How to make this car as new as possible!

[Alexandre]

I' ve been learning step by step how to detail, and in the last 4 months I did and learned a lot with the help of you guys, and Michael Stoops.

Well, Now my father is going to trade his car for a new one and, I decided to use this opportunity to practice a little with it

You know, not polishers, cleaner waxes and waxes, but stronger compounds.. whatever it takes to make his car as good as possible.

He got this car almost 3 years ago and he has been using it in traffic, travels, and has been parking it in the weather.. sometimes he forget to wash it and it gets real dirty for weeks.. it has never been clayed or paint cleaned, and it was waxed like 10 times only, with carnauba wax.

So... Can you guys help me with the procedures? I also have a limitation in products, because where I live.. and the worst of all.. I returned my G110 so they could get me the G110v2 and this may get weeks..

[Alexandre]

rubbing compound

Can this be used by hand? Is it too strong?

http://autogeek.net/3m-extra-cut-compound.html

What about M84 or M85?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: rubbing compound

That particular product appears to be a rotary only product, as are M84 & M85. When used by hand they will certainly cut, but on a modern clear coat finish they will very likely haze the paint quite badly so you should avoid using these products other than via rotary application.

What are you working on that requires such heavy cutting ability?

[cd36]

Re: How to make this car as new as possible!

Well why use anything more powerful than you need? Without seeing pictures of the car, its tough to tell exactly what it may need to get back into like new condition.

Throw some pictures up and I'm sure someone can definately help you with what you need, but without pictures its a shot in the dark as to what is actually required.

[Alexandre]

Re: How to make this car as new as possible!

I need to wash it first so I can get good pictures but, this is the car:

http://xs.to/image-B21E_4B917859.jpg

It is not old, but even when washed, it lacks shine..

[Michael Stoops]

Re: rubbing compound

Tell you what - let's merge these two threads to better keep track of what you're working on and to better help you achieve your desired result. Hang on a second and we'll merge the two.........

[Michael Stoops]

Re: How to make this car as new as possible!

....... OK, threads merged and cleaned up a bit.

From previous conversations you've got M83 and M80 in your collection, correct? And Ultimate Compound is not yet available in Brazil, right?

Here's the car in question:



Doesn't look too bad here, but it doesn't have that brilliant shine we know silver can have. Here's what we would recommend since you're temporarily forced to work by hand:

• Wash & dry
• Clay
• M83 by hand with a soft foam wax applicator, but just in a test spot first
• Evaluate that test spot for not only defect removal but clarity of finish as well. If it looks good, then continue on. If the swirls have been diminished but the paint looks a bit hazy, then try...
• M80 by hand right next to the M83 test spot and then compare the two. Is swirl removal similar but haze is less? If so, then M80 is probably your product choice. Is swirl removal nowhere near as good as M83? If so, then go over your M83 test spot with M80 to clear up the haze. This also means you're likely to need a two step process to remove defects and still have a clear finish

What other products do you have on hand for this project?

Remember, you're goal here is to clean it up for purposes of selling the car. You are not making it ready for a concours show - what you do here will likely make it look better than the majority of cars on the road, and certainly better than the vast majority being traded in. This can be a great learning experience, but you don't have to shoot for perfection here.

[Alexandre]

Re: How to make this car as new as possible!

Actually, I don ' t have the M80, but I do have:

Cleaner Wax
M82
M83
3M Auto Shine

There is that website.. autogeek.com or maybe ebay, maybe I could even try to get the Ultimate Compound, but it 'd take 2 weeks to get here. Let' s say I have 3 weeks to acomplish the task in hand.. and hey I also have another car to practice with.. a black one full of Holograms and swirls marks, and it doesn t shine at all.. it has 10 years..

[searle]

Re: How to make this car as new as possible!

There is that website.. autogeek.com or maybe ebay, maybe I could even try to get the Ultimate Compound, but it 'd take 2 weeks to get here. Let' s say I have 3 weeks to acomplish the task in hand.. and hey I also have another car to practice with.. a black one full of Holograms and swirls marks, and it doesn t shine at all.. it has 10 years..

You are in very good hands with Michael and others helping you with the product specifics. All I will add is that there is a big difference between a car with significant defects that need to be removed (like your other black one) and a car that is just not shiny.

If the silver car has no significant defects but just needs to get its sparkle back, you might be amazed what you would very quickly achieve with a wash +claybar +ColorX +NXT2 (as the 2nd wax coat).

The black car is going to need the same wash +claybar start, then significant paintCleaner(s) to remove the defects as already being discussed, maybe some polish/glaze, and of course final wax/sealant.

PS: You did not list a claybar, but you really need that (after your wash) to help prepare BOTH the paint surfaces for cleaning.

[Alexandre]

Re: How to make this car as new as possible!

You are in very good hands with Michael and others helping you with the product specifics. All I will add is that there is a big difference between a car with significant defects that need to be removed (like your other black one) and a car that is just not shiny.

If the silver car has no significant defects but just needs to get its sparkle back, you might be amazed what you would very quickly achieve with a wash +claybar +ColorX +NXT2 (as the 2nd wax coat).

The black car is going to need the same wash +claybar start, then significant paintCleaner(s) to remove the defects as already being discussed, maybe some polish/glaze, and of course final wax/sealant.

PS: You did not list a claybar, but you really need that (after your wash) to help prepare BOTH the paint surfaces for cleaning.

The silver car has lots of deep swirl marks, I tried to use the cleaner wax but it didn t help, that is why I figured that I would need a stronger compound, since we don' t have Ultimate Compound here.

Yes, Michael and the others are great! xD You know, I used to live in an apartment until few months ago, there was no room to take care of my car, and I was so noob with detailing, that I let the dealer take my brand new car and use a rotary and.. man, they did a mess.. So nobody knew how to help me.

I found out about MOL, and I started talking to Michael Stoops who has been helping me A LOT and well, even after the dealer fixed the mess, I kept learning from MOL and videos, practice, and the like.. I started to wash the car myself, buy and test lots of Meguiars products, and.. well, I know I can count on you guys,

[Alexandre]

Re: How to make this car as new as possible!

I used the Quick Detailer with a claybar and M82 and M83 on just a small portion and I guess I should go on with 82.. though I wish I had Ultimate Compound or Swirl X =P

But hey, Michael, I have another question. My sister has a Chevy Agile, a new car, 4 months since she got it. The problem is, it has only been washed twice and waxed once.

Today I got it to my garage and washed it. Then I did noticed that her car' s paint was really rough.. ok, I guess a claybar d' fix that, but, her car has some sort of dirty that only comes out of the paint with cleaner wax. What to do in this case? Is there any risk of scratching the car if clayed before completely cleaned?

And hey, the car has a LOT of swirl marks and holograms.. and it' s real bad for a car with less than 500 miles.

Do you remember when I had that same problem with my civic? You told me to use M82 in a spot and see if that 'd help? I am thinking of doing that tomorrow.. after solving the issue above.

so, what to do?

[Murr1525]

Re: How to make this car as new as possible!

Clay removes dirt on top.

A cleaner removes dirt from the pores of the paint.

So you can remove dirt in different ways.

If it is real bad, #82 might not be strong enough, it is pretty mild overall.

[Alexandre]

Re: How to make this car as new as possible!

Clay removes dirt on top.

A cleaner removes dirt from the pores of the paint.

So you can remove dirt in different ways.

If it is real bad, #82 might not be strong enough, it is pretty mild overall.

You mean not strong enough to remove the swirl marks?

By the way, I just got the 205, it must be here by tomorrow, is it stronger?

[Murr1525]

Re: How to make this car as new as possible!

Yes, to mild to remove real bad swirling.

#205 is stronger.

[Alexandre]

Re: How to make this car as new as possible!

I dunno if maybe I should wait until my G110 v2 arrives.

Is it hard to remove swirls by hand appliation? I mean, to keep uniformity and results as good as with machine application?

I am asking because people who lives in the US generally use Swirl X or Ultimate Compound to get the job done (by hand), while I only have professional line products that where developed to specifically work with D/A and Rotary Buffer.