Am I doing this right?

[Webasto]

Hi first time posting here. Currently I own my second car a 1995 T-Bird and I am looking for some help. Its a Silver Blue Mist color.

First things first. I wil never ever take my car through a auto wash.

I am trying to get the best reflection possible out of a Silver car.

Once in awhile I take out the buffing wheel and apply polish and afterwards I hand wax it. I'm just not satisfied with the shine it leaves.

Point me in the right direction here... here is what I do.

1) Take the car to a quarter was and blash away any dirt particles and such.

2) Bring the car home and sponge wash it with just warm water.

3) Use a Cheme (sp) to dry it.

4) Using an old Milwaukee orbital buffer I apply Meguiars Swirl remover (fine cut).

5) After thats done, change pads and apply Meguiars Black Gold or whatever its called.

6) Finish the job with (I know) Zymol wax cleaner.

7) After that I go down the car with meguiars quick detailer to get any wax dust I mised after the inital application of wax, including door jams and panel grooves.

Take it out for a drive.

Before I got the car it was never waxed, sure the owner kept it clean but never took it farther than a carwash. So I'm guessing it was never claybared, but if I look closely to the paint there is no oxidation or fading whatsoever so I think its unneccesay to use. Or am I wrong?

Any help is appricated. Thanks.

[Murr1525]

The general process you want ot follow is:

1. wash
2. clay
3. clean
4. polish
5. wax

So keeping that in mind, just need to pick out some fun products to use.

1. Wash - Gold Class Wash is really nice and gentle, and Nxt is very good as well.

2. Clay - Claying isnt really for removing oxidation. If the car is 10 yrs old and never clayed, then it could use it But it is fun and easy so no problem there. Get the Smooth SUrface Clay kit.

3. Clean - There is certainly all kinds of cleaners, esp for machine application. Does the Swirl Remover seem to get rid of all your swirls ok?

4. Polish - Deep Crystal #2 or #7 Show Car Glaze are good pure polishes to use.

5. Wax - I notice you are applying a wax (Gold Class), then a cleaner/wax (Zymol) on top. That is probably removing the first coat of wax, and sort of defeating the purpose.

Either:

1. Skip the polish, and apply Zymol then Gold Class.
2. Or the polish and 2 coats of Gold Class,
3. Or Gold Class and a pure sealant with no strong cleaners in it like #21 or Nxt.

Thats just a rough start, but give the products a look over, and ask away some more

[Webasto]

The swirl remover does okay. Its the only cleaner I've been using since I got the car. Its Meguiars Swirl Remover #9. Is their a better cleaner out there to use? Or should I stick to it and just use a claybar before I use the cleaner?

I have a mild case of swirlmarks when your less than a foot away from it. I've never been able to get them out, I recently had a new hood put on it and there are no swirlmarks on the hood. Just for the fact it was never ran through a car wash when I owned the vehicle.

I have even tried rubbing compound followed by swirl remover and still nothing. Do I need something a little stronger?

[Murr1525]

Well, give these a read as well:

What it Means to Remove a Scratch

Rotary vs. PC vs. Regular Orbital Buffer

How To Remove Swirls By Hand

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

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

As you can see in the threads, #80 is the next strongest product, and then #83. They would be the next things to try by machine, but at the same time it is hard to say if your machine is 'strong' enough to remove swirls as well.

You could get good results by hand with ScratchX as well.

You would want to clay first, then use the cleaners mentioned above.

[Webasto]

thanks alot. i'll give it a try!!