Maintaining The Finish On Cars
and Trucks with "Clear Coat" Finishes
Most new cars and trucks are now painted with what is referred to as a "base coat/clear coat" finish - a two stage paint/finish system. The base coat (color) is applied following the primer step(s). Unlike older vehicle (single stage) finishes, this color has no protection against UV rays. The "clear coat", which is applied after the base coat, not only provides the shine/luster, but also the UV protection. It is very important to protect this clear coat - if it breaks down, there is no protection for the base/color coat. Once the clear coat goes, the base coat is not very far behind. Many people are under the misconception that because a vehicle has a clear coat, they don’t have to do anything, except wash it once in a while. This is not true. It is very important to keep a good protective coating on your paint, whether it is a single stage, or base/clear paint. There are many environmental hazards to be concerned with - UV rays, acid rain, bugs, gas stains, bird droppings, bat droppings, tar, alkaline water, and probably others that I haven’t thought of. You need to apply what I refer to as a "renewable sacrificial barrier", to protect the finish. If you choose Race Glaze ® P & S (Polish & Sealant) for this job, you’ll be doing three things at one time, with very little effort. This product easily cleans contaminants from the surface, polishes out minor imperfections, and then leaves a very durable protective coating, that will last for 4-6 months on average. It will not wash off by hand, or from going through commercial car washes. It has to slowly wear off with normal abrasion from dirt and wind, and UV degradation - average time: 4-6 months. The cleaner you keep the surface, the longer it will last. The best way to keep it clean, is to wash the vehicle with Race Glaze ® L.A.S. Wash. I never used to like liquid car washes. I tried many - kept going back to a powder.
However, when I received my first L.A.S. (Land, Air, Sea), I was hooked. It removes most types of "dirt" from the vehicle (including road tar), but does not remove our P & S. The result, it looks like you just applied a fresh coat of P & S. Its highly concentrated, pH balanced, bio-degradable, leaves no water spots/streaks, and has a delightful coconut fragrance. Enough about L.A.S. - in a future "Tip", I’ll describe how to get the best results washing your vehicle - please check back - new tips every month.
Lets get back to the P & S. You can use this product on all painted surfaces - many body shops use this as the final product before the vehicle is returned to the owner. They like it because not only is it easy to use, but it will not interfere with the curing process of the new paint. It is also easy to remove with their normal "wax & grease remover", if they have to do any touch-up work. Excellent results on chrome, glass, fiberglass, plexiglass, aluminum, brass, stainless steel, plastic, resin furniture (those white chairs many people use outdoors), sealed wood, and just about any other hard/non-porous surface. This is probably the easiest paint care product you will ever use. We’ve had many people say that the reason they first purchased Race Glaze ® Polish & Sealant at a show, was because they saw my wife polishing our van, and were impressed with how little effort she had to use. Applying the product is very easy - shake the bottle, dampen an applicator with water (I use a mist bottle), pour a little P & S on the applicator. Next spread the product out very thin, in a lateral motion (back and forth, not circular - like sanding a piece of wood). Depending on how clean or dirty the surface is, I will either use a polish applicator (terry cloth over foam), a piece of Rymple Cloth ®, or one of our "anti-static detail pads". (These are all available from us). When the surface needs cleaning, the terry cloth applicator works nice to get into the pores of the paint. If the surface isn’t in bad shape, Rymple Cloth ® works great - its real soft like a diaper, but is an open weave cloth.
If I’m polishing a black or other dark colored vehicle, with clean paint, and a nice finish, I use an "anti-static detail" pad (oval soft white foam, about 1" thick, and about 3" by 5"). I spread it out very thin, working it in real well - this polishes the surface to a high shine. You don’t need to apply it heavily - a bottle does about 6-8 average sized vehicles. It takes 15-30 seconds to dry, and is very easy to buff off, no matter how long it is left on the surface. I use our "Soft Gray Detail Pad" to remove the polish, and buff to a very high shine. The gray pad is even softer than the white pad. Because it is foam, it won’t leave any marks on black, or other dark colors. The pads are machine washable and dryable. You can also use any soft cloth and get excellent results (I recommend 100% cotton). Keep the shine up between polishing, with our newest Race Glaze ® product, Gloss Highlighter. This product is unique when it comes to "quick detail" type of products. It lasts about 4-6 washes (some users have reported getting 10+ washes before it needed to be done again), will not streak on any color. Just spray the surface (after shaking bottle), spread product with a clean and soft terry cloth towel, turn to dry side (or use a second towel), and buff. Your vehicle will look and feel like you just applied a fresh coat of P & S, but it only takes 10-15 minutes. Used properly, a bottle will do the average car 8-10 times. Safe on all painted surfaces, vinyl, rubber, plastic, chrome, glass, and trim. It also has a very pleasant natural fruit fragrance (not overpowering - nice smell). If you have any questions on any of the above, or other related issues, please e-mail us.
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