I had my checkered roof put in about a month ago. My roof is black and had been waxed before it was put on. The window tint specialist told me that it wouldn't affect it as long as he prepted it with alchohol before he stuck it on. My question is....What do I do when it comes time to wax the car again. I am especially worried because I will be using my new PC polisher. Can I wax the roof or do I need to take special precautions? Does the same apply to my bonnet stripes?

Thanks

 

There is no real need to apply Epic with a PC. Doing it by had is fine.

Polishing is another issue, as best results happen when using a PC. I have never done a checker board, but have done lots of bonnet/boot stripes. I tend to work away from the edges of the stripes, in other words from the stripe out to the paint. That said, I have never lifted, or rolled an edge on a stripe going from the paint onto the graphic.

The biggest issue you will likely run into is a build up of polish/wax along the edges of all those square. If you get if off right away it won't be to bad. You can use QD to help remove.

Be sure to let us know how it goes.

Mark

 

I have a union jack on the roof of my mini. All of the white space is natural white roof. I have been using Dry applications of Hydro since I installed it. It has been about a year, and still looks great. Many of the folks who have a solid graphic that covers the whole roof are using 303 areospace protectant.

Is your roof black, and the checkerboard the white part of the decal, or is the entire roof a decal?

 

Unless your roof decal gets stains on it I see no need to polish it & risk any damage. I say just wash it & wax over it. I have found that Prima Mystique carwash does honestly seem to get more permanent dirt off my white stripes than many carwash soaps. I have waxed over my bonnet stripes for 4 years without issue

When my white bonnet stripes got so stained that it was either get em clean or get new ones I decided to give the PC a try. I used Meguiar's M80 Speed Glaze (had bought it for paint swirl removal but it wasn't abrasive enough & didn't do squat so I figured it would be gentle enough to try on my stripes). The PC w/Meguiar's removed every stain on my bonnet stripes, made them look new again, & didn't harm my black pinstripes.

I tried polishing my stripes a year later with Prima Swirl & I noticed ever so slight damage to the black on the outer edges of the stripes so I plan to stick the the Meguiar's M80 for removing stains on my stripes in the future (as it doesn't seem to be good for much else ).

If your roof is black I am guessing that you only have white squares on top of it? If so I say its safe to polish if you mind the edges if they ever become stained (but that shouldn't happen for quite a long while). If you do have some black decal I would be wary of PC polishing over any black areas though until you talk with someone who has done it

 

I have used Swirl on black bonnet stripes with no issues. Light pressure, work the length of the strip.

Mark

 

Thanks...I will try to wax it this weekend. Polish the rest of the car.

 

Any time I polish stripes with a PC, blue masking tape is essential along the edges not only for protection but preventing polish residue from building up along the edges.

I would agree with others though that polishing the roof shouldn't be necessary. If it were my car, I would have polished the roof first, then applied the checkerboard as it's now very difficult to polish out each exposed roof area. I'd say use the best wash and car care techniques to prevent damage to your roof and if you must polish it, use 3" or 4" pads on either a PC or a small polisher like the Metabo SXE400 3" polisher.

Btw, Swirl works great to polish out vinyl. I polished out some white vinyl that had a coffee stained look to it and made it brilliant white in a very short time using just a PC, white pad, and Swirl.

Richard