#80 #82 #83 #84 #85 can be used by hand??

[JAC]

Hi guys, I'm from Brazil and just signed in to MOL.

The problem is:here in Brazil is not easy to find Meguiar's products and I want to remove some little defects in the paint of my silver Ford Focus.

After watch the 5 steps video (washing, cleaning, polishing...) I started to look for those products.

So far I was able to find Megs car wash, clay bar(the mild one), the LSP (NXT 2.0) and the UQD for maintaining.

I can't find deep crystal paint cleaner and deep crystal polish. Without them my car won't look REAL great.

And here is a list of the products that are available to me:
Scratch X
#80 speed glaze
#82 swirl free polish
#83 dual action cleaner/polish
#84 compund power cleaner
#85 diamond cut 2.0

Which of the above should I use in substitution for the DC cleaner and DC polish??

My car paint is in good condition, only with minor swirls that I really want to remove.

Important: the products will all be used by hand, I don't have any buffer here. The #80, #82, #83, #84, #85 can be used by hand???

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance!

[Mike Phillips]

Re: #80 #82 #83 #84 #85 can be used by hand??

Either of these will work to clean and polish the paint at the same time and both of these can be applied by hand.

#80 Speed Glaze
#82 Swirl Free Polish

M80 is pretty versatile, if you think you might ever move up to machine polishing this would be a good all around tool for your tool chest.

[JAC]

Re: #80 #82 #83 #84 #85 can be used by hand??

OK Mike, so the steps I should follow are:

1 - washing (megs shampoo)
2 - cleaning (mild clay)
3 - cleaning/polishing (#80 or #82)
4 - waxing (NXT)
5 - mantaining (UQD)

Is it correct?

One more question, I saw the "how to remove swirls by hand" thread, working with the #80 or #82 will be easier than work with the ScratchX???

By easier I mean achieve good results spending less time or doing less effort to work the product against the paint.

Thanks so much

[JAC]

Re: #80 #82 #83 #84 #85 can be used by hand??




So Mike, which product is easier to use by hand to achieve best results, Scratch X or # 80 Speed glaze??

[Sydster]

Re: #80 #82 #83 #84 #85 can be used by hand??

OK Mike, so the steps I should follow are:

1 - washing (megs shampoo)
2 - cleaning (mild clay)
3 - cleaning/polishing (#80 or #82)
4 - waxing (NXT)
5 - mantaining (UQD)

Is it correct?

One more question, I saw the "how to remove swirls by hand" thread, working with the #80 or #82 will be easier than work with the ScratchX???

By easier I mean achieve good results spending less time or doing less effort to work the product against the paint.

Thanks so much

Right on!

[Sydster]

Re: #80 #82 #83 #84 #85 can be used by hand??

So Mike, which product is easier to use by hand to achieve best results, Scratch X or # 80 Speed glaze??

For me #80 would be the way to go.

[JAC]

Re: #80 #82 #83 #84 #85 can be used by hand??

Thanks a lot, Sydster

[Mike Phillips]

Re: #80 #82 #83 #84 #85 can be used by hand??

So Mike, which product is easier to use by hand to achieve best results, Scratch X or # 80 Speed glaze??

ScratchX

Used correctly, it will remove swirls and scratches out of a clear coat finish. Might take multiple applications and only work a small area at a time, usually no larger than about 12" square or smaller depending upon,

Hardness or softness of the paint
Depth of the defects
Your skills and abilities

[JAC]

Re: #80 #82 #83 #84 #85 can be used by hand??

Thanks Mike!

More question:
Is the scratch X more abrasive than #80 and #83??

What's the Scratch X's number in the abrasiveness scale?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: #80 #82 #83 #84 #85 can be used by hand??

Thanks Mike!

More question:
Is the scratch X more abrasive than #80 and #83??

What's the Scratch X's number in the abrasiveness scale?

Less aggressive than both of these products.

People always asking for some kind of chart showing the ranking of all products in our line compared and it's really comparing apples to oranges because of all the variable, i.e. application material, application process, type of diminishing abrasives, skill level of the user.

ScratchX is good at removing light swirls and scratches by hand if you apply it correctly and that's where the problem comes in because most people don't know how to apply it correctly.

For light, general cleaning you merely apply it and rub it around and then wipe it off, this will remove any surface contamination, oxidation and any other topical stains.

To remove swirls and scratches this means you need to remove some paint and to get ScratchX to remove paint by hand you need to work the diminishing abrasives against the paint to force them to take little bites out of the paint.

This is where most people fail as they don't understand this and unless someone shows them in person like we do at our Saturday classes they struggle with getting good results.

Other problems are, the size of area worked, the harder the paint, the deeper the defects the smaller the area you want to work, we're talking 12" square or less. A lot of people try to apply to half the hood, or a quarter of the hood at one time and this isn't going to work and the reason why is because,

"Generally speaking, modern clear coat paints are harder than traditional single stage paints"

Another way of putting this is,

"The paint that comes on a brand new Mustang will be harder than the original paint that came on a 1965 Mustang"

And because modern clear coat paints tend to be harder it makes it difficult for you and I to go out into our garage and using our hand remove swirls and scratches.

This is the driving reason why DA style polisher have become so popular, the simple fact is the machine will alway outperform your 4 fingers pushing down on a wax pad and the machine doesn't get tired.

And here's something real important that we want to point out and that's none of this is Meguiar's fault, we don't make the paints used to paint cars. Paint manufactures don't build into the paint technology the fact that most people want their car to look good and do their paint polishing work by hand. So the Consumer loses and nothing is ever done about it.

Sure would be nice if paint companies would make their paints so the average person could successfully work on them like we use to be able to do. Back when we had single stage paints, the average person could easily work on them and get great results, not it's just work.

Just read this thread, and look at the pictures...

1999 Miata - Severe Oxidation Removal

Anyway, pick up a couple tubes of ScratchX and some foam or microfiber applicator pads, wash and clay the car, (clay if needed), and then start cleaning the paint using the ScratchX by working small section at a time, for example the average microfiber is 16" square, use this as a guideline. (Our Supreme Shine Microfibers are 16" by 22" so if you have one of these fold it in half to get the right idea).

Work the ScratchX by putting some passion behind the pad but don't push so hard you put scratches in the paint from your pressure. Also you hand should be moving pretty fast, as rubbing the paint out with some pressure and some fast moving hand motions. Work the product for about a minute to the section you're working on and then wipe if off immediately and move on to next section and overlap a little into the previous section.

My personal preference for removing swirls is to rub in straight lines but you can make circle motions if you like. Use a circular motion to spread the product out over the area you're going to work and after getting the product spread out you can then continue with circle motions or switch to straight line motions.

After you clean the entire car or a panel with ScratchX, now apply a polish and then a coat or two of wax.

Then after this start washing the car very carefully so you don't put swirls back into the paint.

Hope this helps...

[JAC]

Re: #80 #82 #83 #84 #85 can be used by hand??

This will help me a lot, Mike!

And this video is a great help too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVxeqntf0eQ

I've been searching around ScratchX threads and found many people who didn't know how to use it correctly, but when they found out the right technique the results showed up.

Here is what I'll do:
-Wash
-Clay
-ScratchX (applied by hand)
-#80 or #82 (applied by hand)
-NXT 2.0

[JAC]

Re: #80 #82 #83 #84 #85 can be used by hand??

I used Scratch X on the mirror caps of my Focus just for a quick test, here are some pics:

Before:





50/50:









No after pictures, I was in a hurry and didn't even had time to finish all the mirror cap... it's istill like the 50/50 pics.

The process was:
- wash
- 2 aplications of Scratch X

With one more aplication and it will look perfect, I loved Scratch X.

I also used it to remove a scratch on the hood, but no pics were taken.