newb needs help

[stangone50]

hey there fellas new here sorry if this the wrong section just a lil confused here ..
so i have a 93 stang with original vibrant red clearcoat paint..
the paint still looks pretty good except lots of swirl marks and the color on the hatch wing is fading ..
i went out and bought colorx,cleaner wax,swirlx,and the nxt wax..
i wanna make sure i use the right stuff for the right steps : o)
should i use the swirlx after or before the colorx and do i even need to use all 4 of these , or am i missing anything ?
i tried the colorx just on the hatch wing and it didnt seem to work .. is it that the color is fading under the clearcoat layer ?? anything i can do about that ???

[Mike Phillips]

Re: newb needs help

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

Area you working by hand or machine?

[Chop]

Re: newb needs help

You want to make sure you use the least aggressive product first. If that does not work then go up the scale tho the more agressive products until you get results that satisfy you.

From what you purchased IIRC SwirlX is the least agressive so try that first. If that does not cut it then move to ColorX (I've read that ColorX and ScratchX are about the same cut.) Ultimate Comound would be your most agressive product on the consumer line (easily found over the counter).

BTW, welcome to the hobby

[stangone50]

Re: newb needs help

hi there thanks ..
both maybe im not doing it long enough im not sure how long i should stay in one area with the machine or by hand

[stangone50]

Re: newb needs help

You want to make sure you use the least aggressive product first. If that does not work then go up the scale tho the more agressive products until you get results that satisfy you.

From what you purchased IIRC SwirlX is the least agressive so try that first. If that does not cut it then move to ColorX (I've read that ColorX and ScratchX are about the same cut.) Ultimate Comound would be your most agressive product on the consumer line (easily found over the counter).

BTW, welcome to the hobby

so you mean the colorx will take out the swirls better than the swirlx ?

[Murr1525]

Re: newb needs help

Any chance of some pics?

In general, you would want to:

1. Wash - Gold Class Car wash, 2 buckets, quality towels, etc.
2. Clay - Smooth Surface Clay kit, maybe buy an extra bottle of QD.
3. Clean - SwirlX. SwirlX is a cleaner/polish, so you could skip using a pure polish. You would want to do a test spot/area with SwirlX to make sure it works, and that you have the technique right, before doing the whole car. It is certainly possible a stronger product may be needed.
4. Wax - 2 Thin coats of Nxt 2.0 is best.

If you can take some pics, esp of the wing, and then after trying the products, that would be even better.

Here are a couple links and a video about swirl/scratch removal. The video is of an older product, but same concept.

What it Means to Remove a Scratch

How To Remove Swirls By Hand

How To Remove a Bird Dropping Etching by Hand using M105 Ultra Cut Compound

How to correctly apply ScratchX to remove swirls and scratches

Edit: I believe, though I am sure Mike can clarify, that SwirLX will be stronger. Then ScratchX 2.0, then Ultimate Compound will be strongest.

[stangone50]

Re: newb needs help

ok couple of pics of the hatch wing . hope it works ..can anyone tell what my paint problems might be from those pics ?

Pictures by ponyboy30250 - Photobucket

[Mike Phillips]

Re: newb needs help

It's actually kind of hard to tell from the pictures if this is oxidation or clear coat failure.

If the car you're working on has a clear coat finish then the dull, hazy areas are likely clear coat failure and if that's the case there's nothing you can pour out of a bottle or scoop out of a can that will fix the paint, the only honest solution is to repaint the affected areas or the entire car.

Check out the pictures in this thread and see if the paint on your car looks like any of these,

The Clearcoat Failure Photo Archive

[stangone50]

Re: newb needs help

no it doesnt look like those pictures .it still feels smooth and looks glossy .. the car is red but has an orange tint and in that spot it just seems like the red is fading away