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Body panels... are they all plastic? Do they benefit from wax?

8K views 18 replies 13 participants last post by  phillysmart 
#1 ·
All the panels I can find on my 2013 Smart ED seem to be solid plastic, the same color all the way through. Are all smarts like this? I've seen YouTube videos from Europe where people are sanding down to a different color material and heading to the paint shop.

And do my plastic panels benefit from wax? I tried waxing the hood and I honestly can't tell a difference.

The Tridion cell is a different story, so maybe I should wax that.
 
#5 ·
A blast from the past...
wax???. :)
Gotta say, it’s been a while since I made the effort to wax a car, but I can really feel the difference between an unwaxed panel and a waxed one. Given that the Smart is not the most aerodynamic car to begin with, smooth surfaces probably can’t hurt. Not much one can do with the textured roof of the pure, unfortunately.
 
#11 ·
I have definitely found this to be true on the cars which I have owned and which developed an oxidized coating EVEN on the clear coat.
I have a 1982 Mercedes 240D which I purchased from a guy in Florida. The paint was truly dull but complete. After a careful cleaning of the paint I discovered that the clear coat had oxidized. After carefully cleaning it everywhere, I applied a coat of old-fashioned simonize to it, then let that dry and rubbed it off using a lot of water on a very soft buffing wheel attached to an oscillating buffer. The results make the paint look very close to new.
But you have to be ready to spend a lot of time on this.
 
#8 ·
Some car panels are painted some, some are plastic color all the way though. They all have a clear coat finish. No harm in waxing either one. The clear coat shows swirl marks, and scratches too. My car had blue metallic paint over a black panel. With a clear coat finish. Bug splats and bird poop, would stained and eat the clear coat Finish. Rock chip, would create small chucks of paint Missing. Exposing the black plastic. I used Mcguires scratch remover to minimize swirl marks. Then waxed the car, with Mcguires gold car wax.

63350
 
#9 ·
Seriously? I have never owned a car that wasn't waxed regularly - and that was starting in 1961. Clear coat is great but it does nothing for solar burn. Take a look at 3-4 year-old unwaxed cars in Arizona with the paint literally burned off! Steel, plastic, fiberglass, doesn't make any difference. New waxes and sealants make the job so quick and easy it would be silly not to use them. 25 years ago I would spend all day waxing a car - cleaning, fine cut cleaner, polish, wax. Now I can do my Volvo SUV in under an hour! Our smart gets waxed regularly as well, our third by the way.
 
#12 ·
Had 2011 Smart ICE in red & 2014 Smart ED in white, both had panels with solid color plastic/ all the way through. Did some drilling on tailgates on both, for MB vintage star emblem (bolt/screw mounting). But there is a clear finish on top of plastic panels for that nice shine. Keep waxing those panels.
 
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