G/F bought me a G110 and some cleaner/polisher... is this plan ok?

[Teal94gt50]

For Christmas my girlfriend bought me a G110, and assortment of pads, and glaze/waxes.
Pads are Lake country,
- (1) blue foam final finishing pad
- (2) white foam polishing pads
- (2) black foam finishing pads

Glazes
- Meguiars maching glaze #3 ( I don't think I'll be needing this one?)
-Meguiars swirl remover 2.0
-Meguiars Hi-Tech yellow wax

The car that this is really aimed for is my '94 Mustang GT. It has 42,xxx miles, but has accumulated a few clear coat scratches, and swirls, none very deep.

I have a pretty good idea of what to do, but can I get a good plan of action with the materials I have? Or do I need different pads/glazes?

Sorry for the long post, I've been reading, just want to make sure I have what I need, lol.

Thanks!! Will

[Mike Phillips]

Re: G/F bought me a G110 and some cleaner/polisher... is this plan ok?

Lucky guy!

First wash and dry the car and then clay the paint if needed.

Out of the products listed, the one you want to try first it the M09 Swirl Remover 2.0 with the white foam polishing pad.

First do a Test Spot about a foot squared or so on a flat panel you can look down on like the hood. Use the 5.0 Speed setting and do this,




Then after buffing this test spot, wipe off the residue and inspect the results as compared to the paint surrounding your test spot, look for a noticeable improvement in appearance by a decrease in swirls and scratches.

M09 is our lightest cleaner/polish and for removing swirls and scratches best results come when you use a powerful rotary buffer so you might not see the level of correction you're looking for. If not then you want to get some SwirlX, ScratchX 2.0 or Ultimate Compound.

Let us know how the test spot goes...

[Mike Phillips]

Re: G/F bought me a G110 and some cleaner/polisher... is this plan ok?

Since this was your first post...

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

[Teal94gt50]

Re: G/F bought me a G110 and some cleaner/polisher... is this plan ok?

Thanks for the fast reply!! A few stupid questions, lol

How do I tell if the car needs to be clayed? I always have hand waxed the car, and it's pretty smooth, just the light scratches/swirls I was talking about.

To remove the residue just use some quality microfiber cloths?

Once I get the scratches/swirls removed, will I apply the Meguiars Hi-tech yellow wax in the same manner with a white pad also?

I've been reading and reading on here, there's just so much info I want to make sure I'm doing it right, lol

Thanks a ton!! Will

[TimG]

Re: G/F bought me a G110 and some cleaner/polisher... is this plan ok?

Thanks for the fast reply!! A few stupid questions, lol

How do I tell if the car needs to be clayed? I always have hand waxed the car, and it's pretty smooth, just the light scratches/swirls I was talking about.

Claying will remove above bonded contaminants and to heighten your feel on the paint, try use a plastic bag and put it on (like a mitt) and run your hand/finger(s) along the paint (try not to rub too hard against it). Sometimes judging the condition by looking at it can also help as in some contaminants are too minute to be felt by the above action and looking at it is the next best thing.


To remove the residue just use some quality microfiber cloths?

To remove the residue just use some quality microfiber cloths?
Yes, be sure to use good quality MFs. Some very good ones are the Supreme Shine and also the Ultimate Wipe

Once I get the scratches/swirls removed, will I apply the Meguiars Hi-tech yellow wax in the same manner with a white pad also?

Not sure on the LC pads, but as a general guide, once the paint is defect free, use a softer pad as in a finishing pad as to not instill more swirls. Again this depends on the sensitivity of the paint.

I've been reading and reading on here, there's just so much info I want to make sure I'm doing it right, lol

Thanks a ton!! Will

Hope that helps.



Tim

[Murr1525]

Re: G/F bought me a G110 and some cleaner/polisher... is this plan ok?

If its your first time... you can assume it needs clayed.

Here is a variety of links:

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle
Step 1 Wash
Step 2 Clean
Step 3 Polish
Step 4 Protect
Step 5 Maintain

Suggested Products for Taking Care of a New Car

How to Wash Your Car Show Car Style

What it Means to Remove a Scratch

How To Remove Swirls By Hand

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

How to correctly apply ScratchX to remove swirls and scratches

Rotary vs. PC vs. Regular Orbital Buffer

Recommended Products - G100a Dual Action Polisher

Using the G-100 to remove swirls with the Professional Line

1986 Ford Bronco II - Extreme Makeover

Each one, teach one... Ferrari Fiorano 355 F1 Spider

[Mike Phillips]

Re: G/F bought me a G110 and some cleaner/polisher... is this plan ok?

How do I tell if the car needs to be clayed?

After you wash and dry the car, feel the paint with your clean hand. It should feel smooth like brand new glass. If you feel little bumps on the paint that means you have some kind of contaminants bonded to the paint and need to clay it.

To remove the residue just use some quality microfiber cloths?

Yes. Here's a pretty good rule of thumb, purchase enough microfiber polishing cloths to make a small washing load because you don't want to mix your microfibers with other clothes or cotton towels you only want to wash microfibers with other microfibers. Most people don't think it's cost effective to make a wash load with 3-4 microfiber polishing cloths so look to invest in about 12 to 16 microfiber polishing cloths so you can make a small load when it comes time to wash them.

What I do at my house is I have a dedicated laundry hamper in the garage just for microfiber polishing cloths. After using them I throw them in to the hamper until I have enough dirty ones to make a small wash load.

Make sense?

Once I get the scratches/swirls removed, will I apply the Meguiar's Hi-tech yellow wax in the same manner with a white pad also?

If you pre-clean your paint then you can use a finishing foam pad for a finishing wax like M26 and you use the 3.0 to 4.0 speed setting. you don't want to go as high as the 5.0 speed setting, it's too fast for what you're trying to do. (spread out a thin layer or wax).

[Teal94gt50]

Re: G/F bought me a G110 and some cleaner/polisher... is this plan ok?

Thanks for all the info!! I hate to ask questions that have been asked before but I was starting to fry my brain trying to ingest everything on here, lol.

The car is put away for the winter so I have plenty of time to accumulate the cloth's, washing ingredients, clay, etc.

I will also have to do some more reading on how to clay the car.

Hope this doesn't turn out ugly

I'll for sure get some pics in the spring!! Between now and then I'm sure I'll have some more questions.

Thanks! Will

[akimel]

Re: G/F bought me a G110 and some cleaner/polisher... is this plan ok?

On how to clay your car, see this video:

[Murr1525]

Re: G/F bought me a G110 and some cleaner/polisher... is this plan ok?

Keep asking away...

[miahjohn]

Re: G/F bought me a G110 and some cleaner/polisher... is this plan ok?

1st. Marry your girlfriend
2nd. follow the above advice

[Teal94gt50]

Re: G/F bought me a G110 and some cleaner/polisher... is this plan ok?

Haha, marrying her is the plan!

She actually convinced me to go and buy the turbo kit I had been putting off (because of the $$ it cost) lol

Never expected such an immediate response to all my questions, this forum rocks!! Wishing it was 80 outside instead of 12 degrees and blowing snow!!

Will

[Stevens Detailing]

Re: G/F bought me a G110 and some cleaner/polisher... is this plan ok?

Bro, you gotta keeper.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: G/F bought me a G110 and some cleaner/polisher... is this plan ok?

No such thing as a stupid question.

Welcome to mol.

[ColonelCash]

Re: G/F bought me a G110 and some cleaner/polisher... is this plan ok?

I wish I had a girlfriend that would do something like that. You have a keeper. Congrats.