Six fails to avoid if you want your vehicle finish to last

When River City Auto Body finishes a repair or detailing for a client, the client usually comments, "Looks great. Now what do I do?" Regular washing, drying, polishing, and waxing is the easy answer. But the devil is in the details, so here are the detail fails to avoid.

Fail 1: Using dish or laundry soap. You wouldn't shower with these cleaners because they're harsh. They strip grease and oil fine, but they can also strip off the vehicle's protective wax! Use a liquid car soap. More soap isn't better, either, so follow the instructions on the bottle. Use a soft-bristled brush, in small, circular motions, to remove more stubborn stains and grease, but generally a microfiber cloth is enough to clean less dirty areas. Rinse as you go, too. It keeps soap from building up. A wash a week -- by hand, in the shade -- is plenty.

Fail 2: Air drying. Start drying the vehicle right away to prevent water/soap/mineral spots. These spots will be worse if you didn't wash in a shaded area. A clean, soft, microfiber towel absorbs most of the water.

Fail 3: Dragging a towel across the car. Sure, it saves time, but it can trap dirt, possibly scratching the surface as you go. Use a bunch of clean towels, turning frequently, and working a small area at a time. Then allow the car to air dry completely once you've removed most of the water.

Fail 4: Glaze, polish, and wax are the same thing, right? Not even close. Glaze has a fine grit... like sandpaper, only gentler. It helps remove swirl marks for polishing and waxing later. Polish is a better alternative if the paint doesn't have swirl marks. Waxing fails are coming up, but first, another plug for microfiber. A microfiber towel or mitt is good for applying glaze or polish because it lifts any residual dirt into the fabric. Sponges aren't as effective at doing that. Your old Van Halen t-shirt is the worst for your car finish because it will just grind the dirt into the finish in those tight little swirl patterns.

Fail 5: Waxing too often. Once every three months is ample protection for the paint, unless you have used a glaze. Always follow glaze with wax because the abrasives in the glaze remove old wax. Microfiber -- again -- is the best wax applicator. Waxing too frequently will dull the shine, which is probably the opposite of what you wanted.

Fail 6: Using a buffer. Some people are really knowledgeable with this handy tool. Others, not so skilled. Overuse, or improper use, can cake wax onto the car or lead to paint removal if it’s used too aggressively. Use the same amount of pressure you'd use to crack a hard-boiled egg's shell without crushing the egg white. Dual action buffers or random orbit buffers are best for rookies.

It's easy to avoid all six fails: Just bring your car to River City Auto Body for your detailing needs. We do hundreds of vehicles a year. You do one.

 

 Photo by Wen hui Wang , used with permission.

How to shop for auto collision repair shops: Part I

Do you look forward to going to the DMV? Or how about the dentist? (Sorry, dentists.) River City Auto Body 'gets it' that you're not necessarily overjoyed to be facing a collision repair either. Here's a short list of things to look for in a reputable facility to return your car to you with the fewest headaches.

1) Don't let the insurance company shop for you. If they tell you have to go to a certain shop, it's called steering, and that's not legal. They can recommend, but not require. See our two articles on steering. 

2) Ask your friends. Internet reviews are nice, but you don't know those reviewers like you know your friends. Referrals are the life blood of any business. More importantly, referrals tell you who your friends trust.

3) Look for certifications. A shop that keeps fit, finish, durability, value, and safety top of mind is what certifications represent. You'll eliminate 9 of 10 body shops if you search only for ones with I-CAR certification. I-CAR Gold Class shops have current, up-to-date training that contributes to complete, safe, and quality repairs. Only 10 percent of shops currently complete the rigorous training requirements.

You'll also want to see what the vehicle manufacturers, like Ford, certify in the training, tools, and technology needed to provide top-notch repairs. Also, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) certifications are as important as your seatbelt. With all the technology in the vehicles today, you just can’t repair the cars the way you did 10 years ago… even five years ago.  Without knowing current techniques, the vehicle occupants’ safety is at risk.  Certifications show which shops and technicians are qualified to do the repair.   

River City Auto Body invests a lot of time and money in the training and certification of our team. It’s the right thing to do for them professionally, it helps us stand out professionally from competing shops and dealerships, and it is the absolute best thing to do for you and your vehicle. That being said, we’ll have three more tips in the second part of this series, including a real eye-opener on how a repair shop might be paying your deductible.

Photo by Sorapong Chaipanya, used with permission.

What acid rain does to your car's finish

In our part of Wisconsin, River City Auto Body sees the impact of pollution on vehicles resulting from acid rain. Actually, we see it from acid snow and acid fog as well. Even acid dew. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, any sort of moisture that makes it to the ground after passing through pollution is acidic. And it takes a toll on your car.

First, acid precipitation is unavoidable. If you garage your car, at some point, it's going to get wet. Acid rain results when sulfur and nitrogen particles are emitted into the atmosphere. A third of the particles comes from cars, trucks, chimneys and smokestacks. Two thirds of these particles come from electric power plants. We have them all over… if you don't live next to a power plant, wind currents take care of sweeping the nitrogen and sulfur into our area from points west. Sulfur and nitrogen react with water to make sulfuric acid and nitric acid. Which weakens and fades paint over time.

The real enemy however, is the sun. The precipitation hits your car… during evaporation the droplet magnifies the sun's intensity causing the acid to pit the surface microscopically… then the acid is left when the water evaporates.

Imagine the gradual effect of millions of tiny acid-made pores over the life of your car's finish. Even on some of the newer cars River City Auto Body repairs, the paint damage from just a year or less is visible to the naked eye.

Here's how you can minimize acid rain damage beyond just covering the car when it rains:

·         Wash your car frequently with mild soap followed by hand drying it with a clean cloth. River City Auto Body thinks the Auto Detailing Network is right on when it suggests a thorough wash weekly.

·         Wash it right after a rain. Just hosing off the rain spots won't help because it only activates the acid deposit.

·         Use wax or sealants designed to protect the clear coat finish, or – better yet – have your car professionally detailed.

·         Come see River City Auto Body for painting and finishing to bring back that showroom look.

 

 Photo by Olga Yastremska, used with permission.

Bring some clarity to warranty, guarantee and honesty

With more than three decades in the collision repair business, River City Auto Body witnessed more than a few similar business come and go over challenges involving those three words in the article title. Realistically, no one expects warranty and guarantee to mean the same thing. However, they're frequently used for the same principle: When something goes south, it gets fixed. Period.

Warranty and guarantee do mean the same thing from a legal standpoint. The Uniform Commercial Code, which has been adopted in some form in every state, protects consumers when it comes to promises made by a seller.

We simplify it here:

·         Pieces and parts are warrantied. This comes from the manufacturer. For example, who hasn't come across a product recall? Some piece or part fails or creates a safety-compromising situation. It's replaced. Done. A warranty is a form of a guarantee, and comes from the maker/manufacturer. You see them ranging from 30-days for consumer electronics to years for car systems to the rare Lifetime Warranty.

A bit about parts and the warranty. Remanufactured parts carry a tag or label shortened to 'reman.' Sometimes remans carry a warranty from the REmanufacturer which isn't necessarily the company that originally manufactured the part. That original maker is usually called the OEM, by the way, short for Original Equipment Manufacturer. ‘

This is where honesty comes in. River City Auto Body believes in using new, OEM parts whenever possible and fully discloses when the parts used in a repair aren’t. Even if you don't use us, please ask any repairer to give you that courtesy.  

·         Work is guaranteed. You can use the best parts, but what about the installation or assembly? When you find a business willing to put it on the line that their employees do work so well – even the intricacies of paint work – they'll guarantee the labor.

At any rate, as we mentioned last week, an insurer doesn’t warranty claim repairs because they don’t make the equipment, and they don’t do the labor. We guarantee our parts (new and used) and labor – even refinishing except for damage from acid rain or stone chips – for a year because WE CAN. The fit and finish of a job are too important to us to cut corners. As long as you own the vehicle, we guarantee our work for a year. No fine print. The fine-print mentality is another form of dishonesty.

   

 Photo by Val Thoermer, used with permission.

Auto repair mythbuster: You CAN take your car anywhere

When River City Auto Body welcomes a new customer, about half the time it involves an auto insurance claim. We make sure every customer knows – up front – that as the owner of a vehicle they can take the car to the repair shop of THEIR choice. Many people don’t realize that. But it is the LAW.

A mythology has evolved around car repairs and quotes and insurance coverage. We do our level best to help bust those myths, not just when it’s to our advantage to do so. This particular myth is one we find challenges customers too often because an insurance policy is a complicated contract. State law clarified one thing with certainty: Your insurer may suggest, but cannot require, you have your car repaired at a specific auto repair shop. If anyone tells you otherwise, you can call Wisconsin’s Department of Ag, Trade and Consumer Protection to defend your rights at 800-422-7128. 

When insurers attempt to direct you to a specific shop, the practice is called STEERING in auto repair circles. You’ll see the topic quite a few times in upcoming River City Auto Body articles.

Repair ‘choice’ is a win for everyone involved. Repair shops gain an equal footing when there aren’t rules limiting competition. Insurance companies win because service can be fast, local and competitive. Most of all, YOU win because you have choice where to have work done… and since there is competition for your business, quality goes up and costs (including insurance premiums) are more manageable.

This isn’t like that “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor” scheme we heard not too long ago. Here you have a situation where if you like your repair shop or what you’ve heard about a repair shop like ours, you can keep it. If you don’t like a repair shop’s reputation, you can go elsewhere. It really is that simple.

Repairing a vehicle after it’s been damaged requires precision to restore the vehicle to specs. River City Auto Body is so proficient at what we do that we’ve earned the trust of many insurance carriers as a Direct Repair Program (DRP) shop. However, not one of the insurers can tell you that you have to use us. Our track record and our ability to GUARANTEE our work as long as you own the vehicle will make you want to choose us for your damage repair. It IS your choice!

 

 

 Photo by Karammiri , used with permission.