The car cleaning thread

well clay does not do more that clean the surface.. some abrasive "wax" should do the trick if it aint through to primer. then a proper wax on top
 
Wax shouldn't ever do anything but coat what is there. Perhaps you meant a polish product?

I suggest you start from the least invasive products and work your way up. Clay bar first, if that's unsuccessful, then use a polishing compound.
 
i said abrasive, as in polish.

Clay would work if the scratch is paint transfer from the object which did it.. And yes least invasive is the one to try first.
 
I finally got a chance to clay my car. The end result was good, but also made me realized I have reached the limitations of what I can do. The next stages are paintless dent repair - i have 5-6 door dings on the sides, which aren't big, but annoy me nevertheless. They don't really justify shelling $600 to fix them though :(

And then there is the actual paint. After years of driving in Colorado, the hood despite the clear bra, has hundreds of small paint chips.
 
Nada. I bought the Tarminator...used as directed but the nasty tree sap is still there!!! I think it's pine tree sap...not that it matters. I've started scrubbing it off, but I have to be really gentle not to damage/scratch my paint.

Turtle Wax's Bug and Tar remover works well. I haven't tried it on tree sap though.
 
So, i took moms pug to my neighbour for a headlight job. The plastic covers have become yellowish opaque over the years and the surface was like sandpaper. As a consequence the light output was somewhat diminished and the light was useless. So:



In those 2 before/after images you can clearly see how bad the pasanger side light was:






Like new again :)
 
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Impressive! Did you apply/is there any sort of a sealant/coating to maintain the new finish?
 
Not that i know of. I guess those lights just have to be repolished every now and then, because of shitty french plastics. :(
 
Not that i know of. I guess those lights just have to be repolished every now and then, because of shitty french plastics. :(
It's fairly likely that they've got magnetti marelli lights, making them shitty italian plastic. ;)
I work with these for a living, and other notable shitty plastics that should be mentioned are VW passat headlights('96->), Nissan Primera and Almera(all of them), and Opel Astra F and G.

When a customer starts "I've got a passat/almera/primere/astra" I know already what they're going to ask for. :D
 
M-B headlights from the 90s also have that problem. E-class W210, S-class W220, SLK-class, CL-class W215, ML-class spring to mind.

 
I've been using a blue magic product(I think) leather seat cleaner/conditioner on the mustang seats. They look amazing and I've been trying to apply it every month at least. Is there something else I should be doing?
 
Glass headlights FTW!
 
A rocky pox on you and your glass headlights!
 
Glass headlights FTW!

This so much!

Why haven't the aftermarket companies started making replacements? I want some for my Buick.
 
I'd expect that complex geometries in glass would play havoc with the optics during the forming process?
 
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