My original plan was just a quick 15 minutes car wash, but just like anyone who loves to keep their baby car in pristine condition, I wouldn't ignore the thousands of little tiny contaminants stuck thoughout the surface of my car.



So I went out and picked up a Mothers red box clay bar kit I'm sure you're all familar with. This is my first time using clay bay and found the step-by-step guides stickied on top of this section incredibly helpful, BIG thank you to whomever spent their time and effort on those guides.

The entire process took much longer then expected, but it was great experience and I actually found it sort of fun . I wanted to take as many progression pictures as possible but was too caught up in the process and almost completely forgot about it.




Rinse, can already see the shine





Drying...







Some other random pictures:







Overall I was very happy with the result. Here are a few questions I have:

1. I have some what appears to be water marks on the letters of my spark plug cover, however I have already tried washing with soap and scrub them (hard) with semi-soft sponge and none seems to work. Here are the post-wash pictures:




I purchased this car used (only 8500 miles on the clock) from a dealer, what could they be? are the raised letters painted or are they bear metal? Should I use chemical washers? if so what kind?

2. I am using Meguiar's orange "The Gold Class" car wash (from Costco), after I run out of the bottle of spray lubricant from Mother's clay bar bundle, can I use the car wash (in the right solution of course) as lub?

3. How long will a stick of clay bar usually last? When should I discard the old one in favor for a fresh stick?

4. I often see people (here) using white foam-like car wash to cover their entire car, what is it and what makes it different than others?

5. I am using waffle-weave microfabric to polish and wipe off excess wax, should I wash the microfabric after each car waxing or can I just leave it in a clean container for the time I wax my car? What about the apply pad?

6. Where can I pick up a grit-guard in person (retailer, I'm in SoCal) or which website has the best price?

7. Can I have a car wash badge for my sig?

All comments will be greatly appreciated.

 

Detailers Domain

1. Raised portion aren't painted, if it is, maybe a clear coat, but it looks like a freshly milled piece. Keep scrubing, even try the claybar.
2. Yes, but I prefer any QD.
3. You'll know when you need another one, as it won't work anymore.
4. Suppose to clean better, can't say on my behalf, but I'm intrigued by it .
5. Use any pad from any stores that sells them IMO.

 

looks like water marks to me. try getting at it with steelwool if no chemicals work. the very fine kind. i do it for my bare-metal parts and it works fine.

 

car looks great. glad you had a good time and learned a little all while making your baby look great!
1. i second the fine grade steel wool idea. be gentle. and maybe try to clay it first.
2. using a diluted car wash could work fine, but i'd also perfer a quick detail spray. though car wash watered down shouldn't take off wax, i'd feel better knowing the QD spray isn't going to.
3. if you're referring to a whole clay bar (which is big enough to do several jobs), then quite awhile. hope you only broke off a piece of the bar that'll fit in your palm when flattened. this makes sure you don't drop and ruin the only clay u have. i find once u start seeing contaminates even once you've flipped your clay to a fresh side, then its time to grab a fresh piece. don't want to rub tons of old grime back into the clear coat after all. but your claybar should last at least maybe 4 small cars like an S, though remember you don't need to clay bar too often (depending on weather/if u garage it/roads near by/etc)
4. FOAM GUNS!!! things look awesome though i don't know from experience
the best ones are attached to pressure washes. as a general rule of thumb, the more foam - the higher the cost of the things. a popular choice for those who aren't the pro's are gilmore guns which our sponser (detailersdomain.com) sells and is supposed to be having group buy on soon ::cough PHIL cough:: . they're not quite as nice, but attach to a regular hose. the idea is the foam helps to loosen and romove dirt from your car which then requires less touching/friction to clean your car leading to less chance of anything happening (so you'd have to clay is less, worry about swirls or scratches less, etc)
5. that depends on how big your towel is. microfiber towels are great for taking off wax, but once they're covered in residue, not so much. when it starts to get a little tougher to take the wax off, you know you need to flip your towel. once you don't have any more clean sides - grab another towel. because i go through so many of them, i wait for them to stack up so i can do a whole microfiber towel load in the washer using cold water and microfiber detergent. as a rule you don't want to wash them with any kind of harsh detergent b/c mf towels are weak and therefore easy to ruin/wear out.
6. you might be able to find them at a hardware store like home depot. if not - once again: detailersdomain.com - careful though, they carry so much great stuff it gets hard not to "accidentally" spend say a quick 500 dollars!

once again car looks great. welcome to the wacko family! (soon as you PM wanabe and he replies that is)
p.s. don't forget to use "s2ki" at dd to get that 10% off!

 

Thank you guys for the inputs, steel wool sounds like a great idea, will give that a try tomorrow.

 

car looks good

 

before the steel wool, try some vinegar...
(if its not too late)
on a cold engine-
soak a rag and blot it on - get plenty on the spots; let it sit for a minute or so, then rub it off. if it doesnt work then back to the steel wool. but if the spots have not been there too long, the vinegar will likely work.

when i clay, i often foam the section that i am claying - wash it and then refoam... i use the foam (soap) as a lube and it works just fine. in the old days we used car shampoos as lubes for clay- and it is just fine.

got your pm, and i can see that you got your badge!
welcome wacko!

 

Thanks for the input everyone,

I tried both vinegar and steel wool this morning, and none seems to have any effect on these mysterious "contaminants" and "water spots".

These "contaminants" are smooth to the touch and don't appear to be residue sitting on top of the surface, might be discoloration from the metal itself (reaction to some chemical maybe?). As you can see in these pictures, they appear only on bear metal portion of the spark plug cover and none on the painted surface.

Masked for steel wool:


After:




Any other thoughts?

 

Try some of that Aluinum wheel cleaner. The cover is aluminum All it is corrosion.

 

I had the same issue with mine, I sanded it down using 100 grit, then again with 600, and finally wet sanded it with 1000. It came out looking brand new.