What can I do to make my car shine like new again?
Even the best brands of cars paint will fade over time. Mainly due to contact with the brushes used for washing. Luckily, restoring its shine is fairly easy.
The colorless last coat of paint is responsible for the shiny appearance of the bodywork. It is applied in the third order, after applying the primer and base coat, i.e. colors. Three-layer coating is used today in most popular car models. The exception is varnishes outside the standard color palette, which often require even five or six coats to be applied to the car. But even in this case, a colorless coating is applied on top to finish and protect the body.
Tarnishing and scratches can be combated primarily through proper and regular body care. It should be remembered that the number one enemy for paintwork are automatic car washes, most often working at gas stations. Their brushes, regardless of the material from which they are made, collect sand and scratch the body of our car with great force during washing. Damage after several washes will not be visible, but regular visits to such a wash will have a noticeable effect on the paint over time. Therefore, it is recommended to wash the car by hand. Rinse thoroughly first, then gently brush with a soft natural bristle brush.
– During washing, it is necessary to moisten the brush frequently with water to wash away the grains of sand accumulating on the bristles. I recommend washing the car starting from the roof. Leave the bottom of the door, sills and wheels for last, because they are usually the dirtiest. When washing, you need to change the water more often, and rinse the brush more thoroughly, says Paweł Brzyski, owner of the Auto flash car wash in Rzeszow.
After shampooing, the car should be thoroughly rinsed with clean water and wiped dry. A special rubber band will help draw water out of the body, and wipe the paint with suede made of genuine leather. To assess the degree of damage, only clean and dry varnish can be used. Based on this, we decide how to update it.
The easiest home method is polishing or waxing. This will be effective when the scratches are shallow and superficial. The choice of cosmetics on the market is very large. The most effective are hard waxes, which, in addition to excellent visual effect, also provide long-term protection, creating an invisible coating on the body. – The disadvantage of such waxes is the complexity of application. You need to rub them for a long time and carefully, and the body must be perfectly clean and dry, says Pavel Bzhysky.
Lotions and pastes are easier to use. Depending on the degree of scratching, you can choose them in a more or less invasive version. When the varnish is in good condition, it is not worth treating it with an abrasive paste. An interesting solution is polishing preparations with a coloring effect. By choosing a lotion designed for a specific body color, we mask imperfections as effectively as possible. Please note that we also use a soft cloth for polishing. You can use, for example, a flannel diaper, which will be much cheaper than fabrics designed for cars and signed with the logo of cosmetics manufacturers.
In the case of more severe scratches and tarnishing, manual cosmetics are unlikely to be enough. The car can then be professionally polished in the paint shop. The cost of such a service, depending on the company and the size of the car, ranges from 400 to 1000 PLN. Scratches here are removed mechanically, by grinding a thin layer of varnish with a machine. On it, the varnisher puts successively discs with varying degrees of abrasion. The case is polished with a special paste. “However, for the effect to be good, you need to skillfully use the polishing machine. Pressing too hard or rubbing too long on one element can cause the lacquer to wear off, making the element only suitable for lacquering, says Artur Ledniewski, lacquer specialist.
Mechanical polishing is a procedure that gives excellent results, but is not without drawbacks. The main fact is that with this care we reduce the thickness of the varnish layer. Thus, the car can only be polished a few times. The second problem is the opening of cavities during polishing. The most visible are usually the hood and fender upholstery of cars that are painted in dark colors.
Therefore, you need to know that after polishing a black car will shine beautifully, but if it already has a high mileage, you should expect paint loss caused, among other things, by hitting stones while driving, micro-scratches caused by washing or rubbing against branches.
