First post regarding scratches

[CyFi6]

Hola guys, first post here so i might as well introduce myself. I live in central california and i have a red 91 mr2, it has the original paint and was not entirely babied, which is why i came here. I have been reading and searching all over this website for a bit of time now and i finally joined. I have a problem with my car i hope someone could help me with.

I have these hard to see surface scratches in my paint, they are not deep at all, and are not felt by a glide of the fingertip or light slide of the fingernail, they seem to barely be on the surface. I have trie Turtle wax Color back polish/wax(i will ask about this later) and many other such as meguires cleaner wax liquid and compound which state to be slightly abraisive to remove small surface scratches and should get rid of water spots and all wich is also something i have, none of these products have worked. They have given the deep color and shine out of the paint but when looking at it from an angle, there is still the scratches. There are also area which seem faded, mostly around the rear wing of the car right next to it, along the edges. I tried the cleaner wax on this several time with all differnt kinds of pressure and sspeed with no results. I have read a lot about the sonus products here on autopia but havent gotten myself together for ordering some. Are there any stores that actually keep these products? I got an email with 10% discount on my first purchase when i signed up, so amybe il go for it

One problem i am having is destinguishing these different terms
Polish:
Wax:
I always saw polish to be a liquid type, squirt onto a pad from the bottle and buff in type of polish, and wax to be an actual compound that you rub onto the pad out of a can. But i think i am wrong..

I dont have the money right now to buy a portercable buffer, i saw a real old waxmaster in the back of the shed and gave it a try, but after trying it and seeing peoples experiences with them on here ive decided to put it back in the shed hopefully never to be seen again.

A few things about my car:
The paint is about 15-16 years old now and has been driven like any normal car should, the engine is in the back and there is a flat trunk lid behind the engine where most of my problems are, it seems as if people have used the space to set tools down and all and have put minor scratches in the paint.

I am having trouble finding a good car wash to use, all the washes i see say they have wax mixed in with them, and this is what i DO NOT want, i want a shampoo that will strip the old wax so i can apply new wax, or at least not contaminate my car with some cheap wax thats in the wash.

Other problems are the towels, i use microfiber cloths to wipe down my car but now after close examiation and testing i have seen these cloths are scratching my paint! i see these small scratches all over the car due to these, what cloths do you reccomend i buy?

The paint is quite old and slightly faded, but not much, i want to restore this paint as best i can. As far as i know, my paint does not have clearcoat, just so you know when you help me out.

Basically i need to know what kind of things i need to get these small scratches out by hand and how to revive my paint to looking nice and deep. What are the basic materials and products needed for my basic detailing, im by no means a paint freak, i just want it to look nice.Are there any local stores i can pick these products up at to avoid unwanted shipping costs.

Thanks for all the help guys, this is a great board and im looking forward to my stay, if possible i will get pictures of my paint problems tomottow when the sun is out.

[Accumulator]

CyFi6- Welcome to Autopia! Let's see if I can toss out anything useful in anwer to your Qs.

First off, IIRC that MR2 has single stage paint (somebody correct me if I'm wrong, not that it oughta matter all *that* much).

The faded areas are most likely oxidation. You can tackle that with a chemical paint cleaner (Klasse AIO, Meguiar's Deep Crystal Step #1) or with an abrasive product.

I can't comment on the Sonus products as I haven't used them.

One problem i am having is destinguishing these different terms
Polish:
Wax:..

Different companies use those terms in different ways, it can get confusing. I'd say that most of us here consider "polish" to mean something with abrasives in it; something that'll effect mechanical correction of paint flaws. Compounds are often (usually?) considered to be just a more aggressive type of polish. But there are nonabrasive "pure polishes" too, Meguiar's often uses the word "polish" in that way. Confusing alright!

Wax is a last-step product that provides protection and looks. Some waxes do contain other stuff (chemical cleaners, mild abrasives) and these are usually called "cleaner waxes". A good example is Meguiar's Color-X.


I always saw polish to be a liquid type, squirt onto a pad from the bottle and buff in type of polish, and wax to be an actual compound that you rub onto the pad out of a can. But i think i am wrong..


There are even products that are primarily polishes but that also have a fair bit of wax mixed in! A great example is 1Z brand Paint Polish, which is, BTW, a *super* product to use by hand.

I dont have the money right now to buy a portercable buffer, i saw a real old waxmaster in the back of the shed and gave it a try, but after trying it and seeing peoples experiences with them on here ive decided to put it back in the shed hopefully never to be seen again...

I'd rather work by hand than use the WaxMaster. The biggest issues would be finding good pads/bonnets for it and its generally clunky nature.

I am having trouble finding a good car wash to use, all the washes i see say they have wax mixed in with them, and this is what i DO NOT want, i want a shampoo that will strip the old wax so i can apply new wax, or at least not contaminate my car with some cheap wax thats in the wash...

I'd advise you to change your thinking here While stripping off whatever's on there might be a good thing on rare occasions, generally you don't want the wash to disturb your wax (lest you have to redo it all the time). Better to clean off the existing wax with the paint cleaner/polish and stick with very gentle shampoos for the washing. A good shampoo will also provide lubrication, which will cut down on wash-induced marring. The tiny bit of wax in some shampoos is so utterly negligable that it won't make any functional difference at all in 99% of cases, so don't worry about it.

Other problems are the towels, i use microfiber cloths to wipe down my car but now after close examiation and testing i have seen these cloths are scratching my paint! i see these small scratches all over the car due to these, what cloths do you reccomend i buy?

Heh heh, the short answer is "better microfibers" IMO it pays to buy high quality MFs, and there are numerous sources here. But also, IMO people often blame the towel/etc. when it's actually leftover dirt that's getting ground into the paint. So buy high-quality MFs to take that possibility out of the equation and then watch to see if you still get marring. I'm resisting the temptation to recommend a MF source as I'll miss some and I have too many pals on here selling them...I don't want to leave anybody out and that's what always happens (yeah, yeah, I'll change my tune and recommend somebody next time, but for now I'm not).

Basically i need to know what kind of things i need to get these small scratches out by hand and how to revive my paint to looking nice and deep. What are the basic materials and products needed for my basic detailing, im by no means a paint freak, i just want it to look nice.Are there any local stores i can pick these products up at to avoid unwanted shipping costs..

Shopping at autobody/paint supply places can expand your notion of "local, OTC products". They'll have pro products from Meguiar's, Pro, and others. Meguiar's #80 would be a good product to use on the paint to remove/reduce the marring and oxidation. Then you could top with a sealant like their #21 or a wax like Collinite (you'll find it in autoparts stores or marine places).

But if it were mine I'd order some 1Z Paint Polish and some Collinite from Aloha & Welcome to Our Oasis for All Your Auto Detailing Supplies & Accessories (see, I couldn't resist a recommendation ). The 1Z PP would, IMO, be an utterly superior product for your by-hand work compared to anything you'd get locally. That's not to say local stuff (Meguiar's, Pro, etc.) isn't good, just that the 1Z is really something special for working by hand. The shipping costs will be long-forgotten, but using hard-to-use products will be an experience that you'll remember! Pay the money to get the right stuff and get that car looking great. I truly believe you'll be better off approaching it that way and we're not talking about any huge added expense. Consider what your time and frustration are worth

[yakky]

If you want products you can find at your local store, go grab some Meguiars ScratchX and ColorX. Both are about as good as you can get for a noob. Both can be used by hand (although with lots of elbow grease) and give great results. You can top the ColorX with a quality wax of your choice.