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I’ll be taking possession of my new toy, a 1952 MG Replica London Roadster next month, but I’m excited about it already. Never having owned a kit car before, what do you wash and wax the fiberglass and canvas (?) top with?
If you have gel coat on the fiberglass, Meguiars has a line of great boat care products.
Start here:
http://www.meguiars.com/estore/product_list.cfm?sectionname= Boat/RV%20Care%3EFlagship%20Products§ionID=51101
Not sure about the canvas top.
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
My car has never been painted so it’s just the gell coat. I asked my brother (he had a body shop for years) what I could use to get that very shiny WET look like so many of the the newer cars have. According to him I was out of luck outside of a clear coat paint job. Last summer I found a guy at a car show selling a wax called “Willys wax” he did a fender on my car at the show and WOW… I bought it.. I’ve now did the rest of the car just 1 coat so far and very satisified. Not quite the wet look yet but as close as I have gotten. Brother was impressed too. As soon I my shoulder lets me I’ll be adding a second and possibally a 3rd coat. The main ingredeint is pure carnauba wax. Meguiars is good too but this seemed easer to use. Liquid form, wax on–wax off
West Marine has a great line of 3M products for the gelcoat, vinyl top (it’s probably not canvas), and the clear plastic window in the top.
As far as the gelcoat cars go, treat your car’s finish like it’s a boat. Painting the car is an option too.
Thanks, guys, I’m such a newbie, that I feel pretty stupid sometimes, but hey, we all have to learn at some point. I’m still at the beginning and it is stilll exciting to learn everything.
How do I tell if it has gel coat?
MGLondonRoadste40647.5465277778
Pretty easy to tell as gelcoat is much thicker and you should be able to spot and see if there were any imperfecitons in the fiberglass mold process.
Gelcoat is what you would find on a boat. You should be able to tell once up close.
Montie,
Is this the Wet Willy’s stuff?
http://www.willysgarageusa.com/index.php
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Paul,
Doesn’t look like the same packageing or label. The stuff I got had more or a generic label look and he didn’t have but 2 products. The bottle of wax and a spray detail liquid. I think theay are different products unless the company has grown alot since I got mine. Montie
With the top down, I’m spraying each section with Simple Green to remove dirt and oil, etc. I would like to try waxing one fender once I get it cleaned. I’m afraid I still have a small oil leak in the rear, as I’m finding a light coat of oil on the rear fenders and engine cover.
I can’t quite figure out how to use a hose, soap bucket and wash mit with the London Roadster without getting the inside all wet. I want to clean the top panels and around the snap fittings, too. Looks like a slow going hand job at this point.
I wash the car with the roof and side curtains on.
After the car is dry and the roof and curtains are off, I use Meguiars Quik Detail to clean around the areas that were covered when the roof & curtains were on.
PMOSSBERG40710.5750231482
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
If you have one of those spray ends that has different choices use the one labeled (flat spray) and that way it is easy to spray down w/o getting the
inside wet. I don’t even have a top and clean mine all the time in this
manner.
Stick with Carnuba wax. Miracle waxes with “polymers” on the label use silicons to achieve that wet look on clear coat. It works on fiberglass cars too, but it penetrates the gelcoat and migrates into and through the fiberglass underneath. Any repair to the fibrglass requires powerful solvents to strip the silicon out of the glass long enough for the new repair to bond. The silicon also threatens the gelcoat-fiberglass bond and makes fiberglass cars hard to paint without stripping and a fast coat of epoxy primer.
Polymers are hard to avoid in wax today. Collinite http://www.collinite.com Paste Fleet Wax (885) and Fiberglass Boat Wax (925) claim to be pure Carnuba with Naptha as a solvent.
Collins is available from the manufacturer or boat and airplane supply houses including West Marine.
Resist the temptation to use a pressure washer of any kind on your MG. Gelcoat is porous. Pressure will drive water into the pores. Heat-thaw cycles can flake the gelcoat off the fiberglass. Pressure will abrade the surface and make it even harder to achieve the glossy look you seek.
You will find Dawn dishwashing detergent in most glider pilots’ wash buckets. It strips oil well. That’s important when you are trying to clean bugs from leading edges. It also leaves the gelcoat with a silky feel.
Thank you to everyone so far. These tips are fantastic. I’ve discovered a lot of small cracks and peeling on my car. It is not painted but I don’t know what to do or who to take it to for repair work. Could that be from temperature extremes?
The Simple Green got rid of most of the grease and dirt. Tomorrow I’ll try washing her when it’s still cooler and shady in the morning. She sure has a lot more surface area than I thought. Lots of nooks and crannies for dirt and dust to collect. Parking under a tree doesn’t help, either, so I’ll also be working on clearing more space in the garage for her. My girlfriend has started calling her my mistress by the name of Miss London, as I’ve been spending a lot of time (intended and non-intended) with her this past month.
I was going to use a Meguiar’s NST Tech Wax 2.0, but it is a polymer formula that maybe I’ll save for the S2000. I’ll look into the Carnuba waxes. Thanks a million. I learn something new from you guys just about every day! I love it.
Mark W
I use Dawn dish washing liquid as well (since it came out….Joy before that). For wax, I have, for the last 10 or 12 years used good ole Simonize car paste wax in the yellow gold can. Have to get it on eBay because thats the only place I can find it. Down to my last can and a half. newkitman40710.8878819444
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackCollinite is available through a distributor in Arizona, who show a location about 30 miles from me. Rats, I had wanted to wax Miss London tomorrow, but that will have to wait now. You guys caught me in the nick of time.
With a delay due to improper directions from the seller, I made it just at closing time and picked up a can of Collinite No. 476S Super Double Coat Auto Wax. It is the same as the 885 and both it and another two products share the same MSDS form. It’s outside labeling does not mention “polymers”.
Prior to my arrival at the distributor’s location, we had discussed me getting Meguiar’s Gold Class Carnauba Plus, Premium Liquid Wax. But it is a blend of carnauba plus ‘protecting polymers. The distributor stated that is is virtually impossible to find waxes these days without added polymers. I’m going to try the Collinite on a fender tomorrow morning, and I get started early enough, try the whole car.
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