Polishing help needed

[gtp11]

hello there

New to all this so forgive me is this post is in the wrong section..

After buying another car discovered it was in despirate need of some paintwork attention. So decided sunday to get to work on it..

The Car is a Ford Mondeo(similar to a Taurus in size) in Panther Black

Started of with a clay and for the time being a scratch X on the worst areas the hit it with deep crystal polish and finally Gold class wax.. Problem is by the time i had finishes it was fairly late and could and starting to get dark..
i only noticed the next day but it looks like the polish has left marks like circular smears . I have tried buffing the wax coat but its not making a difference..

Any Ideas on how I can remidy this??

[Mike Phillips]

Hi gtp11,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

Originally posted by gtp11
Started of with a clay and for the time being a scratch X on the worst areas the hit it with deep crystal polish and finally Gold class wax..

Problem is by the time i had finishes it was fairly late and could and starting to get dark..

i only noticed the next day but it looks like the polish has left marks like circular smears . I have tried buffing the wax coat but its not making a difference..

Any Ideas on how I can remedy this??

You describe the finish as being in need of help, it sounds like it's been neglected and has probably oxidized, become dirty as in the paint is stained, and likely has swirls throughout it.

Chances are good it needed to have the paint cleaner applied to the entire finish to really do a thorough job of cleaning the paint before applying a polish or wax.

If that's the case, the best remedy would be to go back to the cleaning step and apply ScratchX to the entire car, or get either some Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner, or some ColorX and and go over the entire car with one of these products as they will also clean the paint.

If you simply try to go back and re-apply polish or the Gold Class Wax and the paint underneath is still dirty, then you may get the same results as the root of the problem is improper prep work.

It's important to note that the most important part of any detail job, and especially anytime you're working on neglected paint, that the cleaning step get the highest priority for your best quality work. The cleaning step will determine your final results.

During the cleaning step you want to do a very good job of cleaning each square inch of the paint in a uniform manner, this means working small areas at a time thoroughly and then after working one area, remove the product from that area and move onto the next area and overlap into the previous area. Follow this pattern until you have gone over all the painted surface.

Now you're ready to apply the polish and wax and if you did a good job of cleaning the paint, these two step go rather quickly compared to the cleaning step because by now... you've done all the work. When it's time to apply polish and/or wax, all you're trying to do at this stage of the game is to apply a thin, well worked in coat of polish then remove it, and for the wax, apply a thin, well worked-in coat of wax and let it dry before you remove it.

Remember, in the Meguiar's line, the only products that have to dry before removing them are our waxes. Compounds, Paint Cleaners, Cleaner/Polishes and Pure Polishes are all applied, worked in and then removed. There is no benefit to the paint to allow any of these types of products dry once they have been either worked against the finish, or worked into the finish.

[Mike Phillips]

Read through this thread as it sounds like something similar to what has happened in your situation...

Need Help

[gtp11]

hiya Mike

Thanks for your detailed reply much appreciated..Unfortunately We dont have the Colour X available in the UK so will have to go for some deep crystal paint cleaner. Question will this removed the wax xoat just applied???

So next plan of attack is this

1. Wash in Gold Class wash then Dry
2. Clean with Deep Crystal Paint cleaner #1
3 Scratch X whole car
4. Polish with Deep Crystal step #2
5. Wax with NXT Paste (Moved onto this from Gold Class Wax)
6. maintain with NXT Spray Wax/Detailer

Correct if any of the above are wrong.. As its a big upgrade in car for my i want it better than new

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by gtp11
hiya Mike

Thanks for your detailed reply much appreciated..Unfortunately We dont have the Colour X available in the UK so will have to go for some deep crystal paint cleaner. Question will this removed the wax coat just applied???

Yes. Using a paint cleaner will remove everything off the surface to, (if correctly applied), resulting in a clean base to start with.

So next plan of attack is this

1. Wash in Gold Class wash then Dry
2. Clean with Deep Crystal Paint cleaner #1
3 Scratch X whole car
4. Polish with Deep Crystal step #2
5. Wax with NXT Paste (Moved onto this from Gold Class Wax)
6. maintain with NXT Spray Wax/Detailer

Correct if any of the above are wrong.. As its a big upgrade in car for my i want it better than new

Everything looks good except you should only have to apply one paint cleaner, either the Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner or the ScratchX, but not both.

Here's a link to an article that basically covers everything you've listed. The title is "How to Remove Swirls by Hand", but you also call it,

"How to Restore a Neglected Finish by Hand"

Same process, same prinicpals...

How To Remove Swirls By Hand

[gtp11]

Hiya Mike

yeh read that post a while back very comprehensive and informative..

So does Scratch X and Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner do the same thing then i.e will Deep Crystal remove swirl marks (scratches)?.

Reason i ask is i have yet to do this only did the scratches but there is still a long way to go. there is a section i might do a before and after on that looks like some one with a orbital and some 80grit slipped onto the car

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by gtp11
Hiya Mike

yeh read that post a while back very comprehensive and informative..

So does Scratch X and Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner do the same thing then i.e will Deep Crystal remove swirl marks (scratches)?.

Yes they do the same thing in that they clean the paint, No, they don't do the same thing when it comes to removing scratches. Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner is a chemical only cleaner and a very gentle cleaner. ScratchX contains both chemical cleaners and a special microscopic diminishing abrasive that when worked against the finish, (not merely wiped-on and then wiped-off), it will remove light, or shallow swirls and scratches.

Read this,

What it Means to Remove a Scratch

And then read this,

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

Reason i ask is i have yet to do this only did the scratches but there is still a long way to go. there is a section i might do a before and after on that looks like some one with a orbital and some 80grit slipped onto the car

You want to use ScratchX on your car and do this...

Work a small section at at time, no larger than about 8 to 10 inches square. Work the product until it goes clear then remove it. If you like, work each small section a couple of time, depends on how bad you want the scratches out. Then move on to a new small section next to the area you just worked. Overlap into it.

Continue this all the way around the car. Then polish and wax.

Removing scratches, which mean removing paint, by hand requires you to focus on the task at hand and really put some passion behind your applicator pad. Clear coat finishes are hard, not soft unless you just happen to have the exception to the rule.

Re-read everything I wrote above and as I've kind of already covered how to clean the paint. By clean, we don't mean wash, we mean get the paint clean by removing dirt that has built-up in the paint, oxidation, swirls and scratches.

One of the biggest reasons for the increased popularity of the dual action polisher is to enable the average person to remove swirls and scratches themselves instead of trusting a detailer to do it for them and do it right and because it's easier to remove swirls out of a clear coat by hand versus machine.

Hope this helps...

p.s.

For more information on dirt in the paint, or staining, read this article...

A Lesson From White Paint

[gtp11]

Mike much appreciated

Looks like me got some hard work ahead.. Lets hope the British weather is kind and give me a long enough gap.. Will get some finished pics up when its don. unfortunately allready done a reasonable detail but I am sure it can be improved..

Thanks again for all your help

Antony

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by gtp11
Mike much appreciated

Looks like me got some hard work ahead.. Lets hope the British weather is kind and give me a long enough gap.. Will get some finished pics up when its don. unfortunately allready done a reasonable detail but I am sure it can be improved..

Thanks again for all your help

Antony

Your welcome. Have fun!