When NOT to polish your car!

When asked to look at a pool car for one of my regular City Centre Customers I was a shown a rather neglected Mazda6, not in itself unusual, most pool cars suffer this way. What the Customer wanted to show me was a series of “cloudy” areas on the bodywork that could not be cleaned off with usual products or at the local  Valet Centre, “is there anything you can do, please.”

After a close examination of a couple of areas I agreed to take on the job and do my best. With the wealth of products available to ChipsAway I was able to find a solution and a few hours later the car looked very much better and hopefully will be better looked after by the next user.

BUT – what was the cause of the damage? Well my best guess is that at some point the car was cleaned in bright sunlight and the person cleaning the car decided to apply large amounts of sun screen before starting. While working round the car, most of the damage was in areas that you would place your hand, forearm, while cleaning!

So, next time you want to clean your car, do it during the early morning or late evening when the sun is low in the sky when you do not need a sun screen.

What would you want to know?

Too often Peter is called to quote on someones pride and joy only to find that the small repair he has been called to look at has revealed an underlying issue from earlier in the vehicles life. Often only 2 or 3 years old, a small bumper scuff, when looked at with a professional eye, will show that a much larger repair has taken place in the past.

A 4 year old Silver Ford Fiesta with a front bumper scuff has clearly suffered an impact in the past that has distorted the bumper so that it did not fit correctly on one side and had some of the fixing clips missing. The front edge of the bonnet has a small crease and there is an excess of small stone chips suggesting a quick ‘re-spray’ to help hide the damage.

Odd numberplates, a main dealer on the back and a plain one on the front should be a hint, but the lady who owns the car has not picked up on any of the hints.

Once the new owner has scuffed the bumper, the seller is clearly going to claim the underlying damage is due to their poor driving and that the car was ‘perfect’ when it left them.

Should Peter advise the new owner, or let them continue in ignorance of their cars history?

ChipsAway (PDS) Ltd receives accreditation. Just before the Christmas break Peter went to ChipsAway International’s HQ to carry out a repair on a silver Audi to make sure that his work still met the exacting standards of the group and was delighted to be presented with a certificate of accreditation by the directors.

Even after more than 5 years with ChipsAway Peter was still able to learn from the exercise with subtle changes that allow even better repairs. Always proud of the brand Peter is pleased that they continue to maintain the highest of standards and offer further training to anyone who’s standards may have dropped.

Perforated Porsche. Now that you can pick up a Boxter for well under £7000 these days you have to take a good look at what you are spending your money on.

Despite a well respected ani-perforation warranty they are still old enough to have been visited by the ‘tin worm.’ Peter has visited a few now with evidence of rust below the rear quarter vents. There seems to be no sign of stone chip damage and the inside of the panel shows rust so it is coming from the inside.

Caught early it can often be saved, but be aware.

Should Peter leave a card? Car parks, both public and private are places Peter spends a lot of time in. And we all know when we visit a car park, we will see many examples of damage to paintwork that Peter could repair. Should Peter put a business card under a wiper blade?

If you have found this site you probably already know how to get such damage fixed at reasonable cost but, despite ChipsAway being active in the UK for 15 years, there are lots of people out there who still think the only solution is a few days in a body shop, a big bill and no guarantee of a good colour match.

If you visited a car park in Leicester City, how would you react to one of Peter’s cards being tucked under your wiper blade, why not let him know.

Having carried out a repair, Peter is often asked how best to bring the rest of the vehicle up to the level of shine on the newly repaired area. Often it is just a case of using a good quality product from one of the many ranges avaiable.

Peter has an old Mazda Eunos (1993 Neo Green, Mazda’s version of BRG). In 1993, solid colour were not usually given a clear coat (lacquer) and over the years the paint has lost a lot of it’s origional shine. The solution in this case was to find a “hard” wax and build up a number of coats to act as a clear coat. Though not particularly difficult to use, they have been replaced over the years by “instant shine” products that apply a thin layer which is usually washed off next time you clean the car.

Peter has tested a few over the years but has been bowled over by Collinite 476S Pro Wax.

After a good wash and a light “Clay” application the 476S was applied with the damp sponge supplied. Working in sections about 60cm square the wax is allowed to “haze” then polished with a good quality microfibre cloth.

As this is a hard wax product it is possible to build up a number of layers that do not wash off. The shine is very deep and the car looks great as a result. On a drive on sunday Peter had to stop to put up the roof when the heavens opened and was amazed at the degree of beading visable on the bonnet while driving and the fact that when when the car stopped all the rain ran off, even from the bonnet.

If you want the best finish on your car, give Collinite 476S a try!

In this game Peter gets to hear about all sorts of “wonder” products that will help with repairs or help his Customers. Rather like all that unwanted email, most of the products do not do anything like they say on the tin (don’t get him started on “instant scratch repairs”).

Some of the more realistic claims are tested by Peter and if proved useful passed on via this website.

Bilberry Wheel Cleaner is one of the products Peter has been testing and the word is it does a great job and does not seem to have a down side. Not caustic or acidic it does no harm to the operator or the environment (but do follow the instructions regarding safety) it can be used full strength to get the really bad stuff off and diluted for that regular weekly clean.

Do a search and get a bottle, Peter is sure you will not regret it.

Bird lime update – early removal is best.

I don’t know anyone who carries a full water mister in their car ready to remove bird lime so I have been trying other options. The answer was really easy, it just took a lateral jump.

Keep a small pack of baby wipes in the glove box. These are designed to remove similar stuff. I have tried a few brands and they all work the same, so go for the basics type. Catch the problem early while still soft if possible, but if not fold a wipe and place over the deposit and after a few minutes it can be lifted off. If this does not have the desired effect check out the full report below when you have access to clean water.

I have not found any paint issues with the wipes, but perhaps it’s wise to clean the area as normal as soon as you can afterwards.

If any of you have signed up for Twitter, you can find me there as ChipsAway. When I get spare minutes while working I will be posting Tweets about jobs I am working on and hints and tips that come to mind. Follow me and take advantage of these snipets

Modern paintwork is much thinner than that of only 10 years ago. This is not normally an issue as the quality is usually very good. As there is less paint some of the abrasive products developed for the last generation of thicker paint finishes, can do extensive damage to a simple scratch. Take extreme care when using such products. If the damage still shows when the panel is wet then it WILL NOT polish out.