some paint contamination I'm unfamiliar with. I just came out of my 2nd Gen (Silver) wich I had for 8 years. The truck looked as good as the day I bought it. Thanks to a foam cannon, 2 bucket method of washing and Meguiars Synthetic X-press Spray Wax. My 2020 seems to have something like small particles embedded in the paint. And when I wash the the truck as mentioned above. Then dry it with microfiber towels the contamination seems to pull very fine lint off the towels that stick to the truck.
I'm unsure if this is rail dust or something else. Or what to do about it. Should I clay bar, use an iron remover? Or get a da polisher and polish out the truck?. Or is there another solution ? Attached are a couple of pics. It hard to see but if you look closely you can see the particles. As a side note. 90% of people would probably never see this but I do. And it's driving me nuts. Thanks for any help.

 

The giveaway that you need to clay is when the truck is clean and you slip a sandwich bag over your hand and glide it across the paint. If you feel bumps everywhere then you should probably clay the truck. Regarding iron, even a brand new truck could have iron contamination depending on the environment it's been in. If it's on the interstate enough it'll eventually pickup enough to warrant using an iron remover. Both steps would be a wise move before polishing as it's better your polishing pad not pick up these contaminants and thrash them all over your paint. Besides the clay step WILL mar the clear coat up enough to warrant polishing afterwards.

Post polishing would be a good time to lay down a coating or a sealant at the vert least. If you're not up for a full on coating at least look into Carpro Cquartz Lite or Gyeon Can Coat.

 

^^^^ Absolutely true! Many folks - when they first discover clay or Nanoskin mitts - think they can simply clay every week because it makes the paint feel so good. Remember, all of those contaminates that you're removing from the paint surface get rolled / scuffed around against the paint surface for at least a bit before becoming imbedded in the clay. As the old saying goes, "That's gonna to leave a mark."

Getting back to the OP's question, I'd start with Iron-X or some other product that dissolves iron surface contaminates first. I'll take "dissolving" over "dragging across a surface" any day of the week. Then, if you still need it - which you probably will - go for the clay.

 

Can either of you recommend a good Iron remover? Adams, CarPro, other?

 

I've never heard of one that is much better than the rest. There are some wheel cleaners that can be double purposed used but I think one is Meguiars Iron Decon but that may be only available in gallons.

I've never used Adam's stuff but I see that is significantly cheaper than Carpro Iron X. Maybe try that, it's easy to use up nearly all of a 16oz of the stuff on one truck, particularly if it's filled with iron contaminants. However you did mention it's a 2020 and I've even seen multi year old cars have almost no iron exposure on them. All vehicles will tend to have it on lower panels from your own or others brakes. You'll also see it on cracks and crevices and spilling out of decals and creases on the back where you tend to pickup all the funk from wet interstate driving.

 

I'm betting this is rail dust being this is a new truck. I ordered it so it never sat on the dealers lot.

 

Me thinks me will call the dealership where I purchased the truck. I think they should be responsible to get this stuff off. Worse think they can say is no.

 

I would not trust any dealership when it comes to paint care. You are better off doing it yourself. More than likely you will end up with a swirled up truck if you let them do it. This is fairly common with all new cars.

 

You may have a point there. I've painted a few custom bikes in years past so a little wet sanding and buffing doesn't bother me.
Never used a clay bar or Iron remover before though. I guess it'll give me a reason to learn something new and to go buy one of those new
random orbit polishers.

 

Iron removal and clay bar is pretty easy. Just don’t let the iron remover dry on the paint. Some of them are fine to do so, but just watch out on any black trim as sometimes they can stain if they dry on it. Only use the claybar where you absolutely need to.

 

If you are comfortable wet sanding, you will have zero issue with clay bar or iron remover. They are less aggressive compared to wet sanding.

 

Best way to fix my oxidized paint? It almost looks flat on some of the panels at this point.

 

Thanks. Wet sanding and buffing a un-stationary object can be a little more tricky than say a car or truck. Below are a few pics of some of the tins I painted a few years back. Back in the days before phone cameras. I would pick up the raw tins, grind down and finish the welds. Undercoat and then apply an epoxy primer. Sand and guide coat the primer then base coat the color. A pretty little gal working her way through medical school would then pick them up and do the artwork. She would then drop them back off at my place where I would add about 3 coats of DuPont clear. Then wet sand, buff them out, then deliver them to the custom bike shop. I did this in my garage, self taught just as a hobby for about 2 years.

 

Going to be ceramic coating my Audi and my new Tacoma. First time. I've read most everything I could on here and watched tons of Youtube, etc. I am not looking for absolute perfection. Before I do this, can anyone tell me if you see anything that looks amiss in my plan?
Also...

1. Is the Essence with the CarPro Gloss Pad step necessary?
2. The OEM Tonneau is not new and is somewhat faded. Is there a way to make that look better then put the UK 3.0 Ceramic Coat on it? I have 303 but I would think that would not be good to put under the Ceramic Coat?
3. How often do I really have to clean the pads? Some people say after each 2x2 section. Some say way less.

Black 2012 Audi Q7: Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating

1. Wash
   
   
2. Clay bar
   
   
3. Chemical Guys Wipe Out
   
   
4. 3M Auto Care Rubbing Compound, 03900 for light scratch removal over whole car
   
   
   1. Chemical Guys Orange Hex Pads (2-Half of car for each pad)
      
      
   2. Chemical Guys Polishing & Buffing Pad Conditioner
      
      
   3. Using Torq 10FX
      
5. CarPro Essence Extreme Gloss Primer
   
   
   1. Chemical Guys White Hex Pads (2-Half of car for each) (or use black?)
      
      
   2. Chemical Guys Polishing & Buffing Pad Conditioner
      
6. CarPro Essence Extreme Gloss Primer
   
   
   1. CarPro Gloss Pad
      
      
   2. Is this step necessary?
      
7. CQuartz UK 3.0
   
   
   1. Body, Wheels
      
8. CQuartz Dlux
   
   
   1. Trim

New Cement 2020 Tacoma: Paint Correction and Ceramic Coating

1. Wash
   
   
2. Clay bar
   
   
3. Chemical Guys Wipe Out
   
   
4. CarPro Essence Extreme Gloss Primer
   
   
   1. Chemical Guys Black Hex Pads (2-Half of car for each) (or use White?)
      
      
   2. Chemical Guys Polishing & Buffing Pad Conditioner
      
      
   3. Using Torq 10FX
      
5. CarPro Essence Extreme Gloss Primer
   
   
   1. CarPro Gloss Pad
      
      
   2. Is this step necessary?
      
6. CQuartz UK 3.0
   
   
   1. Body, Wheels
      
7. CQuartz Dlux
   
   
   1. Trim, OEM Tacoma Tonneau Cover
      

 

Regarding the Carpro pad they're just recommending which of their pad lineup you'd use with Essence. As for the black or white hex pad, that would be good for you to answer how each vehicle responds by trying it. You may find that the Audi paint is harder and works better with the white pad and the Toyota the black. Same as your first step on the Audi, the Orange pad might not be stiff enough but it likely would be cutting on a Toyota.

Probably not a bad idea to use that Wipe Out product after your compounding step with the 3M product. That way you get a clear picture of what is happening prior to the Essence step and it's possible that product dusts (I don't know).

Another recommendation is to buy more pads overall, maybe one per every two panels would be good. The pads get loaded up on spent product as well as the clear coat and other gunk that they pull off the paint. Brush and blow out with air if you've got it after EACH section pass. After a while the pad will just be smearing the abrasive around without doing any polishing. Well before that point if you chuck the spent pad into a bucket of cleaning solution you can clean them all later or the next day.

For the Tonneau cover either Dlux or Cquartz will darken it but your best bet to restore the blackness is to use something like Solution Finish. It in itself isn't a permanent solution but could be good for a year plus. Apply the Dlux on top of it and you'll possibly get more. Think you want to give the Solution Finish some time maybe a day or two or next week before using the coating.