Dull paint in certian spots on car from the green nightmare, teenager on the run!

[gthoman]

Need some help,

My son decided to do some touch up on my car with the green side of the kitchen sponge after washing it. I'm hoping not too much damage as there were only around 5 spots I could see that were about 1x1 inches. I did the fingernail test and did not feel any ridges, just felt smooth. Also added some water and the scratches seemed to disappear, but could see them when dried. From what I read these are good things? So as a newbie to trying to get my car back, I have been doing some research. I found the following in this forum

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?40121-Power-of-M105-extreme-50-50&highlight=scotch+brite

I have a ryobi 6" orbital buffer along with Meguiars ultimate compound, ultimate polish, M105 Mirror Glaze Ultra-Cut compound, Dual Action Clean Polish, and can't remember the wax.

The guy in the above link used the M105 Mirror Glaze Ultra-Cut compound and Dual Action Clean Polish, but was using an expensive buffer, so:

Is the best thing to do is follow the instructions in the above link??
Will my Ryobi buffer work?
If I follow the instructions in the above link, would I use the M105 and DACP on the entire car or just the areas that have the dull look?

Remember, your answers could save a teenager.


Thanks...

Gene

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Dull paint in certian spots on car from the green nightmare, teenager on the run!

Let's see if we can save that teenager.... and your paint, Gene!!

That 6" Ryobi buffer is probably not a really powerful buffer, if it's the type we're thinking of, so you may almost be better off trying to fix these handful of small spots by hand. From your description they don't seem to be too terrible though, so that's great news for sure. Here's where we'd start: take the Ultimate Compound and squeeze some out onto a soft foam wax applicator pad, and work it into the paint on one of the spots. Now, don't concentrate really hard on the roughly 1" x 1" area you described as that gets really aggressive on the paint. Instead, work in circular motions in an area roughly one foot square around the small damaged area. Don't be afraid to use some elbow grease here, and work it for maybe 30 seconds or so, until the compound is just a translucent film on the surface. Don't let it dry, but wipe it off while still wet. Gauge your progress, and do it again if need be.

Now, you may see that you've not only removed the teenager inflicted damage but you've made the surrounding paint look better than the rest of the car. (We're assuming this is on the new to you BMW you mentioned in another post?) If that ends up being the case, then you'll want to put that Ryobi to work and go over the entire car using it and Ultimate Compound to boost the color and gloss of the entire car.

[gthoman]

Re: Dull paint in certian spots on car from the green nightmare, teenager on the run!

Thank you for the response, and it is the "new to me" BMW, so I'm hoping it all works out. I will need to get a soft foam wax applicator pad and try this. I have some microfiber towels, but not a foam wax applicator pad, do you know if they sell them in local stores..like wal-mart, kmart, advance auto parts etc.?? Want to make sure I have the correct tools for the job..