Whats the best way to re-polish my car?

[Gotenks1897]

I am new to meguiars (and waxing/polishing as a whole) so i apologize if this is a silly question

i own a black mustang and i recently purchased and used the 3-step program (cleaner, polish, caranuba wax) and my car looks amazing. its the best it has looked since before i bought it 4 years ago.

My delima is that it has been about a week since i have done the process and i am already noticing some swirls in the paint (looks like faded swishes accros the surface), mostly the hood. i am 90% positive i applied the product correctly. i have read in several articles that a couple applications of the polish does good but i have already applied the wax and i am not sure what to do at this point. is it possible to just apply the polish over the wax and it will still get its job done? or do i need to completely start over by removing the wax somehow? (if so, could you please point me in the direction of a specific product that can do this efficiently, and hopefully cheaply.)

also, would relatively cold weather have an effect on the wax? it has been around 30-45F the past few days.

and finally, is there a good one-step cleaner that i could, say, spray on my freshly waxed car every day that would not only prolong the waxing but clean off any dirt collection? or is it safe to just go to the car wash and spray er down every week or so.

thank you in advance, and i will continue to search for an answer to this on my own but i havent had much luck yet

p.s. i rewaxed the car a few days ago right after i noticed the swirls forming. while it did make the car look better for the next day, the swirls have already become more noticable than before the second waxing.

p.p.s this post was originally a lot longer and more detailed but somehow i got logged out in the process of writing it so it was lost sorry .


Edit: i just noticed that step one of my three step program (the deep crystal system) has been discontinued...is there a good reason for this? also id just like to add i bought this stuff last week so should i stock up or is there a better alternative? (also, it looks as though its still available online here but the forums dont link to it)

[Carfire]

Re: Whats the best way to re-polish my car?

Welcome to Meguiars Online!!

As For Your questions:
Have you washed your car since?
Get Grit Guards

The weather could have effected the wax, but not that it would instill swirls.
Have you clayed your car ever?
Do you use microfiber cloths?

[TxRado]

Re: Whats the best way to re-polish my car?

Hey Goten, first off welcome to the site, looks like you've done your research. I created a similar thread a couple of weeks ago after I received cobwebs from just one wash after spending 6 hours+ on my car. Its definitely something in my washing techniques so I'm going to attempt to use the two bucket method along with grit guards.

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30664

Hopefully you can get some answers from there.

[Murr1525]

Re: Whats the best way to re-polish my car?

The DC cleaner is very mild, so you likely covered up a lot of the swirls, but not removed them. As mentioned, you also want to be sure that you dont add any back while washing, etc.

So for your next detail, you may want to look into something like SwirlX, or even ScratchX, so you can focus on actually removing the swirls from each panel.

And dont forget to clay next time as well.

[Carfire]

Re: Whats the best way to re-polish my car?

You also may need Ultimate Compound. Be advised it is very aggressive.
**Remember use the least aggressive method possible***

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: Whats the best way to re-polish my car?

Hi Gotenks. Your question is a popular subject here. Try this link: How to maintain your car's finish in-between polishing sessions

[Gotenks1897]

Re: Whats the best way to re-polish my car?

thank you for all your responses. i just tried waxing it agian but it didnt seem to have any effect this time so it would seem ive reached that "plateau" on the wax part but the car doesnt looks as good as it did when i first did it so it would appear id need to start over. now to find a good wax remover...

[Carfire]

Re: Whats the best way to re-polish my car?

Do You Have a Clay Bar or Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay Kit?

[Gotenks1897]

Re: Whats the best way to re-polish my car?

Do You Have a Clay Bar or Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay Kit?

cant say that i do. is that something i can get at a o'reilly's? or do i have to order it?

[gjohn28]

Re: Whats the best way to re-polish my car?

thank you for all your responses. i just tried waxing it agian but it didnt seem to have any effect this time so it would seem ive reached that "plateau" on the wax part but the car doesnt looks as good as it did when i first did it so it would appear id need to start over. now to find a good wax remover...

No need to worry about a "wax remover", per se. Claying or using a paint cleaner will remove any previous wax. One option for your next detail may be:

Wash
Clay
SwirlX
DC2 (optional, but benefit is typically more noticeable on dark paint like yours)
DC3

Do a small test spot with the SwirlX after claying to see if it gets rid of the swirls. If it doesn't, you may need to step up to Ultimate Compound.

[Ganesa]

Re: Whats the best way to re-polish my car?

So it is not recommended to go directly to the aggresive products like scratchX also ?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Whats the best way to re-polish my car?

i own a black mustang and i recently purchased and used the 3-step program (cleaner, polish, Carnauba wax) and my car looks amazing. its the best it has looked since before i bought it 4 years ago.

My dilemma is that it has been about a week since i have done the process and i am already noticing some swirls in the paint (looks like faded swishes across the surface), mostly the hood. i am 90% positive i applied the product correctly.

A few questions,

1. Is this a daily driver?

2. Is it parked in a garage or under cover when not in use?

3. What's your goal for the paint? Show car finish? or Really good finish?

4. How do you wash it? Do you hand wash it or take it through a car wash?

5. Do you do all your work by hand?


This thread reads like you want a swirl free finish and you're willing to maintain a swirl free finish but with a black car it becomes your hobby. If that's what you want then you likely need to use a more aggressive product for the swirl removal step.

If you can answer some of the above questions and help steer you towards the best products to reach your goal.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Whats the best way to re-polish my car?

So it is not recommended to go directly to the aggressive products like ScratchX also ?

The philosophy, or recommendation that Meguiar's has historically taught over over 100 years has been,

"Use the least aggressive product to get the job done"

By using the least aggressive product to get the job done you'll lave the most amount of paint on the car while achieving your car car appearance goal.

Check out this thread,

Aggressiveness Order for New Consumer Products - This will surprise you!

[Gotenks1897]

Re: Whats the best way to re-polish my car?

A few questions,

1. Is this a daily driver?

2. Is it parked in a garage or under cover when not in use?

3. What's your goal for the paint? Show car finish? or Really good finish?

4. How do you wash it? Do you hand wash it or take it through a car wash?

5. Do you do all your work by hand?


This thread reads like you want a swirl free finish and you're willing to maintain a swirl free finish but with a black car it becomes your hobby. If that's what you want then you likely need to use a more aggressive product for the swirl removal step.

If you can answer some of the above questions and help steer you towards the best products to reach your goal.

Sorry for my absence; thank you to everyone for the responses/help

1. yes
2. i park it in my garage
3. my goal would be best possible...so show car i guess?
4. i normally take it to the car wash and us the sprayer to hose it off with water then i will use a quik detailer to clean it on what has been once or twice every week.
5. if using the sprayer at the car wash counts then yes i do everything by hand.

after I posted this a couple weeks ago I decided to go and purchase the clay kit. then after a trip to the car wash (I used the hot soap which seemed to do a good job of removing all the hard work I had just done, which is luckily what I wanted,) I proceeded to clay, use the deep crystal paint cleaner "step one", then the polish and finally the caranuba wax. this has worked 100% better on longevity as opposed to when I did not clay the car (although I am not sure if it was the claying exactly or just the whole process of repolishing). I have been using the ultimate quick detailer and I have recently purchased the gold class wax. Is it possible to apply the wax immediately after using the detailer? Or, should i suffer and go buy a couple buckets and some "shampoo?"

Also, where I have to park the car while I work, it collects a LOT of dust during just the day. being black it shows up horribly and I can barely enjoy the shine after getting into it after only a day of work. is there anything I can do that wouldnt be exactly noticeble to help hide or prevent this? I dont exactly want to wipe the car down in the parking lot. (my hopes arent high on this question lol)

thankyou again for all the help....car is still lookin better than the day I bought it

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Whats the best way to re-polish my car?

Is it possible to apply the wax immediately after using the detailer? Or, should i suffer and go buy a couple buckets and some "shampoo?"

As long as the paint is clean, either wash and dry the car or wipe the car clean you can apply Gold Class wax to the paint just like it is, no other pre-wax work since you've already done this.

Also, where I have to park the car while I work, it collects a LOT of dust during just the day. being black it shows up horribly and I can barely enjoy the shine after getting into it after only a day of work.

is there anything I can do that wouldn't be exactly noticeable to help hide or prevent this? I don't exactly want to wipe the car down in the parking lot. (my hopes aren't high on this question lol)

Wash the car
Wipe the car clean using a quick detailer and plenty of soft, microfiber polishing cloths
Use a car cover

Not much else you can do as dust has it's own static charge and when it lands on your car's paint it tends to stay there as your car and your car's paint has it's own static charge.

Silver and beige metallic shows dust and swirls the least...