help please

[danny120T]

hi all
i have a bravo sport 120t in crossover black (what a nightmare) i have had it for 2years now, i always wash it every weekend and polish it once a month but my paint work it pretty bad now and needs some work, i think its tar down the door and dull paint and just needs the old polish taking it all off and polishing it back up again,also my wheels look like there is brake dust that i can't get off with just soapy water, can someone tell me what products to use, to clean there wheels?remove the tar? ( thats what i think it is :s) and take the old polish off?and what polish to put back on?

many thanks danny

 

[Blank2k2]

hi all
i have a bravo sport 120t in crossover black (what a nightmare) i have had it for 2years now, i always wash it every weekend and polish it once a month but my paint work it pretty bad now and needs some work, i think its tar down the door and dull paint and just needs the old polish taking it all off and polishing it back up again,also my wheels look like there is brake dust that i can't get off with just soapy water, can someone tell me what products to use, to clean there wheels?remove the tar? ( thats what i think it is :s) and take the old polish off?and what polish to put back on?

many thanks danny

What do you normally use to clean the car? (what shampoo/polish?)

Personally im pretty much an autoglym fanatic as the range usually does well for specific cleaning jobs, one of the best on the market & easily obtained in halfords etc, other products would require shopping around & don't really give much better results.

This is what I have for cleaning my car & other peoples cars, and i've not found anything I cant sort out yet.

Autoglym....

Body Shampoo (Brilliant)
Clean Wheels (Go careful, Acid based so can damage wheels if not cleaned off properly etc)
Alloy Wheel Sealant (Makes it easier to clean the wheels after there clean - apperently, cant say im sold on it though)
Super Resin Polish (Brilliant)
Extra Gloss Protection (goes on top of polish, lasts months)
Tar Remover (Rarely used, seems pretty effective so far.)
Fast Glass (Maybe "Glass Polish" if its really soiled, but it can be a bitch to completely remove.)


Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay Kit (I wouldn't recommend unless a specific problem comes up which people here say to use it)


Meguiars Safe Wheel Brush (One of my best purchases, really does wheels inside & out with ease)

Meguiars Applicator pads for applying polish (fairly cheap considering how long they last.)


Other than that, get....

Some cheap car cleaning microfibres from Asda (come in packs of 5 or so) to get into the awkward/messy spots & clean the wheels

one or two decent microfibres(meguiars, though not cheap.) for "clean" bodywork jobs.... Important on black cars as there so bloody easy to mark, i wouldn't use a cheapy microfibre on my bodywork.


Maybe some stockinette / polishing cloth from halfords, comes in a roll & cuts off, great for polishing up although the white fluff bits it can leave behind are a pain so dont use it inside the car.


Thats most of my kit, and that's solved everything i've come across so far on lots of different ages of car etc, although there's far more experienced people here who can give you more tailored help to specific problems, But as no-ones replied yet i figured i'd put in my 2 cents.... Maybe you can pick & mix products to suite your situation, as everything i've listed works well in my experience.

 

[miura74]

hi all
i have a bravo sport 120t in crossover black (what a nightmare) i have had it for 2years now, i always wash it every weekend and polish it once a month but my paint work it pretty bad now and needs some work, i think its tar down the door and dull paint and just needs the old polish taking it all off and polishing it back up again,also my wheels look like there is brake dust that i can't get off with just soapy water, can someone tell me what products to use, to clean there wheels?remove the tar? ( thats what i think it is :s) and take the old polish off?and what polish to put back on?

many thanks danny

Black is always a problem to keep clean.

Too many chemicals can't be good for the car either, so I personally try to keep it to a minimum.

For really bad alloys though, I would try a good quality wheel cleaner, but like Blank2k2 says, they are acid based and may cause damage to the alloy, esp. if cracked already or curbed.

If you've got old alloys, like I have on my Panda, I use Sonax Xtreme, see this thread, as it's a fairly good cleaner and you can see it works very well with brake dust. It also goes purple when you spray it on, so you can easily see where it is. A little scrub and very good wash off and it cleans very well. Must wash it off, very well.

A good wheel cleaning brush can also help, I personally use an Alaska brush with plastic and sponge parts. Rather good for cleaning difficult spots without scratching the alloy.

For my Evo I've dropped using the chemicals in favour of wiping them by hand with a dry microfibre cloth each use. After or before, each drive I wipe them off. Keeps them perfect, I must say. Something I recommend to all those with new alloys wishing to keep them clean.

As for bugs and tar, before jumping on a chemical, you could try using one of the special two part sponges. They will not scratch your paintwork and if you let it soak a while on the paint first, a few good scrubs and it can get most off. If that doesn't help then probably best to use a bug remover.

I don't myself, polish my cars very often and this is just a guess, but too much polishing may be the dull problem? Once a month I may wax my cars with Turtlewax for metallic, but normal washing I just use the Turtlewax Nano. The wax won't last very long, but if you wash it regular, it won't matter as you'll soon put a new layer back on.

 

[TallTom]

Best Wheel Cleaner I have found is billbury, or something like that, PH neutral, its really good at getting brake dust off, just need to buy it and a spray bottle, as its PH neutral can spray wheels and leave for a while if you need and it does not damage the surface