Got My Order. Am I Missing Anything?

[mancuso]

I recently received my order from Meguiar's including the video. I watched the video but I'm a litltle confused. Here's what I currently own:

NXT Car Wash
Clay Bar
Dual Action Polisher
Meguiar's Dual Action Polisher Backing Plate
(4) W-8006 Finishing Pads
(3) W-9006 Finishing Pads
#32
#9
NXT Wax

My car has slight swirls and very little acid rain etching. Should I use anything else after the #32 besides the NXT wax? Based on the abrasive rating for the #32 and #9, they are the same. What's the differece between the 2? My car is a dark silver metallic with clear coat. What products would you all recommend besides what I already purchased? Here's a picture of my car for reference:



And here is an example (picture I found on this forum) of the extent of my swirls:

[Mike Phillips]

Hi mancuso,

First of all, Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

Second of all, [i]nice looking car![/b]

Third of all, when you refer to #32, do you mean #82 Swirl Free Polish?

If so, then you have to products that are very similar in their aggressiveness level. The #9 and the #82 are both similar with the #82 being a little more aggressive. Understand however, both of these product are very non-aggressive. They are for removing very fine swirls.

The work best with a rotary buffer for removing swirls where the rotary buffer because of it's direct drive action offers the ability to remove small particles of paint better than a PC or your hand. Thus combined with the right foam pad and the #82 or the #9 this combination is very effective at removing fine swirls and producing a swirl-free finish.

Another product that is very popular for removing the type of swirls shown in the second picture, also called cobweb-effect is Meguiar's #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish

This product offers a more aggressive cleaning action when used both with the rotary buffer and the PC. One of the reasons it has become very popular and among serious enthusiasts striving for a perfect, show car shine is because together with the Meguiar’s W-8006 on a Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher, it offers just enough aggressiveness to enable the average person to remove swirls and scratches that they cannot remove by hand.

At the same time, it's not too aggressive that it will dull or mar the finish. It's a balancing act of diminishing abrasives, rich lubricating oils, the right foam pad and the high speed oscillating action of the PC that makes this possible.

Often times you can go right to a wax after using the above combination. For an extra step, to take medium to dark colors to an even higher level of richness and gloss, you re-polish using an even less aggressive polish and that would be one of these,

Pure Polishes - Non abrasive, no cleaning ability. These product only add brilliant high gloss and enriches the color and maximize clarity.

Deep Crystal Polish

M-81 Hand Polish


Cleaner/Polishes - Contain a microscopic diminishing abrasive that offers just enough abrading ability to remove fine swirls and scratches, and then breakdown to polish the surface to a brilliant high gloss like a pure polish.

M-0916 Swirl Remover 2.0

M-8232 Swirl Free Polish

It sounds like that in your quest to collect all the necessary tools to enable you to create a show car finish, you missed the #83 and obtained two products that are similar, but you only needed one of them.

Mike

[mancuso]

Oops, I meant to say #82 not #32. I was actually a member on this forum before, but after the recent downtime the forum had, my username was lost.

In regards to swirls, my paint isn't as bad as the picture I posted above. I'd say the swirls are about 1/3 of what is shown in that picture. However, I do have permanant water spots. Do you think #82 on an 8006 pad will still do the job with my Dual Action polisher? And will it eliminate permanant water spots or do I have to step up to the #83?

After #82 or #83 can I just NXT Wax it? I mean, will a hand polish really make a difference on my finish?

[Mike Phillips]

Hi mancuso,

It's always hard to say when you can't see the finish in person, but from my experience, I would say that it will more than likely require the #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish.

If it were me, I would try the #82 Swirl Free Polish because you never know what you can do until you try.

Also, Meguiar's philosophy always states,

Always use the least aggressive product to get the job done"

As far as your other question about polishing?

Because your car's finish looks to be a silver metallic, then no, I don't think the extra step will increase the results over what the first step would do followed by NXT Tech Wax.

Mike

[mancuso]

Sounds good Mike. I'm going to try the #82 first and if there are still swirls, I'll grab some #83 and follow up with 2 coats of NXT. Thanks for all your help!