Newbie with a new truck

[nwz71]

Hey guys this is my first time posting here and my first time polishing/waxing. I have a black 2008 Chevy Colorado thats about 6 months old thats never been detailed. My main goal is to remove all the small imperfections, protect the paint and obviously turn some heads. I just bought a pc#7424, lakes yellow/white/black pads and some meguiar products that I plan on appling tomarrow. This is what I plan on doing.

1. Wash with gold class
2. Clay bar kit
3. ScratchX with yellow pad
4. Should I follow with a scratchX/white pad or should I go buy a cleaner?
5. Show car glaze#7 and white pad
6. Gold Class wax and black pad

Are there any factory coatings/waxes that I need to remove??
Any advice/recomendations would be greatly appreciated. I have alot to learn!!

[Bunky]

Re: Newbie with a new truck

I would not use a LC yellow pad for anything in your vehicle nor would try to apply Scratch X by machine. Do you have pervasive dealer added swirls on your 08 model?

I would start with meg's 82 and a white pad. If that does not remove the defects go to 80 with the white pad. GM paint is usually considered hard so you should be able to finish with 82 or 80 with a white pad to be ready to apply #7. I would use a black pad with #7 as well with the wax.

[nwz71]

Re: Newbie with a new truck

Hey Bunky thanks for the tip. We'll the only professional product the autoparts store had was #7 so I bought what was available. I guess I'll try applying scratchX by hand and seeing if that works. My paint doesn't really have any swirl marks. Mainly just some imperfections cause by my tires throwin up rocks. Also if I look at the reflection close it looks like little dimples. Is that what they call orange peel? Will any of these products remove this? I just noticed the clay kit came with a small red bottle of cleaner/wax. Should I use this in between ScratchX and #7(If so what pad should I use)? Thanks Again!

[Evan.J]

Re: Newbie with a new truck

ScratchX is the least aggresive of any solution that Megs has to offer. Though, with enough passion behind the pad you will see an improvment. But, as for how much well it depends on how deep these imperfections are. If they are into the paint then your going to need more than just scratchx. You may need to get some 80, 82, or even 83 depending on what you can do by hand.

As for the #7 its a great polish IMO but, it wont help get rid of the swirls/imperfections.

Let us know how things go with the scratchx

[nwz71]

Re: Newbie with a new truck

Cool thanks guys. I will see what happens with the scratchx and let you know how it worked. If it doesn't take car it I'll have to hunt down some 80/82. Here's another stupid newbie question...What does LPS stand for?

[Murr1525]

Re: Newbie with a new truck

LSP = Last Step Product or Last Step Protectant.... basicaly the last wax or waxes you use.

[Bunky]

Re: Newbie with a new truck

If you have rock dings (can feel), ScratchX may make them less obvious but will not remove them if they are little pits in your paint nor will other polishes. It does not sound like you need 82 or 80.

Orange peel means that the general paint looks like the outside of an orange. It can be pervasive or localized to certain panels. It does have this dimple aspect

The most obvious aspect is that reflections are not as crisp due to the surface uneveness. You cannot get rid of these without essentially repainting the car. Many cars have it to some degree. I saw a nice new black Yukon but he orange peel was so bad you could not see a decent reflection.

Given this, I would use ScratchX by hand on the dings, get some touch up paint etc if they are deep to fill them in (base color and clearcoat), and then use #7 and GC. You need to fill in the dings since they will collect polish, etc and look white and noticeable if you have a dark colored vehicle.