Muditha420

@kmeeg I would say older cars have better paint thickness, not sure if it's right but a guy working for used cars said so? Considering the age that is a proper shine?

Ahh been awhile.... so I would like to add something as well, use a clay bar. Some brands have various levels of clay bars from light, medium and heavy depending on the paint work. So I tried the clay bar kit from Maguire's which turned out to be an eye opener, specially the roof and then use a swirl remover which I have mentioned before the 3m stuff (yet to try a new brand, might try the Maguire's Scratch X2.0) and finally use a good wax, which ever brand you might prefer. To check if the paint needs a clay or wax, just touch your paint work with your hand to see if its soft, if NOT a proper claying will do wonders. will try to upload the images I have soon

@kusumsirimachan, yes i used it for awhile and have comments of a owner of a Panda as well to judge it to be a pretty shitty car, even wiring isn't colour coded to ID which goes where as i clearly remember an electrician getting pissed while trying to connect a security system for a customer (this is not a makabaas electrician mind you), I do not know how ever in recent models they have improved this but when it came out it wasn't. I have not owned it i would rather eat or throw the money to charity rather than buying one as the one i reversed up that ramp was new (atleast from appearance). most cars you see on the road, unless brand new have degraded very badly in a short lifespan on that vehicle, even compared to a maruthi Alto which in looks atleast is in good nick where the paint hasn't worn or panels or fittings broken off. Yes, u need to use a car "well" to achieve results but u can't deny that its a poorly built and finished off

What utter rubbish... tried to reverse a Panda out of Dominos pizza in Panadura due to the owner not being able to reverse up the ramp (i thought he was just a noob not being able to do so) Revved the nuts off of it to get up a small incline from the basement car park. stalled twice, 5th time was the charm though. if i did the same on my car would hv flown off into oncoming traffic and landed inside the P'dura base hospital. @Davy maybe CCP-SL stands for his name???

LOL this before i said good bye to my bachelor life but still i try to do it by my self as much as possible, if not i follow ur trail @Supra_Natural

NO mate... the front grill is a RFRB grill sort of an option that came with the Legacy B4 trim. there are several types of grills one with the badge as well. okay two questions which is a bit hard to explain but will try to "And how much swirl marks is the right time to do a polish" you can limit the swirl marks by using the two bucket wash method and using several micro fiber towels for lower parts of the car (below the door handle & continue around the car) upper part of the car and for the windows so that's 3 micro fiber towels and a wheel brush n towel for the rims (DO NOT use this same towel on the body work, brake dust will damage it). Loads of foam (soap) will help to loosen up the tough mud spray and road grim there by reducing the pressure you need to use to wipe it off and again reduce the scratches. there are small equipment's to measure the reflection of the paint work and there by doing the polish n waxing but i prefer to visually check (that's cheaper) and if the marks are bit more than my liking I'll start the work. Hope that answers your Q. "How many times would I be able to polish the car before I take the clear-coat off ?" this defers from car manufacturer as far as i read n understood mate, German car have a tougher coating so it will last several cuts with a machine, American cars have a better clear coat level than the German rivals and finally the Japs hv a thin layer compared with the 2 above. so for your question best to maintain what you have now in good condition with good products. i would say IF u hv to do a cut n polish with a machine 3 times would be Max BUT will depend on the clear-coat level and the person who does the cutting since if he's a bit too harsh will take the clear-coat or else the paint off (that's why best to take it to a reputed place when doing such things). I usually do a waxing once a month depending on if it rained or not, water beading level and the feel of the paint work (if its soft ur good, if not and feels rough a bit, time for a wax) sadly these days didn't hv anytime with house work n all but should start soon.

LOL Debadged? IF you mean the number plates my usual wax n polish goes to an extreme of taking the plates off n doing the work... Thanks btw...

Autoglym is a good product with good result. since its a darker shade do a cut n polish n then use a good product. will bring out the shine much better. IF under sunlight ur getting too much of scratches n swirl marks best to do what i mentioned above coz even if u do buy a very expensive product it wont do any good. I hv done enough of research to empty my wallet in pursuit of happiness LOL First 2 images are about the swirl marks i mentioned before, one side done n the other without (swirl mark remover - 3M Swirl mark remover) and the Final result. (no machine used here just elbow grease & that 3M stuff is very strong)

@Hyaenidaeguess u are one of the lucky chaps mate, unfortunately i hv tried Turtle Ice, Eagle one both turned out to be in the same boat. As your car is new chances are ur paint work offers the shine rather than the wax doing it, Yes the water beading retains as u said on both roughly a month but a paste wax last longer. On the paste front i hv tried 99Soft, AutoGlym, Maguiers & finally Chemical Guys of which the last one did it for me. Last 3 products are a bit expensive BUT if you do the prep work and follow certain procedures not only applying wax like claying as well, these 3 products will give a longer deeper colour and will last far longer 99Soft remarkably does a very good job (not the crap one i read somewhere) water beading a depth of shine also works well. @K.o.N.o.SIF your car is an old one with the paint on a dull colour, i would suggest a cut & polish from a good place and then get the car home, choose a good product and get the job done.

Spray waxes dont last as long as paste, its good if ur at a car meet n want that quick shine...again this would be a bad idea as u just drove ur car n fine dust can scratch the paint work. use the two bucket wash method to prep the car for polishing n wax. like mentioned above by @Twin Turbo how long it should be will be according to the wax brand or type u use, mostly few minutes n buff it off. Commonly we are used to applying wax and removing in circular motion but, i would suggest a up n down movement to avoid any fine swirl marks (also apply's to washing n soap)

Well done mate and truly deserved Glad to see one living the dream and may u win more to come... hopefully i can cheer you next time around.

Congratulations @PreseaLover

Since its a new unit even in Japan its a bit expensive, was wondering if you can buy a new one. Dont know if its possible to get the front face only here unless u are fortunate enough to buy your own one sad scene though. Not something u want to see once u import a car here.

As a precaution i would hv done it when i bought the car since i dont hv proof if it was done before without any service records etc. who knows if the mileage was altered. just be on the safe side and get it replaced while ur engine is intact. why push it?

A good set of maintenance practices and good driving without thrashing your car will most likely increase the life span of the engine but again will depend on many reasons. electronics will most likely degrade but again you cannot say when n where this can happen. I saw awhile back a Subaru Impreza Southern highway patrol car logging in 500k ODO at the Agents

@Komisiripala you are most welcome mate, tricking you that we lost the auction was the highlight of my day though and later the face u had when i told you haven't LOL

U can actually call these places or through FB and ask them if the same can be applied or if they have an alternate solution for the type of synthetic leather. in CG u have something called VRP (Vinyl, Rubber, Plastic) which i think will also be ideal for you. But best to get there opinion. Do*to* A*to will also be able to advice you i think as they use all 3 products depending on customer preference.

decent amount of products available like AutoGlym, Meguiars, ChemicalGuys available at the moment with dealers in Sri Lanka

why not call them instead of opening a thread here mate, unless u hv a specific question about painting u want to know. who else knows the answer to this better than Stafford

@Nadee7 why not save us the trouble n upload some images of the bulbs as well as the headlight housing and holders please. Apparently there is one with two bulb types per housing but i cant find an official site saying the types

there cant be two different bulb types specially on a N16 unless the holders were changed previously n still why do that? some cars like mine have HID (D2S) for low beam and for H1 for HI-beam

The rear just maybe can live with it but the front That will never do seriously

Almost every branded fuel system cleaner has it clearly mentioned on the back label the amount of fuel that need to be in the tank before such a use. And as Stig pointed out incorrect concentration can lead to these problems as some cleaners are pretty powerful. I have so far used Techron & 3M fuel system cleaner on two cars i have owned. Techron out of the two had a bit of a punch so putting something like this in low fuel tank would create problems

ceramic coating a car is a long standing solution when it comes to caring for the paint work, the good stuff being a bit expensive for my liking anyway. BUT the other option is a good wax n polish at home by your self using a good product. having tried many on my own car, not every brand will work for everyone. there are people who like 3M etc. Even you average Soft99 does a good job in beading out the water and all but it doesn't last long specially in our climate. There are enough n more brands available in SL now, starting from Soft99, 3M, Meguiar's, AutoGlym, Turtle, ChemicalGuys & PermaGlass etc. Not every brand will suit you so its a matter of finding the right one that suits u. IF u are a regular user and like iRage the car is open to the environment why not spend a few bucks and get it coated and u will be okay for a longer time maybe closer to an year hopefully, IF NOT spend a little bit less get a good branded polish and every couple of months when u see the water beading stop, use a bit of elbow grease and get the polish apply yourself. Satisfaction guaranteed either way

Congratz mate, that is indeed a clean set of wheels Those original sun-visors came across on Ya**o J*p*n A*ct**n and was a thumping amount close to some 10k Yen