"I hate buffing out wax, it's too much work". If you like a shiny car, and this is you, try this quick & easy approach.
When my new old car arrived it was covered in diesel soot, with various stains in it. It looked like it had a rough 35 years. Is it the years or the miles? Could be a toss-up. Now it looks like this. Not too shabby.
Having worked at a restoration shop assembling show cars and having worked with professionally trained painters I picked up a few things. This is the current state, which looks a lot better. (above)
I am not proposing the below approach as the "Best" or "Only" or "Right" way. It is simply a way that has achieved very good results for me without a lot of time and sweat. There are many vendors for all of these items, so go with your favorite.
First:
Wet the car thoroughly. Then apply your favorite soap. If you have one of those fluffy gloves, try and use that to soap it up. (or if you are world-class lazy like me, use your power washer with a soap sprayer attachment) A clean & soft sponge is fine too of course.
Rinse it off and use a nice soft chamois to push the water off of it. They aren't sponges - if you have kept the finish in good shape, the shammy will just push the beaded water off the car and you'll be done a lot faster. If your shammy is old it will soak up water. Consider getting a new one.
I am super lazy so I use a soap shooter attachment for my power washer. This does a few things for me:
It lets me wet the car to get the loose dirt off without ever touching the car
I can soap up the car, again without having to touch it and risk grinding any of the dirt into the paint
It cuts down on the pressure from the power washer so I don't damage anything on the car (seals and so on)
I can rinse the car easily.
It is fast fast fast!!
If there are stubborn spots I can always grab a sponge and take care of them.
The lever turns soap on or off so you can wet the car, soap the car and then rinse the car. Never put soap or any chemicals into the power washer. Only use water so they last longer. I just have some Mother's car soap in here, mixed with water.
Next
I use Griot's speed shine and paint cleaning clay. You just spray a small section of the car - and also spray the clay. It is super sticky and you need to lubricate it so it doesn't stick to you or the car!
Feel the paint "before" - it will be clean from step 1 but still have noticeable bumps where dirt has gotten embedded. Keep that feeling in mind. The lower half of the rear quarter panel will often be the worst just due to airflow and debris from the tires. The front of the car is usually pretty rough as well.
The clay should glide across the paint. Keep it wet, you cannot overdo this. The clay will get dirty; you can work it in your hands to keep clean clay exposed to work on your paint. It will pull all kinds of sediment out. Give it time to work to remove spots and so on. It will surprise you at what it can do.
I love this stuff!
For the price clay is the best kept secret in making cars look their best.
Wipe the clay across the paint and feel for smoothness. Repeat as necessary. It will feel like new when you are done. Baby's bottom smooth.
Once you are done with the speed shine and clay, the car should already be shinier than before. Shiny is really about smooth at the end of the day. All that dirt was making the surface rough and cutting down on the shine.
"Speed Shine" is kind of the modern version of the old Dupont Filling Glaze; something we'd use when prepping a car for a show. It won't last through a rainstorm, but it fills in all the tiny scratches that make the car less shiny. Great for your show day or if you garage your car most of the time. Also super fast if you would rather be out driving than buffing in the driveway! I've linked a product below that works well and will last longer if you have swirl marks etc.
Next
I must confess that I really like the new spray ceramic coatings. I was very skeptical; some of the professional products I have seen on new cars have been a bit over the top. So
a) would a retail product do a decent job?
and
b) would it look like a nice natural shine or like I dumped a bucket of armor all over the car?
I've been using Griots out of habit but there are probably a bunch of good ones. Anyhow, it's spray on, wipe up. No buffing, just nice and easy. Just use a nice soft clean towel. It's easy to use and looks great. The car will be really shiny and bead water when you are done. A bottle is around $24. There is a ceramic speed-shine as well for touch ups after. The coating will last a while before needing to be re-applied, probably months depending on storage and how much you drive. .
On a good day you are done here, and you really only need to clay a couple times a year at most so on a normal wash day you will spend maybe 30-40 minutes on this process.
Stains If you have stains that just won't come out you can use a dual action polisher (aka a "DA") with the softest pad & the finest polishing compound to take them out. Always use the most gentle thing you can to resolve an issue. I use the Griots red pad and their finest polishing compound. (most gentle) If you are really nervous, you can hand buff the spot with Turtle Wax. The secret of Turtle Wax is it has a tiny amount of rubbing compound in it. You are really polishing the paint when you wax with it. It can take out mild stains.
Make sure the area is super clean first. You want to keep the buffer moving around and not push down on it. Be patient and go a little at a time and see how you're doing. Small areas, short amount of time and then check progress. It does not take much to get to good paint usually; you are just taking off a microscopic layer which is where the stain is.
The rookie mistake is pushing down and holding it in a spot and burning the paint. Don't.
The wheel arch below had some nasty stains when I got the car. Looks ok now.
This old white car arrived from California with stains in the paint and covered in diesel soot. The above is really all I have done to it - and the paint now looks pretty good for 35!
Addendum:
As a rule, White and Silver cars show the least imperfections and dirt so if you are lazy like me, look for these colors.
If you love to look great and don't mind suffering, black paint will show every issue and need more attention and it will look amazing when it is all detailed. No free lunch my peeps.
Have fun!
References
Porter-Cable DA Polisher: https://www.portercable.com/product/7424xp/6-variable-speed-random-orbit-polisher
Swirl-buster (3M filling glaze was discontinued) but this is close: http://www.performanceautofinishes.com/Sonus_Swirl_Buster_Polish_p/son-450.htm
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