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-   -   A superb Car cleaning, polishing & detailing guide (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/102011-superb-car-cleaning-polishing-detailing-guide-630.html)

Collinite is said to last 4-5 months average, 6-9 months claimed by a few but this could be on cars rarely taken out and parked indoors always. Poorboy's waxes are said to last 2-3 months. Durability diminishes with exposure to sun,UV, rain, show and washes too, as well as other chemicals.

You should not need compounds unless you have deep scratches, that polish cannot smoothen out enough. If you have debris/foreign particles embedded in paint that don't come off with pressure wash or foam/shampoo wash, then you need to clay the car before trying anything else like polish or compound.

Sorry to trouble everyone over here!
How is poorboys ex-p as a sealant? Has anyone used it? How much does it last?
And does anyone know stores in delhi to buy such detailing stuff?

What is the recommended way to remove light scratches? Is a polish going to work? Or I need a compound? Can it be done by hand?
Yesterday I tried toothpaste based on some articles on the net and it worked wonders. Almost all light scratches gone. Then topped those up by Colinite 845 and it looks great.
Now the question is have I actually harmed the car's paint? Please letme know your opinion

For light scratches, a mild polish might just work, but more like ScratchX/ScratchOut. Deep scratches will need more abrasive polish, the kinds usually not available off the shelf for retail/home users.

Toothpaste is mildly abrasive, like polish. There are videos on youtube showing how to scrub oxidation layer on headlamp lenses with toothpaste. If you did the work by hand, there's nothing to be worried about, you've only scrubbed a bit off the clear coat.

It's been a year and four months, but the obsession to get to the driver's seat and throw her around corners is still alive like day one. And yeah, the activities to maintain her in good shape has become my favourite once-in-a-week hobby:D. A brief log :

The ride as of now



Exteriors maintained with Optimum Car Wax (OCW) and Ultima Paint Guard Plus (UPGP). Car Shampoo used is Amway and the wash mitt is Meguiar's



Beige PU Leather Seats maintained with Amway LOC



Dashboard, plastic and rubber parts get STP Son of a Gun



Beige plastic parts and door pads maintained spotless with Amway LOC



Last but not the least, the noodle mat which fits like a glove and works like a charm

The bolded portion is not exactly true. To take out scratches by hand, you definitely need something really abrasive. However a machine needs a compound/polish with much less abrasives in them to achieve the same finish.

Many compounds/polishes are specifically designed to be used by hand (ScratchX 2.0 for example) and they usually have Diminishing Abrasives whose effect reduces and the spent compound in turn acts as a polish to increase the gloss.

If you want to get good results, invest in a quality product.

Most of the professional products give best results when used by polishing machines and hence are not recommended for consumers who'd generally perform corrections by hand.

PS : ScratchX is very abrasive when used with a machine, that's what makes it effective when used by hand :)

Yes, that is quite what I said, though skimping on typing it in detail - any polish with the machine will be more abrasive because it exerts more force than the hand.
ScratchX isn't the most abrasive - it might be most abrasive of those meant for use by hand, there are others but for professional use only.

Thank you very much. I did rub by hand only.

Can you provide some recommendatations of mild polish and rubbing compound? As I understand, for a light scratch, better to try a polish. If that doesn't work, then we need a rubbing compound. I am guessing ScratchX etc is more like a rubbing compound or are those different?

Has anyone tried any polisher which works of the car's 12V socket? Thinking of getting one.

Please don't try any household recipes like toothpaste on paint. Toothpaste is fine for front headlights and windshield but not on the body. Toothpaste will pretty much eat through the clear coat and if it wasn't completely wet then it will eat the paint till primer.

I'm not sure where you read up that toothpaste works but toothpaste is NOT a scratch remover.

I am highlighting the above so nobody else reads your post and does the same mistake.

Any polish has oils and are usually not at all abrasive. They won't even remove swirl marks. A polish will fill the scratches or swirls with oil and hide the defect but not remove it. Minute you wipe the polish with something like IPA the scratch will be back.

There are 3 products from Meguiars which work differently. Swirl-x is the mildest abrasive which will remove very light swirls. But if you use by hand it will hardly make an impact.

Scratch-X is slightly more abrasive and can be used for removing small scratches.

Ultimate compound is the most abrasive when it comes to consumer grade but the professional grade stuff is still stronger. Ultimate compound will show results by hand but needs effort. By hand you will not do any damage to the paint. Ultimate compound shows huge difference when applied by machine but you need to be careful as you can cut too deep.

I don't know of any polisher that works on 12V socket. It will drain the battery super fast and you cannot keep the engine running as the bonnet will get hot and you cannot apply any product if the panel is hot.

^^

Thanks Vid.
I tried the toothpaste on mirrors and fenders which had a lot of scratches and all of those are gone. So, it does remove the scratches.

I understand it's a jugaad than a proper scratch remover but it worked very well for me. It was not wet but I did not apply much pressure while applying it so that I don't damage the paint.

Now, I don't know what damage it has caused on the paint. But it looks fine to me.I was anyway planning to get a few panels repainted. So, tried it as an experiment.Now, I am not going to go for a repaint for those panels or professional detailing at least for a few months.

I am not asking anyone to do it and neither I am recommending it.
There are lots of articles and videos in the net about removing scratches using toothpaste.So, try it at your own risk.

ScratchX is pretty costly. what about F1 scratch out?

It will definitely work. No doubt in that. It removes scratches because it is super abrasive. Basically it removes a nice layer of paint thereby removing the scratch as well. That's why I said not to use it.

The same reason why you shouldn't brush your teeth a rubbing compound, you don't use toothpaste on your car paint.

The only jugaad for toothpaste is on windshield and headlight cause they don't have a delicate paint coat. The toothpaste is so strong that you can use it to buff glass and remove scratches. Now imagine that on a delicate car paint.

F1 scratch out is similar to the Meguiars but chances of spurious products with F1 are higher. You almost get more fake F1 products than genuine in the market.

Stick with 3M, Meguiars, turtle wax, sonax products which are more for consumer use.

I checked the car paint after applying toothpaste. I applied at a lot of places and I feel there are one or two places where there is some damage judging by the roughness as felt by gliding your hand over the surface. Most probably, the paste might have dried or I rubbed too hard. Otherwise, mostly look good to me. I am not saying that I will do it again though but doesn't seem like I have done too much harm.

Here are some pics of the panels after toothpaste and colinite.

What would be the best DIY method to retain/ restore the plastic door trims/ mouldings?

The ones on our cars look dirty and stained. Elbow grease with car shampoos have not made much of a difference to the car other than me having aching arms.

@RiGOD:
What dilution ratio do you use with Amway LOC for seat covers?

A 1:10 solution of LOC can take care of pretty much everything like seat covers, door pads, wheels and tyres, engine bay degreasing etc. I had separate products for all the above mentioned purposes but after trying LOC, got rid of all of them.