Can my car be saved?

[Metal]

Hello I am new to the detailing world and eager to learn! I've read most of the stickies and wanted some advice about my car. I've been transforming the car into a street/strip car over the past 2 years and the paint has been very neglected. I plan on painting the car in the future but until then I was hoping I could bring some of the color back to life. I would like advice on what products to use and the order of usage. The pics below actually make it look better than in person, the car has some serious oxidation. The last pic is the car when I first got it and you can see how bad it is. Any help would be much appreciated, thanks.

[sneek]

to MOL
it does look pretty bad, i don't think that you could do it yourself but a pro might be able to?? maybe a pro will chime in!

[LiquidBlack]

I am no expert, but a strong cleaner/polish should do the trick. There are several ways of tackling this.

By hand:
You can try Meguiar's ScratchX. By working this into the finish, its diminishing abraisives will begin to cut through the oxidation and help remove swirls. This is quite effective on oxidation and swirls/light scratches, but is alot of work.
Also, you can try a strong cleaner wax such as ColorX. While probably not as strong as ScratchX, it is still quite effective at removing oxidation.

Read this thread for a little read-up on the effectiveness of colorX: http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/sho...ight=bronco+II

Now, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to work these products in when using them.


Myself, I tackle oxidation, swirls, and light scratches by machine. I use Meguiar's easy to use G-100 Dual Action Polisher along with their #80 and #83 polishes on w8006 foam polishing pads. #83 would be, in my opinion, perfect for tackling that oxidation.

Also, it would be a good idea to continue reading through these forums. In fact, read as much as possible! Knowlege is power when it comes to detailing (well, products and technique help too). Check the extreme makeover threads for some pointers.

[Murr1525]

Are you planing on working by hand or machine?

I see some knicks that obviously cant be fixed without paint.

If you just want it to be protected, a couple well worked in coats of ColorX will be ok.

If you want to do the best possible, you will need to do more like LiquidBlack said.

[Accident]

My car was very oxidized as well. As liquid black said, scratch-x would be good, but can be hard to do the whole car. If you are working by hand, you will probably want to use a terry cloth, it cuts through the oxidation a lot better than a microfiber towel. If you are planning on repainting anyway and just want to make it look better for now, don't worry about messing up, try different things and see what works.

Here is a link to the five step cycle, it tells what order to do things.

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2409

[Metal]

I plan on tackling it by hand, but have access to a machine if needed. I would like to get the best outcome out of it, but I don't expect any miracles to happen.

Would you suggest using both #83 and ScratchX/ or ColorX? Or is ScratchX/ColorX recommended for hand, and #83 for machine?

Thanks for the welcome and articles.

[Accident]

Colorx, from what I understand is an 3 in 1, it has a cleaner, a polish, and a wax in it. Scratch-X is more agressive than colorx, and from the last picture the oxidation is bad, so it would need something more agressive. You could use color-x to get a little oxidation off and add protection or you could do seperate steps, scratch-x, a polish, then a wax. I have seen a few posts where people have had a lot of success with color-x, but I have never tried it.

[Metal]

After doing some reading I have chosen these products in the following order. I have also decided to use a machine. Let me know what you think and if you would add/change anything, thanks!

wash - Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner
clean - clay w/ nxt detailer
cleaner/polish - #83 w/ w8006 pads - remove by hand with ss mf towel
wax - ??

What wax would you all suggest for my finish? Is it better to apply/remove wax by hand or machine? Thank you for your input.

[Murr1525]

I'd pick #21 for the wax.

It is good to apply by machine, helps spread it out thin. To remove by machine, you will need some of the bonnets.

What machine did you pick to go with?

[LiquidBlack]

So looks like you're going with machine after all, seeing you're going to try #83 with a w8006 pad. What machine will you be using?

Also, there is a wide range of excellent Meguiar's waxes. It really just matters on preference. Some have better reflective qualities, while others are deeper. Myself, I choose Meguiar's Gold Class wax for my black vehicle, since I like the way it looks on black. NXT wax is also great. It is known for its awesome reflective qualities. ColorX is also a great last step product, since it has a pretty good look to it and it also is a cleaner wax, so it has cleaning ability.

[Metal]

A friend of mine used to do detailing at a car dealership, I'm going to ask and see if he still has his equiptment. If not, I'll most likely grab the G100A DA Polisher, seems most on here enjoy it.

So apply wax with w9006 then remove using 7006 with bonnet over top correct? How many pads does a person use on average?

Hmm, I have some thinking to do on the wax, so many choices!

[Murr1525]

You will want one pad per product, plus a clean unused 7006 for wax removal.

So, 1 8006 pad for #83, and one 8006 pad for #80, and 1 9006 pad for your wax of choice, and 1 7006 pad to remove wax. You will also want a couple bonnets, probably 3 or so to start. And then some Supreme Shine MF towels to remove the cleaner/polishes.

The DA Packages on AutoDetailingSolutions.com are a good place to start when DA shopping, and then add to it what else you need.

[Metal]

Good deal, thanks

I forgot to mention, is #83 safe for a single stage paint?

[Murr1525]

Yes, all of Meguiars products are safe for Single Stage Paint, when used properly of course.

The only thing you will want to watch is sharp edges. Work gently around edges, and dont work straight on top of an angle. Stay on the panel itself, and work towards the edge, not rubbing right on top of the edge.

Understand what I am trying to describe?

[Metal]

Even movements across the flat panels and not riding on the edges?