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Dear Start My Car,
I hope that everyone is healthy and is observing the “Lockdown” per the requirement. It is not easy, but I am grateful, when I look at what is happening around the world, that the SA Government has acted swiftly and decisively.
Start My Car deliveries will continue as soon as we are cleared to do so. But that doesn’t mean that we are not busy. On the contrary. We are using this time to add additional product s and functionality to the site. We are also taking orders, which we will push out the minute we get the go-ahead. Please have a look at the site and let me have your feedback.
I have included a fun article below about April’s Fool being cancelled this year. Hope you enjoy.In the meantime, I won’t wish you “Safe driving” but I will wish you safety and health for you and your families.
Regards,
Baruch
April Fool’s Day 2020
April Fool’s Day is just not what it used to be. In the past (last year), we would scourer the news to determine that article that was not truthful, and I would spend the day trying to avoid becoming too invested in a story that would turn out to be a gag.
I have been caught badly in the past. I remember when I was still at school, when The Star newspaper printed an elaborate article about the new Johannesburg Underground metro. Along with maps and everything. Whereas my parents were very concerned that the anticipated route ran right through their favorite rose bushes, I was thrilled, and spent hours working out with friends, how we would finally have freedom that we had so longed for. We were young and had no idea that even if it were to be true, we would most likely die of old age before the first hole would get dug.
This April Fool’s day, I would believe anything. Tell me that Martians had landed in Pretoria and taken President Ramaphosa as a hostage back to Mars and I would likely answer, “Wow! Unprecedented!” I might enquire about the mode of transport and even wonder why they didn’t take a couple of other politicians with him, but I would not doubt the authenticity of the story. I would also most likely make no attempt to verify any of the facts, before shaking my head and moving back to Twitter where the latest cure for Covid-19 had just be suggested by a friends aunt who once met a Taiwanese doctor who knew someone who had spoken to someone who thought they might be positive with the virus. Such is the insanity of the current status.
This year April’s Fool day has been suspended because it’s no fun anymore. We have become so used to reading the fantastical and the bizarre that nothing could even try to match what is real news.
Skeptical? Consider the following: This week ESKOM announced that they have excess capacity. The DA have been complimentary about the ANCS’s handling of the COVID crises and the EFF has branded hand sanitizer. It gets better: Individuals have offered to give billions of Rands to government to use at their discretion, without having been asked to do so. Had you asked me back in February, when we were still children, if any of this would be possible in the next few weeks, and I would have requested that you share what you were drinking. And now we can’t even buy alcohol.
There are a few words that I have tried to stop using as frequently as I have been. “Unprecedented” sits at the top of the list. Because the reality is that we are forging forward in uncharted seas. There is little in recent history that can guide us, and there is little experience that any country has with dealing with a pandemic such as this one. And yet one thing has become apparent to me. Out of all the leaders in all the world, there is no other that I would want to lead us, other than team assembled by President Cyrli Ramaphosa.
Top that April Fools 2020!
GUESS THE PART
SILLY SPARES
Whats that noise?
Valet your Vehicle
We are into the second week of lockdown, and many of us probably find ourselves with some extra time on our hands and a mild to severe case of cabin fever. If there was ever a great time to give your car a proper valet, it would be now.
Not the usual wet brush with some car shampoo followed by a rinse and chamois. We talking about the ultimate home car valet, which leaves a glazed finish that slicks off water and makes it hard for dirt to stick. Have a look at the list below (which is adapted from https://www.carmag.co.za/technical-blog/car-care-home-valet). Even if you don't follow all of the advice , there are a number of tips worth noting.
Read on for the five steps to a concours look:
1. Washing is an important first step, because you have to remove the loose contaminants from the surface. It must not be done haphazardly, and the following pointers should be kept in mind.
• Rinse the entire vehicle first. This will help to cool the surface and rinse away loose debris.
• Start at the top and work down.
• Do not use household detergents, because they will strip wax and burn the paint. Rather use a good pH-balanced car shampoo. Start My Car sell Shield, Holts and Waxco car shampoos to suit every budget.
• Don't wash in direct sunlight or when the paintwork is hot to the touch. The soap will leave marks that are not easy to remove. In addition, on older cars the oils in the paint will rise to the top and be stripped off.
• Use one bucket for the wash solution and another for the rinsing cloth.
• The final rinse should be done with a stream of water, not a spray.
• Always remember to dry the door jambs.
2. Preparing the surface follows next. This entails removing contaminants and other defects that washing alone cannot achieve.
• A number of specialist products are available to help remove contaminants. One of them is a stick made up of special clay, not unlike modelling clay, called a clay bar. If it is rubbed over a painted surface, it will pick up any dirt particles, even if they are embedded in the surface. Click here to see our clay bar cleaning kit
• Don't use compounds that are excessively abrasive.
• Desirable paint qualities, such as gloss, clarity, and durability, will only show up if the paint is perfectly clean.
3. Polishing is the next task.
The aim here is to produce a brilliant high gloss, and for the best results you should use a pure polish, rather than a product sold as a wax/polish.
• Dullness is mostly caused by oxidation of the outer paint layer, so that regular polishing is the best way to maintain a high gloss. It is especially effective on the darker colours.Have a look at our colour specific range of colour match waxes from Holts.
• Polish also nourishes and conditions the paint, and creates the ultimate wet-look show-car shine.
4. Applying a protective wax to preserve the shine is vital.
Note that many polishes also contain some wax, so that this step is only necessary if you want the ultimate protection.
• Use only a good quality wax that offers ultra-violet protection as well as resistance against alkaline and acidic deposits. Click here to see our Waxco platinum clear coat wax.Waxing should slow down oxidation, and prevent bonding of contaminants.
• Applying a second or third coat of wax will provide even more protection, but there is no further benefit after the third coat.
5. Maintaining a good surface condition helps to prolong shine.
• You should frequently remove contaminants before they can etch or bond onto the surface. Bird droppings are very destructive, and should be removed as soon as possible.
• Needless to say, you don't have to go through the above procedure every time you wash the car.
The frequency will depend on the paint's condition, the nature of the defects, the quality of products used, how much time you have to spend on the car, and how important the car's appearance is to you. A nearly-new car will only need a wash and wax, but an older car usually needs the full treatment.
In next weeks article, we take an in depth look at the different components of your vehicle, and what to use and not to use to clean them.
In the meantime, stay safe!
