CLAY polishing for paint and Spare Tire Source

Bruce - in my previous VS I had the usual 4 x 130 wheels VS uses. I carried a spare tire along with a few other spare parts & tools. The spare tire size was 145 x15.

Click picture to enlarge.

Most VW bug wheels are 4.5x15" but early one 1968 to many be 1970ish were 4" wide.  The CMC build manual recommends a T125/70Dx15 tire - that's the inflated Temp tire available on newish cars.  You can get those cheap from a recycling (junk) yard.  

Clay will take off surface stuff - maybe the swirls too - orange peel takes color sanding with 1500-2000+ WD sand paper. Meguiar's makes some good polishing products. 

Bruce...I have a thin, 135 x 15 full size in the trunk when I travel. The center of the rim provides a bit of storage space for some stuff. I've put 50,000 miles on the car since having it and have never used it. It makes me feel good though...

Bruce,

Using a clay bar on your vehicle is designed to remove surface contaminants. Clay bars will not remove scratches, swill marks, dull or oxidized paint, or restore surface gloss and polishing will not remove contaminants.

The process would be to use the clay bar on your vehicle according to the directions noted on the package; after that you would use an orbital polisher to remove oxidation, swill marks, etc. Then use a high quality wax and sealer to finish it off.

The clay bar removes the junk, the polish cleans it all up, the wax makes it all shine, and the sealer protects what you just did.

Clay is meant to clean the junk off the paint so that you don't create scratches and swirls when you polish.

Clean the car, use a clay bar, Polish with an orbital buffer and then apply wax.

Any clay bar will work. I recommend the Griot's polishing system for a safe polish experience and there's a Carnuba that Lane Anderson recommended to me that's the bomb (but I can't remember the name and I'm not at home). That wax goes on and off by hand and leaves no dust.
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I have Griots small Orbital polisher with their polishing creams and I have used it on my older IM ... it had a dark colour, and it took out the hairline swirls etc. It worked pretty well. 

 

If you're lazy, VS will sell you the skinny wheel  and 135R 15 spare tire they put in their new (4x130) builds for about $150, with some hardware bits for securing it.

Word is you can put that together on your own for less if you shop around.

And some resourceful junkyard prowlers have found other combinations with the right bolt pattern that will fit our trunks for WAY less.

Search 'spare tire' and you'll find the threads.

The wax that Tom mentioned is P21S - the best stuff out there, IMHO - but Griot's carnauba paste was is very close.  Maybe just as good.

The comments on the clay bar and polish are spot on.  I do any polishing (rarely need) with a Griot's cordless buffer.  The lack of a cord is a major convenience and the two batteries I have (easily swapped out) last much longer than I expected.  I can charge one while using the other and then switch if I'm really doing a big job.

Lane, what do you consider a "big job"?

Polishing, sealing, and waxing my BMW all in the same day.  I can easily wax it with one battery still not fully discharged.

Good thing Lane doesn't have a BIG ol' F250 with a full cap as I used to have.  Just doing the hood, the roof and the cap was an all day job.  Everything else was the second day.  

After the first time, I figured I would NEVER be tall enough to see how it looked on the top so the heck with it.   

Lane, cordless is definitely the way to go.  I need to find a business in Canada that sells it, or a business in the US that will ship via USPS.

I love living on Vancouver Island, but I do miss living close to the US border, so I could pop across to pick up parcels and save, big time, on cheap US shipping.

Gordon Nichols posted:

Good thing Lane doesn't have a BIG ol' F250 with a full cap as I used to have.  Just doing the hood, the roof and the cap was an all day job.  Everything else was the second day.  

After the first time, I figured I would NEVER be tall enough to see how it looked on the top so the heck with it.   

I know what you mean.  I had to use a step ladder to clean the windshield on my F250 diesel 4x4.  What a beast.

I ended up buying one of these:

This is one of the reasons that I prefer smaller cars.  Even though it is a good bit larger than the Speedster, the BMW is still nice and tidy.

"Lane, cordless is definitely the way to go.  I need to find a business in Canada that sells it, or a business in the US that will ship via USPS."

Autoobsessed used to sell them Ron.  I bought mine there. 

Ray, I couldn't find it on their website.

Lane, what model of BMW do you own?  I just bought a 2012 128i vert, with only 15,000 miles.  An unusual BMW, as it only has one option-park sensors....that's it.

 

Clay bars are great, but not always necessary. If you're starting by using a high rpm buffer and semi aggressive cutting agents you can skip the clay bar. If you're going to avoid the high speed / cutting tools you can start with the bar.

There are a bunch of great detailing sites out there. Auto geek .net and http://www.chemicalguys.com/ are the sources I use.  

Ted

I have a 2011 128i Coupe.  Almost 61k miles on it and I still love it!  Even with the automatic it's a hoot on the track and a great daily driver.

Mine is also unusual as it only has a couple of options.  One, the "value package". had leather, an iPod interface, and dual-zone climate control.  The other was the automatic, which was no-cost for 2011.  Sat on the showroom floor for months because "no one buys a BMW without the bells and whistles", so I got it at a good price.

I actually prefer not having all the extra options-less to go wrong.

I may get a chance to take it to a new track that recently opened up near where I live.  The owner of the BMW dealership I bought the car from is part owner in the track and offers a day at the track when you buy a BMW from his dealership.

I'm hoping I'll get the invite, as I haven't been to the track for three years and I miss it.

I could buy a share in the track, which comes with tons of track time, if I had a spare $50Gs

Try this link. http://autoobsessed.com/shop/g...tal-10739-p-436.html

Ron, the lack of options also saves a ton of weight.  When I took delivery my salesman said I should autocross it.  He told me that the lack of a sunroof saved about 80 pounds up high where you don't want it and the lack of power seats save 80 pounds per seat.  Not sure I believe the "per seat" part, but that's still the weight of another person, perhaps a large one, when you put it together.

And yes, there's much less to go wrong.

Iam-Ray, It doesn't look like they sell the Griot's cordless buffer.  That's too bad.  I love mine.

Bruce, I have a blue colored VS and noticed the same scratches, but I looked very carefully at an angle and actually found mine to be under the clear coat. There is no way of getting them out.

Jim, I did the same thing as you did, buy a spare from Kirk when purchasing the car.

Anyone know of a source for an aluminum rim (4-130) to use as the spare for, say, a 135 or 145 tire and would the OAD be close to  the 165s I drive on ?........Bruce

"Power Nation" had a good segment today on paint care.

You'd be surprised at how fast road contaminates embed themselves in your paint. Put a plastic sandwich bag over your hand and lightly drag it across your hood you'll see nothing but something will be grabbing that bag.

Then clay bar a spot and feel difference, smooth as a babies A$$...

Miquires offers a nice starter kit. Clay bars come in different compounds for various stages of paint contamination.