first time novice

[kink]

Hi All,
I've waxed and cleaned for years but after letting my Ex drive my baby for 6 years she is in some serious need.

I have a 1996 Dodge Ram Indy pace truck. Blue metallic with white decal stripes. The paint is in ok shape but there are small scratched everywhere and there are some rather deep scratches on the drivers door.

I don't have any pictures as of right now of the damage the vehicle has suffered. Here is a pick of me and the truck just so you can get an idea of what I'm working with.

I'll try to get pictures tomorrow when I start the process. I am doing a full detail. Interior, exterior, rino lining the bed and detailing the engine compartment. I really want to do a machine buff on the exterior but have never tackled anything like it. I need to know what to buy and in what process to use each application.

The products I have on hand are:

Mothers clay bar
meguiars tech wax spray
rainX interior
RainX exterior
standard armor all
Mothers back to black
3m rubbing compound
standard Windex
2 zwipe microfiber glass cloths
and castrol super clean all-wheel cleaner


My focus this weekend will be paint, glass, and interior. Any advise would be very appreciated.

Oh one more thing the matching tonoe cover is fiberglass. What can I use on all the surfaces that wont hurt fiberglass, the decals and enhance the pain? Thanks...I'm starting to fear what I have gotten myself into...

[Mike Phillips]

Hi kink,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

First, lets start with reading the below link so you the the right steps and the order in which to perform them. If you don't have any detailing clay, you'll probably want to start with that first after washing.

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle


Next, you're pretty much going to want to follow the same process we show here to remove swirls out of this Mercedes-Benz using the same products.

How To Remove Swirls By Hand


Here's a little extra help on how to use a paint cleaner like ScratchX, getting good results with this product is all about using good technique, the below article will share with you the correct technique.

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX


And if you want to post pictures in a message, the below link will show you how...

How to put pictures into your posts

Have fun tomorrow!

[kink]

thanks for the links!
The one question I have is what's the difference between the application numbers and normal stuff that we can all buy at the parts store? I have the tech wax, cleaner wax, and scratchX. Will this give me the same quality as using 83, 80, and whatever number the final finish is...
If I will get a better finish using the latter, I would prefer to go that way.
Thanks,

[kink]

ok,
Sop weather prevented me from the full detail today but that didn't stop me, I pulled the seats and refreshed the carpet 6 times... well I got the interior about where I wanted it... Now all I have to do is get the rest up to par.... I hadf some issues with the clear coat on the stripes,,,, I'll ask more about that later. If you have any advise please let me know. Talk soon,
K