Paint correction/polishing help!

[GTIMKV20]

Hello all!

First my introduction... my name is Brian and I have an 06 Black Magic Pearl GTI MKV. I am obsessed with detailing it, wash 1-2x/week and wax generally once a month. Ultimate Quik Detailer and microfibers probably every other day in pollen season, 2-3 days in normal weather. I hate dirt, dust, scratches and waterspots! My current full detail consists of:

Wash
Clay w/ regular quik detailer
ColorX with DA
NXT 2.0 w/ DA

I take all the waxes off by hand, just easier to apply quickly with the DA polisher. Now the VW has very hard paint and as you all know black paint shows everything. Scratches aren't there... swirls are light, but I am anal enough that I want the paint perfect. What kind/type of pad, polish, and treatment will take away the very fine scratches? Also, it has multiple layers of wax on it as I am always adding before it wears off completely... do I need to strip it down (wax) before hitting the polishing step? ColorX and NXT 2.0 does a fantastic job as it covers blemishes nicely but after a week or so its still smooth but the fine scratches come back. Again I am a perfectionist so the swirls are very light, I'm probably making it sound worse than it is. But I could use some professional advice for a driveway detailer!

Also, what can I hit the front headlights (plastic) with to take away any road damage? This car is my daily driver and it takes a beating on the front end living in Boston.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can all offer! Here's a pic to give you an idea... no detail on the paint, but I just want to show the patient! Although I found 2 paint shots... but as you can see, the scratches didn't come out in the pics. And the pics were taken after a full detail anyways!

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Paint correction/polishing help!

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

What kind/type of pad, polish, and treatment will take away the very fine scratches?

Meguiar's always teaches the philosophy of,

"Use the least aggressive product to get the job done"

Since you've been using ColorX with a DA and it's not working, then it could be you need a stronger swirl remover or it could be you need to adjust your technique. You use a different technique to remove swirls than you do to spread a wax out.

A lot of people have good luck with M80 and M83 with the DA Polisher for removing swirls and making the paint flat. M83 is more aggressive than M80 and a little more difficult to work with, so you could try any of these...

ScratchX with a W-8006 polishing pad
M82 Swirl Free Polish with a W-8006 polishing pad
M80 Speed Glaze with a W-8006 polishing pad
M83 DACP with a W-8006 polishing pad

Remember, before going over your entire car with one of the above products first do a Test Spot, that is test the product and pad choice to a small area and make sure you can make a small area look good before going over the entire car.


Also, read through this and make sure you're using great technique for the process you're performing.

Tips & Techniques for using the G110, G100, G220 and the PC Dual Action Polisher
(These are all similar tools)

Also, it has multiple layers of wax on it as I am always adding before it wears off completely... do I need to strip it down (wax) before hitting the polishing step? ColorX and NXT 2.0 does a fantastic job as it covers blemishes nicely but after a week or so its still smooth but the fine scratches come back.

Any product you apply to remove swirls will be strong enough to remove any previously applied coats of wax.

Again I am a perfectionist so the swirls are very light, I'm probably making it sound worse than it is. But I could use some professional advice for a driveway detailer!

Removing the very lightest of swirls can be tough because they tend to come back over time with normal washing and wiping. Read the thread linked above and try some test spots using the least aggressive product approach.

Another good combo for light swirls is to use our M66 with either a W-8006 or even a W-9006 finishing pad. M66 is similar to ColorX but it's a tad stronger.

Also, what can I hit the front headlights (plastic) with to take away any road damage? This car is my daily driver and it takes a beating on the front end living in Boston.

PlastX by hand or with a DA Polisher with a W-8006 polishing pad on the 5.0 speed setting.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can all offer! Here's a pic to give you an idea... no detail on the paint, but I just want to show the patient! Although I found 2 paint shots... but as you can see, the scratches didn't come out in the pics.

Capturing fine swirls is very difficult but here's a how-to article that might help...

How to capture pictures of swirls in your car's paint

[GTIMKV20]

Re: Paint correction/polishing help!

Awesome, exactly the info I was looking for. Now I just hope I can get it to work! Thanks for the advice, any home user suggestions are also appreciated! Thanks mike!!!

[Murr1525]

Re: Paint correction/polishing help!

ColorX is a great product, but it is an all in one. So using a dedicated paint cleaner like #80, then #83 if needed, will tend to give better results for the cleaning/swirl removal step.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Paint correction/polishing help!

any home user suggestions are also appreciated!

Kind of a general recommendation but always work clean...

Sweep out the garage, wash the car, make sure any table our counter that you set you wiping cloths on is clean and contaminant free.

[GTIMKV20]

Re: Paint correction/polishing help!

Can anyone confirm that the VW paint is harder than normal? I've head this before and now after attacking it with a few products, nothing seems to get through it!?

Also, I can't imagine I can get scratches out of glass with anything can I? My windshield is hurting from the previous owner and swiping dry dirt off of it with the wipers... the streaks of scratches are killing me!