Good paint cleaner

[nissanguy13]

I bought a hatch in September and it has all kinds of crap on the paint. Water spots, some kind of sticky film from sap or something and that hard build up crud from sea air. I've tried a few different products but nothing has worked.
Anyone know of any good products to clean the paint?

Thanks in advance

[NINJASPY]

what products have you tried?

turtle wag bug remover for the sap
meguiars paint cleaner for waterspots

[sxe]

clay bar it... works like a GOD...

[Anto]

Taken from http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?p=1382380

LISTEN!

Let me tell you what I like to do.

Wash car in gloomy weather. Anytime when the sun isn't out.
BEFORE the hose water dries on the car (after the wash phase), rinse it off with drinking or distilled water. Your car dries with no water spots.

I then Clay Bar the car, including the windows. It removes much of the fallout stuck to it, and feels super smooth afterward.

That's followed by rubbing compound, to clean off the old crap. (not the windows)
I then hit it with polishing compound.
After that, I hit it with Klass AIO Polish
THEN, Klasse SEALANT ( you can use this on the windows ).

Wait 24 hours for the sealant to cure, then I apply Meg's pure Canaruba wax.

Shit's SEXY afterward. like a new car.

Also, here's a nice tip. Use those jugs of distilled water for your windshield wiper fluid. When used in conjuction AFTER a clay bar, water drips down your front window like rain-x was applied to it. wow


Here's a good forum & online shop:

www.autogeek.net (http://www.autogeek.net/)
www.autogeekonline.net (http://www.autogeekonline.net/)

Of course, you should only do this as little as possible because the rubbing / polishing compound remove tiny tiny bits of paint off every time you use it, so you can't use it daily.
The Klasse stuff is optional, if anything just wash, claybar, rubbing & polishing, then wax.

After that routine, i'd suggest claybar if needed, then wash & wax weekly.


The ideal way would be to use a Porter Cable random orbit with all the compounds, but as far as buying stuff in chain stores, this is as good as it gets

[Anto]

Just noticed you're in San Diego.
I actually have alot of the stuff I listed, buy me a burrito and i'll show you a sample of how it works in person, lol

[LongGrain]

wash
claybar
dry
polish
glaze
wax

IN THAT ORDER.

products:
wash: any cheap car wash works, or you can use megs gold class..
clay bar: mothers california clay bar
polish: meguiars professional hand polish (tan bottle)
glaze: meguiars mirror glaze (tan bottle)
wax: meguiars hi tech yellow wax (tan bottle)

[kensreliableb18b]

if you're going to be doing the whole process, you'll want to wash your car with dish soap detergent to strip the paint bare. and if you're lazy and dont wanna wax ur car all the time, you should look into a sealant instead of a wax.

wash
claybar
dry
polish
glaze
wax

IN THAT ORDER.

products:
wash: any cheap car wash works, or you can use megs gold class..
clay bar: mothers california clay bar
polish: meguiars professional hand polish (tan bottle)
glaze: meguiars mirror glaze (tan bottle)
wax: meguiars hi tech yellow wax (tan bottle)

[LongGrain]

if you're going to be doing the whole process, you'll want to wash your car with dish soap detergent to strip the paint bare. and if you're lazy and dont wanna wax ur car all the time, you should look into a sealant instead of a wax.

no, you dont want to use dish soap. dish soap will dry out your paint. polish is what is used to remove leftover wax after washing. it also removes a thin layer of clearcoat.

[kensreliableb18b]

no, you dont want to use dish soap. dish soap will dry out your paint. polish is what is used to remove leftover wax after washing. it also removes a thin layer of clearcoat.

TRUE, but dish soap should be used as say a "reset" button to start over again if you are going to be doing all those steps, which is perfectly fine. you dont use dish soap every single time you wash the car. maybe twice a year, at most.

[LloydXmas]

wash the car real good, then buff with a foam or wool coumpound 3m pad with 3m rubbing compound, then use trizact it III 3m machine glaze after. Last use a swirl remover to rid of the swirls that where put in it from the high speed buffer. I know that should work I am a paint guy and deal with that stuff a lot.

[jackjack]

clay bar it... works like a GOD...


definitely. works great.

[nissanguy13]

thanks for all the info. It looks like I'm going to have to put more time and effort then expected. I am big on having a clean car but don't have the attention span when it comes to waxing, buffing, etc lol.