Paul2007SGT Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Hi everyone. So I bought the white SGT from CarMax. They reduced their price to $26K which seemed reasonable for a certified car in L.A. So, I washed and clayed and waxed the car, I swear I don't think the car has ever been clayed. I only clayed the white painted areas of the car, not the stripes. How do you guys clean the stripes on your SGT's, soap and water only, clay bar, waxes??? I don't want to ruin the stripes. What is the best proven way that you guys have found to clean/wax the stripes. Thanks everyone for you ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilmor Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Prepare for a barrage of opinions, however all I have ever done is regular car wash (using car wash soap, such as Meguiars or similar) and a U/V protectant such as ProtectAll and my stripes look factory-new. Of course, garaging probably helps the most as U/V rays are the worst thing for the vinyl stripes. Edit - Oh, and congrats on the new Shelby GT!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elgin Black Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 I also just use car wash soap and water. I claybared the paint and used Griots Best of Show wax on the entire car. My car also lives in a garage full time. It seem as though the stripes typically don't hold up as well in the warmer climate areas (UV). If the stripes go bad I would recommend finding a good paint shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITHERTZ66 Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 If that car has been sitting out in California elements for extended periods without proper care you may want to simply remove them and paint.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harristotle Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 I clay bar, polish, and wax mine. I usually do just wax though on the whole car unless it's time for a full detail. I also keep my car covered and in the garage 97% of the time. I love driving it, but I just can't stand having it sit outside for that long as long as it has those awful tape stripes. I plan to go painted, but I'm doing all the engine mods before I do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcInUtah Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Chemical guys has a great product for Matt black stripes. I used it on mine with great results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Nick Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 I just use a good spray wax on mine They are still in great condition. The car is garaged though. What part of So Cal do you live? Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2007SGT Posted May 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Hi everyone, thank you for the ideas. I bought a good car cover to use during the day as the car will be exposed to the sun @ 6 hours a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harristotle Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Hi everyone, thank you for the ideas. I bought a good car cover to use during the day as the car will be exposed to the sun @ 6 hours a day. Not a bad idea, just be prepared for things like wind. When I was at school a few people had covers on their cars, but they'd either blow completely off or the guys who had the ties that go underneath would have the covers hanging off more than half the car. I figured out a method to strap the cover down so that it stayed on in 60+ mph wind and didn't damage the paint either. I got to a point where I could throw it on or get it off in just a couple minutes. This was all with my Cobra vert not the Shelby. It was nice being able to pull the cover off after a rain storm and have a nearly new looking car when everyone elses looked like crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalSGT Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Paul, You can do all the voodoo you'd like, but if the car will be a daily driver in So Cal, just accept that eventually the stripes will fail. Then you can replace the stripes or have them painted, just a fact of life. Since you got the car reduced to a reasonable price, just plan on eventually using the difference for the replacement. There's a beautiful black SGT in your area that had the stripes painted...talk to JDWHSKY on this forum. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2+2 Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Meguires NXT and not letting water spots dry. If it rains on a hot day, I run out during work to dry it off. I try not to drive it when it is going to rain. I also keep it garaged when not driving. To me you can kind of tell how well a SGT has been taken care of by its stripes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra99 Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 http://www.303products.com/303r-aerospace-protectant-32oz.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilmor Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 http://www.303products.com/303r-aerospace-protectant-32oz.html Yep...another good product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IASHELBYGT Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 I clay bar, polish, and wax mine. I usually do just wax though on the whole car unless it's time for a full detail. I also keep my car covered and in the garage 97% of the time. I love driving it, but I just can't stand having it sit outside for that long as long as it has those awful tape stripes. I plan to go painted, but I'm doing all the engine mods before I do that. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobjshelbys Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 I just clay barred and waxed the stripes like the rest of the car, just being careful not to bar and wax into the seam but always over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve.Madrid Posted May 23, 2013 Report Share Posted May 23, 2013 I just clay barred and waxed the stripes like the rest of the car, just being careful not to bar and wax into the seam but always over it. How did using the clay bar on the stripes go? Any advice on that? I have used a Meguiars clay bar kit on the paint only. I was too cautious to use it on the stripes. Mine have 2-3 spots i'd like to take care of but I have been looking at some products from Chemical Guys and am always open for tried and true methods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobjshelbys Posted May 23, 2013 Report Share Posted May 23, 2013 How did using the clay bar on the stripes go? Any advice on that? I have used a Meguiars clay bar kit on the paint only. I was too cautious to use it on the stripes. Mine have 2-3 spots i'd like to take care of but I have been looking at some products from Chemical Guys and am always open for tried and true methods. I used the Meguiars clay bar on the whole car, including the stripes. After delivery and in the spring of the second year did: clay bar the whole car, including stripes (but be careful on direction, clay bar from center to hood, never rub clay bar or anything else into the stripe edge) After clay bar clean entire car with spray detailer (I used Turtle Wax Ice the first time, the Maguiars the second, no difference really) Waxed with two coats of Turtle Wax Ice paste and again polish with spray detailer During the season clean with spray detailer two or three times (depending on conditions) clean with detailer and then polish with Turtle Wax Ice liquid wax (it's not as good as the paste but good enough to bridge to the next full detail). After two times on my black car I had to have a really good buff detail, and it looked great for another cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve.Madrid Posted May 23, 2013 Report Share Posted May 23, 2013 Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. In a couple of weeks I am going to spend a few days detailing mine and I had planned on claying as well as polishing, glazing and sealing before I wax. Good thing I have some time off work.... I typically use Meguiar's products but this year I am going to try Chemical Guys. They are a bit more expensive but if they don't work out I can always go back to Meguiar's. Thanks again for the info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobjshelbys Posted May 23, 2013 Report Share Posted May 23, 2013 There are maybe 100 topics on detailing (cleaning, washing, waxing) the cars. It's very much a religious issue. Everyone has a system and method they like. I found mine worked especially well for my black paint/red stripe combo. Black paint (and other dark colors, like my Shelby Cobra in British Racing Green) have similar concerns. I got by three years on the Cobra before it started to show micro scratches in bright sunlight. A buffer polished them out right away and it both - black and green - looked factory new. But I got two years before I had to do it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve.Madrid Posted May 23, 2013 Report Share Posted May 23, 2013 I have read quite a few of the threads on detailing etc. and I fully agree that it is a very religious/contentious issue. I had not really seen anyone who discussed doing anything to the stripes, actually quite the opposite of 'leave them alone' was the consensus. Your post was interesting because you had actually worked on the stripes and having a Barrett-Jackson (per your name/sig line) I figured that you took extra care with the limited edition and I wondered if the red stripes showed more 'marks' than the silver? Thanks again for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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