Hello from Japan

67c2 · #1 (**permalink**) 04-17-2008, 03:18 PM

I'm 67c2 and I used to work as the writer and photographer for various automotive and other publications. I was stuck in the thing so called the " Detailing " culture when I was at late
Boyd Coddington's old factory shop in Stanton before his first billet wheel business went out of business. Also I met one of the first call man in the business taking care of those cars
invited to be displayed at the Pebblebeach and meadow Brook. Fist I was stunned with the
meticulous work they are doing.

The latter guy had the car which was painted by one of the top painter ( named Jr. ) in the
so-Cal and then what I saw him doing next was to spray the light coat of black lacquer all
over the painted surface. Then started rubbing with the very soft cloth with the Blue Poly
Metal Polish which contains the fine grade of abrasive good enough to take off the bumps
of the paint surface and make it mirror like finish. After doing this, the final touch was the
use of the ordinary paste wax in a can.

So I realized that having the car detailed like those ones to be displayed at the lawn of
Pebblebeach, Meadowbrook or Amelia Islands cannot be duplicated by the regular car
owners because most of those cars are in the Just Completed Restoration or Restored
but kept in the air conditioned garage with the soft car covers on.

I also had an order form one of the British and japanese editors to have the series of reports on those polymer sealant products which replaces the ordinary paste or the
liquid wax. The more and more I could learn, including the lectures by the chemists and
the polymer specialist professors, i have learned that there are so many snake oil products
out there.

The wax products as well. One of the high end mail order brand which carries their own
lines of detailing products tells that the silicone is a no-no. That doesn't make sense at
all. They just having the ingredients which don't make sense for the car to look better.
I don't think a car, or say the paint would not appreciate for having the film of the banana
or the coconut oil, unless the orangutan or a chimp are willing to have the nice sun tan.
Those natural ingredients might make the car look good for a short period of time and
make the car smell good but as far as the protection is concerned, for the daily drivers
and the weekend drivers, it doesn't make much sense.

But now the technology had many leaps and it seems like those polymer coatings are
getting better and better. However if you are living in the real world and the car is
driven quite often, it is better to consider that the protection will not keep its strength
for more than 3 to 4 month. We did so many tests and the results of all those products
were the same. But if you could consider having the common sense, there are good
products out there. The one we are testing for now is pretty good. Good means as it
keeps its protective function for at least 3 months and is very easy to apply and no need
to cure inside the garage or the possibility of any water to touch.

A tip or two to clean your own car which those pros told me are; 1. First do your wheels
and tires. Clean and protect the tires and wheels should be done first, then there will be
no problem having the white dyes or spots on the tires while washing and applying the wax or the polymers. 2. If you don't have much time, clean the wheels and tires and the windows. Then the car will look sharp even the other part of the car is not that clean.

Maybe these things are already known by you people but I've just wanted to drop some
lines which I could knew from my work.
The most ideal thing for the daily or near daily drivers to jeep you r car look good is to
have the least easy to work on products. Then if you want the more shine or the wet look or whatsoever, take your time and have the good old wax job.
Here in Japan, not so many have the closed garage like you guys. So make it easier with
the shorter time but keep the car look cleaner for longer time is the key for those popular
products. And some are really good.