Scott Evil

For anyone who went to mod-day back in April, you probably met Sly at Honda Marysville. Sly is the detail guy there. After an oil change on Monday, the dealer offered to wash my car--I was stuck in a down pour the night before and it looked good, but a few spots were noticeable. I politely asked them to just hose it off.

That meant Sly saw my car. He tells me my paint is fading. WTF? Last Friday Ray helped me put on 2 coats of Zaino and 2 coats of S100. Honestly, the car looks better now than it ever has. Then it all came back to me. Gary and I met Sly back in 2003. He had performed his 10 hour make over on a friends 03 Cobra. That make over included polishing--a process where the clear coat is scuffed up and repolished, allowing the owner to forgo any soap for future washings. Water only. Sly tells me this is what my car needs. Apparantly using any form of car wash soap on your car sucks oils out of the paint causing it to fade.

The Cobra mentioned above looked good after the "treatment." But not so much that you could tell the difference.

I have no idea why I am letting this bother me so much. I know Ray and Gary have some thoughts. Add your commentary here...

ROGUE3308

Sly is a nice guy. I like him. But he won't touch my car again. Everyone has their own way of doing things. Polishing is cutting into the clear coat. Don't want to do this very often. Most store waxes are crap IMO. Zaino is great to use for a protectant and also shines the car up. Adding a good carnuba adds depth to the paint. Spa, NFR and Black look like candy after this method. I can see and feel a big difference in my paint after switching to Zaino. I also saw a deeper shine to the car after the S100 was applied. I know car soap is not that functional but I would think it breaks up dirt so it washes off easier. Never heard of it hurting or fading your car's paint. I am sure Rich will chime in when he has a few hours to type. All of this, of course, is my opinion.

David1

Cough, Bullshit, cough.

If you want to take half your clear off!

switchcars

Remember that video of the guy that charges 5000 pounds to detail cars in the UK...stuff like Veyrons....MC12s....etc.....

well, just a guess, but I think he knows a bit more about detailing than a guy working at some Honda dealer....and he uses soap. lots of it. This water-only myth is....a myth. Ask Jon what he thinks of it.

JHo

I hate to say this, but Sly is full of crap. I say this because his "baked finish" supposedly "gets rid of gravity". Take his word for what it is worth.

Ubetit

Oh brother, where do I start?

First of all, I wouldn't let 99% of the so called detailers in this country touch my car. Anyone can wash a car right, let's open a detailing business.

I've NEVER heard of scuffing up your clearcoat to polish it? WTF is that. You use compound and polishes to remove the scuffs, scratches, spider webbing and swirls that are 95% owner induced. The goal is to leave as much clearcoat on your car as possible. Why would you want to scuff it up first taking even more clear coat in the process? Clearcoat is your protective layer, keep it as long as you can.

I polish my car once every 2 years. It collects scratches, swirls and scuffs merely washing it. No matter how careful you are with the best products on the market, anytime you slide something across your paint, you WILL eventually get scratches. If I take my most expensive and best MF towels, I can still scratch the shit out of the back of a cd with them after repeated rubbing. It takes about 2 years for me to get enough that it bothers me on my car. Sure, you can polish three times a week. I'm just not sure you'd have any clearcoat left after 3 months.

Water only washes? Sly doesn't understand the purpose of car wash soap. Since they aren't true degreasers like DAwn, A car wash concentrate is formulated with surfactants for cleaning and oils as a lubricant. Car wash shampoos suspend dirt in the solution and help you remove the dirt from the surface with a lubricant (cushion) between the clear coat and the wash mitt.

Car wash shampoos don't make your paint fade, UV rays and oxidation do. Keep your clearcoat in great shape and you won't have a problem. Well maybe 20 years from now but....

Car wash shampoos don't strip your paint's oils. I'm not even sure i know what he means. Oils on the top coat from your wax or does he think there's some magical oil under the clear coat and in the baked, hardened and cured paint underneath?

Anyway on to stripping wax and oils. Carnauba wax is full of oils and solvents to get the carnauba to spread and flow. In it's natural state it is hard as a rock so those two things are used to soften it. When you apply carnauba it puts down a nice layer of protecting carnauba with a nice layer of varying exotic (and not so exotic) oils. Ever wonder why Concours d'Elegance car shows participants don't use synthetics. it's because they lack oils that make your car look super wet. Instead they use $6000 zymol waxes with 60% carnauba and a ton of exotic oils. Car wash shamppos are delicate on these oils where as a degreaser wash like DAWN with strip them off.

Okay Sly may have had one thing technically right. Your paint IS fading, just as we humans are dying everyday we live too.

I saw Scott's car the other night too. His paint never looked better. It was deep and wet, just like............................... my paint


It's not rocket science folks. If you have questions ask or spend some time on Autopia.org.

Ubetit

That's a new one, please explain

Scott Evil

thanks, Rich.

Bullitt44

This thread makes me laugh:

Scott's Paint is fading (looks great as always, but try my glaze )

Sly is knows what he is doing (one word: dealership)

Soapless carwash (Try taking a soapless shower before a hot date!)

Have a dealership wash my car (NEVER)

----------------------------------------------------------------

I own and run a detail shop with many happy high end clients, its an art not a treatment!!

I will do a detail challenge against Sly anyday and have the Rich the wash and wax wizzard be the judge.

Rich, we are going into business together, YOU GET IT and know your stuff !!

ROGUE3308

Uh hum.....? WTF? My ass helped get that bitch that way. Damn Irish son of a...