Hand wash=Paint fade?

[apexhumper]

Ok I have a blk '95 and even though its beat the paint has always held up, until about 6 months ago I started hand washing my car usually every weekend ( used to go to the gas station car washes but not very frequently at all). Anyway I started noticing a big spot on my roof were the paint started fading away quick. I was using some Meguiars Crystal Car Wash that i'd had for a long time so I freaked and figured maybe it was because I was using expired shit or something.

I went out and bought some Meguiars GOLD CLASS car wash and kept on washing. But just a few days ago I cought a glimpse of my hood in the righ light and noticed the same shit is happening there now!!

Has ayone had this issue? What do you guys use? Or how do you wash?

I use a microfiber brush to wipe the car down and then I dry it with a water blade (cant ever get the damn chamois to dry it right)

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also if you guy wanna share some tips or tricks to make our cars shine a little bit better go ahead and unload them here.

PS. Been searching for over an hour and didnt find jack, if there is a thread I apologize

Meguiars Crystal Wash
http://inpcars.com/car-polishes-and-waxes/meguiarsmirrorglaze-gn.jpg

Meguiars GOLD CLASS

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/410J01G39CL._AA280_.jpg

[ThatGuy]

I doubt it's because you're washing your car.

More likely, it's the fact that your paint is old. Washing it is just stripping away the crap that is naturally flaking off. If you want the car to shine better, put a better paint on it then Nissan used at the factory.

[DOOK]

dude, it's a 13 year old paint job, it's gonna start to fade, regardless of whether it handwashed or run through a car wash. Have you tried getting a cut and buff professionally? 13 years is pretty good for a paint job to hold up though, especially black where EVERYTHING shows.

[Phlip]

You're using the products I used when I had paint worth giving a piss about.
You say you're washing every week...
How often are you cleaning, polishing and waxing your paint?
Keep in mind that incessant washing will remove the polish and wax, so you need to work those into your regimen, I personally did it about once monthly, and using a scratch/swirl remover about every 3rd time.
Meguiar's has a full compliment of everything you need, you can score it all at your parts store du jour, or order the whole kit from them on their website.

[BustedS13]

sounds like your car has cancer. do you wax your car? i'm guessing you're just washing it and not using any sort of UV protectant, but when you were getting the gas station washes you were getting the liquid wax, which may have had uv protectant. and now ultraviolet rays have raped your paint.

or maybe not. who knows man. old factory paint goes bad over time. buy a gun, buy a cool color, and spray it. i have a friend who had a '97 Talon TSI, and it looked great when he bought it. after about four months, maybe a little less, though, the clear coat just started flaking off.

[apexhumper]

I wax everytime, but in sections, one week the hood & fenders, next weet the roof and doors, etc etc Do most waxes have UV protectants?

Yeah I realize its an old paint job but like I said, it had been in perfect condition until I started doing this regularly, maybe its like PHILP said, I might be doing it too often & stripping away stuff unecessarily, I guess I overcompensated, I used to never have time to wash it and now that I do I like trying to take care of it and making it look clean as much as possible.

[apexhumper]

Would it be bad in anyway to just brush off dust and wax without washing?

[DOOK]

if you have the money, get a nice paint job redone with some nice clearcoat. Keep it waxed. Unless your car is SUPER dirty, you don't need to rub and rub when you wash it. get yourself one of those nice dust brushes. For most people, wiping the dust off with one of those brushes every few days will keep the car spotless.

[Phlip]

Yes, it would be.
If you're looking to do something like that, rinse it well, dry it, and use a quick detailer.

[BustedS13]

i have a friend who just got a brand new civic, and brushes it off with that "california car duster" (insert i hate cali comment here if you want). one day his car's a little dusty, and he goes "dude check this out". pops his trunk, pulls out the dirtiest, most revolting looking brush i've ever seen, and then proceeds to wipe it all over his brand new car. like, top to bottom, removing road filth from behind wheel wells as well as "dusting" the roof. i had never been so horrorstruck. oh, and he uses those foaming brushes at coin-ops, too.

[apexhumper]

......so you're saying its bad to dust your car off? What do you recommend instead?

[ThatGuy]

Well not rubbing dust around on your paint, that's for sure.

[BustedS13]

......so you're saying its bad to dust your car off? What do you recommend instead?

washing. rubbing dirt and road grime and shit all over your paint is going to result in tons of scratching and swirls. the only proper way to clean your car once it's "dusty" is to wash it. if it's not heavy grime, just go to a coin-op, drop the six quarters, and spray it off. if something isn't going to come off without scrubbing, bring a sponge. DO NOT USE THE BRUSH. it is full of crap from other peoples' cars, and the head has probably never been changed since they opened. and since it's a coin-op wash, it's probably been like 20 years.

[s13driftϛ]

the best way to test to see if the paint is good is spit on your finger and rub it on your car if the paint turns glossy you can fix it all you need to do is a
three step polish on it cleener,wax and polish that should work

[apexhumper]

Well not rubbing dust around on your paint, that's for sure.

Damnit I knew it! But the again where I live there are tons of trees that ejaculate pollen or some crap all over the place and where I work its dusty as hell so I have to do something to get all that crap off in between washes.

I'll try the coin op once in a while like bustedS13 said

[status:one]

You could wash your car every day of the week if you wanted to and it wouldn't cause what you are experiencing... your just finally seeing your 13yr old paint beginning to deteriorate.

[slideways2004]

You could wash your car every day of the week if you wanted to and it wouldn't cause what you are experiencing... your just finally seeing your 13yr old paint beginning to deteriorate.

yessir. hand washign is the only way to go. those pressure washer car washes will mess up your clear coat/paint

[Bubbles]

It's most likely the water. I had the same thing happen to me.


I actually think every person in this thread is wrong.

Seriously.

[Addicted2Kouki]

No their paint is wearing away.

Factory paint is usually ONLY 2 layers of clear.
Which is the Bare minimum for UV protection.
Another reason why you never wanna cut and buff oem paint.

Now lets take into account 13 years of wear and tear, washing, etc.

The clearcoat starts to get thinner. Resulting in less UV protection.

No UV protection = Clearcoat flaking off.



This is also why you see really old hondas with their clearcoat flaking off... Cheap factory paint, that lacked adequate UV protection.
Same thing happens with really cheap paint jobs, just sooner.

[2fast240]

I was a detailer for a lexus dealership for a year or two. The best thing for your car would be to take it to a professional, they will spend a few hours on it with a buffer and a bunch of different compounds and it will look amazing and the wax will last a month or two.

[kuruptR]

Hand washing your car is death for paint, the constant rubbing causing swirls and what not will wear away at your paint. Its black too, so hard to maintain. Chill from the power polishers, stick to hand wax.

[mrpeepers]

I use california gold from meguiar's and my paint has never been deeper. I use car wash stuff from the BMW dealer and i use a buffer with foam applicator, let the wax haze, then i take it off with microfiber

http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v141/69/38/198601077/n198601077_30407603_5155.jpg
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http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v141/69/38/198601077/n198601077_30407604_5358.jpg

[0wn3r]

I think washing it once a week is excessive. I agree that the brush's at the coin-op places seem to be pretty bad..

There's a chance a big portion of it is just the water. Have you been parking it outside or under a tree more often? A professional autobody and detailing person had told me that acid rain plays a big part of it too.

I don't like micro fiber cloths anymore...one use and they are done. Micro fiber is great for picking up things...but it HOLDS EVERYTHING. Any rocks or small splinters of wood it will pick up and then you'll start swirling that into your paint if you continue to use it.

I've recently switched to baby diapers for taking the wax off... They seem to be relatively lint free, still quite soft, and can be reused (obviously..if a baby can crap all over them and are able to be reused). 75 cents for some pads to apply them is nothing.

[98koukile]

Hand washing your car is death for paint, the constant rubbing causing swirls and what not will wear away at your paint. Its black too, so hard to maintain. Chill from the power polishers, stick to hand wax.

So hand washing is bad, but you should always wax by hand? I'd rather hand wash than 1) have a huge brush thats been on 100 cars today touch mine or 2) have a high pressure gun blast every square inch of my car

[kuruptR]

I've recently switched to baby diapers for taking the wax off... They seem to be relatively lint free, still quite soft, and can be reused (obviously..if a baby can crap all over them and are able to be reused). 75 cents for some pads to apply them is nothing.

That's hillarious. Must look funny as fuck to your neighbors.

[kuruptR]

So hand washing is bad, but you should always wax by hand? I'd rather hand wash than 1) have a huge brush thats been on 100 cars today touch mine or 2) have a high pressure gun blast every square inch of my car

No, just wiping down the paint weekly with a cloth or spunge(bucket washing). Obviously the paint will get damage from the cloth and spunge collecting dirt and dust then rubbing it in to the paint.

Its better to just take it to the carwash (wand or gun) then dry it with a clean cloth. Never use the brush.

[LloydXmas]

I do paint work so let me tell you that the least amount you touch your car the least imperfections it will have, pressure wash then air dry then hand wax. Also your car is black and black absorbes the most heat which if your car sits in the sun it will start to fade the top surfaces because they are in direct sunlight compared to the sides. Your paint is old, and your washing habit has nothing to do with it. Just keep a fresh coat of wax on it for protection. Lucky for you black is black so you can have that repainted and not have to blend anything. Black shows the most too so even the smallest stuff is noticable.

[BustedS13]

That's hillarious. Must look funny as fuck to your neighbors.

he's talking about cloth diapers, not huggies or some shit.

foam pads to apply, diapers to buff, it's a good system. you can just toss the pad after a use or two, they cost nothing.

[deesz]

It's most likely the water. I had the same thing happen to me.


I actually think every person in this thread is wrong.

Seriously.



water does have a lot to do with it. thats why they make the mr clean water purifier.
think about all the minerals, dirt etc in water..

[LloydXmas]

I wash my fresh paint every few days with normal water from the car wash, a year later it shines like new still. It is simply uv rays. Black soaks up heat and if the paint is old and thin it will eventually start to do what it is doing. Clear coats are for protection if you cheap out your color will fade very fast or in this case age got the best of it. Maybe wax would have helped but it's still old. The paint systems 10 or more years ago are not the same now, a lot has changed.

[INeedNewTires]

I'm suprized nobody has mentioned a clay bar... also parking under tree's will get a bunch of sap on the car which can also fuck it up ESPECIALLY if its already peeling or cracking.... I wash my car about once a week, start with a pressure wash, which as we all know doesnt do the greatest job, then hand wash with some rain-X car wash additive, water blade it dry, finish up a few spots with a chamois and then spot wax any bird crap spots or other road grime spots.

Then I give it a full wax every month, and clay bar every 2-3 months.... origional paint is shining like new

[slideways2004]

if you're not washing the car with just water before you handwash, then yes it will scratch pretty easily. whenever you wet/wash the car that breaks up all the dirt and stuff on the car and your soap provides lubricant as to not scratch your piant

[0wn3r]

if you're not washing the car with just water before you handwash, then yes it will scratch pretty easily. whenever you wet/wash the car that breaks up all the dirt and stuff on the car and your soap provides lubricant as to not scratch your piant

yes, which is why i think just going through a wet to dry to wax process is also failure. Without using the water/soap to remove the 'stuck on' dirt, you'll only be waxing the small dirt particles into your paint.

also, when going to the coin-op places, it's best to spray the gun for a few seconds to clear out anything sitting in the hose (wheel cleaner, engine cleaner, soap, etc...) then take the spray gun and spray off the brush well if you plan on using it.

oh also on the diapers, yea they are the cloth ones hahaha..but i'll typically go through about 8 of them during a wax cycle...folding around and using every side possible.

[kandyflip445]

There was a car washing thread that me and Phlip contributed to greatly a while back, as well as some other members. It has a LOT of info on maintaining your exterior.

It doesn't matter how much you wash or how carefull you are, if your paint is crap it will eventually go. I would wash my car and wax it often. You check to see if it needs wax by wetting your finger and dragging it across clean paint. If it squeaks/drags you need wax, if it glides you're good. It always had wax and it STILL oxidized like hell. Fuck Maaco.

[apexhumper]

What I do is spray my car down with the hose first(I do it in the evening so the surface is cooled down) then use the soap and then wax, is that what you guys are saying we should do?

[0wn3r]

What I do is spray my car down with the hose first(I do it in the evening so the surface is cooled down) then use the soap and then wax, is that what you guys are saying we should do?

I personally think so. Although if doing this during the late evening, depending on your climate, watch for dew forming while you're waxing. wax + dew = fail.

[kuruptR]

I do paint work so let me tell you that the least amount you touch your car the least imperfections it will have, pressure wash then air dry then hand wax. .


Sooo hard to maintain black, I swear every time I dry the car I wreck the paint....sooo many swirls and the paint is only a couple months old.