Neglected Blue Corolla. Need help.. (Pics inside)

[sherwin]

Hey guys.. I have here a blue 1996 Toyota Corolla (my Dad's car actually). This car was hardly washed with shampoo throught its 8 years.. only the occasional spray of water over the car body and the water was just left to dry on. This has caused lots of waterspots which have etched onto the paint itself I think and lots of scratches all over.. it just looks bad.

I have with me MG's Deep Crystal System 1, 2 & 3, MG Quik Detailer, Quik Clay System. Can all these defects be removed by hand with these products or do I need a machine and more aggressive cleaner to work on? (I do not have a machine)

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Here are some photos of the car:
The right headlamp has PlastX applied while the left is the original.


Note the water marks:


Nasty water marks:

[Rick]

Unfortunately in my experience any water *etching* can only be removed with a rotary buffer. You can try the paint cleaner you have and it may help and remove any water *spots*, but likely it won't do a whole lot. As far as the rock chips and scratches it depends how deep they are, but likely they're a live with condition. I emphasize water etching and spots separately because they are two different problems. Water spots are where the mineral deposits sits on the surface before it can cause any damage and this is easily removed, while water etching is when the deposits etch below the paint and this can only be removed with a rotayr buffer.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Neglected Blue Corolla. Need help.. (Pics inside)

Hi Sherwin,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

Originally posted by sherwin
Can all these defects be removed by hand with these products or do I need a machine and more aggressive cleaner to work on? (I do not have a machine)

Like Rick said, etchings in paint usually require a machine applied professional product to remove completely. While you cannot always completely remove the defects in your car's finish, you can often times dramatically improve them to the point that they are much more difficult to see without knowing where they are to start with.

With the products you have, I would suggest,

• * Wash the car
  * Clay the car
  * Apply the Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner. Do a real good job on this step
  * Apply the polish
  * Apply two thin coats of the wax

If ScratchX is available to you, then substitute ScratchX for the Step 1 Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner and follow the direction in the below how-to article

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

In the article above, we remove most of the etching in the clear coat of a black Viper by hand using ScratchX. We had to apply the product three times and really work the product against the finish to get the results you'll see in the article.

Remember, Meguiar's paint cleaners, (like the Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner and the ScratchX), and Meguiar's polishes, (like the Deep Crystal Polish), don't need to dry before you remove them and in fact, allowing them to dry may make them more difficult to remove. So after you have applied any of these product to your finished and worked them in, go a head and remove them.

Only Meguiar's waxes need to dry before your remove them.

Hope this helps and good luck with your restoration.

Mike

[sherwin]

Update (56k warning)

Here's an update.. I have recently acquired a Bosch random orbital machine and I have managed to remove the water etches, swirls and scuffs. Some deeper scratches and etches still remain.

Scope of work done:

NXT Wash
Clay
#83 DACP w/ 8006 x2
#80 SG w/8006
NXT Tech Wax w/9006 x2
#16 Paste Wax by hand

Safe Degreaser on tyres & rims
Hot Shine tyre shine


More before pics:


Note the water etches on the left


Swirls




After:
Hood


Water etches removed




Swirls removed


Scuffs removed

[Mark2]

WOW You did a great job there Wonder if the scratches really are removed or just hidden, but either way it looks very good.

[roushstage2]

Very Nice Job!

[rusty bumper]

That's some outstanding work there!

Thanks for showing it to us.