Polishing paint and polishing chrome

[silverclaws]

Tis why I get similar stuff from the 99p shops and places like Poundland although I have seen Lidl's and Aldi come up with something similar half the price of the propriety stuff and less than halfrauds charge for the stuff anyway.

The thing is with cutting compounds is do it with small quantities and follow the instructions and you should be fine, it's not that aggressive especially if you don't push down when applying and buffing off the bloom

But as cutting compounds go there is t cut, farecla and all sorts, but if you think about it, there are other things around the house and in the garage that will work, like brasso type stuff, toothpaste, ( not the gel stuff) and I have used Windolene type window cleaner before now for brightening paint work and that I now use for polishing scratches out of plastic, CD's and DVD's especially. Oh yeah and cream cleanser used for around the house is also a liquid abrasive.

If you are married or have a maid, have root around in the cleaning products.

The key is to think what the substances are, typically abrasives with some kind of chemical behind them, usually a solvent or mild acid to aid the scratching action of the abrasive.

 

[grilla]

If you are married or have a maid, have root around in the cleaning products.

One can but dream.

I keep thinking about filling my bath with the zest of five hundred lemons and five hundred limes and dipping my bike in it. Polished by the power of citrus...

 

[silverclaws]

more like with me cover it in soap suds and put it outside in the rain, and I have washed my car that way before now, washing up liquid on the roof just as it has started to rain, then go inside and let nature take care of the job.

 

[Neil]

more like with me cover it in soap suds and put it outside in the rain, and I have washed my car that way before now, washing up liquid on the roof just as it has started to rain, then go inside and let nature take care of the job.

Washing up liquid ain't the best thing to wash your car in - has some salt content, and probably remove wax from your paintwork. Might make some of the plastics a bit grey, too.

 

[unkleGsif]

Yep..... WUL is the last thing you should be cleaning your car with. Even cheapo car shampoos have some form of protective coating in them, while Fairy et al will just strip off whatever is on there already. And if you have a red car, this will turn it pink in no time

G

 

[silverclaws]

more like with me cover it in soap suds and put it outside in the rain, and I have washed my car that way before now, washing up liquid on the roof just as it has started to rain, then go inside and let nature take care of the job.

Washing up liquid ain't the best thing to wash your car in - has some salt content, and probably remove wax from your paintwork. Might make some of the plastics a bit grey, too.

There is some suggestion elsewhere that the washing liquid no no is a fallacy created by those who wish to sell much the same product for vehicle use and charge more. As to plastic going grey, that is simply the oils in the plastics being removed, usually by sunlight, plain old UV again, the same stuff that ages paint work. But, it's ok, faded plastics can be rejuvenated with peanut butter, the crunchy stuff I find best due to the higher levels of peanut oil present. Rubber seals and tyres, the peanut treatment or boot polish.

But I live near the sea, ( less than a quarter mile), in fact salt water surrounds where I live for about 270 degrees, my car is 17 years old, it is no different here than when I used to live in Oxford with a similar aged car and I still used to use what was under the kitchen sink to clean my car.

 

[Neil]

more like with me cover it in soap suds and put it outside in the rain, and I have washed my car that way before now, washing up liquid on the roof just as it has started to rain, then go inside and let nature take care of the job.

Washing up liquid ain't the best thing to wash your car in - has some salt content, and probably remove wax from your paintwork. Might make some of the plastics a bit grey, too.

There is some suggestion elsewhere that the washing liquid no no is a fallacy created by those who wish to sell much the same product for vehicle use and charge more. As to plastic going grey, that is simply the oils in the plastics being removed, usually by sunlight, plain old UV again, the same stuff that ages paint work. But, it's ok, faded plastics can be rejuvenated with peanut butter, the crunchy stuff I find best due to the higher levels of peanut oil present. Rubber seals and tyres, the peanut treatment or boot polish.

But I live near the sea, ( less than a quarter mile), in fact salt water surrounds where I live for about 270 degrees, my car is 17 years old, it is no different here than when I used to live in Oxford with a similar aged car and I still used to use what was under the kitchen sink to clean my car.

Do what you want, man - it's your car.

Many people wash their cars in winter to remove salt on them (sprayed up from the road).

I don't buy the conspiracy theory, I've seen, first hand, somebody doing this habitually, and most regularly, for decades. I think it's fair point, that using the stuff you'd use to wash dishes, which will soften water to ensure it lathers, and "squeaks through to the shine" ain't necessarily the best thing to do if you care about your paintwork. But then some people don't care about their paintwork.

But like I say - do what you like, it's your car - just consider you're probably defensive because it reggaes against what you currently do.

 

[silverclaws]

I am always defensive, it is something that can be a problem sometimes, but then, communication is not one of my strong points, but one has to live.

 

[Rusty Scrubber]

 

[grilla]

Great tips, thanks!

Tin foil and water is fantastic on chrome, I've done that already. I gave the frame a light polish yesterday, to see how it would come up... Going to throw myself fully at it this afternoon. Sadly there are no pictures until I can find a digi camera, I only have film cameras so nothing would be developed for a while

I'm sure coca cola would be good as a cleaning product too, I remember the experiment of putting a filthy coin in a glass of coke from years ago.