I have come to realization of the truth

Its impossible to keep the paintwork 100% swirl/scratch/marr free if you drive it. And its impossible to prevent rock chips if you drive on highways/freeways.

As i was applying my 2nd layer of 1z glanz, i have found 2 rock chips on my hood and micro scratches on my paint.

All in all, be happy if the current condition makes you happy. And be happy even if you cant get 100% perfect because its really hard .

Its also impossible to not have your work damaged on your daily driver because of weather, road conditions, others. If its something money can fix, its not a big problem lol.

 

A dd will never be a show car, especially if you drive on freeways frequently. Having said that, I believe the nano coats such as CQ or OC are about the best answer you can provide at this point in time.

 

yea nanocoats, the thing is that my mercedes already has a ceramic clear coat thus I dont know how much the CQ will do ontop of it. It does seem i will end up having to apply one of these. I even have dings on my darn panoramic roof.

 

They will do amazing things for the ceramic clear. I have seen Benzes with it applied and the protection is the same as any other kind of paint.

 

Agreed. For swirls I could get darn close to reducing most of them if I am washing often going that extra mile to be careful. But I think there is a line to think about, where how much do you really want to spend caring your car versus other things you want to do with your life. It just doesn't seem plausible with a daily driver, but at least with the techniques I've learned I only follow through with a light polishing once a year in spring.

I was amazed at how much a simple wash with your typical brush at a public place could damage my car finish though. Enter the dealership that accidently washed my car that one time and swirls galore... :shakehead:

 

yeah, ive gotten over trying to keep it 100% clear of defects..... Even though I drive it one or two days a week, its too much stress (joke) I plan on correcting the defects in the spring and leaving it alone. Its unavoidable.

 

If it's a DD, you could help it out by getting a clear film on it. That way when it gets too bland for you, you just get it changed for a new one and still keep the paint mint-ish underneath it.

 

LOL ... I was thinking about this today.

Both of my vehicles are extremely dirty. I didn't time to do the winter prep in the fall. We used both of them for the house move. I'm in for a treat next time I decide to detail them.

 

We're all reaching zen of detailing LOL

 

It's not the rock chips I mind, they're outside of my control and partially my fault from following cars too close. I know that I can repair them one day if I want to. And it's not the light swirls I mind...one day I'll buy some paint correction stuff and fix them as well. Once again, they're really outside of my control.

What I don't like is that I can see where people have opened their doors into my car. There's only one little ding, but there's a chip in the paint on my rear quarter panel trim and a couple other little spots where it's evident that someone has rested their door on my car. This is something that CAN be prevented, and that's what bothers me. Just use a bit of common courtesy. It's not your car, therefore don't open your door into it. This is why I wish our high school had assigned parking spaces...I could find out who damaged my car, and at least call them out on it.

 

That's why you have to park 10 miles away. At work we only fill 2 of the 4 floors on our parking garage. You know where I park? The 4th floor, plus it is in sight of the window of my office.

 

The problem with that is when you park in the back you park among all the stoners who get to school late and who hang out (sitting on YOUR CAR) smoking God-knows-what. But there is a very empty back lot...I think I'll start parking there. It's a long and cold walk to the school and a pain to get out of after school but at least my car will be spared...

 

Hell yeah, I have the same damn issue, so much now I park on the ends of the spots so I can spare 1 side, and I have the tendancy to check if there was a new ding, but really now, theres just a few and I dont memorize the location so I cant keep track.

Its a good thing I drive the crap car thats going to be for sale soon. And parking in the back can be worse... stupid people in the back, buses driving pass, and in the winter... its not a pleasant walk from those spots. And yea, those people lean on random cars... I hate that

 

This is why X5 is NOT my daily driver. First of all, truck is thirsty and gets 12-13 MPGs on premium, second I simply don't need something like that to be driven daily. With that said, I drive my '99 Infiniti I30t on a daily basis...

 

Very try, a DD will never be like a show car and I have accepted that long time ago haha...heck I took my car to the tunnel wash today (touch less) just to get rid of all the salt covering the car so I can do a wash and re-wax tomorrow. Not the best thing but oh well better than having car covered in salt...

 

coin-op pressure washing my mazda on monday to get the salt off
its impossible to blast it all off :S

 

Agreed! It's almost a "must" if you want to keep a car in good condition. Today i was coming back from VT to Mtl, my car was pelted with salt rocks , sand and other crud.. ... the 18 wheelers even stir up more kaka on the road.

 

I'm starting to "let go" with going crazy over my car too. Right now its a hot mess, and while it DOES bother me, I'll clean and correct it when time and weather permit. My GTI is currently CAKED with road salt, and the paint is now swirled like a mofo thanks to my "mother in law" doing me a favor by removing the snow last week with a broom. My rubber mats are also covered in road salt, and there's dog hair and cigarette ash accumulating. No, I don't ash in my car, but it does fly back the window from time to time. Oh well. Additionally, I've been carting my pit puppy around with me everywhere, and while I did get a nice audi rear seat cover, there's still dog hair around.

I'm over it. Ill go all out in the spring, but for now **** it. (Lol)

 

I kinda feel the same as some of you... I look at my truck and have hopes of one day soon i will get some time to clean all the salt and crud off but i kinda like the way it looks now all dirty . maybe one day this week ill get to it but for me the winter is when i relax about detailing. I always look forward towards the spring when i can start over again. I feel like it is a love/hate relationship keep my truck as clean and crisp as possible for a DD. i do have to admit that when spring comes I go balls to the walls making my DD look its best and probably better then the rest of the cars around me.

 

I'm just going to give my car a thorough cleaning during the Spring time, then apply Cquartz to keep it minty fresh. Oh and layer Vic's on top of it + reload once in a while.
I suppose you can keep your car 100% perfect, if you clear bra your entire car, haha.