One heck of a project!

[paudashlake]

Well, my 94 pontiac transport sure needs a good wash clay and wax. The problems are that the sap, bug and tar are pretty old and I am worried that they may not come off. Also, I am curious as to how to get all of the deep scratches cleaned up. Will I need to wetsand or do you think a good wax would work? What rotary buffer should I get? How much will it cost? What can I do to shine the plastic?




looks like a little chipping on the hood..



sap I think






bugs and sap all ofer this plate..!!


scratches from parking garage walls




hard to see ehre but there are a lot of scratches swirl marks and nicks..


that plastic should look like the black bar on the right..lol


Very very bugged up mirrors!


loads of water marks...neevr waxed!


doorjam scratches!


I might be able to scrape that off with my fingernail


theres a white scratch there


old tar specs


old wax crud stuck in there


more scratches


Not as shiny as it looks!


more nasty tar


deep scratch from a toddler bike


have troubles cleaning between the decals..


nice little nicks on the sliding door

[Eddie6th]

Re: One heck of a project!

You've got quite a lot going on there.
You asked about a rotary.Have you used one before?
If not,a lot of your work there can be achieved by hand.

First,wash/dry and clay the entire vehicle and see if a lot of bugs,water spots,tar,scuffs come off. Most probably will.

You can now see clearer what needs to be corrected.

It looks like you have some stone chips on your hood. They will have to be touched-up. Some scratches also look beyond correction.
One of the later pics looks as though the clearcoat is peeling.

If you're not familiar with a rotary,you could try working with a DA. I would try by hand first.
You could buy SwirlX and Ultimate Compound and see what they can achieve.Start off with SwirlX as it's milder and see how well it works.If it's not strong enough,try the UC. Use the UC on areas that need it,then use SwirlX on the whole car.

After that you can apply the wax.

[paudashlake]

Re: One heck of a project!

On which picture is the clearcoat peeling? I would like to know what it looks like.

[paudashlake]

Re: One heck of a project!

OH I SEE IT! No thats not the clear coat that is some of the solution I used to clean my engine bay yesterday. I must have forgotton to rinse it off. It just dried.

[the_invisible]

Re: One heck of a project!

A Pontiac is a Chevy with better trim.

You're gonna get your bottom-end stretched attacked that quote!! heh heh

When this van was first released many years ago I thought it was the best looking people carrier out there. It looked so aerodynamic.

By the way, I notice that you're only 14. Better to start young!

[Tuck91]

Re: One heck of a project!

Is this your parent's van?

[paudashlake]

Re: One heck of a project!

It is technically....But everyone says it's my van. Just because I can't drive yet. But the day I get my licence I will go out and see a bow on my van! Trust me! LOL

[paudashlake]

Re: One heck of a project!

So when I clay it, should I gett he mild or agressive clay? I need to know asap because I need to order.

[the_invisible]

Re: One heck of a project!

A mild clay is going to clean your van much quicker. However, with the mild clay you may notice some marring, which would require a follow-up machine polish. For that you may want to buy the typical Consumer Kit available at your local department stores.

[yalerd]

Re: One heck of a project!

I would start with washing and cleaning the best that you can. You'll need:
Meguiari's Car Wash Soap, Meguiar's Bug n' Tar Remover, Smooth Surface Clay Kit

Once you have the paint very clean then it's time to evaluate to see what could work out. Not all will be removed, since you have areas that paint is no longer present and you could encounter some paint etching issues that will not be removed but improvement will be achieved.

As far as paint correction goes, I would stick with these products:
Ultimate Compound, ScratchX 2.0 and SwrilX. Maybe a combination of Ultimate Compound and SwirlX could do the job for you, you'll have to test it out.

As for application method and using a rotary buffer, I would skip it and look into the Dual Action Polisher, it's very safe to use for experts and beginners. No the power of the rotary but you can achieve amazing results and it won't cause the damage that a rotary can in untrained hands.

To restore the black trim I would get Gold Class Trim Detailer

[Mikejl]

Re: One heck of a project!

I agree with Yalerd. Follow the steps in the order he outlined and you should be well on your way.

When you get to the Ultimate Compound, ScratchX,and SwirlX, take your time and make project out of it. Budget some time after school and on weekends so you don't burn yourself out.

Good luck and show us before and after pictures of your progress as you go along.

Mike

[AWB]

Re: One heck of a project!

I'm excited to see this project come to fruition. Please keep us posted on the progress.

[paudashlake]

Re: One heck of a project!

I can't wait to get started! From Sun up to sun down on Saturday I will be hard at work. I waent to wal-mart yesterday and picked up the smooth surface clay kit, swirlx, gold class paste wax, and megs tire gel. I did forget the bug and tar though. So that means another trip down there lol

[paudashlake]

Re: One heck of a project!

[paudashlake]

Re: One heck of a project!

Are tyhere any special towels I should use to wipe the wax off or will my normal terry towels work?