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Residency Evil
Jul 28, 2003

4/5 godo... Schumi
What's the best way to get rid of water spots on my windshield? After that, how do I make sure my windshield cleaner doesn't leave streaks? I'm using Invisible Glass and I feel like I'm doing it all wrong.

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Residency Evil
Jul 28, 2003

4/5 godo... Schumi

two_beer_bishes posted:

I bought this stuff last year and it worked great.


Seminal Flu posted:

Water spots as in "I didn't dry it fast enough and there are spots," or "I've let it sit outside in the Summer in the Southern US and there are etches spots"?

I had the etching issue and nothing I had touched it. I tried http://www.autogeek.net/dp515.html and it worked great. Went from perma-spotted glass to dead-clear.


Not sure? :confused: I garage my car and after I wash it I notice water spots in parts of the windshield. Thanks for the suggestions though!

Residency Evil
Jul 28, 2003

4/5 godo... Schumi
Two questions:

1. Over the winter some salty water dripped on my car and left a spot in the paint. I tried clay baring today and it didn't get it out. What are my options?
2. Is it silly to put a clear bra on a 2 year old car that already has a few rock chips on the front bumper?

Residency Evil
Jul 28, 2003

4/5 godo... Schumi
Is something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...CNJLYWMEIITSA7W

going to give me better results than using two buckets by hand?

Residency Evil
Jul 28, 2003

4/5 godo... Schumi

100% Dundee posted:

The foam sprayers don't replace the two bucket method, you use them in addition or at the same time as the two buckets. At least that's the way I've been doing it forever. Spray with foam first then let it sit for a few minutes while I fill up my buckets with soap/water. While it's sitting there soaking it starts getting all the dirt/grime/bird poop/etc loose and lifted up off the surface. That way when you come through with your soapy wash mitt ideally you're just wiping everything right off instead of rubbing it around grinding it into your paint.

At least that's what I've been told. In all actuality I mostly do it because it looks cool and smells good when you spray that foam all over everything.

Are the garden hose versions worth getting at all, or do I need a pressure washer?

Residency Evil
Jul 28, 2003

4/5 godo... Schumi
Not sure if this is the right thread, but my white Cayman never had any paint protection film put on. It's got 20k miles and there are some usual chips on the front/hood. Would it be worth it to get it paint corrected/PPF put on, or is it not worth it at this time?

Residency Evil
Jul 28, 2003

4/5 godo... Schumi

InitialDave posted:

Well, it's about whether it's worth it to you, as unhelpful as that may come across.

The one option I'd discount is putting PPF over the damage, that seems pointless if you're paying for decent stuff to be put on there. So strikes me your choices are:
- Leave it be, let it chip, only touch in as required to stop rust starting.
- Fix it up, put PPF over it.
- Fix it up, leave it as straight paint, fix it again as required in future.

Bajaha posted:

I'm a neurotic when it comes to paint, case in point I've replaced both front and rear bumpers on my last boxster and had the hood and fenders resprayed due to rock chips and I'm scheduled to do the same on this one too, although this one's been quite cosmetically shagged by the previous owners poor driving.

I did a "bikini" cut front ppf for the hood, fenders, bumper, and mirrors for my last one after the respray and it looked good but was visible if you knew where to look and the light hit it right. I think on this one I'll go with a ceramic coating instead and see how it holds up. A full frontal ppf would prevent the visibility issue as all the transitions would be across body panels but thats $$$$ and I didn't deem it worth it.

But yeah, don't protect damaged point.

How much should I expect to pay for a paint correction/front PPF? What's "reasonable" for good work?

Residency Evil
Jul 28, 2003

4/5 godo... Schumi
For those of you that use a clay mitt, which one do you use?

Residency Evil
Jul 28, 2003

4/5 godo... Schumi
Here's my current car cleaning process:

Every two weeks: wash with meguiars car wash
Every month: wax with collinite 845
Every 6 months: clay bar

Anything I should be doing differently? I'm mainly curious about the collinite, and whether I should be using something else.

Residency Evil
Jul 28, 2003

4/5 godo... Schumi

MrOnBicycle posted:

A popular combo is putting Jescar/Menzerna Powerlock under the Collonite. Usually stuff like that don't play well together, but this one is tried and true. Powerlock is a sealant, so in itself will last longer that Collonite. The wipe-off is insanely smooth as well. It's said that Powerlock should give 6 months proctection, and Collonite about 3 months, but that's very much down to proper application and proper washing.
One thing you could do is start using a spray protectant as a drying aid after each wash. Helps safely dry the car and will add some protection and gloss. Beadmaker is very slick and glossy, but won't last very long (doesn't really matter if you apply it with every wash. Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer isn't as slick or glossy, but will last longer and give better protection. Can be diluted as well. Very highly regarded.

Awesome, thanks. So every six months I'd be doing a long day of clay/powerlock/collinite?

Residency Evil
Jul 28, 2003

4/5 godo... Schumi

MrOnBicycle posted:

That's what I would do under those circumstances. The other way to go would be ceramic coatings and all that jazz, but that also comes with a ton more initial cost and potential for becoming expensive in the long run.
Also probably some iron fallout remover/tar remover etc before you clay if you are not doing that already. Helps to minimize marring from claying and makes sure you get more contaminants off. Matt from Obsessed garage has some videos on the combination. He's very overkill though, and the videos are long winded. ... and you have to get past that he comes across as an rear end in a top hat sometimes...

Thanks. What I need to figure out is what to do about my car's front end. It's a 2011 and had clear film applied to the front, front fenders, hood, and mirrors. The car is white and the film is yellowing. I think I'll probably have it paint corrected/touched up/clear film replaced, but I want to make sure I love the car as much as I think I do, as I imagine that's going to cost a decent amount.

Residency Evil
Jul 28, 2003

4/5 godo... Schumi
Man I'm thinking of getting a pressure washer for general home/car use and I'm still confused about gas vs electric. Is gas really that much better to make worrying about changing the oil in something else worth it? I went electric for my mower and it's great.

Residency Evil
Jul 28, 2003

4/5 godo... Schumi

MrOnBicycle posted:

Old school combo is Jescar Powerlock and then Collonite 845 on to of it for added longevity.

This is what I use now. Is there a "better" alternative?

One thing I've been thinking about is getting my car ceramic coated. I spent a decent amount of money getting a good local place doing paint correction/replacing the PPF on my car back in February. I've seen a bunch of places advertising putting on ceramic coating, but is this something I can DIY for significantly cheaper? Any recommendations?

Residency Evil
Jul 28, 2003

4/5 godo... Schumi

MrOnBicycle posted:

If you don't care about polishing the car before, you can just clean the car properly and apply the ceramic coating. The main cost of applying the coatings is the hours it takes to polish. There are also "light versions" like Carpro Cquartz Lite that won't last as long, but also aren't something that will need polishing to get off. The AliExpress stuff is super cheap and works fine. I personally won't be using it as I don't think the name brands are that much more expensive and I know what I'm getting.

Any reasons to go with one brand name over the other?

As far as prep goes, I was going to clay it before. Paint was professionally corrected earlier this year and I’m not going to correct it myself.

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Residency Evil
Jul 28, 2003

4/5 godo... Schumi

bull3964 posted:

I would advise against claying if you already had it professionally corrected earlier this year. There's way too much of a chance to introduce marring and undoing the effort of the correction. Use something like Carpro Rest to really cut the road film and maybe do an iron decon, but I would skip claying unless the paint seems rough.

If you had it professionally corrected, is there already a sealant on it already? I can't imagine a place would do that and not put some sort of sealant on the car. If so, that could be a significant barrier in applying a ceramic coating properly.

Thank you for this. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I'm not sure about the sealant, although I imagine there might be. Honestly the paint looks fantastic after a simple wash. I was thinking of getting the ceramic coating to make it even easier, but it sounds like it might be worth holding off.

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