Hiya, I'm a first time newbie detailer who decided to give good care to my black week old '08 MB C350. I've read some good recommendations on Meguiar's products so I went out and pretty much bought everything that said Meguiar on it. So here's what I'm working with:

Plus Meguiar Supreme Shrine Microfibers X 4, Meguiar Applicator Pad, Meguiar Microfiber Wash Mitt X 2.
First day - My newbie *** washed in 95 degree temperature, 80% humidity in direct sunlight. Also, I washed the entire car without rinsing off each panel with my hose so when I finished drying and began prepping to polish, my car showed many water spots that looked like:

Disgrunted I was ****ing up brand up new paint, I called it quits for the day.
Second day: I woke up feeling a little better and decided to give it another shot. I rewashed the car again but this time, I rinsed off each panel after washing to prevent water spots. However, these spots reappeared after I had dried. This time, I took a little more bold approach and grabbed Scratch X. Scratch X did only half the job. It removed only the inner area but left a stubborn outer ring that looked similar to:

Frustrated, I've tried claying this time using the QD but had poor results. Although I sprayed the lube everywhere as instructed and glided the clay to little to no pressure, the clay started smearing its white residue, forming with the lube and leaving nasty white marks (I believe this is called marring?). I went back inside looking for a solution and found on this forum somewhere that vinegar worked for this deficiency however I was still skeptical. Out of desperation nonetheless, I gave it a try and viola, it worked like magic. I grabbed some white vinger out the kitchen dabbed it onto a microfiber towel and that's all she wrote. The water spots in direct sunlight seemed to come off with ease but the side of the car in the shade with water spots did not come out with vinegar treatment. So that left me to wonder, whether the heat acts as an agent along with vinegar in breaking down mineral compounds on the paint surface.
Now that I waxed after polishing with Scratch X (took a long time BTW), the car looked new again however when I closely examined the paint (meaning that I tilted my head closest to the paint surface as possible), I saw these ultra fine scratches. As a new car enthusiast and perfectionist, this was just unacceptable for a car that's been only one week old so I went out and bought Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner and Polish (#1,2).
So my question is to all you pros reading this: Since the car has already been waxed, do I need to strip the wax in order to clean the paint and polish with DC #1,2 or can I just polish over the wax I put on yesterday?
As of now, this is my method order. Please let me know if there's anything wrong with it.
-Wash/Dry (GC car wash)
-Clean Paint (DC #1)
-Polish Paint (DC #2)
-Wax (GC liquid wax)
Another thing I'm wondering is whether I should invest in a Dual Action Porter Cable 7424 which I keep reading about over and over (Costs like $120)? While I was at Advance Auto today, they had something like a rotary orbital which was $20. Since it was so cheap, I've neglected to buy it. Despite it's cheap factor, does this rotary orbital have any usefulness??
I would really appreciate any help. Thanks.

Plus Meguiar Supreme Shrine Microfibers X 4, Meguiar Applicator Pad, Meguiar Microfiber Wash Mitt X 2.
First day - My newbie *** washed in 95 degree temperature, 80% humidity in direct sunlight. Also, I washed the entire car without rinsing off each panel with my hose so when I finished drying and began prepping to polish, my car showed many water spots that looked like:

Disgrunted I was ****ing up brand up new paint, I called it quits for the day.
Second day: I woke up feeling a little better and decided to give it another shot. I rewashed the car again but this time, I rinsed off each panel after washing to prevent water spots. However, these spots reappeared after I had dried. This time, I took a little more bold approach and grabbed Scratch X. Scratch X did only half the job. It removed only the inner area but left a stubborn outer ring that looked similar to:

Frustrated, I've tried claying this time using the QD but had poor results. Although I sprayed the lube everywhere as instructed and glided the clay to little to no pressure, the clay started smearing its white residue, forming with the lube and leaving nasty white marks (I believe this is called marring?). I went back inside looking for a solution and found on this forum somewhere that vinegar worked for this deficiency however I was still skeptical. Out of desperation nonetheless, I gave it a try and viola, it worked like magic. I grabbed some white vinger out the kitchen dabbed it onto a microfiber towel and that's all she wrote. The water spots in direct sunlight seemed to come off with ease but the side of the car in the shade with water spots did not come out with vinegar treatment. So that left me to wonder, whether the heat acts as an agent along with vinegar in breaking down mineral compounds on the paint surface.
Now that I waxed after polishing with Scratch X (took a long time BTW), the car looked new again however when I closely examined the paint (meaning that I tilted my head closest to the paint surface as possible), I saw these ultra fine scratches. As a new car enthusiast and perfectionist, this was just unacceptable for a car that's been only one week old so I went out and bought Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner and Polish (#1,2).
So my question is to all you pros reading this: Since the car has already been waxed, do I need to strip the wax in order to clean the paint and polish with DC #1,2 or can I just polish over the wax I put on yesterday?
As of now, this is my method order. Please let me know if there's anything wrong with it.
-Wash/Dry (GC car wash)
-Clean Paint (DC #1)
-Polish Paint (DC #2)
-Wax (GC liquid wax)
Another thing I'm wondering is whether I should invest in a Dual Action Porter Cable 7424 which I keep reading about over and over (Costs like $120)? While I was at Advance Auto today, they had something like a rotary orbital which was $20. Since it was so cheap, I've neglected to buy it. Despite it's cheap factor, does this rotary orbital have any usefulness??
I would really appreciate any help. Thanks.

Comment