black car and new to detailing - bad combo. help! any cheap detailers in NJ?

[drdavidge]

hey, i have a 95 integra gsr which is nice and black. the paint could definately use some help.

here are some pics..







as you can see..i have a bunch of nic's and scratches and i am new to detailing, so i dont know what to do about them. the paint is 8 years old, and it dosent look like it was cared for too much before i bought it. i drive on the highway a lot so i have a nice mess of chips on the front of my car. so basically...i havent done much yet detailing wise, so what do i do? i have this stuff lying in my garage:

- Meguires Gold Class Car wash/shampoo
- Meguires Quik Detailer
- Meguires Deep Crystal System:
1- Paint Cleaner
2- Polish
3- Carnauba Wax
- 3m Swirl Mark Remover (for dark)
- Mothers Showtime Instant Detailer
- Mothers Pure Carnauba Wax (phase 3)
- Some GS-27 (this **** actually worked for me on surface scratches a few times)

- And I have many new 100%cotton terry cloth towels (that leave white “towel dust” and shed on my black car..haha)
- some microfiber towels from the pakshack
- a 7 pack of wax applicators from pepboys.. it has 4 things that are 100% terry cloth cotton and 3 of the foam yellow round applicators
- And the absorber

How should these things be applied/taken off? I really have no idea...haha

is there anyone around union county in NJ that would be willing to detail my car for cheap? or maybe just help me out and show me what to do? im a college kid with barely any money, lol. thanks!

[drdavidge]

no replies?

[Mr Zipps]

I am willing do it for you. Check your PM. Im in Kearny....

[OUCH]

Hello there, NICs and Scratches (especially one that you could feel) will need touch up paint, you're not going to be able to remove them but "hiding them from the untrained eyes" should be possible with the proper tools.

Here's what I would do to your car.

1) Dawn wash the car...
2) Check for Contamination, Claybar the whole car..
3) Quick Detail the whole car or give it a quick wash.
4) Use Meguiar's Step 1
5) Quick Detail the car, and check for Contamination, Repeat Step 2 if needed.
6) Use 3M Swirl Mark Remover in areas where it's needed (Hood and Trunk) or the whole car
6) Use either Mothers Pure Carnuba Wax or Meguiar's Step 3 Carnuba Wax.

All of the steps above will be under shade, out of direct Sunlight. I'll work on a small area at a time. Applying the Solution with the pad, rubbing it in till dry or per instruction on the bottle and buffing out residue with the Microfiber or Terry towel that I have.

When removing swirls I will put a moderate amount of Polish on the pad, and then rub it on the surface using firm pressure (not too much that I put a dent on the hood) and back and forth motion till the polish is dry. Buffing off Residues with MF Towels

When using Wax I will use as lil as possible, apply it on the surface evenly give it an hour or 2 to cure depending on the temperature or humidity and then buff it off using a MF Towel..

Not sure if you could layer the Wax that you have, if you can then then I suggest doing it. But I'll wait 24 hours between each layers, and using Quick Detailer in between.

Good luck and don't forget to take pictures when you're done.

[drdavidge]

thanks, great reply. question...how do i check for contamination? and also what kind of clay bar should i use? and how should i apply these things? what kinda pads and what kinda motion? (but i think you answered most of that already, haha thanks)

anyone else have a step-by-step plan like this to suggest to me? thanks again.

[OUCH]

Originally posted by drdavidge
thanks, great reply. question...how do i check for contamination? and also what kind of clay bar should i use? and how should i apply these things? what kinda pads and what kinda motion? (but i think you answered most of that already, haha thanks)

anyone else have a step-by-step plan like this to suggest to me? thanks again.

Basically look for Rust Spots, Oxydation (which I just learned a couple of days ago), Rough areas.. Oxydation is easy to spot, it's usually a permanent haze on your paint making the area dull and rough to the touch. Your paint should be as smooth as glass.. What you could do to check for other Paint Contamination is put your hand in a Sandwhich bag and run it accross your paint if it's rough to the touch then you need to claybar it.

You could could get claybars at any store like Kragen, Autozone, Target, K-Mart, Wal-Mart or Pepboys. I prefer Claymagic over Meguiar's cause the Meguiar's one is too hard.

To use it First was/dry your car, work on a small area first you spray the lubricant on your paint and rub the clay against the paint in a back and forth motion till there's no more resistance. You'll be able to feel the paint getting smoother and smoother you'll also hear it getting cleaned, once you're done just wipe off excess. Turn the claybar over or knead it and then do the same thing over again. If you drop the claybar on the ground, you cannot use it anymore throw it away cause it's no longer good..

Good luck

[drdavidge]

oooh yea, forgot to mention. i DO have a rust spot on the bottom of my 1/4 panel by the wheel well. i ordered the POR-15 rust starter kit and gonna have to try that soon. that sound ok?

[Mr Zipps]

drdavidge - check your pm

[Infamous]

Nice car, I have a 99 black (FBP) 3dr Integra GSR, The paint feels soft compared to FORDS and other cars and I have quite a few chips to from highway driving. BTW the body panels are easy to get dings so be careful where you park etc. I'm doing a full detail to my car this mothers day and hopefully I will have before and after pics. Here's what I'm doing....
PC 7424/Eurow Sheepskin mitt/absorber/ 8'16x16 pakshak mf towels for buffing
1.Wash-Meg. gold class shampoo and conditioner
2.clay-mother clay bar and lubricant
3.polish-Meg. DACP (CMA yellow cutting pad)
4.less abriasive polish- SEC S100 (CMA white polishing pad)
5. AIO (CMA black finishing pad)
6.Klasse S/G (2x) (Meg. yellow hand pads)
7.S100 wax (1-2x) (Meg yellow hand pads)

I'm planning on going to end at step 6 the 1st day then the 2nd day I do a quckwash with meg. gold class and add another layer of S/G and the 3rd day I quickwash again and use s100 wax.
The car will be not driven at all during this process.

[FalconGuy]

Mr Zipps

Small world, im in Kearny too

Do you have a shop?

[Mr Zipps]

No not at the moment. We are looking into opening one though when things settle down.

I live on Chestnut right by the High School. Where are you by?

[FalconGuy]

I grew up on Elm between the High School and the Hospital

I live on west benet now by manor park

strange I just found out a product is actualy made in Kearny, its called PIG Snot, a QD sold at the Harley Dealers

If you ever want to meet up and compare stuff, I am always looking to try new products too

Im not a pro detailer, just a sickness