What to do on a black truck?

[Paramedic]

I got a 2001 Black truck with swirls in it. I clayed the truck at work today in the hanger. I tried scratch x and that did not seem to get the swirls out, I used it 5-6 times in one spot rubbing until it hazed and then wiped it off and did not see much of a difference, so I picked up a bottle of Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner. Should that be a little more aggressive then the scratch x??? I will follow up with NXT. Any other suggestions for hand?? Im going to purchase the PC soon.

Thanks,

Nick
Survival Flight
Critical Care Flight Paramedic
Advance Cardiac, Neonatal, Trauma, Cardiac, Life Support

[Boss_429]

Paramedic,

First, thanks for doing the job you do! Like fireman, your job sometimes goes unappreciated! You guys/gals do great work......... I've seen it firsthand.

Second, welcome to Meguiar's Online!

Now, for the black truck. Unfortunately, the secret to keeping black vehicles looking their best, is not to let them get to far ahead of you. Meaning.................. keep the swirls/spider web marks, and other imperfections to a minimum.......... so that you don't have as much work involved to remove them. Having said that, I doubt that the Medallion cleaner will do much more than several applications of the ScratchX. You might be able to clean up the paint with a PC and some other products. However, my guess is it will need machine (rotary) polishing/cleaning.

Anyhow, once you get it back in good shape, re-evaluate you washing and maintenance routine and tools. Make sure you are "super" picky about the way you wash/dry your vehicle. Keep some QD handy with some quality towels to keep "stuff" off the paint.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: What to do on a black truck?

Originally posted by Paramedic
I got a 2001 Black truck with swirls in it. I clayed the truck at work today in the hanger. I tried scratch x and that did not seem to get the swirls out, I used it 5-6 times in one spot rubbing until it hazed and then wiped it off and did not see much of a difference

Removing swirls by hand involves using the right technique, I show this every weekend at Meguiar's Garage and usually have pretty good luck. I have much better luck using the G-100 and it requires less effort on my part and I can work on larger areas at a time. When removing defects with ScratchX by hand, you must shrink your work area down so that you can concentrate and focus your cleaning/abrading action over a small area in order to be effective. This is because generally speaking, modern clear coats are hard and thus hard to affect by hand, let alone turn flawless.

Also, your total end-result is after you have applied your wax, and/or polish and wax. If you use just a paint cleaner by hand and hope to inspect and see a flawless finish, this is going to be difficult. Application of a pure polish and then a wax type product are going to finish the process of making your paint look better. If compounds and paint cleaners by themselves created flawless finishes, then we would need cleaner/polishes, pure polishes or waxes. It's the process and the system as a whole that creates the end-result, not one step with one product.

so I picked up a bottle of Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner. Should that be a little more aggressive then the scratch x???

Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner can be applied by machine, and when applied by machine, depending on the machine, the application material and the paint hardness, it can produce better results than ScratchX on the same paint applied by hand. Side by side, applied by hand, ScratchX is generally better at removing defects because of the type of diminishing abrasive it uses. Again, paint hardness is always a big factor as to what you can or cannot do.

I will follow up with NXT. Any other suggestions for hand?? I'm going to purchase the PC soon.

Thanks,

Nick
Survival Flight
Critical Care Flight Paramedic
Advance Cardiac, Neonatal, Trauma, Cardiac, Life Support

For working by hand on clear coats with swirls, ScratchX with a clean, foam applicator pad, patience and focused attention on small areas at a time. Follow this with a polish like Deep Crystal Polish and follow this with two thin applications of of NXT Tech Wax and the results you create will be close to as good as you can get when working by hand.

For professional show car results, then you're going to want to step-up to the dual action polisher and probably some cleaner/polishes from Meguiar's Professional Line like the #83 DACP and the #80 Speed Glaze.

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

Mike

[Marc08EX]

to Meguiar's Online!

Having a black truck, I would have to give you this link... Black Truck Detail

The process he used was the following:
Wash
Clay
#83
#82
#81
NXT x2..

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Bri
to Meguiar's Online!

Having a black truck, I would have to give you this link... Black Truck Detail

The process he used was the following:
Wash
Clay
#83
#82
#81
NXT x2..

This was a powerful before and after using all Meguiar's products...

Before




After



It was also the owners first time using the G-100 and tackling a project of this magnitude...



Mike

[Paramedic]

Thanks for all the help.. I did not want to go out and purchase a bunch of products and get my hopes up for a beautiful brand new looking paint job. I think monday will be the day to order the G-100 and go from there. That should get me the results Im looking for!

Thanks,

Nick
Survival Flight
Cirtical Care Flight Paramedic
Specialized in Advanced Neonatal, Pediatric, Trauma, Cardiac Life Support

[Don]

Originally posted by Paramedic
Thanks for all the help.. I did not want to go out and purchase a bunch of products and get my hopes up for a beautiful brand new looking paint job. I think monday will be the day to order the G-100 and go from there. That should get me the results Im looking for!

Thanks,

Nick
Survival Flight
Cirtical Care Flight Paramedic
Specialized in Advanced Neonatal, Pediatric, Trauma, Cardiac Life Support

Just be careful using the G-100 in the hanger...the pilot might see the results and want his bird done too


BTW, here's a black Durango I did this past summer:

Before


After

[The Eagle]

When using Scratch X you better use some cottonwool; it's much easier and effective.

Scratch X and cottonwool

Greetz

[Paramedic]

Good idea about keeping the G100 out of the hanger. I could not imagine doing 3 of these, 2 airplanes, and 21 ground ambulances. However I could learn and detail all these on the side!




Nick

[RamAirV1]

What about using #80? It can be used by hand, PC or even with a rotary buffer. I used it on my car by hand in a few spots and it worked very well. #80 will probably be easier to find at a local PBE dealer than MPPC. MPPC works very well by hand but even better with the PC, but #80 has polishing oils whereas MPPC does not.

Since you are working on a black truck, I would consider a PC to be mandatory. It is going to take a long time to finish the swirl removal by hand. You could do the truck in sections, doing one section each weekend or on days off.


You may eventually want to step up to a rotary buffer, but the PC is a good start. You can get a PC at Lowe's for about $100 and it is well worth that in time saved.

RamAirV1

[tripper_11]

Originally posted by RamAirV1
What about using #80? It can be used by hand, PC or even with a rotary buffer. I used it on my car by hand in a few spots and it worked very well. #80 will probably be easier to find at a local PBE dealer than MPPC. MPPC works very well by hand but even better with the PC, but #80 has polishing oils whereas MPPC does not.

Hi RamAirV1!

You've mentioned using #80 by hand. How do you do it? And how frequent do use it by hand? I'm sure you're not cutting too much if using by hand am I right?

Do you still get that good glaze and depth even if you use it by hand?

Tnx!

Tripper

[Tim Lingor]

Hey Tripper,

Just to add...

Meguiar's #80 Speed Glaze works very well by hand as well as machine. You need to work the product very thoroughly until only a light residue remains. Then move on to the next panel and repeat. After the second panel has been worked, go back with a quality MF towel and wipe off the residue. Repeat this pattern for the whole car.

Just remember to thoroughly work the #80 as it is not a wipe on, wipe off product.

As to the frequency of use, I would use #80 3-4 times a year, if needed. However, once the finish is in great shape, you should not need to use the product as much, as long as a dedicated maintenance schedule is followed.

Cheers!
Tim

[RamAirV1]

Great advice from Tim. You can apply #80 by hand with a foam applicator or a microfiber applicator. I use a Viper Power Clean MF applicator but I don't know if they are available any more.

RamAirV1

[tripper_11]

Tnx a lot!

I really like the appearance of #80 even without NXT, so I was thinking of doing it at least 3-4 times a year say on the hood only and 1-2 times a year on the whole car.

[benhui86]

so #80 would be more powerful than scratch X when used by hand?