looks like mold - was the car left in a dark area (without much sunlight) for a long period of time? I reckon to get those spots check out to determine what it actually is because most molds is hazardous and if they are also found within the car's ventilation system then you may need a more thorough cleaning.

removing watermarks is usually less abrasive than polishing however it depends entirely on how deep they already penetrated the clear coat. also, i wouldn't place my trust in those "in-house" car washes because they are no different than those RM12.00 "bawah pokok" ones. you may end up worse than before (swirl marks all over etc).

i'd propose to the SA to top up the difference between the price you'd pay for a proper detailing shop and the price that their "in-house" charge otherwise don't sign the acceptance of delivery form. they'd be pressure because if you don't sign the form, your bank will not release to them the loan.

if it keeps coming back then very likely that the mold has penetrated deep into the cushion. so more the reason to send it over to a proper car detailing shop to take a look at it. perhaps having it completely dissembled to confirm whether the cushion has been contaminated. there is no way to completely "clean / remove" mold if it has gone that far.

some car interior upholstery leather wrap shops can do these (eg: DK SCHWEIZER, Carbi Deco etc).

just get Osren's Lustre - affordable and easy application.

just get the Karcher K5 and then buy the spray gun kit from MJJC - has been using this combination for 2 years now to do my car weekly car washes, almost flawless. once in a while, switch back to the Karcher spray gun to wash the car porch and around the house.

1:45 to 2:00 for me. almost the same regime as yours but i don't do the 2 bucket method.

those general car washes in petrol stations are trained to be quick to get in quantity and if you noticed properly, they only apply a thin layer foam once and the way they do contact washing is like writing calligraphy - they miss at least 30% of the surface area so you tend to see patches of dirt (here and there) afterwards and yes, the cleaning product they use are usually very high in alkaline (or acidic). You know this because the car looks clean but feels rough when you run your fingers through the surface.

i've only been to those boutique car washes (or as they called it "detailers") no more than 4 times and while they are better but not necessarily good. takes about 30mins - 45mins for them to complete the entire process.

if you are just looking for a casual paint protection for your car then just look at Soft 99's Fusso Wax. They have 2 variants, the black one is for cars with darker shades while the white is, well, for lighter shades.

i've seen something like these applied on my friend's car, a 5 year old Mvyi and they are all stiffed and all shriveled up - quite a sore eye to look at but i guess it does provide some minimum contact protection (but not impact) so my guess is that if you swing the door with enough force, these rubber seals will not prevent the door from getting dinged.

cannot confirm but from its appearance, it seems like it's the PVC / rubber type because i have not sighted any metal-like things on it.

Not sure about "MNC" but i've been using MJJC Foam Cannon Pro for 2 years now and it still performs excellent (save for the little rubber seals on top of the cover that keeps on popping out).

Go for the Nano Wash instead of the Bubble/Wax if you intend to use it for foaming because at least on Osren's site, it has the dilution formula for foam cannon usage but not for the Bubble/Wax - I am using the Nano Wax (also for close to 2 years now) and it's good and affordable, so much so, i went and bought the 20 litres one from them.

Car waxes are very cheap and affordable and this is also true for the good ones so there's no need to "invest" on it, just buy one and go with it. I personally recommend Soft99's Fusso.



It is easily one of the best that I have ever used and it's relatively cheap too, i think it costs around RM60 - RM70 for a can but a canister can easily last you for 20 - 30 applications, 40 applications if you are very light handed. It's easy to apply and easy to buff off but you need to make sure that the paint surface is thoroughly prepped before applying.

Sorry to break it to you but if you have to expose your car to the elements for long hours, there is NO WAY that it can be protected "as much as possible" unless you put on a car cover on it every single time so for this, just do the followings:-

1) do your maintenance wash weekly;
2) wipe off any crazy stains as soon as possible; and
3) never scrub hardened/dried stains off paint and always let it soaked in liquid before removing.

Re-apply the wax once every 6 months or when you feel like the wax has wear off and that's about it so don't worry too much about it otherwise your car is going to burden you more than it will grant you convenience.

you can try using Soft 99's Glaco Glass Compound Roll On for a try and see if it helps







from the pictures attached and the way you described the black smudged stain, it sounds awfully like what i experienced before with my Accord (Taffeta White btw).

does it by any chance, looks something like this:-



This post has been edited by shaniandras2787: Nov 1 2022, 04:24 PM

if that's what you are having then i only know of one way to remove them without seriously damaging the paint and that is through claying (with a lot of lubricant) because if not, you risk scratching the paint. i have tried many other non-abrasive ways in removing them but none is successful.

the claying process requires a lot of elbow grease and a certain amount of practice as it is not that "straight-forward". when you spray lubricant over the surface and run the claybar through, you'll feel nothing as the claybar just glides through the surface effortlessly but if you repeat it long enough then you'll start to feel a certain amount of resistance and that is when you'll begin to notice that the black smudge starts to "come off".

do not be aggressive at this point, just do it progressively and do not let the surface gets too dry.

if you want to know the cause; it's the combination of the wax and the inherent nature of Honda paints (soft, as they called it). unlike traditional "harder" paints, the wax you applied sips into the pores of the paint and wax are rather "grabby" so whatever industrial/environmental fall out that it comes in contact with, it will accumulate on top (the black stains that you see).

wax once cured, forms a sealed surface hence the hydrophobic effect and this also seals in the industrial/environmental fall out and that's why you cannot remove them with just a normal wash. the only way to remove this black smudged stain is to remove the wax itself which the claying process will do.

other than industrial/environmental fall out, applying waxes also contributes to these. depending on what type of waxes you use, most contains "cleaners" and cleaners basically cleans, like a thinner. it is impossible to get rid of all impurities on the paint during a car wash so when you apply the wax and spread it across the surface, you are basically dissolving the impurities and then thinning it out across the paint - this is also one of the reason why people stress on prepping the surface properly before applying any LSP.

hope this helps you.

depending on the size of your headlights, if they are Nissan Navara sized then quite reasonable but perhaps try to squeeze them down a bit BUT if yours is just a normal small sized sedan then RM600 for a pair is quite expensive.

since you are considering shielding your headlights from stone ships then why not just consider shielding the entire hood?

if it's for the HRV then RM600 for a pair is very expensive because the headlights aren't big to begin with. These shops are just trying to rip you off because it's a "new car".

RM450.00 sounds more reasonable - i've only tried Magnus Pro and so far, nothing is breaking (yet). Rhinepro has been in business for sometime already and if they are giving you 6 years warranty then it should be OK but do read on the fine prints on the warranty; as in what are the conditions for claim and what would void them.

some unscrupulous shops will try to claim that your warranty is "void" because you did not send your car back to them for so-called "maintenance car wash" which costs RM25.00 for a half-arse work.

if stone chips are going to bother you then it is highly recommended that you get the front part of the car shielded otherwise you'll have to learn to live with them until you have the car repainted/touched up (at least).

i had my car polished and coated 2 years ago from M-PRO Auto Bandar Puteri, coating still intact and its hydrophobic properties are still very apparent - paid around RM2.5k for 5 years warranty.

Not sure about now because the salesperson i dealt with previously has left but you can try to inquire with them. They do a lot of new Proton cars and Mazda cars.

Ceramic Pro is a reputable brand but i reckon, you can probably get something of equal quality but at a slightly cheaper price.

Coating products are almost all similar (no matter how much everyone tells you theirs are different) and it boils down to workmanship. So far, i have not heard much complains from Ceramic Pro and only a few times occasionally but nothing they won't addressed it if you take your car back.

Point to note, don't be bought in by the usual marketing gimmick of "hardness" because "hardness" in coatings means nothing. If you keyed a coated car, it will still get scratched therefore just focus more on the durability and its warranty period and then weigh yourself whether is it cost effective for you.

EDITED: by the way, the term "Military Grade" simply means made of cheap materials but durable for its price, does not connote anything premium.

This post has been edited by shaniandras2787: Dec 5 2022, 12:42 PM

car coating packages from a reputable brand will set you back between RM3,000.00 to RM4,000.00 - so shop around for a shop that has the best workmanship and not the best deal or cheapest price.

There is no limitation as to what PPF can be applied on, White included so go ahead if you find that there's a need to.

why would you want to use a "iron remover" on your car panels?

did you mistaken tar for iron deposits?

Waxing your car wouldn't do anything as waxing is just another process of adding something onto the existing layers, if at all, it covers what is causing the yellowing.

Like waxing, coating is a form of LSP but very much more durable.

I suspect that the sight of "yellowing" is caused from the degradation of the existing clearcoat and depending on how deep the clearcoat was penetrated, a proper polishing job will remove them - very rarely that modern cars requires a fresh paintjob to restore its original color.

if the polishing can remove the yellowing to your satisfaction (usually they can) then you can consider either to apply a layer of wax or coating on it.

wax is way way cheaper if compared to coating and would set you back for RM2k to RM3k but the advantages that coating has over traditional wax is that you don't need to reapply them every 3 to 4 weeks - you'll need to consider whether the amount spent commensurate the convenience that you will be enjoying.

This post has been edited by shaniandras2787: Dec 21 2022, 01:47 PM

Not familiar with Subang Jaya area but you can look for reputable centres like G-Guard, Ceramic Pro (just to name a few) but their prices aren't cheap. The Revivify name has recently came up quite often for being affordable given its quality.

If you already have a PPF installed on your car and it turns yellow then it has nothing to do with your paint. It's the film that has turned yellow, the film that they gave you is probably not their best.

Since it is under warranty, check back your package to see if they cover against yellowing and if so, demand for a reinstallation.

https://ceramicpro.com.my/auto-bath-club/

this became the talk of the town recently. not sure how proper they are but definitely better than those "bawah pokok" type.

this "auto bath club" thing was launched quite discreetly, not much promotion on it. i also got to know about it from one of my car club members who tried it recently but from the video he shared, i wouldn't really subscribe to it.

2 people attended to the car wash but each of the wash mitt was only dipped in the bucket once and from the video, it appears that the soap suds were quite "dry". having said that, if it's between "bawah pokok" and this, definitely this.