Half a century of Fun

[gto_monster]

I would like to introduce myself. My name is Derrick, born and raised in New York City. My love of cars started with my parents 1957 Bel Air. Love that beast. When I turned driving age I went car shopping (with my parents). It was 1968 and all of the real cool cars were out. I sat in a 1967 corvette and couldn't see over the steering wheel, not even with a NY telephone book. My dream car was the 1968 Camaro Z-28 but my parents said it looked way too fast. So I moved on to the Pontiac showroom and checked out the GTO. My dad told me that it was big and safe so I got the go ahead. I had a choice of green or green or green. This GTO had a 400 ci and 360 hp (got the high output version).

What a tank, drank 11 miles per gallon if I was lucky. Beat every car on the block. ANY PARENTS LISTENING - please do some research before you co-sign for a kids car, sometimes a fast car may not look fast. The only way I stayed alive with that car is that I was drafted into Vietnam. Sold the car years later since I did not use being deployed. After I came back I got my dream car, the 1969 Z-28. I could not care less about what motor was in there, I giggled every time I drove that beautiful red monster.

Later I purchased a new 1978 Z-28 and had my bosses race team change the car design, it took them 2 months but it was worth it. This race engineers work on the Porsche circuit so mine was a minor tinkering.

Well, now comes the good part of the story. I moved to Colorado up in the hills over 8,300 foot elevation with a bunch of horses and farm animals. Mainly drove Toyota trucks to move hay and feed. I guess my fast cars obsession is now over. After having everything burn up in a forest file it was time to move on and moved to Massachusetts.

Please don't laugh but we now drive a 2012 Mini Cooper and we kept a 2011 Tacoma as well. Being a hippy from the 60's I thought the car should match my spirit. You will love it. The flowers are magnets, they come off when waxing.

I came here to this forum to learn. I took good care of my cars but now I see there is more to it than just putting wax on a car. The mini paint is perfect condition. That is why I am hesitant to use any polish that has abrasives in it. That is where I need to learn what polish is for. I read all about the great products of M80 or M82. And then there is M210. Now I am all confused as to what to use without damaging the cars finish. Oh, by the way; this is going to all by hand. New equipment is not in the cards at the moment.

Thanks for listening.

[Buddy]

Welcome!! And great writeup. Owned some very nice rides.
If your doing all by hand don't overlook Ultimate Compound and Polish. They are both fantastic products, and you will never hurt your paint or worry about burning through clearcoat with them, especially by hand. Then throw on a coat of Ultimate Wax and the cars will glow. Upkeep with the Ultimate line, Wash&Wax and Detailer and Quik Wax. Your cars will look amazing for years.

[Nick Winn]

Welcome & Thank you for sharing!

Meguiar's makes two types of polishes, pure polishes & cleaner/polishes aka finishing polishes. Pure Polishes are non-abrasive, solely polishing oils to add gloss, like our #7 Show Car Glaze or Deep Crystal Polish. Our Cleaner/Polishes or aka Finishing Polishes, like M210 Ultra Pro Finishing Polish, M200 Pro Speed Polish, or Ultimate Polish Pre-Waxing Glaze in our consumer line, have polishing oils in them to add gloss but also have a mild abrasive component to them. These mild abrasives are typically used in a couple different ways. If the vehicle has very few or light defects, the mild abrasive aspect will help to remove these defects. These finishing polishes / cleaner polishes are also commonly used after a compound step to further refine the paint and remove and micro marring or hazing.

Hope this helps!

[gto_monster]

Thank you Nick for responding. My heart was set on the M210 product. But ... Since it has abrasives I was hesitant. The mini coper is 12 years old (2012) but it has been in Storage most of it's life due to living in Colorado at 8,300 foot elevation and having 9 months of winter most of the year. So the paint of the mini has almost no scratches and absolutely not dings (knock on wood). The paint does need a little reviving to make it shine like it was new.
The other vehicle is the 2011 Tacoma. Even though it was a farm truck there is no scratches or dinks, I have been very careful with the cars. But the paint here is really dull and faded.
What would be the right path to take to pamper both cars. Thanks, Derrick.

[Nick Winn]

Thank you Nick for responding. My heart was set on the M210 product. But ... Since it has abrasives I was hesitant. The mini coper is 12 years old (2012) but it has been in Storage most of it's life due to living in Colorado at 8,300 foot elevation and having 9 months of winter most of the year. So the paint of the mini has almost no scratches and absolutely not dings (knock on wood). The paint does need a little reviving to make it shine like it was new.
The other vehicle is the 2011 Tacoma. Even though it was a farm truck there is no scratches or dinks, I have been very careful with the cars. But the paint here is really dull and faded.
What would be the right path to take to pamper both cars. Thanks, Derrick.

Our Ultimate Compound, Ultimate Polish, and a good coat of Wax, and claying the vehicle before starting this process would be a great combination.

[georgejohn23]

Welcome!You Owned some very nice rides.
If your doing all by hand don't overlook Ultimate Compound and Polish. They are both fantastic products, and you will never hurt your paint or worry about burning through clearcoat with them, especially by hand. Then throw on a coat of Ultimate Wax and the cars will glow. Upkeep with the Ultimate line, Wash&Wax and Detailer and Quik Wax. Your cars will look amazing for years.

[gto_monster]

Thank you so much georgejohn23. I grew up in an era that a good ride was everything. I have been blessed with owning some real cool cars (wish I had them now, especially the 69 Z-28. That was so much fun). After reading so much about the new Meguiar's products I really want to try the 210 polish. I am not sure this can be done by hand but the polish sounds wonderful. I know the Ultimate combination is very good but there is always a temptation of looking over your neighbor's fence to see their supper shiny ride knowing that I may never reach that pinnacle. By the way, the GTO was very fast but was a real boat.

[huskcider]

Hi Derrick! Your car journey is incredible—thanks for sharing. Use M82 for a gentle polish for your Mini Cooper, as it’s less abrasive. M210 is stronger and might be too aggressive for perfect paint. Always test in a small area first. Enjoy the detailing process and your unique ride!