Big Al Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 So I've just managed to land a new job where I am essentially in charge of a fleet of vehicles. Most of them black a few are white. These vehicles have been babied to an extent in the manner of they've been washed (sometimes as often as daily) and cleaned meticulously inside and out. Now that having been said, these are working vehicles and have been in harsh conditions. Most have the dreaded spiderwebs in the paint look when direct light shines on them. So I'm looking to find out from you guys (if anyone here knows) what products work to remove/hide these spiderwebs and make these vehicles look like they just came out of a paint booth again. I'm also looking for ideas on how to get rid of or repair minor rust without having to take a vehicle out of service for any period of time. Thanks for your help. I'm sure I'll have more questions of the detailing genre shortly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starquest86 Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 You cant repair rust... you can cut it out and weld a new piece in, or you can slow it down with fiberglass but rust really does its thing on its terms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted March 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 It's not rust holes it appears to be surface rust. I'll have to snap some shots to show what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killtodie Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 (edited) http://www.autogeek....teriorcare.html read up For rusthttp://www.por15.com/ Edited March 12, 2012 by Killtodie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burton Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 (edited) You cant repair rust... you can cut it out and weld a new piece in, or you can slow it down with fiberglass but rust really does its thing on its terms. ......or you can Por-15 it. Fiberglass won't slow it either- the rust still grows under the FG. The "Rust Fix" products that turn rust to primer are crap too. Por-15 and Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator are the only products I've used that will actually STOP rust from growing any more, and I've used about everything out on the market for fixing rust. Otherwise, cutting and patching is the only option. As far as the "spiderwebbing" It's hard for me to say without seeing the cars, but if they are there as the result of microscratches, then a good buffing and wax will probably make them disappear, or at least look a lot better. If it is actual CRACKING of the paint, then you're screwed. Then wax won't help, and any wax you get in the tiny cracks will turn white and make the spiderwebbing stand out more. Eventually, enough rain and other contaminats floating in the atmosphere will get in those cracks and really cause the paint to fail, so eventually plan on a repaint. As far as detailing products, I like Mothers, Meguiars, 3M, Norton and System 51. There's some other good waxes made by other brands- The Treatment, Zymol, eyc... If you gotta do some cutting and buffing before waxing, then I pretty much only use Norton's Liquid Ice, or the System 51. Not sure if the vehicles have been getting wax since new or not, but you should wax a car 2X a year if possible, and AT LEAST once a year (there was a time when I waxed my car once every week or two). The wash-n-wax stuff or the wax coating you get at the car wash doesn't count- It's all junk. You can wash and detail a car daily, but if you never hand wax it with a quality wax, then you can expect your paint to fail eventually. If the "spiderwebbing" is cracks in the paint, I can just about bet my life savings that it's due to not being waxed regularly. Oh, and for waxing, get an orbital buffer. It saves on the elbow grease and will give you a more consistant and smooth coat of wax than doing the wax-on, wax-off by hand. They're usually not too expensive and can cut you waxing time down to a 1/3-1/2. Edited March 12, 2012 by Burton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted March 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 They have been getting wax at least according to the detailing crew. I will be on top of that a little more though. I will be making sure they get wax probably more than twice a year since these vehicles get a lot more use than the average daily commuter. At least the sedans get more use. I think at least one of our vehicles is an '03 or '04 with nearly 300K on it now. I've got a buffer I'll have to give that a shot maybe that's why the stuff I got didn't work. The detailer didn't use a buffer on it he was doing it by hand. I'll have it redone tomorrow with a buffer see how it turns out. I'll also try taking a few shots of the cars see if I can get pics of the spiderwebbing for you. I'm fairly certain it's not paint flaws or cracks though. It doesn't look like cracks just like little thin spider webs all around the vehicle paint circling wherever the light source is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starquest86 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Mark i wasnt trying to say FG is a cure just better than using bondo which will soak up water and add to the rust issue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I was planning on giving the Meguire's stuff I had used on the 'quest back in '09 at the Branson nats a shot and seeing if it does the job. I have an orbital buffer ready to go as soon as I get some pads for it. And what about chips? Any recommendations for a decent repair for small rock chips and dings? I was going to try the touch up paints that are out there but want to consult with you guys first before wasting time and money. So far I'm not having much luck with these quick repairs but I need the fleet to look good. Especially when we end up doing things like presidential shuttles like we did the other week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burton Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 If you're pretty sure the bad looking stuff is just on the surface of the paint, then you might find it's caused by insudtrial fallout or using poor quality waxes in the past. Your best bet is probably to strip everything off the paint that you can. Wash the cars with a fairly strong degreaser or some diluted ammonia. That will strip off all the old wax and a fair amount of fallout, if it's not too bad. After all that, use a clay bar on the car to get rid of any bad fallout or other contaminats that have stuck to the paint. There are also some products on the market that are "body scrubs" which is put on and removed like a wax, but is made to remove contaminatas like fallout and oxidized paint. Hopefully, after using some of the above tips, the issues you see on the paint would be gone, other than a bunch of swirly microscratches. The paint should look clean, but may be a little dull and have lots of microscratches. At this point apply and remove a high quality wax in a small area, and see how that area looks. If you are happy with how it looks with a good wax in that area, then go ahead and wax the whole car, and be done. If there is still flaws in the paint, then there's a chance that whatever got on the car etched into the paint surface a little bit, and the whole car will have to be cut and buffed with a high speed polisher and some compounds, then waxed with a quality wax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted March 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 (edited) Ok I snapped some shots of the worst of the issues. here are a few pics: http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc165/Socially_Unacceptable/The%20Fleet/IMG_2544.jpghttp://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc165/Socially_Unacceptable/The%20Fleet/IMG_2548.jpg Not the rust runs down the side I know will come off with rubbing compound (done it already on that first vehicle)http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc165/Socially_Unacceptable/The%20Fleet/IMG_2549.jpghttp://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc165/Socially_Unacceptable/The%20Fleet/IMG_2550.jpg Now I tried to get shots of the swirl scratches but in the dark they didn't come out as well (I was lazy and didn't feel like pulling a vehicle out into the sun I'll be taking at least one out tomorrow so I might get more shots then): http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc165/Socially_Unacceptable/The%20Fleet/IMG_2560.jpghttp://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc165/Socially_Unacceptable/The%20Fleet/IMG_2559.jpg And for those that can't figure out what my fleet actually is:http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc165/Socially_Unacceptable/The%20Fleet/IMG_2551.jpg http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc165/Socially_Unacceptable/The%20Fleet/IMG_2553.jpg http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc165/Socially_Unacceptable/The%20Fleet/IMG_2556.jpg That's what I'm in charge of down here. I didn't get pics of it but there's also a full size bus (47 passenger) here that I'm also in charge of. Edited March 16, 2012 by Big Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killtodie Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 That molding will need to be cut off and the paint wetsanded and resprayed or heavily buffed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted March 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 From what I was told on the second vehicle (the one with the molding with fabric matching the top) the molding was put on to cover the rust which definitely doesn't give me a warm fuzzy as to what's under there if that is the case. But I have to start somewhere and this crap isn't going to fix itself that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burton Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 With that white car, get the rust stains off the sides and try and find a skinny white paint pen to fit in the cracks and cover up that rusty part. Otherwise, you nedd to pull that trim and vinyl off, fix the rust, and repaint. That will be the only way to fix it properly. As it is, you probably got a 2-3 years before those rust iussues poke thru and can't be covered up anymore. The paint on the black ones is hard to tell from the pics. Do like I said in the post above and see what it looks like afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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