Anti Rust

[Drifting Ricer]

I thought I ask about this 'cause it just snow. No I can't afford anther car. What can I do? Can I wash the  car every time they salt the street? Any tips I don't want my car to turn into a rust mobile.

[misnomer]

Washing your car is the best rust deterrent, removes salt and other corrosives. Make sure to use some good wax on the body itself.

[tnord]

definitely spend some time waxing the car, and take off any mud flaps or nose masks you might have, all these do is trap salt, if you're car has a clear coat then that will help some, you don't necessarily have to wash the car all the time, just find a pressure washer and spray off underneath the car and in the fender wells about 1x a week, if you have a sunroof, clean out the inside area as salt tends to get caught in there, also, touch up any rock chips on the front of the hood, if you do find any rust, immediately sand it down far more than you think necessary, then repair it with primer and paint, rust is like the plague, one you get it, you can only slow it down, but there is no way to completely stop it (outside of replacing entire panels)

[Drifting Ricer]

Thanx guys. I waxed the car  the 28th of DEC with armor all wax. Any better wax out there? I'm spraying the under part of the car this Friday cause I ain't got time this week to do it. So waxing the car will help keep the rust away? No mud flaps or sunroof on my s14. The paint is starting to peel on my front bumper.  

[sspikey]

when i had the mercedes i bought a pressure washer. everytime i got home just sprayed it. after nine years between me and my had there wasnt one spec of rust.

[DSC]

izbiz or zimoil and I'm sure I messed up the spelling of those. <a href="http://www.avalonracing.net/" target='_blank'>http://www.avalonracing.net/</a> he sells the izbiz wax you can get zimoil at your local autoparts store, its baby blue and should be about 10-11 dollars. My front end paint is all messed up too but its plastic so i'm not too worried about it. They use sand where i am, is that better or worse than salt on your car?

[misnomer]

Dirt is much better on the car than salt. Salt is water soluble, and can spread easier, where you don't expect it. Dirt's biggest risk is larger chunks scratching your paint.

[Drifting Ricer]

SS I think you meant DAD right? tnord what the #### is that giant pic goin there? 0_o. So that's the best wax?

[DSC]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from Drifting Ricer on 10:14 pm on Jan. 8, 2002
...0_o. So that's the best wax?</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>Probably either izbiz or zimoil <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> what does 0_o mean?

[Drifting Ricer]

My version of being confused. Learned that one off of takumi.

[AceInHole]

I have a bunch of bottles of Meguiars and can't complain (although I haven't used them in a couple months... LoL)
Used to use turtle wax, and before that I used Eagle One (or something).
The Meguiars I have are the Compound, Polish, and Gold Wax.

[sspikey]

for 8 years yes it was my dad's but for my 15th birthday that was my gift. too bad i couldnt afford 500 dollar radio antennas. mercedes are a bitch to maintain! the worst though was when one of the pulleys broke they charged me 700$ for that. i couldnt drive the thing too much but when i did it was a blast!

[Drifting Ricer]

Hey ACE check this out http://www.jspek.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000183.html
This guy wants to do a s14 or s15 front end on his intergra. You must stop him! I already posted. I don't want to see more of this imitation on Ricers part.

[tnord]

sorry about that stupid avatar.......i'm havin problems with that..........anyway back on topic.......get a buffer and go to a paint shop and buy some 3M Finesse-It products, and be sure to get a final polish as well, i have been a detailer for almost 5 years now, and trust me, YOU WILL NEVER GET AS GOOD A FINISH WITH HAND WAX AS YOU WILL WITH A HIGH SPEED ELECTRIC BUFFER. &nbsp;it's easier on your arms and yes you can actually make the car look brand new if you are good. &nbsp;if you don't want to spend a couple hundred bucks on a buffer and some compound/polishes, go to a detail shop (or an Audi/BMW/MB dealer) and ask them to do an exterior detail, it will probably cost you bout 85-100 bucks

[Drifting Ricer]

Dude I not ready for that. At least with out a nice body kit. But how much are they.....
I might think about it for the summer.

[tnord]

i don't know what having a body kit has to do with getting a buffer, but anyway, i bought mine used from a guy at work for 100 bucks great deal, I would get either a Black &amp; Decker adjustable speed (what i have, it's old so i don't know how good they are anymore) or dewalt adjustable speed, i know dewalt makes good ones, it's what we have at work, whatever you get, make sure the speed is adjustable, i think they are about 200 bucks, go to a home depot or something of that nature, they should have them, you will also need to get some wool and foam pads, about another 40-60 bucks, i know it sounds expensive, but the resale of your car will jump a minimum of 500 bucks immediately after you buff it out good, give an experienced detailer an entire day with a car and you wouldn't believe what can be done (once charged a guy with a hacked up 911 500 bucks and he thought it was a great deal) if you're really interested in returning your car to showroom quality, let me know, i'll help you out

(Edited by tnord at 11<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':0'>0 pm on Jan. 8, 2002)

[sykikchimp]

I've heard Raves about Zainobros &nbsp;wax.. &nbsp;check it out..

<a href="http://www.zainobros.com" target='_blank'>http://www.zainobros.com</a>

[DSC]

Nevermind, I see it now.

(Edited by DSC at 1<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':0'>8 am on Jan. 9, 2002)

[Drifting Ricer]

Hey tnord you got my attention. Yes I like to know a little bit about the world of detailing. <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> I want to know what it will do to my car. <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

http://community.webshots.com/storage/1/v0/2/60/76/27326076cEkAfcZrBK_ph.jpg

http://community.webshots.com/storage/1/v1/2/58/77/27325877VWKSMoKgVr_ph.jpg

[tnord]

Basically, detailing is like a restoration process without actually replacing any parts. &nbsp;As far as making the paint look nice, this is how it works; &nbsp;Different compounds (you might know them as waxes) have a different level of grit in them, think of it like sandpaper. &nbsp;Except for waxes, the higher the grit the harsher the compound. &nbsp;If you rub the stuff in your fingers you can actually feel a sandy substance in the compound. &nbsp;Now, think about when you wash your car and it is completely wet, looks nice right? &nbsp;Well, that is because the water fills in all the scratches and imperfections in the paint to create a perfectly flat surface for light to reflect off of. &nbsp;With the use of compounds and a buffer, the friction/heat created is enough to actually move paint around a little bit. &nbsp;This moving of paint is what fills in any scratches and creates a perfectly flat surface that looks brand new. &nbsp;There are many many other processes involved with detailing including wetsanding(the worst), claybar, touch up, and of course we haven't even started in on the engine or interior. &nbsp;Also, there are different techniques for cars with or without clearcoats. &nbsp;Keep asking questions, and i'll keep trying to provide answers.

[Drifting Ricer]

How do I know if I have a clear coat? That's it I going to home depot on friday and start to get prices. You have pic of you're car after you buffer it? &nbsp;So I wash the car DRY it then use the Buffer??

This sounds fun, hey so you work at a car wash or something?

[NoTuchn]

i have a friend who accidentally hit my car the other day (yes, i was pissed!). well, he works at a saturn dealership and had a friend fix the little dent in my car today. i get to go back tonite to have it washed/waxed/buffed for free. i cant wait. i think thatll be nice.

[tnord]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from Drifting Ricer on 10:37 am on Jan. 9, 2002
How do I know if I have a clear coat? That's it I going to home depot on friday and start to get prices. You have pic of you're car after you buffer it? So I wash the car DRY it then use the Buffer??

This sounds fun, hey so you work at a car wash or something?</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>

well, if you have an S14 i think they all have clearcoats, check on the front left (from drivers seat) strut tower, mine has a sticker on there showing the paint code and that it has a hard clearcoat, yeah i have a picture of it, but i'm not sure how to scan it in, the darker the color car you have, the bigger change you will notice, wash the car just as you would any other time, but do a 10x better job, any dirt or contaminants left on the paint will get caught in the pad and will scratch the paint with each RPM, and considering typical operating speed is about 1500RPM, this can cause huge problems, also be sure to get any tar, bugs, or anything else that might be on your car off, Isoprobyl Alcohol works great on tree sap and bugs, or you can claybar the car (takes a long time but does a good job) to get all the crap off, once you get the buffer i'll tell you about how to mask everything and how to prevent paint burn, yeah i work in the detail department of one of the largest mazda dealerships in the country, so i've seen just about everything

ps-another way to tell if you have clearcoat is if you have ever handwaxed your car and some of the color ends up on the rag, you don't have a clearcoat

(Edited by tnord at 11:13 am on Jan. 9, 2002)