Wise guy....

 

Ok, a real question. How do you get dust out of all the small crevices and angles inside of the car? It seems like there's always some left.

 

The newer cars, from the early 80's on, were changed to multi-stage paint systems. This means there is metal, primer, base coat, and clear coat. Simple enough right? Not quite. Since there isn't a single paint manufacturer, the formula for paint and clear varies between PPG, Glasurit, Spies Hecker, BASF, etc. So the paint on a Mercedes or Ferrari, from PPG, is different than the paint on BMW, made by Standox, on many different levels. Porsche uses Glasurit, so there's another curve ball. This changes how paint reacts with polishes and waxes. And now, we have the new CermiClear from PPG that was launched by Mercedes Benz. This is basically a powder that is misted on the base coat when wet, and baked in the oven to harden and form a shell that is scratch resistant. Ferrari and Rolls Royce also have a ceramic clear. If I use zymol HD-Cleanse on a Ferrari F430, it will not do much to correct the imperfections. I need a much more aggressive polish that can actually remove imperfection on the ceramic clear coat. For that, specialty polishes were launched by Menzerna to achieve this task. So, not one product will achieve the same result on a variety of makes and models. You need the expert opinion of a professional detailer, body shop, or paint manufacturer that has access to a variety of products to help you choose the proper one for YOUR need. Great question

 

Excellent question. To safely get inside the nooks and crannies of the interior, you need a soft china bristle paint brush. You can find it at your local Lowe's or Home Depot. Make sure it specifies CHINA BRISTLE. I also like the one that is 2" and is tapered

Decorator's Choice Oil-Based 2" Angle Sash

I find the china bristles to be gentle and soft so it won't scratch the delicate surfaces such as the clear on carbon fiber, painted areas, navi screen, etc. The trick is to brush the seams and follow with the vacuum nozzle to pick up the dust you just loosened. You can use the brush to get inside the vents, in between the seats, around the shifter boot, in and around the instrument cluster, etc.

Once you've done the interior dusting and vacuuming, a good follow up would be a simple wipe down with an interior detail spray like einszett Cockpit Premium. Simply spray cockpit premium on a soft microfiber towel and begin dusting the interior panels. You can use cockpit premium on leather, vinyl, plastic, navi screen, etc. For cleaning of surfaces that need more attention, use Autoglym Interior Cleaner/Shampoo.

 

I got one Moe!

If you could rate the top 10 cars in terms of hardness of clearcoat from softest to hardest, what would they be?

 

I have a legitimate one, do I still get to advertise your business for free with a hat/shirt?

Recently I added TechArt sideskirts to my 997. I bought them from another forum member so the double sided tape was no longer there. I used clear silicone and for the most part it looks flawless.

Some of it oozed out while drying and it's driving me crazy. What's the best way to get rid of it without damaging the paint? Thanks for your help!

 

That's a common thing I see sometimes with installs. The problem with silicone is when it hardens, there's really little you can do to remove it chemically. It's not like glue that can be removed with a solvent or paint that can be cleaned off with a solvent as well.

The silicone goop needs to be removed mechanically. How do we do that? VERY VERY carefully. You need a very sharp exact-o knife and the hands of a skilled surgeon. You have to be very careful to use enough pressure to scor the silicone but not the paint beneath it. Since the bead of silicone has hardened, it shouldn't be too difficult to remove this way. I hope this helps answer your question.

 

HMMM...that's a tough one. The scope of cars I detail are confined to a few makes and manufacturers. I'll share with you the cars that stand out the most from softest to hardest:

1. Lexus LS
2. Acura NSX
3. Lotus Esprit, Noble M400
4. Ferrari Enzo
5. Porsche Carrera, Cayenne
6. Ferrari 360, 355, Aston Martin Vantage
7. Ferrari 430, Lamborghini Diablo, Porsche Carrera GT, Bentley Flying Spur
8. Rolls Royce Phantom, Mercedes E-Class, S-Class, and SL-Class
9. Porsche Cayman Bumpers - Not sure why, but one of the hardest to correct for me recently
10. BMW Alpina B7

These are the few that I can think of if I had to rate them.

 

Rep

 

Moe, is there a way to remove surface scratches from leather. I happened to sit in my car with a knofe in my back pocket and the clip on the knife laft a few scratches in the leather bolster. So is there a way to remove/repair these or should I just name them.