It sounds like a great idea. A quick question. . . Does the linseed oil leave any residue on the paint or do anything else that might impact the finish. By the looks of your car, I would say not. Just curious.

 

You can get a detailing clay bar kit for $20. I've never heard of the plumber's putty trick but why even bother if a detailing bar is only twenty bucks?

 

Clay bar kits usually have what two 80 gram bars

http://www.pepboys.com/product/details/8924247/00087

Home Depot sells 5lbs for $6.47

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Oatey-5-l...5105/100122577

might be worth bothering over.

 

As for the putty leaving residue after using it, no.
Even if it did, the hand buffing after wards would remove it.
As for impacting the finish, it definitely does, but in a good way.
The finish is smoother than glass.
With the finish this smooth, applying wax is easier, and because it is so smooth, you will only need a very thin coat of wax.
The entire job, including the wheels (which I buffed out with 3m fine cut rubbing compound) took about 6 hours.
Bob.

 

Thanks Bob. I have used clay bars and know what a great job they do on cleaning contaminates from the finish. I was just wondering if the addition of the linseed had any additional impact.

 

I used the putty on my two other vehicles and it stands the test of time.
The Tbird was done about a year ago, and the Dakota pickup about eight months ago.
One thing I noticed about both vehicles, and that is, crap doesn't stick to the finish, including bird droppings.
I Don't drive the Tbird much, but still wipe it down every three or four days, and yesterday when I was wiping it down, I noticed some bird dropping on the hood.
It was hard and crusted which told me it was there for a while.
I just wiped it with the damp rag , and it was gone, with no marks left where it once was.
The key to keeping my vehicles looking like they were just detailed is to take a damp rag, followed by a soft rag (towel, t shirt etc.) and go over the entire vehicle.
That light buffing with the soft rag is what brings out, and maintains that just detailed look.
Most important, if you want your car to continually look like a fresh detail, you need to forget all about SOAP.
Once you clay and wax, soap is a no, no.
All that does is eat away at the wax coating.
If you spend ten or fifteen minutes a couple of times a week using a damp rag, followed by a light buff with a soft rag, your car will always look better than showroom clean.
In the fifty odd years I have owned vehicles, I have never used soap on them except before a claying job,and before I knew about claying, they never had soap put on them.
I spent my early years in the northeast, and even in the winter my cars always looked like they were just driven out of the showroom.
It took dedication and time, but I have always been a bit fanatical when it comes to my vehicles.
I expect this C5 will probably be my last vehicle purchase, and I think it safe to say, if I am still around in ten or twenty years, it will look every bit as good as it does in the pictures I posted in this thread.
To me it's a labor of love.
Bob.

 

I'll agree that detailing is a labor of love, but soap is essential when washing your vehicle. If you wash your car without soap, you are creating thousands of tiny scratches all in the clear coat. This is where swirl marks and other defects come from. Soap is important because it suspends the dirt and junk on your paint up into the lather so that it can be moved away gently with a wash mitt.

If you don't use soap, the dirt is being wiped away from your paint and is actually against the clear, thus acting as sand paper in a way. Please, please, please use soap when washing your car.

You are correct in that dishwashing soap or strong soaps will wash away coatings, but using a soap that is formulated for washing cars is very mild and will do what you need it to do. I personally like the Adam's car wash but anything formulated for cars should do the job.

 

Well, to repete, in the fifty odd years I have owned vehicles, they have always had a glass smooth finish, and the shine has always been the best.
All this without using ANY kind of soap.
If you take the time and keep a good coat of wax on your vehicles, there is absolutely no need for soap.
The damp rag treatment never leaves scratches.
Once in a great while if for one reason or another I couldn't get to doing one of the vehicles, and it has a layer of dust or pollen on it, I take the hose to it and rinse it off, then dry with soft towels, and it is as good as new.
Do as you will, but history tells me my system is a definite winner.
I am often asked (especially when I take the Tbird out), "how do you keep your car looking so beautiful"?
I usually start off by saying, "no soap", then explain what it is I do.
This picture of my Dakota was taken three months after I detailed it.
I used a damp rag then buffed it by hand.
As you can see, still smooth and shiney.
You can keep up your soap routine, and I will stick with what I know works.


Bob.

 

If you've done it for one hour, or fifty years, wrong is wrong regardless.

Anyway, if that's how you want to do it, nobody is going to stop you. As long as you keep a layer of fresh wax on your car, you'll keep the swirls filled in temporarily until the next wash, thus giving the paint a nice appearance. There are definitely better way to go about your car's finish, but if you're happy then that is all that matters