Car sat for 3 years..

[99BlackStangMan]

When away at college I left my Black 1999 Mustang at my parents house for 3years in a car port. There's a car show at Redskins park this Sunday which I am attending and want to get the car in tip top shape. I will be doing all work by hand and have mentally prepared to loose feeling in my right arm by Saturday.

Yesterday I clayed the entire car besides the front a rear bumper. It took about 3 hours. The water stains and sediment build up along with several small scratches and swirl marks over the 3 years was a lot to say the least. When claying, I pressed with more "passion" then usual in an attempt to remove extra sediment/water stains. I found that using more force removed more water stains/sediment. Hopefully using excess force didn't damage the paint.

My first question: Are applicator pads from advanced auto etc. alright to use? I ordered applicator pads from meguiars.com but they won't be here for a few days.

Products that I have and may use: ScratchX, Dual Action Cleaner/Polish, ColorX, #7, and NXT Tech Wax Paste.

I will be using all products by hand.

Tuesday-Thursday: ScratchX: I've read that applying the first two applications with a terry cloth or microfiber towel follwed up by two applications with a microfiber pad will have the best results. True?

DACP: Will this product be effective when used by hand? Is it even necessary to use if I'm going to scratchX the car? Would it be a better alternative to ScratchX? Obviously I still have some research to do on this.

Friday:ColorX and/or#7. Both are polishes, but which one should I use? I've heard ColorX is great on dark cars so I'm leaning towards that.

Saturday:Wax/Wax. Aren't waxes supposed to sit for a day before applying a second layer? Will I get similar results if I let it sit for 8 hours.

Sunday: Wash and apply spray wax.

Also, I have some beatup chrome rims. Should I just go with the newest Meguiars chrome cleaner?

I'll post pics asap!

[PorscheGuy997]

Re: Car sat for 3 years..

Which type of applicator pads are these? Microfiber, terry, foam? I've all three types without problems.

ScratchX is one of those products that you can use as many times as needed to achieve the desired results. It may take a few applications in a small area to remove the swirls and water marks.

Yes, #83 (DACP) is effective when used by hand and is also more aggressive than ScratchX.

ColorX and #7 are two different types of products. ColorX is a fairly aggressive cleaner wax - cleans and waxes at the same time. #7 is just a polish that will not remove defects.

The suggested cure time is 12 hours.

Sure, you can use the Chrome Wheel cleaner on chrome wheels.

[SVT Lightning]

Re: Car sat for 3 years..

Just curious...was it driven in those 3 years or did it sit the whole time. If it just sat still, you may have some other mechanical/maintenance type issues to take care of too!

[99BlackStangMan]

Re: Car sat for 3 years..

I'm going to try apply ScratchX and the DACP in different areas to compare the two. When using DACP, should I apply 3-4 coats similar to ScratchX?

Maybe ColorX then #7 if I have time!

The car sat the whole time. I was in the process of tuning/installing the turbo but lost interest. I had the car tuned by Wheat at Springfield Motorsport. He also changed all fluids/plugs etc. to make sure it ran right.

[99BlackStangMan]

Re: Car sat for 3 years..

I applied ScratchX Four times in the same area and did not get the results I was hoping for. The water marks and swirls are still there. They were faded slightly by the four coats. I used a foam applicator and used plenty of "passion." I did circles and a back and forth motion wiping away the product with a new terry cloth towl. Next to the scratchX, I applied DACP similar to the scratchX and also didn't get the desired results, as the swirls and water marks are still there.

Any thoughts?

[sdprius858]

Re: Car sat for 3 years..

105. From what i understand its a more aggressive version of Scratch-X

[SVT Lightning]

Re: Car sat for 3 years..

I applied ScratchX Four times in the same area and did not get the results I was hoping for. The water marks and swirls are still there. They were faded slightly by the four coats. I used a foam applicator and used plenty of "passion." I did circles and a back and forth motion wiping away the product with a new terry cloth towl. Next to the scratchX, I applied DACP similar to the scratchX and also didn't get the desired results, as the swirls and water marks are still there.

Any thoughts?

Try using a terry cloth towel with the ScratchX. It has alot more "bite" than a foam applicator.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Car sat for 3 years..

Any thoughts?

Yep... clear coats are hard to work on, that's why the DA Polisher has become so popular among enthusiasts over the last 15+ years. Remember, we don't make the paints... paint manufactures make them to car manufactures specifications. I don't think car manufactures ask the paint companies for paint systems that car owners can work on easily, at least not after years of working on cars and answering how-to questions.




You're best bet is get some M105 if you want to work by hand, it is much more aggressive and effective at removing defects because it's much more effective at removing paint and it leaves a nice looking finish afterwards that you can usually go straight to wax application.

You can try using terry cloth to apply ScratchX or the M83 as the terry cloth will give the product more bite but be forewarned that rubbing hard with ScratchX can inflict light swirls and scratches.

So do a Test Spot first before going over the entire car.

You can always re-clean the area using foam or microfiber to remove the cotton scratches.

Polishing paint is and art forum and sometimes a little on the complicated side....

[pwaug]

Re: Car sat for 3 years..

Like Mike said use the M105. I had great results with one application of M105 with a MF applicator with passion and one coat of ColorX applied with passion on a 11 year old car that had never been polished, waxed or hand washed.

[99BlackStangMan]

Re: Car sat for 3 years..

Yea this is tricky. The MF app pads came in, some I'm going to give the terry cloth/MF a try. If this doesn't work I'm going to have a friend who works for a detailing company give me a hand. They use flex polishers and say they work well. Until then, I'll pick up some 105 and give it a try!