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.

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.

Aluminum vehicles require high-tech, high-touch repair

Automakers are betting the ranch that aluminum body frames and panels will deliver the new fuel efficiency requirements imposed upon them. Aluminum, while lighter and potentially stronger than steel, doesn’t fare well in collisions as seen in some of River City Auto Body’s repair vehicles.

The dents require more care and more often than not require replacement of the panel. According to a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study, aluminum is more expensive than steel in a raw state, in its conversion to a usable sheet metal, and in its assembly — resulting in a 60 to 80 percent cost premium. That aside, you want the finish to last. River City Auto Body has been repairing and refinishing aluminum long before fuel economy became the reason for changing metals.


Ford is one automaker that was using aluminum well before they ramped up their flagship truck production to all-aluminum in 2015. A common issue with those older panels: Corrosion under the paint. It’s a quirky way the paint bonds to the metal that’s gotten better with manufacturing improvements. Some repair shops aren’t up to speed on those improved techniques.

Audi, Volvo, and several other luxury and sports brands have been using aluminum body panels for twenty years – Mercedes Benz even longer, going back to the early 20^th century. Those cars have an unwarranted reputation as being hard to fix right. According to Doug Richman, vice president of engineering for Kaiser Aluminum this simply isn’t true. “They’re not more complex, they’re not more difficult. They’re different.

“Technicians need aluminum-specific knowledge to do repairs properly,” he says. When repair staff is up to speed on aluminum repairs and how to avoid corrosion issues, your repair can be done efficiently, and the finish will last. River City Auto Body techs have this specialized training for this generation of vehicles, the last generation of aluminum cars, and the next one.

SAE International, initially established as the Society of Automotive Engineers, has an interesting write up on aluminum body repair for additional reading.

 Photo by Vlad Teodor, used with permission.