well i didn't notice this before but now i am amazed by what i saw.

from july, when i got my car, till november i had been waxing my car either once a week or once every two weeks, and without a doubt my car was smooth like hell...

starting from mid november it rained quite a bit over there so i couldn't really get the chance to wax my car. but nonetheless i still washed my car regardless, at least once every two weeks.

if i remember right i did waxed my car once between then and last weekend. since the weather is getting better here so i decided to give my car a detail wash this past weekend and wax.

to my surprised i noticed that the surface of the car was rough!!! it's still very shiny but if you put your hand over it you can feel the roughness!!!!!! however this is only the case for hose "horizontal" areas like the hood, the top, the trunk lid, etc... if you feel the side of the car like the doors, they are still very very smooth.

so my conclusion was this is caused by those damn acid rains... am i right? i tried to use z5 since i got some swirls but the surfaces still feel rough.... anything i could do to get back the same smoothless i got when my car was new??

 

i think it's the UV from the sun....

 

Henry..you can also try using Claybar as well. it works very good...it gives back the smoothness.

 

wow the uv lights are that bad?!?! any other comments?

yeah ray, i think i would give clay bar a try this summer when i have some more time. it will require quite some work i am sure

 

yep..i watched my friend do it on his car....he did the hood..and got tired already and never finished the rest of the car...HAHAHA!!!!

 

hhahaa, tell me about it man, i heard you have to apply quite some pressure to take out all the old wax, true?

 

yes, you need to apply pressure...and that thing is soo small.....you need to work at it and keep touching the surface of your car until your satisfied...then work on the other areas.

 

Quote:

i heard you have to apply quite some pressure to take out all the old wax, true?

To remove the old wax from your car, use dishwash soap...it will take the wax off, which is why you don't ever use it to wash your car unless you want to rewax it.

The clay bar works great, but it is tedious, but definitely worth the result. A good procedure to do is to first wash your car, with dish soap to remove the old wax, then use a clay bar, I like Mother's, but any will do, then apply some polish, then finally wax it. It is a lot of work, but well worth the results.

 

DO NOT APPLY PRESSURE TO THE CLAYBAR. You need to lightly glide it across the paint to remove the stuff imbedded in your paint.

Pressing the clay too hard into your paint will cause some wicked scratches.

 

You can apply pressure if you have too, but not much is required at all. It wont scratch unless you drop it, or get dirt in it somehow. If you drop the bar, go 'head and toss it, unless it was dropped on spotless garage floor....
This is all you need


http://www.autobarn.net/ch07240.html

http://store.yahoo.com/rodi/chz-503.html

THIS WILL BRING YOUR CAR TO 'WET' STATUS!

Est time needed: 2-3 hrs. Wash, Clay, Wax.

 

I doubt it's acid rain. Acid rain is caused by spewing by-product from industrial area and collected by the vapors in the air. Since the current wind trend blows from California to New York. the rain you get comes from the Pacific Ocean. The roughness on your car more than likely comes from debris (dirt particles) in the air. a good dishwasher detergent followed by clay bar and wax should bring your car back to its orginal gloss.
BTW acid rain eats into the gloss clear coat and eventually your paint if left untreated. You have not reason to be concern.

 

Claybar your car does not take that much time. Takes less time than waxing. You just spray on the quick detail and rub the clay bar on your car and wipe off! That's it.

I HIGHLY recommend Claybar.

Wash your car in Dawn dish soap (removes old wax or whatevers)

Clay bar.

Then wax or polish then wax...which ever is your normal waxing procedure. Clay bar works wonders. Ask a friend or relative to help you. It goes by fast with 2 people. I always ask my bro to help.

 

No offense, but you're paying a lot of money for Turtle Wax. That Zymol is not the true "Zymol" estate products that are sold. A couple of years ago, Zymol had this bright idea to offer a lesser quality product that could be sold at the local Auto Parts stores and KMarts. So they partnered with Turtle Wax to package a lesser quality product manufactured by Turtle Wax, but in a Zymol bottle.

You, my friend have been suckered into buying Turtle Wax in a pretty bottle.

You should read some of the reviews on that product's longevity. I've heard that a good day in the sun will bake that stuff right off.

 

The bottle of Zymol is the one pictured in the the test against Zaino:

http://www.nsxsc.com/nsexcitement/waxtest.html


"You should read some of the reviews on that product's longevity. I've heard that a good day in the sun will bake that stuff right off." What reviews did you read?

Im very happy with it, Turtle Wax, or not.

"> I think you may have missed the post last week when the owner of Zymol
> wrote in explaining that the relationship with Turtle wax is
> purely for
> distribution purposes. The Zymol wax itself is a completely separate
> product."

It appears to hold its own. For the price, It looks great to me. Its been over three weeks, and it still feels Smoooooooth. To each his own, but Im real happy with it. BTW, I live in Florida, it was 89 degrees yesterday, no baking, just glaze!!

Oh, this is what my bottle looks like...

http://www.zymol.com/s_u_v.htm
Oh Shiite, I have the 'polish' it looks like

was the first bottle I posted a link to a different 'formula' now? It actually says 'wax'. Damn, how different are these Zymols now! The ingredients still look the same..


"Kaolin Clays from Africa and gentle Almond Meal from California provide a safe and effective cleaning action for your car without abrasion. Pure Beeswax provides a water repellent finish."

 

okok, question guys.

i know about clay bars and stuff, and also to use dawn to wash my car to remove the wax, but:

1) do i have to use dawn for sure? like can i use some other detergent? obviously that's coz' i got this huge bottle of detergent and it will be some while before i get the second one.... so wanna make sure
2) after washing my car, i dry it right? then what do i spray on the body when i clay it? i know i will be claying the dry body, but do i use water, soap water, or something else?

planning on this project now after my famous scratch removal @_@

 

UV lights are bad...put a can of empty coke and let it stay with the sunshine for a couple days and u know y...

the UV rays will damage ur body's paint and the color will fade out quickly...that's y u see lots of car care products say "UV protection" is to prevent the damage of UV rays..

also it will cause ur wiper blades wear out faster too...any rubber compound on the car...just a lot of damage when u park outside...

 

I'm not sure about the Dawn thing. That's just what I used. I think any dishwashing soap is okay.

Wash then dry the car. Then spray on the Meguires or what ever brand quick detail spray (don't wipe off) and rub the clay bar over that area.

Then you can go ahead and wipe off and then do your waxing procedure.

Hope this helps. Fellas, correct me if I'm wrong please. Thanks.

 

dawn is like $0.95 at walmart for a large bottle. just buy one and use the rest to wash dishes. a present for the mrs.

 

those car wash soaps are just a milder version of the dish washing liquid...same if u add more water ratio to the dishwashing liquid...