Unsure how bad my car is

[loganolson217]

Hi there guys this is my first post to the forum and ive been reading a lot on it but I have a question. I have a 1995 red Camaro that was repainted fully 2 years ago using a high quality paint still in red. Now Ive never waxed it before only kept it clean and this will be my first time. I know firstly I need to wash the car and then I'm going to hit the entire car with a clay bar to get all the contaminants off and make sure there are no more mineral deposits on it before I start. My question however is what I should do next in the process. The car doesn't really have any major scratches or swirl marks in the paint so I don't know what I should use to bring back the depth in the paint. I know everyone on here says ultimate compound is amazing but others also say that it is a fairly aggressive compound and you should stay away from it if your car isn't that bad. I was thinking about just using swirlx to get the light marks out and then continuing. Is that good or should i look at scratchx instead? I wont be using a da and will be doing it by hand and just be taking my time because Im new to this and I know to start in a small section and see how it looks before continuing to the rest of the car. Also, if I end up using the swirlx would you guys recommend polishing the car(ultimate series) after or will I just be wasting money because of how gentle swirlx is and apparently I wouldn't really have to worry about hazing especially if its done by hand. Also regardless of what i do if I polish it will be using the ultimate series polish and when everything is done im going to do the entire car with the liquid ultimate wax.

My other question is in regards to my hood scoops in the hood. They are made out of plastic and when the car was repainted they were painted to match but for some reason they are fading a little from the sun (maybe they weren't cleared over??) and are slowly getting too close to pink. Would the ultimate black trim sponges work and also should I wax over them as well because the ultimate wax wont turn it milky according to the description and it might help prevent them from fading with the wax protection on top.

[The Guz]

Re: Unsure how bad my car is

Welcome to MOL.

It's hard to believe the paint is defect free with the little care it has had in 2 years. But anything is possible. Photos always help.

Your on the right path to washing and claying. After that you have either the option to use a cleaner wax or to go with the compound, polish and seal phase.

White Wax is a cleaner wax that has some very good correcting abilities. Of course it won't be as much by hand than it is by machine. You would use a cleaner wax more often throughout the year. Roughly 3-4 times a year.

You also have the option to go with the full correction path. The ultimate line is a good place to start and produces some great results. You will not be to aggressive using ultimate compound especially doing this by hand. So as always the test spot with the least aggressive combination would be the first place to start. For example ultimate polish on a foam applicator pad. Adjust your liquid from there. The ultimate line is much more versatile than the other products you mentioned.

I can't answer the question about the hood scoops. I believe they are plastic so perhaps the paint did not react well or the surface was not prepped that well.

[Nick Winn]

Re: Unsure how bad my car is

Welcome to MOL. Based on your goals & wanting to work by hand, we would suggest after washing & claying, perform a test spot using our Ultimate Polish. Our Ultimate Polish is a cleaner/polish compared to a pure polish, which means it has mild cleaning ability which will work to remove light swirls & scratches. Work in a 1 square foot or so area at a time. It would be best to apply with a soft foam applicator. Keeping your hand flat, apply the product in circular overlapping motions, using moderate pressure, working the product in for about a minute or so. The product should break down to a light wet, translucent film, which you will want to wipe off immediately before it dries with a high quality microfiber towel such as our Supreme Shine Microfiber Towel. If the product ever does dry on the paint, an easy way to remove the dried residue is to just re-apply more product. After this test spot, inspect your work under good lighting to determine if the Ultimate Polish removed the defects to your satisfaction. If the defect removal is not to your satisfaction after Ultimate Polish, you can try to apply a couple applications in one particular area. At this point after a couple applications you are not satisfied with the mild defect removal ability of Ultimate Polish, you can then move up to Ultimate Compound. If you end up using Ultimate Compound, it would be best to follow with Ultimate Polish for maximum gloss, especially on a darker color.

In regards to the hood scoops, you want to treat these like paint, since they are painted. Our Ultimate Black Series of products is for non painted colored plastics. You can try the above process on them as well, but it sounds like something else is going on with the paint in these areas, and it might not be able to be restored completely.

Hope this helps!

- Nick