detailing a classic vette

[flyers51285]

Hi I have a 1979 Corvette. It has be repainted about 9 years ago and is garaged kept with a cover over it. I want the paint to really look sweet and i want the best products to do it. I am trying to go for that deep wet look. it has some surface scratches and swirl marks in it.

I was thinking of using Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner, Show Car Glaze # 7, and Medallion Premium Paint Protection. I need to no a few things though.

* First is the medallion premium paint cleaner aggressive enough to get out surface scratches and swirl marks.

* Second can that be used with a ordinary Buffer along with hand.

* My next question is if the Medallion Premium Paint Protection is really a wax?

* Dose it have silicone or Carnauba wax in it?

* Will it give me that deep wet look?

* Do you have any better suggestions how to make my car look great?

* Are these the best products I can get or do u think there is something better?

If you go to http://www.cardomain.com/id/flyers51285

There are pics of the car, it looks pretty good but I am very picky and I demand perfection, if you get really close to the car you can see the imperfections.

Thanks a lot
Frank

[rusty bumper]

Hi Frank...Welcome to MOL!
Hopefully, I'll try to answer a few questions you asked.

First is the medallion premium paint cleaner aggressive enough to get out surface sratches and swrill marks.

Medallion Paint Cleaner (MPPC) is strong enough to remove swirls & scratches, as I have used it many times with good results.

Second can that be used with a ordinary Buffer along with hand.

When you say, "ordinary buffer", I presume you are talking about a rotary buffer?

As far as machine use goes, I have used MPPC with a Dual Action Polisher (PC for short), but I have no rotary buffer experience to speak of yet.

My next question is if the Medallion Premium Paint Protection is really a wax? Dose it have silicone or Carnuba wax in it? Will it give me that deep wet look? Do you have any better suggestions how to make my car look great? Are these the best products i can get or do u think there is something better?

Medallion Premium Paint Protector (MPPP) protects the finish as a wax would, except it is a very durable polymer based type of product. I'm not up to speed on the specifics of the blend...Whether it has any Carnabu wax in it or not, but it will give your car a warm, rich shine.

I like the products that you have chosen, but if you are skilled with a rotary buffer, then you would love the Body Shop Series products, such as:

# M-8332, Dual Action Cleaner Polish
# M 8232, Swirl Free Polish

And then to top it off, you could apply a coat of NXT wax.

These 3 products will give you exceptional gloss and that wet look shine.

If you are not skilled with a rotary, then I would suggest that you purchase a DA Polisher if you want your car to look it's very best.

Click Here

This type of machine is very passive, and does a great job of polishing the finish.

I hope I answered some of your questions!...Maybe some of the others will pitch in with some information.

[flyers51285]

any more sugestions? i am thinking of the idea of using hi tech yellow wax, any ideas?

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Frank,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

I've read your post and if it's okay, I would like to get back to you tomorrow. I was up at 3:30am this morning, (PST), and I just got home about an hour ago after holding a clinic for Corvette owners such as yourself.

North County Corvette Club Detail Day at Meguiar's

I see lots of questions and I would like to answer them, all but it's time to take a break...

I'm glad to see Rusty Bumper has chimed in and tomorrow I will build on some of the answers he has provided already. I want you to know that your post has been read, like many others here today, but it's time to put it in neutral.... and idle for a while…

Thanks,

Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by flyers51285
any more sugestions? i am thinking of the idea of using hi tech yellow wax, any ideas?

One quick question...

Does your Corvette have a clear coat finish, or a single stage finish?

Mike

[rusty bumper]

Wow Frank! That's some more graduation gift! I tried to access the link you provided last night, but the site was down.

any more sugestions? i am thinking of the idea of using hi tech yellow wax, any ideas?

#26 is a great wax...I have used it many times, and here of late, I have been using it as a topper over MPPP after MPPP has had about 24 hrs. to cure. The two together will give you great
results after the paint has been properly cleaned & polished.

Your paint looks to be clear coated from the pictures...Or am I wrong?

[flyers51285]

it has a clear coat finish

[Mike Phillips]

Re: detailing a classic vette

Originally posted by flyers51285
Hi I have a 1979 Corvette. It has been repainted about 9 years ago and is garaged kept with a cover over it. I want the paint to really look sweet and I want the best products to do it. I am trying to go for that deep wet look. it has some surface scratches and swirl marks in it.

I was thinking of using Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner, Show Car Glaze # 7, and Medallion Premium Paint Protection. I need to no a few things though.

* First is the medallion premium paint cleaner aggressive enough to get out surface scratches and swirl marks.

The answer depends on how you use it and how hard your paint is. You say your Corvette has a basecoat/clear coat finish. If this is correct, the your clear coat is probably to hard for you to remove most swirls and scratches by hand. In order to completely remove swirls and scratches, at a minimum, you will need a PC, one or two W-8006 pads, and a quart of #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish.



It is the high speed oscillating action of the foam pad on the PC working together with the diminishing abrasives in the #83 DACP that will effectively remove enough paint from the surface to level, or flatten out your finish which will restore a swirl-free, high gloss shine. Whatever the above combination cannot remove, will probably be best removed using a rotary buffer.

* Second can that be used with a ordinary Buffer along with hand.

Yes. However, if when you refer to an ordinary buffer, you mean something that looks like this,



Then the answer is probably No. These type of machines are not very effective at removing defects from paint because of there large pad size, and slower speed. In other words, their polishing action is too gentle to be effective on hard paints like yours. The larger pads typical of these types of machines, distributes the pressure over such a large surface area that they are unable removed defects effectively.

* My next question is if the Medallion Premium Paint Protection is really a wax?

Medallion Premium Paint Protection is a blended wax, you an read more about it here,

6. Are polymer sealants better than traditional carnauba waxes?

* Dose it have silicone or Carnauba wax in it?

Yes, Medallion Premium Paint Protection contains both silicone and Carnauba wax. It is a blended wax with a majority of it’s protection coming from polymers, but there is a little Carnauba wax in there for gloss reasons.

* Will it give me that deep wet look?

Medallion works really well and it is a wax that you will have to try for yourself to see if it gives you the look, in your eyes, and on your paint type, that you are looking for. If you do the right prep work, i.e. remove the defects, then polish your paint, Medallion will look Awesome on your Corvette, if you really want the wet-look, then I would recommend trying NXT Tech Wax. After your prep work, apply two thin coats back to back, (with at least an hour between coats, 12 hours is optimum), and then inspect. If your results are anything like mine, then I think you will be quite happy.

You can learn more about prep work, (Claying, Paint Cleaning, and Paint Polishing), by reading Question 7 under Paint Care in the new Meguiar’s FAQ

7. What's the difference between polish and wax? (Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle)

* Do you have any better suggestions how to make my car look great?

I cannot recommend enough purchasing a Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher along with the #83 DACP, a 2-3 foam polishing pads and a bottle of Tech Wax. You will not be disappointed, and everywhere you drive your car people will break their necks looking at your finish.

* Are these the best products I can get or do u think there is something better?

See my last answer.

I am very picky and I demand perfection, if you get really close to the car you can see the imperfections.

It’s okay to be picky, as long as you’re willing to pay the price for the results your desire. If you purchase the products I have outlined above, and use them correctly, you will get the results you’re looking for. As you already know, you can use this forum as a resource for how-to information and hopefully sharing your results through your pictures afterwards.

Thanks a lot
Frank

Thank you for joining Meguiar’s Online Discussion Forum and asking your questions…

Mike

[flyers51285]

Hey mike thanks for the suggestion. it seems to me that u swear by #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish. However would it be better to use either Fine-Cut Cleaner #2 or Medium-Cut Cleaner #1 to buff out the light scratchs and swril marks, then go over it with Show Car Glaze #7? I no u have to use the fine and medium cut cleaner with a rotary buffer but do u use a wool pad for that, then use the DA for the polish with a foam pad, correct me if i am wrong. i just thougth it would be better to do it in 2 steps instead of one with the dual action claner polish. if i use the dual action cleaner polish, is it effective enough to get rid of the scrathes and holograms and at the same time leave a great wet shine?
sorry to keep bugging u with questions but your imput is well taken
thanks alot

[Mike Phillips]

Good questions,

#2 Fine Cut cleaner, and #1 Medium Cut cleaner are products that can be used on modern paints, but were formulated for use on older single stage paints.

I recommend #83 DACP often because of Meguiar's philosophy,

"Always use the least aggressive product to get the job done

In keeping with that philosophy, and in keeping in the 80's series, products, (Product designed for use on modern clear coats), the next most aggressive product after the #83 DACP is the #84 Compound Power Cleaner.

This is for use with a rotary buffer and a foam cutting pad. This is what I referenced in my first response.

I don't know if you own a rotary buffer, or possess the skill and the experience to use one correctly. I always tell people it's a bad idea to learn how to use a rotary buffer on a black Viper.

Point being, you don't want to learn how to use a rotary buffer on something that is important to you, i.e. your Corvette. It's not a tool you pick up and get the hang of the first time out.

That's why I recommended the #83/W-8006/PC combo to you. You have a basecoat/clear coat finish. You paint will typically be harder than an older single stage finish and thus dramatically more difficult to work defects out of.

Thus my recommendations. What ever the #83/W-8006/PC cannot remove, will probably be better removed using the rotary buffer.

You can easily start with the above #83/W-8006/PC combination, follow that with Tech Wax and then inspect the finish for residual defects. If deeper defects still remain, you can drive the Corvette, enjoy the fantastic finish, and tackle the remaining defects down the road. Take my word for it, they aren’t going anywhere...

I never use wool pads and I don't recommend them unless your working in a body shop on fresh paint.

You can use Meguiar's traditional paint cleaners, but for most people, if they're working on a clear coat finish, I think it's best to steer them towards the newer 80's series, or products like ScratchX for use by hand.

As far as how may steps to use to get the best results goes?

In almost all cases, using dedicated products, for dedicated steps, will always result in the best possible finish.

Did you get a chance to read the links I included in your other posts? There's a lot of good information contained within them.

Hope this has helped...

Mike

[flyers51285]

Sweet mike this sounds great. I have a few other things to do to the car before its ready for the driving season. I already put motor mounts, transmission mounts, transmissions seals, a new caliber and new sway bar links on the car, and fixed the horn and turn signals. I still have to fix the wiper motor with a new relay, interior dash lights with a new head light switch, and the put new tires on the car. Once that is all done i am going to buff up the rims and start cleaning, polishing and waxing. I am doing all this at the garage i work part time at detaling cars scince i was 14. So while i am there i can just borrow on of the painters DA so i can but the dual action cleaner plolish on. so the reason why i had so many guestions about the diffrent cleaners polishes and waxes was because at work the painters buff all the cars and i just detail the interior then wash then then thorw a coat of #5 over them by hand. I guess its kind of bad i been in this feild "professionaly" for 4 years and really no nothing about buffing. Everything is much clearer now that u explained it. Thanks alot and i will upload pics when the car is all done hopefully in may.
Thanks alot
frank