Hi all,

Well you definitely kena con.

Nano glass coating is a sealant - it just seals properly prepared paint, it is not meant to remove imperfections. To get rid of those water marks, the paint needs to be polished and buffed.

But I think I know what the shop is trying to say. If you cough up RM1300, they'll polish & buff the water marks out... which is necessary in order to apply the sealant anyway. But they since definitely conned you on the first job, cheating bastards don't deserve repeat business.

Spend RM25 on a polishing compound, RM70 on a polymer sealant, a few more bucks on some microfiber cloths and a quiet weekend. You'll get rid of your watermarks and it beats paying hundreds of bucks on any Groupon detailing con job.

This post has been edited by ZZR-Pilot: Dec 27 2015, 10:57 AM

Turtle Wax Renew Rx Polishing Compound costs RM19.90 at Tesco. They make the more aggressive Renew Rx Rubbing Compound too, but you don't need it.

Polyglaze makes cheap sealant, used that before. Turtle Wax Platinum Ultra Gloss is about RM50 if I'm not mistaken.

Add a clay bar, polishing cloths and a few hours' worth of elbow grease, you'll do a far better job than that Groupon con job detailer.

The thing that most people don't realize, most companies use Groupon to bait consumers to come to their shop. Once you've taken the bait, they'll try to switch you to something more profitable to them. I think that's what happened to you. You went in to polish your car with a Groupon deal, they do a lousy job so that you'll be tempted to cough up blood for their hugely profitable RM1300 package.

This post has been edited by ZZR-Pilot: Dec 28 2015, 04:47 PM

Watermarks are the easiest to buff out using a polishing compound, since they lie on top of the clearcoat.

Swirls and scratches, those depend on how deep they cut into the clearcoat. If very minor, by hand pun OK. If somebody ran their car key across your paint, you'll need a rotary buffer.

If I recommended that you use top-of-the-line RM200 products to do the job, would you be more convinced? Hehe...

I've got a restoration project myself when I find the time in January. 5-year old black SUV, original paintjob with the complimentary cuci kereta swirls and a nasty scratch that drags across an entire door. I'll be armed with that cheap RM20 TW polishing compound, a cheap TW Color Cure Plus Black thingie, a second-hand adjustable speed rotary buffer that I got for RM100... and I'm trying to find that TW Platinum Ultra Gloss sealant and a 2000-grit sandpaper.

A complete outer respray paintjob would set me back RM2500, let's see if I can rejuvenate the paint this way and save myself RM2200.

If an idiot like me can do it, I'm sure you can too.

This post has been edited by ZZR-Pilot: Dec 28 2015, 06:15 PM

Compared to the TW Rubbing Compound, the TW Polishing Compound is already less aggressive. After a couple of passes & buffing off, I think it should be ready for TW Color Cure Plus. Two coats of that, then the polymer sealant goes on to seal the deal. Job done.

The hard work is in the polishing stage where you remove swirls, scratches & dullness by cutting down a thin layer of the paint's clearcoat... without adding fresh damage from hamfisted use of the buffing machine.

If the paintwork is badly weathered or in a really lousy condition, then u use something more abrasive to cut out the imperfections faster, like that rubbing compound or a cutting compound. Otherwise you won't need it.

The only use of spray wax at this point is to moisten the pad on the rotary buffer at the beginning to avoid running a dry pad on the paintwork. It's otherwise not needed.

This post has been edited by ZZR-Pilot: Dec 29 2015, 02:25 AM

Sure you can. It just takes a bit of muscle, that's all.

It's a good workout for you young folks, me I'm an ageing uncle I'd rather use a machine. The other advantage of doing it by hand is, there is less risk of of going overboard and damaging the paintwork. The advantage of using a rotary buffer is... I'VE GOT DA POWER (cue song)..!!

TW Color Cure Plus is a discontinued product from early 2000 I think, you'll find old stock lying around here and there at Ace Hardware and that rip-off place called Eneos. I know I used to use it on my GSXR400 that I rode at the Batu 3 circuit... that was back when people knew there was an international racetrack in the middle of Shah Alam. It's basically synthetic wax with coloring in it, plus a rather useless Chip Stick that you used to fill in the deep scratches if you're too lazy to do a proper job of wet sanding and polishing them out. I just want the colored synthetic wax to make the black paintwork pop out before I seal it.

These days it has been replaced by Turtle Wax's Black Box kit, which is bloody farking expensive at RM120+. Me, I'm trying to keep the cost of my restoration project at around RM300 so glorified crap like that are off my list.

Congrats on the purchase of your new car. I hv never owned a brand new car in my life... oh wait, I once bought a brand new Kancil 850 in the 90s... it had a solid red paint which gradually peeled off the roof after 3 years to reveal bare metal underneath LOL...

Anyway... I'm no otai, but the word I keep hearing from out there is... if you are into waxing your car then those cheap no-brand car wash liquids tend to strip the wax off pretty quick. Something to do with their chemical make-up and pH. Maybe somebody else can elaborate.

Microfiber cloths, first you soak them in detergent and squeeze out by hand to remove the bulk of the crap they had collected. Then dump them in the washing machine and wash them separately i.e. do not mix with other clothes. Use liquid detergent as powder types hv a tendency to sneak into the fibers and act as abrasives when you reuse the towels on your car. That's all.

Over time, the fibers will get f*cked up... and when they do, it's time to relegate them to the kain buruk duties.

Turtle Wax Color Cure Plus Black is color enhanced synthetic wax, plus a useless Chip Stick. I think around RM40 if I'm not mistaken at Ace Hardware near my house. The first time I bought it was at Jusco many years ago.

Turtle Wax Platinum Ultra Gloss is the sealant I will use. RM50.

Other costs: Turtle Wax Renew RX Polishing Compound RM20, a second hand rotary buffer with foam pads RM100, plus a few bucks for new microfibre cloths... I think should be able to keep to my RM300 budget for this restoration project. Save the rest of my cash for ICE in March... LOL...

LOL... yeah, ICE as in an HU, a d-class amp, a sub & component speakers.

Well you don't have to use everything I use. Maybe the other guys here can recommend different waxes.

Me, I prefer to stick to synthetic stuff. I'm too much of a cheapskate to cough up for premium pure carnauba stuff - there is just no point trying to keep a concours-level finish on a humble daily transport.

Ahhh.... always remember what the sifu says:

How to Wax

Stains can be removed with a polish product. To make the cleaning job easier next time, you need to seal your paintwork. This is done using a quality wax product or a synthetic sealant. Use wax if you're prepared to spend money and time on your car. If you can't be bloody bothered to pamper your car every other week, just use a synthetic sealant because they tend to stay on longer.

Permaglass makes a product called Polymer Sealant that does this job on the cheap - around RM25 a bottle.

Today's scratch removal project completed.

Cost - second hand rotary buffer RM100, new sponge buffing pad RM20, 1000-grit sandpaper RM0.80, Turtle Wax Color Cure Plus RM45, Tesco applicator sponge RM2. Old microfiber cloths & girlfriend's Mantis Scratch Remover FREE! Total cost RM167 plus change.

My hood got keyed real good. Long winding gash about 1 metre long and it's been a royal eyesore.



The gash dug halfway thru the clearcoat. Can feel it with my fingernails, so need sandpaper to sand down the clearcoat.



Sanding down. Check out that winding gash! Whoever did this was a real sohai. Need water spray to lube the sandpaper.




3 hours later.. ta-daaa! I felt like Tool Time Tim.



Cast of honour. Star of the show, the second hand China rotary buffer and matching el cheapo sponge buffing pad from Chinaman hardware store. Dishonorably discharged - Turtlewax Polishing Compound. Farking useless.



Lessons learned:

1) Turtlewax Polishing Compound wasn't up to the job. Not abrasive enough, took bloody forever to polish out the scratch.

2) Mantis Scratch Remover is shit on its own, but if you use it with a rotary buffer... hell yeah!

3) El cheapo second hand China rotary buffer will do the job, instead of the more expensive dual action polisher.

Removed by wet sanding.

Got another set of scratches elsewhere on the car that go down to the base coat and in some parts, bare metal. Ouch.

Don't think they can be wet sanded out, have to think of something else to reduce their appearance (amateurs like me have no hope of completely erasing shit like this). Thinking rubbing compound, black paint, thinner, clear coat, fine paintbrush & a really steady hand. Touch up, let dry, then machine buff with rubbing compound.

Yep. I used Mantis Scratch Remover out of convenience, really. At first I bought Turtle Wax Polishing Compound for RM19 thinking I was going to have the last laugh, but it was taking bloody forever removing clear coat with a sponge pad. I ransacked the store room and found my girlfriend's Mantis Scratch Remover...

I am pretty sure I'm not going to polish cars for a living, so I decided to spend as little as possible on buffing machines. Try your luck on Mudah.com.. I got lucky there, maybe you will too.

Hi,

I tried that WD-40 trick before. It hides blemishes on the paintwork after application alright. But when it dries off... heheheh... back to square 1.

But if it's dried birdshit, tree sap etc, WD40 may help remove them. If it's rust, you need to address the cause of the rust.