Novice car person

[gkusters]

I’ve got 3 cars I need to address:

1. just bought a 1997 Nissan Pathfinder-light Gold with 120K miles on it for my 16 year old.. Pretty scratched up, but the paint looks OK. What do you recommend I use on this to bring it back to life?
2. 2003 Pontiac Bonny-tan with 95K miles on it. Very clean. I haven’t had it waxed in 3 years. Open for suggestions
3. 2007 white Honda Pilot-White 10K miles. Open to suggestions.

I’d like to know hat I should buy to help bring the Nissan and Pontiac back to life and keep the white Honda looking new.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Novice car person

All three cars need a thorough washing and then after washing and drying chances are very good they all need to be clayed using detailing clay.

After claying you can decide to tackle the cars using a multi-step approach where you use dedicated paint cleaners to clean the paint, followed by a dedicated polish to restore gloss and clarity, followed by a dedicated wax to protect the paint and all your hard work.

Another approach which you might want to start with would be to use a one-step cleaner/wax like ColorX. ColorX will clean, polish and leave behind a protective coating in one step, it offers excellent cleaning ability to remove years of neglect and will even remove light swirls and scratches.

Part of the cleaning action of any paint cleaner or cleaner/wax comes from you of course and the passion you put behind the pad, (elbow grease), and your choice of applicator material for example foam, cotton or microfiber)

Going with ColorX after claying will enable you to get all 3 cars looking very good right off the bat then later if you want to try to take the finish on any of these cars to an even higher level you can alway re-visit them and do some dedicated cleaning with a dedicated paint cleaner like ScratchX or Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner or perhaps consider getting a DA Polisher and learning how to use a machine to do all the hard work of cleaning and polishing the paint.

And yet another option that is very popular and works really well is to clay, the use ColorX and then use NXT as your top coat.

Here's what ColorX did by hand to a 1947 Plymouth Coupe,

Before - Horrible Swirls throughout the finish








First we removed the white paint overspray using Meguiar's Quik Clay System now replaced with Smooth Surface Clay Kit.



Then applied one hand application of ColorX followed by one hand application of NXT Tech Wax Liquid

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Novice car person

Here's a couple of threads we recommend you read if you haven't already...

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle


The words Clean and Cleaning as defined by Meguiar's terminology


What it means to remove a scratch out of anything...

[Andy M.]

Re: Novice car person

Hey gkusters,

Since this is your first post, welcome to MOL!

You have come to the right place to get the older cars back in shape and keep your Honda looking new.

Andy
101impala

[Sydster]

Re: Novice car person

[gkusters]

Re: Novice car person

Mike,
Thanks for the response. Why would I need to clayt a car with such low mileage?
Do i use ColorX vs the 5 step process?

[gkusters]

Re: Novice car person

Can you help me understand one thing?
Why would I need to clay bar a 2007 car with 15K miles?
Also, do I do teh 5 step or should I just go twith teh ColoX and NXT tech Wax?

Hey gkusters,

Since this is your first post, welcome to MOL!

You have come to the right place to get the older cars back in shape and keep your Honda looking new.

Andy
101impala

[onawrxhigh]

Re: Novice car person

gkusters,

Even though the car is a 2007 with only 15,000 miles on it I would clay it for these following reasaons. Due the the way it was transported boat,train, 18 wheeler there is sure to be above the surface bonded contamination(rain dust,salt ), If this is your first time waxing it clay the paint due to possible contamination with other outside stuff(brake dust,tree sap,tar). The main reason for claying any vehicle is to make the paint surface totally smooth as glass to make your next steps easier. If you don't clay your cleaning step would first have to try and remove the bonded contamination first before it could start to work on the actual paint. Do this test. After you wash and dry the vehicle put your hand into a plastic sandwich bag and slowly wipe your hand over the surface. The bag will act as a amplifier and you could really feel and hear the bag dragging over the contamination. After you clay it do the test again and you will be amazed at the difference. I clay my vehicles about every 4 to six months because they sit outside 24/7. Now on to the final question about color-x or the 5 step. I really think it is personal preference. If you are a true novice to detailing you may want to wash clay color-x and end with NXT Tech wax. Once you get more experience detailing then your options are totally open. I usually wash,clay, 2 step polish to remove swirls,final hand polish with a pure polish, then I wax with #21, but that is me and I use a g-100. I hope this helps you out some.

Andrew

[gkusters]

Re: Novice car person

Really appreciate the feedback.
Are there basic directions on how do do the process and what materials I need for:
Claying
ColorX
NXT

[onawrxhigh]

Re: Novice car person

Really appreciate the feedback.
Are there basic directions on how do do the process and what materials I need for:
Claying
ColorX
NXT

gkusters,

There is usually very good directions already on the bottle of your choice. For the clay get the smooth surface clay kit. It gives everything you need to clay the vehicle. When I am done with a 18x18 area I will use a high quality 100% terry towel to wipe off the clay lube. The clay itself will not /should not leave any residue behind. Color-x I would start with a Meguiar's foam applicator pad and follow the bottles directions. Color-x is not a wipe on wipe off product it needs to be worked into the paint to make total use of it. NXT get a clean Applicator pad and apply the wax over the entire car in a very thin even coat. With the pilot being white it will be hard to see the product on the paint so make sure it is thin and do 2 coat for even coverage. For the Color-x and the NXT I suggest Meg's ultimate wipes or the supreme shine micro fiber towels for their removal. I use about 3 per car and more for larger vehicles. So get as many as you can. Check out autodetailingsolutions.com for great pricing on you supplies. I hope this helps you out.

Andrew