Two cars to do, sensitive paint, noobie, long post, HELP

stiege · 07-01-04, 02:32

After lurking, searching, reading, lurking, reading, surfing and absorbing, I finally took the plunge, ordered my PC and the stuff below from Classic.

Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze
3M Fine Cut Compound
3M Perfect-It Swirl Mark Remover - Dark Cars
Meguiar's Overspray Clay
Detailing Accessory Package (pads)
3M Finesse-It II Mach Polish
Meguiar's #26 Hi-tech Liq Wax

I have two cars to do.

1963 Cadillac, color gold repainted two years ago with base/clear. Paint was PERFECT until 1 year ago when it sat uncovered in an active repair shop. When I got the car back the sides are still smooth as glass, but the hood and trunk are now slightly rough to the touch. The shine hasn't noticeable diminished, but it's bugging me. I washed the car and waxed using Maguires' cleaner wax. The surface is still slightly rough to the touch.

After reading Griot's catalog a million times, I figured I'd give the PC a try. What should I do? If claying doesn't take the shop fallout off the paint, what should be my next step?

Car two... 1968 Ford Galaxie, black single stage, swirled, oxidized, scratched, etc. I don't care about being gentle with this car. I've even considered color sanding it, like Steve Magnante did with his white T-Bird on Classic car restoraton on DIY. This car is why I bought the 3M for dark cars (my wife's 2000 Passat is black as well).

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated... especially regarding the Caddy with the $6,000 paint job.

Jason

4DSC · 07-01-04, 03:36

Clay should cure the Caddy of the rough texture. Polishing or waxing to get rid of this kind of contamination is generally considered to be the "wrong" way to fix that most of the time. This contamination builds up over time, which is pretty much considered normal, so just clay it when it becomes bothersome.

General rule: If you are not sure how strong a product you need to polish a car, try the gentlest solution first on a section. If that doesn't seem to be getting you anywhere, step up to a stronger product next. You don't want to accidentally polish the paint more than it needs by starting with a product that is too strong.

Same goes with wetsanding/coloursanding - do this only as a last resort.

Good luck.

JDookie · 07-01-04, 08:42

Download thie Ebook, and read read read........Oh yeah, and read some more too!! Good luck!

mnbv · 07-01-04, 10:15

yea, reading def. helps, especially with applying right. So does practice. Enjoy useing you products.

stiege · 07-02-04, 05:45

What I'm most concerned about is the Caddy's clearcoat. If claying doesn't take off the gunk from the shop, can I use the 3M Finesse-It II Mach Polish on it, or will that be too abrasive? Also, what pad from my Classic kit should I use?

I've read the relative abrasiveness thread, and I guess my main question is is the 3M Finesse-It II Mach Polish the right stuff, or should I try something else?

Remember, the finish has no defects aside from the shop fallout. No swirls or scratches.

Thanks again,

Jason

Accumulator · 07-02-04, 08:33

stiege - Since it doesn't sound like the Caddy's clear has been polished very often (if at all), I don't think you really need to worry about thinning it too much. The measures you're considering are not that aggressive.

If the Caddy's clear is just contaminated, you shouldn't need to use something as strong as the FI-II. But don't worry *too* much, it's not all *that* aggressive. Still, I'd try something milder first. If you use the FI-II, you may well have to follow up with a milder product anyhow.

As 4DSC said, the "contaminants on the paint" issue is best solved with clay. You didn't specify *which* Meg's clay you got, but "overspray" clay sounds harsh to me. You should only need a "regular" clay unless it actually has overspray (paint) on it.

Before using an abrasive polish, I'd first try a "paint cleaner". Meg's makes a few chemical-only cleaners (sorry, I forget which ones they are, but a search should pull it up- Mike Phillips talks about this stuff on the Meg's forum here). Pinnacle's Paintwork Cleansing Lotion or Klasse AIO would also probably work well and would probably be what I would try first. In any case, I'd use a polishing pad on the PC for this step.

On the Ford, take it easy on the black SS and don't expect to get it perfect. Black SS is probably the softest paint there is, and you don't want to be *too* aggressive with it, especially when you're just getting used to doing things by PC. FWIW, *white* SS is probably the *hardest* paint there is, so don't extrapolate from what someone else did on the white T-bird; it's just too different from your situation.

stiege · 07-13-04, 06:55

I buffed out the Galaxie on Sunday. It took me 6 hours. Astounding results. Here's what I did...

Washed with Dawn, then went right into the 3M Fine Cut Compound with the wool pad. At first, used slower speed (4) then maxed out at 6. I did half the trunk lid and still had junk in the paint. I clayed the half I compounded and still pulled a lot of stuff off the paint. At this point, judging from the orange peel that jumped out at me, I realized that I was going to need to wet sand.

So, I put down the clay and finished compounding the car, getting the hang of how much 3M Fine Cut Compound to use and how long to work it. As I went along, I was wishing that it cut MORE.

Having had the 3M Fine Cut Compound and wool pad kick my a** for a couple of hours, I decided that I'd skip the 3M Finesse-It II Mach Polish which is apparently more aggressive than the 3M Perfect-It Swirl Mark Remover - Dark Cars, and went right to the 3M Perfect-It Swirl Mark Remover - Dark Cars. The Fine Cut had already made such a huge difference, I wasn't ready for the amazing difference that the 3M Perfect-It Swirl Mark Remover - Dark Cars made. Each step was doubling the shine. I did the car with the yellow pad and it looked great.

I was way too tired for the Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze, so my last step was the Meguiar's #26 Hi-tech Liq Wax. I applied this with the grey pad in what appeared to be a really thin layer. Let it dry for about 10 minutes ( the bottle says it doesn't dry white) and the car looked totally different.

A couple of questions. Next time I do the car, I think I'd like to try the Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze. What do I need to do to prepare the surface? Do I need to use the Swirl Mark Remover again? Also, how long should I wait for the Meguiar's #26 Hi-tech Liq Wax to dry before buffing it off?

I don't want to use the 3M Finesse-It II Mach Polish on the Cadillac's clear coat, and the allegedly less aggressive 3M Perfect-It Swirl Mark Remover - Dark Cars is for dark cars ( the caddy is gold). Please recommend something to use with the white pad in the Classic kit that's an abrasive rather than a chemical product that's less agressive than the SMR.

Thanks again for all your help,

Jason

Accumulator · 07-13-04, 08:11

Glad to hear it turned out so well.

You'll probably have to redo the SMR as it's fillers will disappear in time, revealing marring. For something that's milder than the FI but stronger (and maybe otherwise better) than the SMR, get some 3M PI-III MG (pn 05937).

Since the paint in question is cleared, I really dunno if the #7 is gonna do much for you. Do a search on it, it can be sorta tricky to use, especially on b/c paint. I only use it on single stage myself.

stiege · 07-13-04, 08:37

I didn't realize the SMR had fillers. I guess until I color-sand it, redoing the SMR, then #7 glaze, then #26 yellow wax is my best choice for the Galaxie.

Sorry if I wasn't more clear in my post... the #7 will be for the black single stage Galaxie. The Caddy's clearcoat needs the less agressive (than the SMR) stuff.

For the Caddy's clear coat with the thin film of shop fallout, how about Menzerna??? No solvents, fine abrasives. Try that after clay with a white pad?

Jason