Getting closer to a decision

[JAR897]

Ok so I now have everything in place to make my order (except the money off my dad!).

The car I'm after is the Fiesta 09 Titanium, with the Technology Pack, Full BodyKit and Titanium X Pack. The colour will be either Sea Gray or White!

The reason I'm unsure of the colour is for this reason; If I get it in Sea Gray I will leave the wheels alone. However If I get it in White I will concider paying £30 per wheel (from an independant garage) to have them sprayed gloss black. The wheel's I'm talking about are the 17" 5-Spokes, which come with the Titanium X Pack.

I was all sure that that's what I wanted, but my dad said it looked rediculous, and I am in mixed minds. The theory is that when the WHITE car comes I can make a decision wether or not to get the wheels sprayed... However I don't want to make the wrong decision and order the wrong colour.

I'm going to make a poll as soon as I figure out how to (GOD... Im suposed to be a computer Scientist, lol).

And I will also post some pictures of a white (with and without black rims) and Sea gray for your reference.

Check back soon for more details.

[shabazmo]

Your dad sounds sensible. White looks terrific, but unless you like polishing every month and T cutting every year, stay well clear.

signed

someone elses dad

[Mark M.K]

I would go for Sea grey as that would be easier to sell when the time comes. Also i like the grey more :)

[JAR897]

Your dad sounds sensible. White looks terrific, but unless you like polishing every month and T cutting every year, stay well clear.

signed

someone elses dad

What is T-cutting?

p.s. As a uni student I simply don't have the time (cough lazy cough) to polish it. lol. The Sea Gray might be a better option, although my mates white car doesn't seem to be too bad at getting dirty, and my Dad's dark Gray Beemer gets very easily dirty.

[MichellefromEssex]

What is T-cutting?

p.s. As a uni student I simply don't have the time (cough lazy cough) to polish it. lol. The Sea Gray might be a better option, although my mates white car doesn't seem to be too bad at getting dirty, and my Dad's dark Gray Beemer gets very easily dirty.

You wont need to t cut a new car for years, just have a good coat of wax put over it by a decent valeter every winter and you will be fine, I will take some more pics for you tomorrow as my car has not been cleaned for over a week and although we have had no rain its a bit dusty in places, however this does not show that bad, My OH offered to clean it today but I said to wait as I wanted to take some dirtish pics for you first. Ive already mentioned that out black merc showed the dust and dirt 100% more than this one does.

As for sell on, I intend to trade in again for a newer model in a couple of years time anyway so I wont worry about that just yet, however frozen white is pure white not the old crappy creamy white, cannot see anyone not wanting to buy it judging by the amount of compliments I get daily on my car.

[JAR897]

You wont need to t cut a new car for years, just have a good coat of wax put over it by a decent valeter every winter and you will be fine, I will take some more pics for you tomorrow as my car has not been cleaned for over a week and although we have had no rain its a bit dusty in places, however this does not show that bad, My OH offered to clean it today but I said to wait as I wanted to take some dirtish pics for you first. Ive already mentioned that out black merc showed the dust and dirt 100% more than this one does.

As for sell on, I intend to trade in again for a newer model in a couple of years time anyway so I wont worry about that just yet, however frozen white is pure white not the old crappy creamy white, cannot see anyone not wanting to buy it judging by the amount of compliments I get daily on my car.

Yea I persumed it wouldn't need to be T cut for a while.. although to be honest I wasn't sure what T cutting was until I asked the old man. Anyway yes, I am still in two minds as to which colour... but iv'e ejected the idea of blacking the wheels - looks much too chavy for me.

The white on the other hand is a classy yet still sporty look, while the Sea Gray is more executive. I' swaying towards the white at the moment. Can't wait to see your dirty pictures Michelle. lol. Thanks very much.

Looking forward to the pictures on a serious note, and I will visit my local delaer to see what cars he has got in stock tomorrow so I can get a feel for the two cars.

On a side note, I've ordered the chrome scuffplates and the metal pedals, so I will more than likely have those before the actual car... but I can dream.

Thanks again, and good night.

[KeithC]

Put a decent polish on, something like Autoglym or Meguairs and then seal it with a coat or two of Collinite 476, and this will last 6 months easy. Do this twice a year and you won't have to worry about T-Cut (who uses that these days anyway?) as the paint ill not fade. the only reason paint fades is that people leave there cars without protection for years. Don't forget to do the wheels as well, Collinite 476 is great for this as well and will make cleaning them a damn sight easier.

[JAR897]

So basically what everyone is saying is the following;

"Take care over your white car and it will keep looking superb"?

I tend to agree. Wouldn't an expencive car wash do the hard part (i.e. waxing etc) for me though?

As I said, I'm a lazy student. I'm sure modern cars such as the Fiesta will have much better protection than some older cars which may be more prone to paint fade.

I'm going for the white... I think... Ask me again tomorrow. lol.

If anyone has more pictures of the Sea Gray / white with exterior body kit, it would be appriciated.

[MichellefromEssex]

So basically what everyone is saying is the following;

"Take care over your white car and it will keep looking superb"?

I tend to agree. Wouldn't an expencive car wash do the hard part (i.e. waxing etc) for me though?

As I said, I'm a lazy student. I'm sure modern cars such as the Fiesta will have much better protection than some older cars which may be more prone to paint fade.

I'm going for the white... I think... Ask me again tomorrow. lol.

If anyone has more pictures of the Sea Gray / white with exterior body kit, it would be appriciated.

If your paying a lot of money for your car do NOT let those hand car wash places touch it - they spray road traffic remover over it and leave it in the sun to bake on this over time will ruin the black bits on your car, they then use Truck wash diluted to clean the car again this is very abrassive and will kill your paintwork, your car will be your baby treat it like one, once a week whats 30 mins to give it a nice wash yourself or pay out once a fortnight for a valeter (around £15 for wash and hoover inside, dashboard wiped over etc) and then maybe once every 6 months have a full works - coat of wax, shampoo of mats, carpets seats etc. or if having leather, have leather treatment - looking at around £50-60 for this. Going to take some pics for you now although sun is shining again (shouldnt moan) but wanted to take some dull photos, so will try to get the dust captured as best as I can.

Happy shopping mate x

[shabazmo]

OK, Its looks like I will not be able to convince anyone. I was just trying to provide you with some of my experiences. Having owned 2 white cars in the family over the years, I found that road grime and tar spots stick to a white car in a way that makes the car look a lot less attractive. With other colours, it is not so noticeable. The beauty of white is that is looks great when polished and shinny, road grime and tar can make the car look a lot less appealing. Please stand close to and have a close look at white cars over 1 year old.

I found that the only way to bring the car back to its original beauty was to use a cutting compound followed by polishing the car every month. Despite using the above methods, I still had to use cutting compound once a year.

I used the phrase TCUT as a generic use of a cutting compound. There are many others on the market.

In any event Best of Luck with your new car.

[JAR897]

OK, Its looks like I will not be able to convince anyone. I was just trying to provide you with some of my experiences. Having owned 2 white cars in the family over the years, I found that road grime and tar spots stick to a white car in a way that makes the car look a lot less attractive. With other colours, it is not so noticeable. The beauty of white is that is looks great when polished and shinny, road grime and tar can make the car look a lot less appealing. Please stand close to and have a close look at white cars over 1 year old.

I found that the only way to bring the car back to its original beauty was to use a cutting compound followed by polishing the car every month. Despite using the above methods, I still had to use cutting compound once a year.

I used the phrase TCUT as a generic use of a cutting compound. There are many others on the market.

In any event Best of Luck with your new car.

No No shabazmo, thanks for your opinion, it is all adding up to help me make my final decision. As I said, I'm going to the garage today to take a look at some different colours... This being my first real car im sure I will look after and cherish it.. It is my baby afterall. lol. I need to think of some names for both a gray or white car now... lol.

[Mark M.K]

I call mine Black Panther.. Ford should call the paint colour that rather than panther black :)

[KeithC]

OK, Its looks like I will not be able to convince anyone. I was just trying to provide you with some of my experiences. Having owned 2 white cars in the family over the years, I found that road grime and tar spots stick to a white car in a way that makes the car look a lot less attractive. With other colours, it is not so noticeable. The beauty of white is that is looks great when polished and shinny, road grime and tar can make the car look a lot less appealing. Please stand close to and have a close look at white cars over 1 year old.

I found that the only way to bring the car back to its original beauty was to use a cutting compound followed by polishing the car every month. Despite using the above methods, I still had to use cutting compound once a year.

I used the phrase TCUT as a generic use of a cutting compound. There are many others on the market.

In any event Best of Luck with your new car.

Nobody is saying that you are wrong, what I'm saying is, if you use a good quality polish and wax/sealant, 2 or 3 times a year with regular washes in between, then you will not have any problems with paintwork. the reason there are many cars going round with crappy paintwork is because the majority of people buy cars and don't polish or wax them on a regular basis. I'll go as far as to say, the majority don't even polish them at all, just wash them. That's when you get tar spots that are hard to remove, oxidised paintwork etc. The same applies to the wheels as well.

I'm currently in the middle of removing all the wheels on the Fiesta to put a coat of polish on and three coats of Poorboys Wheel Sealant. Then, when it comes to clean them I won't need to use any abrasive cleaners to get them clean, the muck and brakedust will come off with just wash, mitt and brush.

Wash regularly and polish/wax periodically with good quality products and no matter what colour the car, it'll always look great and will be easier to clean when you do come to clean it.

[JAR897]

OK So I would like to clear this up once and for all...

The problem with solid paint colour is that it is relatively rough compared to metallic which has an extra layer of 'shine' which acts like a sheild... The sheidl has the shiney bits in which make the car metallic.

The frozen white is a solid colour, so does not have this sheild. This means grit and dirt can get into the small holes and gaps in the paintwork.

FORD do a package for £199.00 called something like pro-guard... which adds the extra layer to the paint to make it have the same residule effect at metallic. This greatly reduces the need to wax, polish and ESPECIALLY TCut the car.

Tuctting is for older cars, say 5 or 6 years old, and should only be done once every 2-3 years MAXIMUM! as Tcutting removes a layer of paint every time it is done. It should be done on one car no more than 3 times in its lifetime.

So, to conclude cutting a new car is OUT! even if it is a solid colour. Adding Pro-Guard to a car (its added at factory build level) will make the paintwork as easy to care for as a metallic paint.

If the pro-guard isn't used then the solid colours will have to be polished regularly (by regularly I mean every few months, around 4 times a year).

The Pro-Guard i a very good option though as it saves time, energy and money in the long run and as solid paint is £500 cheaper than metalic you are still making a saving of £300 on the paint!

If anyone wants any more info on the pro-guard stuff tell me and Ill scan in the leaflet I got from the dealers today.

P.s. I'm going for white with the pro-guard. Pro-Guard also makes the paint alot more shiney and smoother too! Your local dealer will probably have a bonnet of a solid colour (mine was blue) which half had pro-guard and half didn't. The feel and look of the paint was amazingly better on the pro-guard'ed side.

Just food for thought guys :)

[SierraYankee99]

For God sake dont use T-cut on metallic paint. Its too abrasive and will damage the paint let alone cutting compound. IMHO both should be retired to history. Meguiars clay and a decent polishing regime will mean you will never need to use anything as harsh as they are on any colour car.

[MichellefromEssex]

We have had ours super guarded (which I suppose is the same) we got the pack from the dealer as part of our deal when buying the car for OH to do himself as he didnt want them doing it - just something he insisted on as he was being fussy lol. Here is the kit we got:

[KeithC]

OK So I would like to clear this up once and for all...

The problem with solid paint colour is that it is relatively rough compared to metallic which has an extra layer of 'shine' which acts like a sheild... The sheidl has the shiney bits in which make the car metallic.

The frozen white is a solid colour, so does not have this sheild. This means grit and dirt can get into the small holes and gaps in the paintwork.

FORD do a package for £199.00 called something like pro-guard... which adds the extra layer to the paint to make it have the same residule effect at metallic. This greatly reduces the need to wax, polish and ESPECIALLY TCut the car.

Tuctting is for older cars, say 5 or 6 years old, and should only be done once every 2-3 years MAXIMUM! as Tcutting removes a layer of paint every time it is done. It should be done on one car no more than 3 times in its lifetime.

So, to conclude cutting a new car is OUT! even if it is a solid colour. Adding Pro-Guard to a car (its added at factory build level) will make the paintwork as easy to care for as a metallic paint.

If the pro-guard isn't used then the solid colours will have to be polished regularly (by regularly I mean every few months, around 4 times a year).

The Pro-Guard i a very good option though as it saves time, energy and money in the long run and as solid paint is £500 cheaper than metalic you are still making a saving of £300 on the paint!

If anyone wants any more info on the pro-guard stuff tell me and Ill scan in the leaflet I got from the dealers today.

P.s. I'm going for white with the pro-guard. Pro-Guard also makes the paint alot more shiney and smoother too! Your local dealer will probably have a bonnet of a solid colour (mine was blue) which half had pro-guard and half didn't. The feel and look of the paint was amazingly better on the pro-guard'ed side.

Just food for thought guys :)

I take it the salesman told you all this just before he asked you did you want to spend £200 on Pro Guard?

All I'll say is, don't waste your money. Whether you take that advice, is purely down to you, but I'll just say, since when have salesman been experts in car paint. if you're happy to give someone £200 for something you could do yourself at a fraction of the cost, then that's completely down to you.

Using good quality waxes and sealants will do exactly the same, but yes, you'll have to use a bit of elbow grease.

By the way, the other side of that bonnet would have been just as smooth and just as shiny if it had a decent polish on it.

[KeithC]

For God sake dont use T-cut on metallic paint. Its too abrasive and will damage the paint let alone cutting compound. IMHO both should be retired to history. Meguiars clay and a decent polishing regime will mean you will never need to use anything as harsh as they are on any colour car.

That's all well and good, but, what if you can't afford a new car?

clay and polish, ie one with low abrasiveness will not remove swirl marks, oxidisation or indeed offer any paint correction. Cutting compounds remove all sorts of paint defects and in the correct hands are a godsend for those who want pristine finish on their car. In the wrong hands, they can cause all sort of damage.

My advise would be, if you don't know what you are doing with the above, get someone in who does and they can get your finish as near to perfect as possoble.

[shabazmo]

For God sake dont use T-cut on metallic paint. Its too abrasive and will damage the paint let alone cutting compound. IMHO both should be retired to history. Meguiars clay and a decent polishing regime will mean you will never need to use anything as harsh as they are on any colour car.

I have been using T cut on my Audi once a year for over 6 years and 135K miles and many people have commented that the paitwork looks new. I can recall in the 70s and early 80s, there was talk of people using to much Tcut and spoiling their paint, but in those days, car paint was not as good as it is today.

Anyhow, I found a test from Auto Express magazine showing Collonite came out top. See link below.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/prod...olish_test.html

[JAR897]

I actually got the advice from an independant garage who deal with specilist paint jobs (the same garage I rang when I was concidering blacking my wheels). They gave me the low down on the addition of sealent, and said it would preserve the paint for a much longer time. They did advise getting it done myself. They offered me a pack for around £75, although I can find them cheeper on google.

However I then visited the dealer, who told me about the factory build version Pro-Guard. This does seem rather reasonable, as although the cost is £200 the solid paint is £500 cheeper, so I would still be paying less. Now I know this is a stupid way to look at it, but my theory is that I will (A) Do it wrong and (B) Its alot less hastle for me. Can anyone get the impression that i'm a lazy layabout student yet?

Anyway, that seems to be the choice of the moment. Of cause I will still wash and polish the beauty, but the adition of pro-guard will give me the added confidence boost I need to go for the white, as TBH the dirt factor has been an issue up to now, but no longer!

See my new post for details on the exact specification, names and Ordering dates!

Thanks everyone.

[Jonny87]

These guys have loads of good information etc on their site http://www.clean-image.co.uk/index.htm Personally I'm thinking of taking my fiesta down there when i get it to get jewelultra diamondbrite treatment, seems to be the way forward to me. Plus they will probably do a better job for less than the dealerships.

(i'm not advertising this company)

[hedgepig]

I've always found that "Mer" polish is very good at bringing out the shine in all types of paintwork and it also removes small scratches etc.

Like the rest of you, I've used this product on most of my cars and always ended up with a mirror shine on the paintwork but you have to use elbow grease to get that finish.

Supaguard is also OK--I got it free on my last car because of the hassle I had with it when it kept going back for rattles etc (it was an Astra TT)--but I wasn't keen as it meant I couldn't polish it.

No such problem there for you eh JAR897!!

Being a "lazy layabout student" that should suit you down to the ground! ;)

Never mind, you can use all the effort you will save on getting a good degree etc!

[Air Hostess]

I've always found that "Mer" polish is very good at bringing out the shine in all types of paintwork and it also removes small scratches etc.

Like the rest of you, I've used this product on most of my cars and always ended up with a mirror shine on the paintwork but you have to use elbow grease to get that finish.

Supaguard is also OK--I got it free on my last car because of the hassle I had with it when it kept going back for rattles etc (it was an Astra TT)--but I wasn't keen as it meant I couldn't polish it.

No such problem there for you eh JAR897!!

Being a "lazy layabout student" that should suit you down to the ground! ;)

Never mind, you can use all the effort you will save on getting a good degree etc!

I got to agree with hedgepig about MER I use to use it all the time,but I have gone to turtle wax ICE,its brilliant, pefectly clear liquid put on with a sponge (supplied) and removed with a special?cloth (supplied)not only does it do the paintwork, works on your alloys,and plastic. rubber infact i use it all over the car including the glass.........except the windscreen and rear window yeah I know ime a blonde, but not that ditsy..........takes less than 15 mins to wax the whole car, no white powder or dust left behind either and cleaning the alloys is a breeze now water and dirt just run off, no rubbing/scrubbing took the wheels off and waxed inside the rims too, (thats why i do the side glass, water just runs off) gets done every week,fully garaged,when ime here that is, actually waxed the thing while dinner was cooking to-night .

kristal

[JAR897]

I'm so hot for you right now.

[Air Hostess]

jar897 wrote

the reason I'm unsure of the colour is for this reason; If I get it in Sea Gray I will leave the wheels alone. However If I get it in White I will concider paying £30 per wheel (from an independant garage) to have them sprayed gloss black. The wheel's I'm talking about are the 17" 5-Spokes, which come with the Titanium X Pack.

I was all sure that that's what I wanted, but my dad said it looked rediculous, and I am in mixed minds. The theory is that when the WHITE car comes I can make a decision wether or not to get the wheels sprayed... However I don't want to make the wrong decision and order the wrong colour.

P-l-e-a-s-e dont spray the wheels black.........on a white car, eeerrrrrrrr no ........yyyyuuuuukkkkk your dad is right

dont ruin a brilliant new car by making it into a boy racer mobile......only my opinion.obviously the final decision is yours,no offence ment just someone looking at it from another point of view

best of luck with whatever you choose to do

Kristal