Color-X made my paint look worse?

[Durango]

I recently purchased a used dodge durango, The vehicle is immaculate except for the paint as I do not believe the previous owner ever waxed it. The paint is slightly oxidized and dull so after so reading I decided Color-X was the right product to restore my paint. After applying it it showed every swirl made by the applicator and no matter how easy or hard I buffed it never improved, I re-applied the product with the same result. Is this common? Should I Claybar it first?

Which is better Liquid claybar or the traditional claybar?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

[Eddie6th]

Hi.You should always start with a clean surface.

Someone did a review of the 'liquid clay' before and basically it stinks.

Get your self a proper clay kit.You'll have more options than me,but the Meg's 'Clay Bar Kit' is a good choice.It comes with QD,which you're going to need anyway.Use plenty of QD.You'll probably find you'll go through 3/4's of it or more.

This vid will help:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfEfLGL59GI

Anyway,start again.Wash/dry your car.Clay it,then use the colorX.

[Don]

It sounds like you may be moving too fast & pushing too hard with your fingertips. You really need to 'work' an area before moving onto the next.

[Tuck91]

It might help to finish out gently, not rough motions.

[3Fitty]

Personally I think if you move away from working by hand and move to a G110, you get much more "even" result, a lot faster and with a few precautions, it is relatively simple.

I'd pretty much advise anyone who is a hobbyist or above, should have some type of D/A. Working by hand is just too hard, too long and too inconsistent for my liking.

[akimel]

Durango, what kind of applicator did you use and how hard were you bearing down on the paint? Properly applied, ColorX should not be scratching your paint.

If you can find them, get yourself some foam applicators. Unfortunately, most auto stores do not seem to carry foam applicators, though I have been told that they can be found at some marine stores. You can also order them online, though if that is the only item you are ordering, the shipping cost will make it prohibitively expensive.

As already mentioned, you need a clean surface. The car should be washed well and clayed, if necessary. From what you have described, claying this vehicle certainly sounds like it would be helpful.

Then do a TEST SPOT. Put a quarter size dollop of ColorX onto the applicator and work the wax into the paint in a 12"x12" square. You want to apply a bit more pressure than you would with an ordinary wax, but you don't want to press too hard. Massage it into the paint as if you were applying a skin lotion into your skin. If you need to, add more wax. Allow it to haze. Do the Swipe Test. When it is dry, remove with a clean microfiber towel. Now inspect the surface. If it looks good, then go ahead and ColorX the rest of the car; but if you still don't see any improvement, then come back to the this thread and tell us what you are seeing. We'll make sure one of the MOL experts help you to get things right.

[Underdawg736]

If you don't think that the previous owner waxed it then that may be the source of alot of those swirls. As the other folks said, have a cleaned and prepped car so that you won't pick up the crud and do more harm then good.
Have you invested in Ultimate Compound, SwirlX, or ScratchX? If not try to grab some as they will help rid you of your trucks swirlitis.

IMO I would stay away from the liquid clay as it doesn't do the job as a real clay bar. Also keep in mind to have several clean applicator pads on hand, once they start getting dirty I would swap out with a fresh clean one to minimize additional swirling. Also using fresh clean MF towels with their tags removed will prevent the user induced defects.

I hope this helps you a bit!

[Durango]

Thanks for all the tips... I went out today and bought the Meguiar's Smooth Surface clay kit it included the QD, 2 - 50gm clay bars, 4oz sample of cleaner wax and Supreme Shine MF cloth. I'll report back on my progress.

[Murr1525]

As mentioned, I think you found swirls under the dirt.

However, ColorX would not be my choice for dealing with them. I would look into some SwirlX at least, if not something stronger as mentioned above.

[Calais]

ColorX is great for oxidized paint but you must, must have a properly prepped surface. You're digging bonded materials out of/off of the paint with a an abrasive and grinding them into your paint surface.