The Wax Man

Particularly bad damage areas are located on the rear bumper and passenger door.

Do not be put off by attempting minor repairs to paint work. The “experts” deliberately make the process of paint repair sound difficult and only to be attempted by someone with years of experience in a paint shop. The truth is that provided a few simple rules even extensive damage can be successfully repaired at home. The first step is washing the vehicle. This removes dirt, traffic film and minor oxidisation and lets you see the paint properly so that you can evaluate properly.

If you want to really damage the paint use a good washing up liquid! This will strip the waxes, dry the oils in the paint and in no time at all you will have a wonderfully flat finish that oxidises quickly and starts to pinhole… Just kidding but it would scare you how many people do just this!

First choose a good quality car shampoo. These are manufactured for a reason. They contain enough detergent to remove the dirt but not too much of the wax, have gloss enhancers or brighteners and some can even have small quantities of wax included. Signature Pro-V Wash & Wax has been made to exceed the required specifications and has the advantage of leaving a very thin film of wax, using extremely small particles that are designed to level the surface and produce a hydrophobic (water hating) surface that will literally repel water and dirt. Mix up a two gallon (10 Litre) bucket according to the instructions on the bottle. For very dirty cars a stronger solution can be mixed but never add more than double the quantity of shampoo. Most Important use cold water! Warm water has far more dissolved minerals and these cause the white deposits that everyone hates so much.

Next wet the car, thoroughly, most damage is caused by rubbing the dirt into the paint whilst still fairly dry. By wetting first, the dirt can be loosened slightly and the water provides a natural lubricant to minimise damage. Once the car is wet lightly lather the vehicle, using a Waxman Microfibre Wash Mitt. These have hundreds of little dreadlocks that lift the dirt away from the surface. Using a very good quality natural sponge is the poorer brother, but these are very difficult to find. Your local car supermarket and car accessory shop will stock cellulose “car sponges”, these should be absolutely avoided. They are harsh and do not lift the dirt. Cloths should never be used for anything other than drying a clean car or buffing the finish. Wash the car from the top down and concentrate on the level surfaces (bonnet, boot and roof).

Once all surfaces have been shampooed it is time to rinse. The eco guys will hate us for this, but when rinsing enough water is never enough. Get every bit of the shampoo off the car.

Finally dry the car thoroughly using a Waxman Miracle Dryer. This is a large sheet of towelled Microfibre that can absorb vast quantities of water and will very effectively dry your car, while the Microfibre ensures that little if any damage occurs. Leathers should never be used on paint. One should, however, be part of your kit for dying glass, as should some Waxman Microfibre Cloths. These are smaller versions of the Waxman Miracle Dryer that are used for removing the final light film of water as well as buffing later. It never hurts to have a good supply on hand and as they can be bought in packs and washed many times they are extremely cheap. Signature Microfibre is made exclusively for us and we sell at a rather more reasonable price than you may expect. Microfibre is only expensive if retailers choose to make it so.

Now time to inspect the paint. Light swirls and minor scratches that do not break the paint can be ignored at this stage as they will be tackled later. Look for deeper scratches and spider webbing (particularly common on Jaguars). This will look like a series of small chips linked by cracking in the paint, usually caused by heat when the paint was sprayed onto a badly prepared surface. Once found it is time to repair them. A few pieces of kit are required as above. Many retailers will sell touch up kits and in general these are terrible quality with brushes that are far too coarse as well as paint that is similarly too viscous. Far better to have a can of spray-paint made up. Further to this you will need a small pen-knife, 3200-6400 grit wet and dry sand paper and a primer if the metal is exposed.

First off lightly scrape the scratch/chip to give a simple surface and to remove any embedded wax and other residues. Aim for a V shape to the scratch/chip. If the metal is exposed then spray a little of your new primer into the cap of the tin and using a cocktail stick or needle touch a little into the blemish and let dry 2-4 hours is more than enough in most weathers.

After this, use the same technique to build layers of the topcoat into the blemish. Leave adequate time to dry between layers and this should be instructed on the can. What you are aiming for is a reasonably flat top to the new paint that stands just proud of the surrounding paint. Continue adding fine layers until you can see this. Allow the full time to dry but not to cure. Again instructions should be included on the can.

Next using very wet sand paper to very lightly sand the blemish, using very light finger pressure only until the paper just begins to cut the surrounding paint all round the new paint. This is now virtually level. A Clear-coat is not usually required for smaller blemishes but you may like to add a layer. In this case take the paint down a little further and add the clear-coat layer before the next part.

Finally use Signature Pro-Cut Polish to blend the new paint into the old. The blemish should now be barely visible if at all.

This technique is fine for small scratches, webbing and chips. Larger damage is generally better left to the experts.

You are now ready for Stage 2 - Surface Contamination