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Absolutely not true. My one son has an 08 Dodge Ram that literally looks like it just came off of the assembly line yesterday. Since day one, he has treated the body to semi annual cleanings and waxings with Auto Geek products. Our shop looks like an auto detail shop, he has about every product they make, even their blow dryer and buffers.
I am not sure of the exact processes, but basically he washes it, clay bars it, then does a 3 step process, ending up with a sealant. We live in Florida, and silver cars suffer the worst, but his silver pickup shows no signs of age whatsoever.
It is really labor intensive, takes him a full day or more to do it, twice a year, but the results speak for themselves. The way he takes care of it, I bet it will look the same way in 10 more years.
Just make sure he keeps up with the underbody and frame in all that salt air. A nice body is useless with a swiss cheese frame and rust postulated floorboards and rockers.
If I could, I'd do a frame off and have the underbody coated in urathane or thin layer of line-x and the frame powder coated on my sedan.
Best way to keep a paintjob is to wash/hose the car when birdie poo/tree sap/tar etc gets on it and to keep it in the shade under a carport, car cover or in a garage. My wife’s 13 year old car paintjob is in great shape. Her old car was 19 years old when we sold it and it was finally getting a bit discolored on the roof. But no paint peeling or issues. All her cars are garaged all their lives. The quality of the paint makes a difference too. In s9me cases it’s a manufacturers defect when the paint goes to crap
Once a year get it or diy detailing and clay bar and wax
Or... you could just pay a "detailing" company to wash it. (I kid of course)
These extra layers aren't really necessary at every wash. Typically if you want a solid and durable finish that lasts months you would want to look at taking steps similar to the following:
Once per year:
1.) Wash the car with a paint safe product that doesn't have wax in it and use a soft hand mitt and 2 bucket system.
2.) Claybar the paint. This removes impurities and with less impurities there is less for dirt to stick to.
3.) Dry the car thoroughly.
4.) Apply a paint sealant.
5.) Apply a coat of carnauba wax.
Every 6 months apply a new coat (or two) of liquid wax of your choosing during the wash process.
For weekly washes, just hand wash with the two bucket system and you can use a wax-as-you-dry spray while drying the car. That's about all it normally takes in most situations.
Pre-treatments are used to remove road grime without scrubbing and risking scratched paint so you may need one if you have road tar on the car.
Last time I washed my car, I mixed up a foaming spray with some cleaners sprayed the car down, drove it to the car wash, hit it with the scrub brush and pre-soak in the gun, drove it around to the touchless automatic. Came out real nice.
You know, I'm not a big believer in clay bar. The best detailers admit that using a clay bar causes scratches, even with a lubricant. Plus, unless these "impurities" cause rust or oxidation, I don't care that the paint isn't smooth. Who is washing weekly? This sounds like overkill.
Washing a vehicle weekly isn't overkill. It's actually not often enough in some areas. The longer you allow things to sit on the surface of paint the more opportunity those contaminates have to embed themselves in the clearcoat and to damage the finish.
Claybars lift up contaminates. If someone gets scratches from a claybar then they aren't using them properly. If detailers are telling you this, find new ones. You cannot properly remove contaminates any other way. You must use a good lubricant and you must continuously knead the clay for a clean spot. If you do that, the clay isn't abrasive and won't mar the finish.
Honest question. Do vintage/classic cars still have their original paint? If so, how was that possible before clay bar and all this new stuff?
Quote:
Originally Posted by robr2
My understanding is that paint was much thicker in the past - 7-8 mills thick. Today 3.5-4 mils is standard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlygal
But we now have clear coat. Thick or not, wouldn't it still get these alleged contaminants?
Some do, some don't. Those that do were likely stored inside under a cover for 30 years and more than likely the paint isn't in the best of condition even in that scenario.
Robr2 is correct. Paint is much thinner than the old days (and also much smoother). Clear coat is simply another level of clear paint. Clear coat is where contaminants get stuck. The idea is to remove them from the clearcoat so that they do not continue to abrade the clear and wear it down to bare paint.
Most swirl marks you see are in the clearcoat. Allowing it to get too bad means you will have to get a paint correction, which is essentially removing the top layer of clear to bring back the shine. You can only do that so many times before it gets removed.
Better off to take the proper care of the paint in advance. For me, I don't do it to make it look nice. I do it to maintain re-sale value because at some point we all sell our vehicles. Which draws your attention better? A car that has been well maintained or one that looks like it has cancer? Mechanically they may both be perfect, but if it looks like garbage it will demand a garbage price and for some it also leads them to believe that if you couldn't manage to take care of something as simple as the paint then the mechanics could also be in shambles.
But we now have clear coat. Thick or not, wouldn't it still get these alleged contaminants?
Yes it would still get contaminates but it was common for people to use cutting compound to remove them which removes a thin layer of paint - in the microns. What we use today is much less abrasive.
Honest question. Do vintage/classic cars still have their original paint? If so, how was that possible before clay bar and all this new stuff?
Enamel was a popular thing to pait cars with and it's thicker sprayed. There was two other types, but I forgot them.
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(I kid of course)
