M
Mike1
Guest
Good Evening gents & gals
In this thread I will be sharing maintenance ideas, tips and info on basic car care - Naturally all contributions are welcome.
To begin with I want to discuss the difference between polishing your BMW and waxing your BMW.
Polish: This is process whereby you remove contaminants and paint defects. The end goal of polish is to enhance the paintwork of your vehicle. Polishes come in many forms ranging from light, medium and heavy abrasives through to polish and wax combinations.
Wax: Wax or Sealants play a vital role in car care as they not only protect your vehicles paintwork from the elements but often also provide extreme amounts of shine and depth to paint which a polish cannot do.
Why is it important to understand the difference?
Understanding the difference between a polish and wax is important because in order to fully enhance the paintwork of your vehicle you require both. Often people use polishes, get their paintwork looking divine and leave it as is. Usually finishes like this only lasts weeks as the newly polished surface is not protected. Wax provides a barrier between the surface of bodywork and the elements, not only further enhancing your hard work but also meaning that you will get to enjoy your shiney BMW for longer.
In this installment I will be running through the difference between a protected (waxed) surface vs an unprotected surface as well as showing you an easy way to enhance your paintwork and protect your BMW.
MK4 Golf - Todays test mule
This car is very poorly maintained in terms of its paintwork. BP Car Wash is the designated place for a wash and vacuum and the car is rarely ever polished or waxed.
As you can see, the paintwork is dull with very little shine.
As per this image from Detailing World your cars bodywork is made up of a base coat, colour coat and then clearcoat. Some paint colours do not even feature clearcoats.
Over time, the paintwork on your bodywork suffers from the elements, poor wash technique and in some cars poor respray work. This is the reason the Golf looks dull and lifeless.
In cars with Metallic & Flat finishes swirling, holograms and paint imperfections can easily remove the sparkle or shine from the paintwork. The reason for this is because your clearcoat on the car has suffered. Imagine a glass window, clear and you can see perfectly outside. Now take sand paper to the glass - Your view outside is now impaired. The same applies to your BMW.
Lets take a closer look at these imperfections:
Swirling, oxidation and Holograms can all lead to less shine and clarity in your paintwork.
How do I improve my car's paintwork?
Polish is your answer, whether it be by hand or by Orbital or if you wish by paying a detailer to have a go.
There are various polishes on the market today ranging from R30 a bottle to R350 in all shapes, sizes and brands. For this Golf I used Chemical Guys Medium Cut 721 polish using a Rotary Machine Polisher. This polish has very good cut allowing easier repair of heavy contamination and paint defects.
Products over the shelf (Game, Makro & Builders) you can use if a beginner:
- Meguires Swirl X
- Meguires Ultimate Compound
Apply the polish using a clean microfibre, working small areas at a time in circular motion. Allow to haze and remove with a clean microfibre. Polishing by hand usually gives good results, however if you can get your hands on an Orbital Polisher it makes life easier.
My results after two passes with the Rotary Polisher on the derelict Golf:
Lets take a look from afar and smile at the difference:
As explained above, your finish is enhanced but this is not the end, no not at all.
Lets take a look at the difference a wax makes not only to water repulsion, but also to the clarity of the paintwork.
Todays wax is Chemical Guys XXX Hardcore White Wax, applied evenly with a microfibre and removed with a clean microfibre. The right side of the bonnet recieved two coats, the left is still unpolished and unwaxed.
Look at the beading the wax creates. Whereas the unpolished/unwaxed area is unable to repel the water causing the water to remain, causing more damage to the finish of the car.
Easy waxes to use are:
- Meguires NXT 2.0 Wax
- Meguires Gold Class Wax (Also contains fillers so hides swirls)
- Chemical Guys 50/50 Wax
- Checmical Guys Wet Butter Wax (Not very durable though)
Beading up close:
With your paintwork enhanced, efforts protected you can now sit back and grin at your BMW:
In the next installment I will hopefully give you a detailed write up a basic wash process so that your newly enhanced paintwork not only remains protected, but also ways to reduce potential paint damage and even more hours slaving over the bonnet of your favourite BMW.
Mike
In this thread I will be sharing maintenance ideas, tips and info on basic car care - Naturally all contributions are welcome.
To begin with I want to discuss the difference between polishing your BMW and waxing your BMW.
Polish vs Wax
Polish: This is process whereby you remove contaminants and paint defects. The end goal of polish is to enhance the paintwork of your vehicle. Polishes come in many forms ranging from light, medium and heavy abrasives through to polish and wax combinations.
Wax: Wax or Sealants play a vital role in car care as they not only protect your vehicles paintwork from the elements but often also provide extreme amounts of shine and depth to paint which a polish cannot do.
Why is it important to understand the difference?
Understanding the difference between a polish and wax is important because in order to fully enhance the paintwork of your vehicle you require both. Often people use polishes, get their paintwork looking divine and leave it as is. Usually finishes like this only lasts weeks as the newly polished surface is not protected. Wax provides a barrier between the surface of bodywork and the elements, not only further enhancing your hard work but also meaning that you will get to enjoy your shiney BMW for longer.
In this installment I will be running through the difference between a protected (waxed) surface vs an unprotected surface as well as showing you an easy way to enhance your paintwork and protect your BMW.
MK4 Golf - Todays test mule
This car is very poorly maintained in terms of its paintwork. BP Car Wash is the designated place for a wash and vacuum and the car is rarely ever polished or waxed.
As you can see, the paintwork is dull with very little shine.
As per this image from Detailing World your cars bodywork is made up of a base coat, colour coat and then clearcoat. Some paint colours do not even feature clearcoats.
Over time, the paintwork on your bodywork suffers from the elements, poor wash technique and in some cars poor respray work. This is the reason the Golf looks dull and lifeless.
In cars with Metallic & Flat finishes swirling, holograms and paint imperfections can easily remove the sparkle or shine from the paintwork. The reason for this is because your clearcoat on the car has suffered. Imagine a glass window, clear and you can see perfectly outside. Now take sand paper to the glass - Your view outside is now impaired. The same applies to your BMW.
Lets take a closer look at these imperfections:
Swirling, oxidation and Holograms can all lead to less shine and clarity in your paintwork.
How do I improve my car's paintwork?
Polish is your answer, whether it be by hand or by Orbital or if you wish by paying a detailer to have a go.
There are various polishes on the market today ranging from R30 a bottle to R350 in all shapes, sizes and brands. For this Golf I used Chemical Guys Medium Cut 721 polish using a Rotary Machine Polisher. This polish has very good cut allowing easier repair of heavy contamination and paint defects.
Products over the shelf (Game, Makro & Builders) you can use if a beginner:
- Meguires Swirl X
- Meguires Ultimate Compound
Apply the polish using a clean microfibre, working small areas at a time in circular motion. Allow to haze and remove with a clean microfibre. Polishing by hand usually gives good results, however if you can get your hands on an Orbital Polisher it makes life easier.
My results after two passes with the Rotary Polisher on the derelict Golf:
Lets take a look from afar and smile at the difference:
As explained above, your finish is enhanced but this is not the end, no not at all.
Lets take a look at the difference a wax makes not only to water repulsion, but also to the clarity of the paintwork.
Todays wax is Chemical Guys XXX Hardcore White Wax, applied evenly with a microfibre and removed with a clean microfibre. The right side of the bonnet recieved two coats, the left is still unpolished and unwaxed.
Look at the beading the wax creates. Whereas the unpolished/unwaxed area is unable to repel the water causing the water to remain, causing more damage to the finish of the car.
Easy waxes to use are:
- Meguires NXT 2.0 Wax
- Meguires Gold Class Wax (Also contains fillers so hides swirls)
- Chemical Guys 50/50 Wax
- Checmical Guys Wet Butter Wax (Not very durable though)
Beading up close:
With your paintwork enhanced, efforts protected you can now sit back and grin at your BMW:
In the next installment I will hopefully give you a detailed write up a basic wash process so that your newly enhanced paintwork not only remains protected, but also ways to reduce potential paint damage and even more hours slaving over the bonnet of your favourite BMW.
Mike
raise:
