Detailing neglected black Camry

[himom]

Hi all,

I have been reading around for a bit and am looking for some solid advice. I have a black 2003 Toyota Camry. It has been neglected for quite some time, in terms of hand wash/wax. I have taken it to the drive-thru washes over the years, but other than that, it's been sitting in the sun.

The trunk looks like the color has faded (no shine, almost matte black), it also has those swirls going in circles. I went to Auto Zone and purchased the Ultimate Compound, microfiber towels, Turtle Wax Black Box (wax for black cars), and the Meguiar's Clay Kit.

I went ahead and hand washed it today with some Armor All Ultra Shine car wash and microfiber towels. I rinsed the car off and dried it with more microfiber towels. Since it was getting dark and I could barely see, I decided to just clay and wax the trunk and do the rest tomorrow. So, I took out a clay bar, kneaded it, and sprayed the Quik Detail and went across the trunk with it. I then dried it off and followed the instructions for the Black Box wax.

Now that that's all there, here's my question. I have a 6" orbital buffer and some pads. I did the Black Box wax by hand but am wondering if I should do it with the buffer. Also, should I redo the trunk (clay, UC, and wax) with the orbital buffer after the clay. My biggest concern is the faded color on the trunk, I'm not sure how, or what product, will give it a decent shine/luster.

Sorry for the long winded post, just making sure I give a proper back story to my quandary.

Thanks.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Detailing neglected black Camry

Most orbitals do not have the power to do paint correction. You could try a test spot with the uc. However I do not believe the results will be acceptable.

Basically most orbitals are great wax spreaders.

[himom]

Re: Detailing neglected black Camry

I see. I went out with an LED flashlight and saw the trunk looks very dull, considerably different from the rest of the body. I'm wondering what would cause that and what would fix that.

[Murr1525]

Re: Detailing neglected black Camry

The trunk looks bad after you worked on it?

IS there any chance of pics of the different areas of the car?

[k3ith]

Re: Detailing neglected black Camry

The Turtle Wax Black Box should not look dull. Did you just do the wax or did you use the pre-wax cleaner and black quick detailer? Also, I wouldn't recommend going from ultimate compound to Black Box. If you want a quick detail that will effectively cover up the Swirls for a short period, clay and do all of the black box steps. If your wanting spend time to setup a good long term base, go clay, ultimate compound, swirlx, nxt. Finally, if you want to go the quicker route and are not liking the black box, pick up some megs colorx and apply after clay.

[himom]

Re: Detailing neglected black Camry

Yeah, I followed all the steps for Black Box.

1. Rinse/wash/rinse car
2. Dry with microfiber
3. Clay trunk
4. UC trunk
5. Applied pre-wax cleaner
6. Sprayed detailer
7. Wiped clean
8. Applied carnauba wax
9. Sprayed detailer
10. Wiped clean

I used the two applicators that came with the box and put in a little effort when applying it. I have a 6" buffer that I'll try tomorrow, just need to make sure I have a foam pad and not a microfiber one.

Do I need to use the buffer with UC as well? This probably hasn't been properly waxed in a few years. Also, I will take and post pictures tomorrow.

[k3ith]

Re: Detailing neglected black Camry

Again, I would not go from UC to black box. Either use the UC and follow with swirlx or go straight from clay to black box. This is likely why your "dull" is occurring.

[himom]

Re: Detailing neglected black Camry

Again, I would not go from UC to black box. Either use the UC and follow with swirlx or go straight from clay to black box. This is likely why your "dull" is occurring.

I see. I'll go ahead and clay the trunk and do Black Box.

Thanks.

[himom]

Re: Detailing neglected black Camry

Here are some images:

[himom]

Re: Detailing neglected black Camry

I used an orbital buffer and reapplied the wax after I clayed the trunk. It is noticeably better, but it's still quite dull. I'm not sure if I should keep buffering/waxing until it shines or if I need to get something other than UC to apply before/after claying (I did not use UC this time around).

Thanks.

[Shawn T.]

Re: Detailing neglected black Camry

I think this will need some pics. What do you mean by dull? Oxidation, swirls, stains, etc.?

[k3ith]

Re: Detailing neglected black Camry

I think the UC has done it's job of repairing the paint, however, since it is aggressive it can create some marring, remove oils and such and needs to be followed with a lighter aggressive like swirlx to repair and replenish from the UC. The black box just doesn't have the tools to follow UC - even if applied twice after the UC.

Try the hood with just clay and black box and look at the difference. For the trunk, pick up some swirlx - it's cost effective.

Once you have the swirlx you then have the option of using the UC again too.

[himom]

Re: Detailing neglected black Camry

I tried posting pics, twice, but I guess my posts are moderated. Let's try this again.

hqqp://imgur.com/m37zN.jpg
hqqp://imgur.com/RNxRF.jpg (those are clouds)
hqqp://imgur.com/EpdWG.jpg

From my research, it appears to be oxidation. I will pick up some SwirlX at WalMart tomorrow. I was going to get it today, but decided against it. What steps should I use when applying the SwirlX and Black Box? Should I use the buffer for both application and removal of SwirlX/Black Box?

[k3ith]

Re: Detailing neglected black Camry

Really, your on a couple of separate paths here. The UC, swirlx, then wax route which is a more paint correcting approach verses the black box which is more a fill in / hide the swirls. The first is a longer term method as you are actually correcting the paint, however it will take you much much longer as both UC and swirlx take some work in. The second is effective for a shorter term boost and it will take you about a third of the time. Both are legitimate methods, it's just all about your immediate goals and time commitment.

I am not sure the results of applying black box over swirlx and if you go the swirlx route you really don't need the black pigments. The UC and swirlx will correct and replenish with oils if applied correctly (you can read a lot in this forum about how to apply each). From there you can go straight to a protectant like NXT or Gold Class as the wax mentioned as method one above. You might try going form swirlx straight to the black box wax, skipping the prewax to save time.

If you want to try to blend these approaches, I would just experiment a little on different sections until you are happy with the look and repeat. As far as the orbital, consider it just a quicker way of spreading wax but probaly not any more effective than by hand when applying. Personally, I prefer to remove all product by hand. Oh, and on the swirlx, your may want to dampen your removal towel with quick detailer (what you used for clay lubrication) to ease removal.

[himom]

Re: Detailing neglected black Camry

Really, your on a couple of separate paths here. The UC, swirlx, then wax route which is a more paint correcting approach verses the black box which is more a fill in / hide the swirls. The first is a longer term method as you are actually correcting the paint, however it will take you much much longer as both UC and swirlx take some work in. The second is effective for a shorter term boost and it will take you about a third of the time. Both are legitimate methods, it's just all about your immediate goals and time commitment.

I am not sure the results of applying black box over swirlx and if you go the swirlx route you really don't need the black pigments. The UC and swirlx will correct and replenish with oils if applied correctly (you can read a lot in this forum about how to apply each). From there you can go straight to a protectant like NXT or Gold Class as the wax mentioned as method one above. You might try going form swirlx straight to the black box wax, skipping the prewax to save time.

If you want to try to blend these approaches, I would just experiment a little on different sections until you are happy with the look and repeat. As far as the orbital, consider it just a quicker way of spreading wax but probaly not any more effective than by hand when applying. Personally, I prefer to remove all product by hand. Oh, and on the swirlx, your may want to dampen your removal towel with quick detailer (what you used for clay lubrication) to ease removal.

I'm looking for a long-term solution, so I don't have to do this every few weeks. Right now, I want to know what the issue is and find the best solution. I'd like to keep using the Black Box wax, since I already have it.

I'll pick up some SwirlX and give it a test run on the trunk.