Paint protection

[Bill Musarra]

Nearing the completion of my car has gotten me to thinking about how I am going to protect the finish of that very expensive paint job. The car has sat inside for the past year and a half since the paint was aplied. The rear clip will have to go back as I found some runs on the underside of the top portion, just above the widow area. So I will probably have a coat or two of clear added to the entire car just for good measure. But what to do after it leaves the shop. Do I use waxes or some kind of finish that is hyped on the infomercials? This has gotten me to thinking about it. Just today I was searching for information on the Toyota shifters. I have two right now, and am struggling a little to figurre out which is the best for my purposes. What I stumbled onto was a finish that is suposed to last 5 years and makes the water sheet off the car. Suposed to be better than the waxes. Is it for real or is it mumbo jumbo?

Car Wax, Car Polish, Care Care & Car Wash Products!

I have heard a lot of commericals about sheeting and how it is suposed to be better than the waxes and their beading of the water and the spots they leave behind. I don't want to get into arguments about using softened water etc. which is expensive and not worth it, or the theorectical stuff. What is the best answer here, real world. What will really protect the finish. Do I need to settle for waxing every couple of months to protect that rich finish? Or do I go with some of the high tech stuff with its sealing the pores of the paint? I am not in a salt environment, and I wouldn't drive if the weather was such that the government was laying it on the roads.

Bill

 

[Mark Charlton]

Bill, it's a GT40 and any opportunity to caress that gorgeous body with wax should be taken and savoured. But seriously, a high quality carnauba wax will afford all the protection needed for an occasional driver. Wax it two or three times a season and you'll improve the smoothness of the paint and the overall shine. I have never seen an all-in-one solution that has ever duplicated the quality of frequent waxing with the occasional buffing every few years. Check out Griots Garage for what works best: www.griotsgarage.com

 

[CliffBeer]

Bill, I agree with Mark here.

Incidentally, most clear coats do require a buffing procedure after the clear has hardened. The purpose of this is to remove minor imperfections and bring the surface up to a highly polished finish. Ensure this is done by the painter as they have the right equipment and skill to make sure it is done correctly.

Assuming the above will have been done, then, as Mark indicated, all you need is a good carnauba wax a couple/three times per year and you're set for a road car. Show cars that are not driven on the road are typically subjected to a more intense process than this but it's not necessary, nor desirable, on a street driven car.

I've had good experience with Zymol. I believe you can buy it through Griots and a number of other similar vendors. Very easy one step polish/wax that doesn't get stuck in the cracks too easily nor leave a heavy residue.

I'd advise not to use a mechanical/electic polisher/buffer. These can burn a hole through the top layer of paint pretty easily. Good ole' hand rubbing and patience will serve you well. And, you get to study and appreciate those sexy GT40 curves....yeah baby!

 

[Lynn Larsen]

Talk to the painter, but most modern clear coates would do better with something like 3M Hand Glaze than a wax.

Lynn

 

[Mesa]

3M hand glaze is typically used to fill minor towel / buffer type scratches. It is not very durable but does a great job of filing very minor imperfections. Usually one would 'top coat' the glaze with a wax to give some extended life. A power random orbital terry bonnet type wax remover is nice to have. But since the 40 is so small I don't know if this would be of much advantage unless you really hate waxing.

Most 'long term' coatings are resin based and are basically coating your car with a thin film of polymer. Usually not the best for ultimate gloss but more geared to the upper end of the 'driver' car market.

More clear coat on your car is not going to to do much as far as making your finish more durable.....unless you think you currently have too little clear on your car or are going to scratch it on a regular basis. Typically more clear will allow you to polish (minor scratches out) more without burning through the clear. If you add more clear on top of cured and sanded clear you will eventually burn through the boundry of the two separate clear applications. This may or may not lead you to be able to see a fine line formed when the 'sedimentary' boundry layer between the clear coats are exposed.

Typically you will NOT burn through a high quality clear just waxing your car ....at least not for 20 years or so. The way you use up the clear coat on your car is if too little clear is applied or you are buffing (with buffing compound) medium level (or deeper) scratches out of your finish on more than one occasion in the same place on the car.

 

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[Tod]

My wife and I have found that Meguiar's products, especially their 3 step process of 1.) Paint Cleaner or Body Scrub, 2.) Polish and 3.) Carnuba Wax when applied by hand with clean, white 100% cotton terry cloth towels work best at maintaing a clear coat finish.

The cars they are applied to are daily drivers exposed to the elements in Florida...

 

Just another thought. By the fact that you will be re-spraying the rear clip you will want to be careful. It is my understanding that you will want to use a natural carnuba wax initially after painting. The reason for this is that the polymer based sealants "lock up" too much for a new paint job. By using a sealant it does not allow the paint to fume off as well as a natural wax. This can cause damage to the paint. This is not usually a problem when the paint is baked after it is applied but if not it can take a few weeks to completely cure. I am not an expert but this is the advise I received a few years ago after painting my Mustang. As for maintaining the finish, I agree with the other replies that a good carnuba a few times a year will maintain the best finish and protection.