New car. Need initial steps for car caring

[jjm_space]

Guys.

Hello,
Just registered as new member.

Was surfing the web and came accross your pages and would like to understand more about car care.

I'm sure I will read old posts but it's necessary to describe my needs first.

Just bought a new car (Peugeot 206CC) and would definilty needing to take good care of my baby. (She's a beauty).

The list of my main interests to keep my car new:
- Surface shine and its bright colour. (it's colour is Cherry red NON-metallic, blak leather interior).
- Chrome.
- Black plastic bumpers.
- Alluminum alloy wheels.
- Leather seats.
- Dashboard and clock screens.
- Windscreen & windows.

Not mutch left of the car that I don't want to care of.

Where I live (Cyprus) is mostly sunny island yet winter is rainy and muddy.


What's is your first guidance for me to start digging to find the suitable products and what they are made of to choose from? (i.e. what is recommended or what must I avoid....)
thanks.

Cheers,
jjm_space.

[WhipLash]

Hi jjm, welcome to the forums, and congrats on your new car. I'm sure you'll get plenty of sunshine to let that roof down during the summer. :supercool

You’ll find quite a lot of information in older posts all right. Give them a good read – theres a wealth of information to be found in them.

Also, if you mouse over the ‘My Car’ link on the nav bar at the top of the page, you’ll also find 3 different car care articles – washing, waxing, and tyres. These are all written by an expert in the car care business - that’s Brian - and he often frequents the forums, answering car care questions whenever he has the time.

So do you get much rain over in Cyprus during the winter months? How cold does it get?

[jjm_space]

Thanks WhipLash,

I already started reading the "My Car" link and found great info.
I have to read more....

Well, about Cyprus weather, in my opinion it's a fantastic place to be if you can manage the heat in summer during the day.

Winter/rain is for 4 months, December to March having half of the time lovlely sunshine during the day.

Summer days are hot and nights are just excellent.

A short spring.... but you can immagine the weather.

Temperature:
Winter nights average to 7 to 12 degrees centigrade and if really cold it's around 2 degrees.
Winter days it's like 15 to 19 on rainy day and 22 on sunny days.

Summer days are hot average 38 degrees. when it's hot it around 42, last summer though it reached 47 degrees in the shade.
Summer nights it's around 24 degrres or at maximum 28 for hot Nights.

I hope I will find while searching for good car care product a convenient ones for this weather.

Thanks again.
Cheers.

[BrianS]

Hi JJM,

I don't know what brands are available in Cyprus so I can only give general recommendations.

*- Surface shine and its bright colour. (it's colour is Cherry red NON-metallic, blak leather interior).
Okay, go for a good polymer-based wax - try get one with Carnauba to make the most of that Cherry Red.
In about 12 months and every 6 months thereafter, use a very light polish with paint cleansing qualities (eg, Autoglym Super Resin Polish). This will keep the paint fresh.
The problem with red paint is that even apart from oxidation, the pigment itself fades.
*- Chrome.
Not much to do there except keep it clean and shine up with a soft cotton cloth.
- Black plastic bumpers.
Get a water-based dressing with UV protection. Apply evenly, but not thickly. Better to layer up. UV light is what causes black trim to fade away - especially in your climate.
*- Alluminum alloy wheels.
Keep them clean and put a coat of wax on them as well. This helps the dirt to wash off. Don't ignore wheels or brakedust can accumulate and ruin them.
*- Leather seats.
Very delicate surface. Wipe and vacuum out the seams often. Clean them only with a leather cleaner and lightly condition them at least twice a year. You will know by looking at them.
*- Dashboard and clock screens.
Nothing much here as the dust/dirt can usually be wiped clean away. Clean with a soft cloth only as the pvc can scratch easily.
*- Windscreen & windows.
Good window cleaner or glass polish. Two soft cloths, one for wet and one dry.

Try Autoglym or Meguiars products. Or send me a private message of what you have locally and I will be happy to advise.

Sounds like a great car. Can't beat cherry red in the sunshine!

Take Care Out There

Brian.

ps if you want to see an old red car which had gone pink(!) polished back to its former glory, have a look at the examples page on my site:
www.autovaletplus.com
It was a miserable day (and I'm no photographer) but you still see the difference.

[WhipLash]

Wow Brian, thats some job there on the old red Opel Astra. And I just love the way you left in the '92' on the reg plate! :D

That must have taken some amount of time to complete - at least one whole day, or a couple perhaps?

BTW, you mention use of Autoglym Super Resin Polish. I've being thinking of using this on the Accord, but the word 'polish' has put me off. How safe is it to use this polish? What exactly will it do to the paintwork? Is there any skill required to ensure it won't damage the paint, or is it so mild that anyone can use it? What treatment should be done before and after using the polish? - wash/dry before, and then perhaps wax after??

[BrianS]

and that was dodging showers of rain as well!!


Thats the good thing about high-speed polishers. They take a long time to master, but you can do wonders with them. I'm still learning about them - best pads to use with different types of polish, etc.

The Super Resin Polish is fine for hand-use. It used to be one of my regulars before I started going for the larger professional size brands. Give the car a good wash first, remove any tar as well. Go over it with the Super Resin and, remembering to allow a while, follow up with a coat of wax (did you get the Extra Gloss in the end?).

later,

B.

[jjm_space]

Hi guys.

Nice work on the opel ! I hope I keep my car as brand new and don't have to recondition.

Well, till now haven't found a good product, the only 2 products I found don't mention what do they contain, so can't trust them, one of them though mentions it contains Petroleum distillates, I guess I should avoid that.


You'll hear from me soon.
Cheers.

[WhipLash]

Originally posted by BrianS
The Super Resin Polish is fine for hand-use. It used to be one of my regulars before I started going for the larger professional size brands. Give the car a good wash first, remove any tar as well. Go over it with the Super Resin and, remembering to allow a while, follow up with a coat of wax (did you get the Extra Gloss in the end?).

later,

B.

Hmm, might try the polish out so. And yes, I did buy a bottle of the Extra Gloss, but I'm still waiting on a good opportunity to use it...between being busy and the bad weather... :rolleyes:

[jjm_space]

Guys.....

Just found out that Autoglym products exist in Cyprus and I'm eager to lay my hands on them and start my work.

The advice was, to use Autoglym Super Resin Polish, spread it in circular/ leave for an hour/ wipe it off vertical or horizontal depending/ also can apply the Extra Gloss Protection that wiould protect the wax itself for about six months.

Any comments?

Cheers,
jjm or Jean J. M.
Thanks guys.

[BrianS]

always use straight lines. Less chance of swirl marks in the long run.

I'd recommend applying every three or four months anyway.

Take Care,

B.

[jjm_space]

Hi,

Finally, job's done.

Last weekend, 6 hours spent to finish.
Washing
Drying
Waxing, body, glass, bumpers, tyres, wheels
Cleaning inside, creaming leather, dash,
and finally extra gloss protection.

All is perfect, to use and final results.

One question though. The instruction on the bottle mention to spread the cream in circular (same what they told me in the shop and they mention there are video tapes for teaching how to wax, they also advise circular to evenly spread the wax)

Anyway I did all my work in straight lines.

I hope to post some photos soon.

Cheers,
Jean

[BrianS]

Buffers have circular motion and do a great job of evenly spreading the product. Unless you can get your hand to move at that speed, stick with straight lines.

We'd love to see a picture of it so don't be shy!

Take Care Out There.

B.

[WhipLash]

Yes, Jean, so post up some pics for us to see - and if you get a sunny day over there during Christmas, then take them with a nice blue sky! :cool:

If you want to make a photo collection of your pride and joy, then you can always use the free Gallery on eForecourt.com (http://www.eforecourt.com/gallery) to post them up.

You can then use the postcard feature to send them to friends and family, and you can have people rate the pics and add comments.

[jjm_space]

Hi,

Take this opportunity to wish all of you guys a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year.

I'm away for Christams, when I'm back I'll be gald to arrage a photos upload of the car.


I have a friend who's using a different brand for waxing and likes to start using Autoglym, would you advise to change, and most important to know in general if this brand is good enough. (" BrianS" I will PM you the name of the brand).

Cheers,
Jean.:santa:

[BrianS]

It seems to be a small enough brand. Like I said, some marketing companies spot a gap in the market and put a product in it. The product is usually made by a larger wax company and re-packaged. May not be the worst, may not be the best. I wouldn't be able to judge unless I tried it.

Hope it helps,

B.

[Phil]

Originally posted by jjm_space
Hi,
I'm away for Christams, when I'm back I'll be gald to arrage a photos upload of the car.

Cheers,
Jean.:santa:

Hi Jean,

Any luck with those photos? Would be nice to see how the car turned out. :)

[jjm_space]

Originally posted by Phil


Hi Jean,

Any luck with those photos? Would be nice to see how the car turned out. :)

Hi Phil,

Unfortunately I'm still away, I hope in a week time will be back, and take the photos.

Cheers.

[Phil]

Ok Jean, Look forward to seeing the photos in the near future.

[jjm_space]

:bounce:


Finally, a photo of the beauty attached. Enjoy.

P.S. How can I post multiple photos in a post reply? I have 9 more to share.

Cheers
jjm_space

[BrianS]

LOL!!

Looks Great.


Try saving the pix in jpg format. That gives equal quality but smaller file........


Look forward to seeing the other photos. There's a gallery on this website as well. Post them up there and just include the links down here.

Brian