Car paint gone very dull

trixyben

i have a 06 mondeo which the paintwork has become very dull its dark green in colour, what product/method is best to get that high shine look back, have spend close to €100 over the past couple weeks on products that say they bring back that showroom shine but make not much better, what do the car valeters use to shine up the cars?

also was told that some car washs use to hign levels o castic in there cleaning detergents which can lead to dulling o paintwork over time would this be right?

DConway

Try T-Cut
Its really good, need a lot of elbow grease for it!

http://www.carbasics.co.uk/how_to_t-cut.htm

Don't use T cut on an 06 Mondeo, it isn't required, a good session with a claybar followed by a polish with a light cut in it and then a wax should sort it.

-Corkie-

T cut is a waste of time. If you gave the 100 euro to a good detailer the car would look a lot better.

Swampy

Yep. You need a proper paint correction from a detailer.

Owen

T Cut is the cheapest of the cheap crap. People really need to stop recommending it.

Before we all go recommending compounding, it's possible the car could just use a good, long, slow cleaning. OP, get a good quality car wash from either AutoGlym/Meguiars, wash the car, then detar it with another product, then clay bar it, and afterwards give the paint a good waxing with a good wax like Autoglym's HD, or any wax with Carnuba in it. Give the black trims a going over with Bumper Care afterwards, and it should look super.

Feck, that looks like an ad for Autoglym!

Nonoperational

A good wash and clay, then a mild cutting polish and finish it off with a wax if you want to get it to really shine.

If it's completely shagged you might need a machine polish but a 2006 shouldn't need that to look respectable.

omb0wyn5ehpij9

I totally agree with the other lads......claybar is the way to go. Take your time doing it, and it will be definitely be worth your while

sean1141

as above. decent shampoo( i use mer. get it in halfords) wash the car via 2 bucket method with a half decent wash mitt. rinse off. clay bay followed by a quick wash then dry completely. i would then use autoglym super resin polish.. if it is still dull after a coat of that try autoglym paint renovator. follow up with a good wax.. then stay the feck away from automatic car washes!! give half an hour once a week washing it via the two bucket method!

VinnyTGM

sean1141 wrote: »

as above. decent shampoo( i use mer. get it in halfords) wash the car via 2 bucket method with a half decent wash mitt. rinse off. clay bay followed by a quick wash then dry completely. i would then use autoglym super resin polish.. if it is still dull after a coat of that try autoglym paint renovator. follow up with a good wax.. then stay the feck away from automatic car washes!! give half an hour once a week washing it via the two bucket method!

+1

The clay bar will get rid of any contaminants that are dulling your paint, and the polish will spruce it up a bit, the wax will ensure the paint is protected.

Be careful though as some waxes are actually polish waxes, turtle wax in a bottle is a polish wax, whereas Autoglym HD wax is a proper wax, just going by what Halfords sell, you could find products on the net for a lot less money.

sean1141

i get my most my stuff of detailer.ie or cleancar.ie

Ardennes1944

i have used t cut alot before and i havent found anything that does as good a job. whats claybar?

Deutschlandfürimmer7

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

whats claybar?

Little lump of clay that's sort of like a mallable little bar of soap, rub it off the lubed (oh yeah baby) paintwork to remove contaminants, once it's done the paint is smooth and clean like glass, great stuff but could take 2 hours to do.

Ardennes1944

RoverJames wrote: »

Little lump of clay that's sort of like a mallable little bar of soap, rub it off the lubed (oh yeah baby) paintwork to remove contaminants, once it's done the paint is smooth and clean like glass, great stuff but could take 2 hours to do.

thanks, dont worry id spend a day if i had to how much? how many washes with one bar?

Deutschlandfürimmer7

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

thanks, dont worry id spend a day if i had to how much? how many washes with one bar?

Meguires have it in a kit, you get two bars and a lash of spray quick wax (the lube) and a polishing towel for reasonable money, €20 ish I think. Half one bar will do a car for you. It's great stuff, this was a then 12 year old Celica after a clay bar and Megs stage 2 and 3 polish / wax applied by hand. Not perfect but quite good I thought...



I'll refrain from posting any more pics of that car

'tis actually €40
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_253057_langId_-1_categoryId_212371

Halfords own stuff is half price ish at the moment though
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_700305_langId_-1_categoryId_212371

vectra

Give it a good wash
Claybar

That should get it pretty clean.

Then Use what I found to be excellent on my Dull red civic.

Chemical Guys P40 Polish > polishes and prepares the paint.

Then finish it off with a few coats of Chemical Guys Blitz acrylic sealerl
I bought both from cleancar.ie

And both a simple to use with excellent results

Ardennes1944

no no please post more:D i can hardly tell what colour it is its so shiny!

Ardennes1944

£25 delivered. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MEGUIARS-6-PIECE-SMOOTH-SURFACE-CAR-CLEANING-CLAY-KIT-/250622893521?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3a5a49ddd1#ht_1663wt_1199

Deutschlandfürimmer7

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

no no please post more:D i can hardly tell what colour it is its so shiny!

'twas black

trixyben

right so im gonna get good quality shampoo wash it down good, then clay bar it, how exactly do you clay bar it? go slow and rub or scrub and wipe? then a good polish and wax and this should bring it good i hope...will try the autgylm productions suggested and do halords sell the clay bars?

Halfords yep, your local factors may well match or better the Halfords price though if you ask them to

Claybar is a slow process, do a tiny bit at a time. No scrubbing, 'tis wiping you want to do.

sean1141

most motorfactors stock autoglym products. autoglym do a clay bar kit too. it is ment to be very good and easy to use also. never used it myself.. try cleancar.ie for stuff. i use them for mine and found service excellent.. quick delivery and very helpfull lads if your not 100% sure of the product you want. have a quick chat with them and they will tell you what the best stuff to use is!

AutoGlym is good stuff but the SRP is dusty, after using Megs stuff I wouldn't buy SRP again.

Cartel Mike

In my limited experience mate unless you have a garage at this time of year, irish weather won't permit you to do half those things.
Whatever your doing or waxing unless you finish off with Meguairs gold class wax you could be back to step one with your car.
Few others if any waxes will darken and give your car a long lasting shimmering wet look. Tis the dogs .

Cartel Mike

Cartel Mike wrote: »

In my limited experience mate unless you have a garage at this time of year, irish weather won't permit you to do half those things.

That's a good point, too cold to be hand polishing and waxing, 'twould take ages for the tack to dry to a haze.

vectra

Cartel Mike wrote: »

In my limited experience mate unless you have a garage at this time of year, irish weather won't permit you to do half those things.
Whatever your doing or waxing unless you finish off with Meguairs gold class wax you could be back to step one with your car.
Few others if any waxes will darken and give your car a long lasting shimmering wet look. Tis the dogs .

RoverJames wrote: »

That's a good point, too cold to be hand polishing and waxing, 'twould take ages for the tack to dry to a haze.

This is exactly why I suggested using the chemical Guys P40 Polish and the Blitz acrylic sealer on top.. It doesnt have to be as warm as wax needs to be.
I put a coat of Blitz on my car Last Saturday and intend putting another this week if the rain holds off.

Seperate

Claying in this weather is a bit trickier then normal. I get a mug of pretty warm water, let the clay heat up - do a panel, put the clay back in the mug, dry off the panel and repeat. Probably have to top up the warm three or four times on an average car.

As for removing the dullness, and restoring a good finish - it all depends on your budget.

If you're on a tight budget, see the 'Poorboys World' range of products. Black Hole is a glaze which remove oxidation and restore the gloss to the paint. It's specifically made for dark colours. The wax to use afterwars is Nattys Wax Blue. This will increase the depth of shine and protect the new finish. Total for the two is €36.90

If you've a few quid to spend, you won't find any better products than Swissvax. You'd be looking for Cleaner Fluid to start with, which will remove oxidation, fill in swirl marks & light scratches and leave an ultra slick finish for the wax to bond to. Swissvax waxes start at €64.95 for Onyx, and go to €700 for Crystal Rock. They're all excellent, and excell beyond anything else sold in the country.

vectra

Just spotted this thread over on vagdrivers.net
Short review of the products I suggested
Worth a read

Chemical Guys P40 & Blitz

Seperate

vectra wrote: »

Just spotted this thread over on vagdrivers.net
Short review of the products I suggested
Worth a read

Chemical Guys P40 & Blitz

He has actually done more harm than good using that buffer with those products.

You can see the wing is just a mass of buffer trails in direct light.

vectra

Seperate wrote: »

He has actually done more harm than good using that buffer with those products.

You can see the wing is just a mass of buffer trails in direct light.

Agreed,
It was more the products used i was pointing to

-Corkie-

Seperate wrote: »

He has actually done more harm than good using that buffer with those products.

You can see the wing is just a mass of buffer trails in direct light.

I done that to my last Passat. It was black pearl. I made a right balls of it using the machine..

When I am rich again I will come to Dublin to let Seperate have a go!!!.

-Corkie-

I would love to go on this...http://www.detailer.ie/academy.html

VolvoMan

I used T-Cut on my ten year-old car for the first time in its life and thought I got quite good results. I don't see what's so bad about it to be honest.

The Autogylm range I have found to be quite overrated in the past, the leather cleaner in particular being abysmal. I wouldn't bother with it again.

Most leather cleaners are utter sh1te The autoglym degreaser is great stuff to clean an engine.

VinnyTGM

Seperate wrote: »

He has actually done more harm than good using that buffer with those products.

You can see the wing is just a mass of buffer trails in direct light.

They are not buffer trails, that is product on the paint before being buffed off, the finished photos are two pictures below that one.