New forum Member with a question or two...

[BlackeneD]

Hey guys, just wanted to take a sec to say hi and introduce myself. I am new to the forums and new to Meguiars products as well. I have heard a lot of good stuff about it though and hope it will help to resolve the problems at least some of the problems I am having with my car's finish.

OKAY... heres the deal:

Two weeks ago I bought a 2002 Corvette Z06 with 6500 miles on it. I dont know what the previous owner did to it, but there is swirl marks all over this thing. Nothing too major, just really light scratches.

Short of bringing it to a reputable detailer to have the swirl marks buffed out, it there anything I can do to try to remove them myself? I have an orbital buffer and can easily get whatever products I need, but I don't want to make an already bad problem worse.


Also, I do have a few chips that need filling. Can anyone reccommend some techniques for filling it in and making it blend with the surrounding paint?
Looking forward to any responses you can offer.

[Rick]

Personally I've been in search of an easy way to remove swirls for a while and finally found it. You may want to seriously consider investing in a dual action (DA) polisher. They aren't cheap, but they are a well worth while investment especially if you intend on pampering your Vette like it should be.

Rotary buffers are more for removing paint defects, and most of the time would leave more swirls than they take out. I've got one, but it won't touch my car unless it absolutely had to. I would not take the orbital to the Vette, the foam pads that the DA uses are much much better than the bonnets that would go on the orbital.

Of course you could give it a try by hand first and see what your results are. I'd say start with either hand polish of swirl free polish if more aggressiveness is needed. Followed by NXT Tech Wax, this would at least fill in the swils and significantly reduce their appearance. If your still not satisfied I'd say try the DA. I just got mine and I still can't believe how well the thing works. It's amzing, see my write up in extreme makeovers with the black lexus. There is a good shot of the before and after on the rear quarter showing the swirls before and after I was done. You'd probably want to use dual action cleaner polish with it and then finish it with tech wax. I'm sure some others will chime in here with additional suggestions.

As far as paint chips, I've found this works well, first clean the area with some rubbing alcohol, apply the paint in thin layers about half an hour to an hour apart until there is a bit too much. Let it cure for about a day then come back with hand polish and rub and rub and rub. After a day it will still be soft enough that this works well and you can usually get it blended down to the level of the rest of the paint pretty well.

[Mike Phillips]

Hi BlackeneD,

Welcome to Meguiar’s Online Forums!

Question: When you say you have an orbital buffer, do you mean the traditional style with a 10” to 11” in bonnet/pad? Or are your referring to a porter cable dual action polisher like this one,



The above is the Meguiar’s G-100 Dual Action Polisher made for Meguiar’s by Porter Cable. On the Meguiar’s website, G-100a

This type of dual action polisher, technically also an orbital polisher is much more effective at removing scratches and swirls then the larger traditional orbital buffer. Plus, it’s small, lightweight, and you can change between foam pads with the Velcro backing plate.

I real successful system for removing the scratches in a finish like yours would be to use the dual action polisher with Meguiar’s W-8006 foam polishing pad and the #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish. Go over the entire car with this combination of products and then follow with your favorite wax. If you haven’t tried the Tech Wax, I would highly recommend applying two thin coats of this new wax over your Corvette after the #83 step. Your results will look awesome!

As far as the chip repair goes, hopefully someone else will chime in on this one, I prefer to do the big stuff, (polishing paint), chip repair is difficult at best. Plus I working on uploading some photo’s to the gallery for an event we held this weekend.

Hope this helps…

Mike

[BlackeneD]

THanks for the tips guys. I went out yesterday and picked up some Meguiars scratchX and I will be appling by hand. I am sure this will take time, but the car is worth it, so I'll see how well it works and go from there.

Mike: The buffer I have IS a 10" orbital. I will bypass it and check out the one you mentioned before I proceed. I may just have the chip repairs done professionally.

Thanks again for the advice!

[Don]

The Scratch X by hand will be a bit labor intensive, but worth it. Just remember to work in small sections (1/4 of the door or fender at a time etc). That way you can make sure you get every inch of the car evenly.

Expect to take a day or two to get the whole car.

Take a look at what Mike was able to do to this 'vette

[ironchef10]

Mike is right on the money. IMHO standard orbital buffers cannot duplicate the great results you'll get with a Porter-Cable because of the weight of the unit itself and the better quality pads. It's well worth the investment!

[BlackeneD]

Nice work on that Vette mike! What idiot did the damage???

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by BlackeneD
Nice work on that Vette mike! What idiot did the damage???

Hi BlackeneD,

I don't know that I would call either of the two guys that previously detailed this car idiots, they were just doing the best they could and using the products they know about.

Since Meguiar's inception, Meguiar's has been all about education.

Teaching people the right products and procedures to get the job done the right way the first time.

Everyone makes mistakes, including me. Hopefully these guys will come across someone who will take the time to show them a better product, like someone did with. (Jack Birkby)

Mike

[BlackeneD]

Yes Mike I suppose you are right. And I should probably be careful what I say as I will be trying to remove the swirls from my car today and might end up making the same mistake!

I printed out a free Rx form from the site here and I already have most of what I need:

Gold Class Premium car wash
Scratch X
Gold Class Car wax (Liquid)

And I need to pick up Some Deep Crystal System polish before I get going.

I am still going to apply by hand but mostly because I am worried that with my level of inexperience I may do more harm than good. Years ago I had a Fiero that a "body guy" accidentally burned a hole right through the paint! I definitely dont want to make that same mistake.

Any last minute tips for me?

[rdarwa]

BlackeneD,

Is your vette as smooth as glass after you wash it. If not, I would highly recommend you claying it first. I was wondering why you didn't choose the NXT wax. I have not used it on my Vette yet because it is in Texas and I am in Vegas. I can't wait to try it on the red! All I can say is it did wonders for my silver 4runner. I heard that it makes dark colors real dark. My 4runner looks like it is wet all the time. I would definatly go with the DC and then the polish. That is what I did and it looks great!

I am going to try and post a picture of my Vette with Gold Class.

[TwoTooBlack]

Originally posted by BlackeneD
I printed out a free Rx form from the site here and I already have most of what I need:

Gold Class Premium car wash
Scratch X
Gold Class Car wax (Liquid)

Two things: Fisrt, go with NXT wax. My guess is the "prescription" software has not been updated since it came out, but most folks here prefer it (though Gold Class is excellent, and for me a little easier to remove). Second, after a test section, don't be afraid to apply some muscle to the Scratch-X. I did my wife's car and it worked better when I applied at least moderate pressure. Her black paint improved about 90%. For 100% I'd need a PC and DACP, which are on my "wish list."

[Mike Phillips]

The Meguiar's Rx Prescription is being completely overhauled and updated.

FYI

Mike

[BlackeneD]

Well, Here is what I did:

Washed with Gold Class
Clay barred
Dried
applied scratchX
Polished with Deep Crystal System Polish.
Used Gold class wax to finish


Came out great! I will definitely pick up some NXT for the next time I wax.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by BlackeneD
Well, Here is what I did:

Washed with Gold Class
Clay barred
Dried
applied scratchX
Polished with Deep Crystal System Polish.
Used Gold class wax to finish


Came out great! I will definitely pick up some NXT for the next time I wax.

I've been waiting to use this...



There, now I have it out of my system...

Mike

[C5-Deb]

Swirls

I, too, have a Vette (2001) with swirls. I have had many very good suggestions, for which I will be trying out in the next week or two. I've pretty much decided on picking up an PC dual action polisher for this process. And doing the following:

Quick Clay
#9 Swirl Remover
#7 Show Car Glaze
NXT (two coats)

Check out my thread - for the info. (and pics).

Deb