The paint finishes applied today are much more durable than those available ten or fifteen years ago. As a result, even average care can yield great, long lasting results. Be aware, however, that the more you do to preserve the appearance and lifespan of your vehicles paint, the more sales and trade in value you will receive when it is time to purchase your next vehicle.

Washing
This is the single most important thing you can do to preserve the finish. Hand washing is by far the best, however, if you must use an automatic car wash, stick to those that don’t have any brushes. Hand washing should always be done in a shady area and you will need a soft cotton cloth or chamois to dry the vehicle before water spotting occurs. (Note: If you have recently had a portion or all of your vehicle painted, do not take through any automatic wash for 30 days.)

Products to Use
Stick with cleaning products that are designed and tested to be used on a cars finish. Most auto parts stores offer a good selection.

Avoid Parking Under Trees
Trees provide good shade but they are also the source of tree sap and bird droppings. Depending on what type of tree or what the bird ate that day, either can contain chemicals that will stain or even blister your cars finish if not removed promptly.

Keep Covered When Not in Use
The ultraviolet rays from the sun, over a long period of time, can cause cracking, blistering, and peeling. This is more true in the southwest than any other part of the country. Most of us don’t want the hassle of using a car cover, however, parking your vehicle in a garage or carport can make a big difference in the life of your finish.

Wax
This will provide an extra layer of protection although it is questionable how long it will last in the hot Arizona climate. The added benefit is that when you are applying wax, you are doing a very thorough cleaning job at the same time. Always wash the vehicle immediately prior to applying the wax. (Note: Always wait at least 30 days before applying wax over a newly painted area.)

Paint Chips
Gravel roads can cause excessive chipping very quickly. Bug shields for your hood as well as mud flaps behind each of your four wheels will help significantly. Parking lots will also cause you dings and paint chips unless you park far enough out that nobody is banging their door into the side of your car.

Professional Detailing
If you can afford it, have this done at least once per year. It will usually run between $100 and $250 for an inside/outside detail depending on condition, type of vehicle, and the level of quality you choose. A good detailer will take care of those hard to get at areas that are usually ignored.

Bob Schubert started his career as a collision technician and founded his company, Impact Auto Body ( http://impactautobody.com ) in Mesa, Arizona in 1981. His commitment to providing excellent repairs and outstanding customer service made Impact one of the most respected repair shops in the Valley of the Sun.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Schubert

The process of color fading of car paint and the degradation of its quality is a natural process. Some causes of this degradation include UV light and chemicals. The harmful chemicals that touch the body of car are usually in the form of the things that we are familiar with. They are bird droppings, the air pollutant, car polisher and salt. The following description might give you great information about them and how to deal with those chemicals.

Bird droppings and insects
Actually, it is easy to clean bird droppings while they are still wet. But, you are often despised or simply not had time to quickly clean it. These droppings will be very difficult to clean when they have dried. In this matter, you have to be carefully clean the bird droppings that have been dried since this can scratch the paint of your car. Sometimes, when someone finds difficulties in cleaning the bird droppings that have been dried, he will paint the area with fade paint. Absolutely, this is a bad solution. Thus, do not try this.

The Air Pollutant
As you may know, the air contains many chemicals in gas form. In high ambient air pollution such as in big cities has nitric acid (HNO3) in high number. Well, this nitric acid is corrosive to your car paint either in the form of gases and liquids (brought by the rain).

Car polishers
Although these polishers intended to brighten the car paint, you must be careful in using the pads. Polishing works by eroding paint using abrasive materials. These materials can lead to reduce car paint ages. Therefore, as much as possible you should avoid using car polishers.

Salt
Water that contains salt will be danger your car paint. If the salt containing in water is high enough, this can harm your car body. This is because the salt will accelerate the corrosion process.

However, there are many things that you can do to take care off your car paint. All of the things are very easy to do. Some of them are parking your car in shady places, washing your car regularly, washing your car in the shade, using a special soap to wash the car, avoiding washing with hot water, performing waxing about 2-3 months to provide extra protection and immediately fixing the peeled or chipped car paint. By doing those things, you will find that your car body will always shine.

Instead of doing the caring toward the car, you should consider building a garage for it. You will need Genie garage door remote to operate the garage door in an easy way. This is a garage door part that are very essential for you to consider.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Edmund_N_Figueroa

If your car has reached a stage that its paint is looking dull and faded, then maybe the car is newly painted and it needs a smooth and shiny look removing the years old car wax. The answer is rubbing compound. One will get surprised even with a finishing of clear coat and a good result of buffing with fine compound. It will really brighten up the finish by removing the yellowing film and wax that accumulates on the clear coat.
Things needed:

- An automotive rubbing compound which is finely cut, it can be found at any auto supply or professional auto paint supply stores.
- Specific rubbing compound covers, circular power buffer with terry cloth or for the disk.
- Soft and clean towels or rags
- Clean water
- Safety glasses

Step 1

Rotary buffer and terry cloth cover and Professional grade rubbing compound is the best for applying in temperature over 50 degrees while outside in the direct sunlight. One should start at the furthest section of the car like the roof and then it can be worked back towards panels with easier access. The aim is that once an area is completed, one would not have to lean over to reach another area.

Step 2
A small amount of about a teaspoon of compound should be applied on the buffer pad and also one teaspoon on the car with an approximate amount of 14 x 14-inch section. More can always be added as one continues or if there is a feeling of buffing.

Step 3
Before turning on the buffer, the pad can e slid around a bit on the car on the compound. The level has to be sorted out it out a bit and the area be defined which has to be buffed. While pressing the pad on the car, the buffer motor has to be turned on. If the buffer motor is turned on while not on the car with compound on it, the compound will spew out all over the place including the person who is doing.

Step 4
The safety glasses should be worn. The buffer should be worked using reasonable downward pressure in an up, down or side to side direction. The last pass can be covered by about 50 percent and working on one defined section of the car at a time till the compound is finished. A lot of compound is not needed on the car that may dry up before one reaches to it. To be productive, working on a large section would not be a good idea.

Step 5
The buffer should be avoided running over any edges unless a person is a professional and using a very light and quick run. It would be much better to do edges by hand so one does not have a high risk of burning off the paint.

Step 6
When an area is completed, it should be cleaned with clear water and then dried off with a clean soft towel. This will prevent the scratches on the paint and it will consequently remove any remaining compound or grit. It will also identify any areas that might have been missed. The next working section has to be cleaned just before applying the compound. It would prevent the debris from getting mixed into the fresh compound which may scratch the finish.

Step 7
The entire finish is to be inspected when done for spots or missed or areas that might require more attention. The car can be rinsed with clean water and then the car is ready to be waxed with a favorite wax product. There is no protection offered for the rubbing compound from the elements like in the case of wax.

You might also want to learn how to paint a car and after painting, how to touch up car paint. This will save you a good sum of money.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tauqeer_Ul_Hassan

In this short space, it is impossible to go into detail at any length, so the following is a brief guideline to ensure quality workmanship and minimal negative comebacks. Of course, guidelines must be established, but they also must be strictly followed.

Setting the Guidelines and Expectations:
Good training is reflected in quality work, as bad training is reflected in bad work, and prohibitive costs result due to comebacks. It is important to make sure that the training is top notch.

Many paint manufacturers have excellent training standards and it is a good policy to follow and enforce those standards. The following is a good example of good prep guidelines as given by a good paint company.

Contaminates that float around can ruin a paint job, and that applies to the surface, and the shop as well. To do this make sure, there is adequate filtration, and that it is frequently cleaned to the point of being almost sterile. Minute dust particles and hair are the worst offenders, making technicians walking dust magnets if the filtration system is inadequate.

Every day, and before each job, the shop must be thoroughly cleaned, top to bottom, as much as possible. Keep the spray booth clean always, and thoroughly wash it weekly.
Check filter regularly and replace when necessary, as it affects health.

Before starting a job, make sure there is nothing like lamps mirrors, etc. around because they can cause cracking in the topcoat and the clear coat.

Before doing any surface prep, thoroughly wash the surface, all you need is plain old soap and water, because it removes all water- soluble material that can cause damage later. The vehicle must be scuffed with detergent and hot water to remove wax and sealants.

Prepping the Paint Surface:
You might want to try some fine waterproof sandpaper to scrub the surface. Some people like to use the scuff pads, those gray nylon types. Removing the painted area that has become damaged requires some grinding. Ideally, you will need sandpaper that is 80 grit and an orbital sander.

You will need to concentrate your grinding along the paint area that is damaged. In order to be successful you will have to see at least a quarter of an inch of color coat as well as clear coat and of course the undercoat as well. So the next step will be to featheredge the etching filler. This can be done right over the body filler or even on the bare metal. The purpose here is to provide protection both in adhesion and corrosion.

Once you have reached this stage then the next will be for the surface primer. It’s easy to see though that by setting and following guidelines and expectations that everyone knows what their job is and what they are responsible for. If there is a problem and a repair comeback shows up it becomes easier to determine where the breakdown occurred. This way you can go back to the drawing board so to speak and correct the problems where they are happening.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mario_Goldstein