Need some quick advice

[Xevuhtess7]

i am about to do "spring cleaning" for my car now that winter is done. my current plan is as follows:



wash with dishwashing soap to remove any leftover wax

claybar

wash with meguiar`s gold class

two layers of meguiar`s #7 glaze

two layers of meguiar`s nxt wax (or is it called a sealant?)



all done by hand. however, i found an old craftsman rotary buffer and i would like to try using this, not to apply anything, but only for removing the glaze and wax because i dont want to do all that by hand. i intend to pick up a few microfiber bonnets for this. is this advisable?



second question: do you guys think i should add in a light cleaner/polish between the claybar and glaze step? if so, could you suggest a product that i could find locally at autozone?



thanks in advance

[imported_cj99si]

You probably shouldnt use the rotary, even just take product off can leave buffer marks. Are you sure its a rotary? yes try a light polish before the glaze, 3M should have something local. sounds like you have a pretty good plan. What color car?

[Xevuhtess7]

the box says its a rotary buffer. here is a pic of what it looks like:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Xevuhtess7/Random%20Stuff/IMG_0286.jpg



do you have a specific product i should try for the polish? ive had good experiences with meguiar`s products and i`d like to continue using them but im just not sure what number i should use.



is two layers of glaze and wax necessary?

and also my car is black

[Big Leegr]

This isn`t the "dangerous" rotary. This one is realatively safe.

The pre-wax cleaner that`s OTC would be (from the Megs line) Deep Crystal Step 1. You wouldn`t need to wash with dish soap to remove any left over wax if you do a pre-cleaning step.

[imported_cj99si]

Two layers of glaze isnt really nessesary... Thats an orbital polisher. you cant really do any damge with those. make sure your pads/mits are really clean.

[Vw Gti]

Two layers of glaze isnt really nessesary... Thats an orbital polisher. you cant really do any damge with those. make sure your pads/mits are really clean.



Cant do any damage? Put in a hands of a first timer and it can do alot of damage. ASk me for example. I bought one of those orbital polisher at autozone and thanks god i only did my moms hood. The pads for it sucked *** and left my moms hood swirl city. be VERY carefull with the orbital polishers and make sure that the pads DO NOT MOVE.

[DocHoliday]

The NXT is going to remove the glaze as it has cleaners in it

[Xevuhtess7]

i thought the glaze is just a really really fine polish, so howcome the nxt would remove it?

[DocHoliday]

i thought the glaze is just a really really fine polish, so howcome the nxt would remove it?

Because it has cleaners in it

[Accumulator]

Though I`ve never tried NXT myself, the word over at MOL is that the cleaners in it will *not* strip off stuff like the #7. Countless people are using the Meg`s "pure polishes" under NXT and they all say the same thing, so I`d go ahead and give it a try.



Xevuhtess7- No way would I use any terry bonnets on that polisher. Foam oughta be OK but so a small area and inspect how it looks before you do the whole car.



For a good product between the claying and the #7, track down some Meg`s #80. It has mild diminishing abrasives and leaves nice polishing oils behind. You might find that you don`t even need to bother with the #7. #9 is easier to find but I`d get the #80 instead.



The #7 is completely nonabrasive, so using something with mild abrasives will probably be a good idea. No need at all for more than one application of the #7.



Oh, and don`t expect the dishwashing soap to remove old wax. The wax-stripping abilities of stuff like Dawn is vastly over-rated. You could use the Deep Crystal Step #1, but I`d jus let the abrasive polish (e.g., #80 or #9) do it; it`ll cut right through the old wax.

[DocHoliday]

Though I`ve never tried NXT myself, the word over at MOL is that the cleaners in it will *not* strip off stuff like the #7. Countless people are using the Meg`s "pure polishes" under NXT and they all say the same thing, so I`d go ahead and give it a try.



Xevuhtess7- No way would I use any terry bonnets on that polisher. Foam oughta be OK but so a small area and inspect how it looks before you do the whole car.



For a good product between the claying and the #7, track down some Meg`s #80. It has mild diminishing abrasives and leaves nice polishing oils behind. You might find that you don`t even need to bother with the #7. #9 is easier to find but I`d get the #80 instead.



The #7 is completely nonabrasive, so using something with mild abrasives will probably be a good idea. No need at all for more than one application of the #7.



Oh, and don`t expect the dishwashing soap to remove old wax. The wax-stripping abilities of stuff like Dawn is vastly over-rated. You could use the Deep Crystal Step #1, but I`d jus let the abrasive polish (e.g., #80 or #9) do it; it`ll cut right through the old wax.





Then in theory, you could put #7 on over a polly and then use a wax to seal the #7. Correct? I still think that if a glaze has no cleaning power you should be able to put it on over something like AJ or EX-P

[Xevuhtess7]

i ended up getting deep crystal step 1. i turned on the buffer to see if it still worked and it spun crazy fast, i would never want to touch that thing to my car`s paint, so i applied everything by hand.



the deep crystal step 1 worked really well to get rid of all the swirl marks from washing the salty car over the winter. it also worked really well on my front bumper where the paint was faded from being bombarded by sand and dust from the road. i really like this product because it goes on and off very easily.



i ended up skipping the #7 glaze and going straight to the nxt because when i started to apply it, my applicator pad turned black, gooeoy, and sticky. i have a feeling this was because i`ve had the same bottle of glaze for 3 years. when i poured it out, it was a little bit more runny/watery than when i first bought it.



overall im happy that my paint is recovered after the winter.



thanks everyone for your advice

[jdhutchin]

If you have the right pads, it`s fine to use that machine on your paint. But it probably isn`t worth it because you`ll have one heck of a time finding good-quality pads to use on it. You`d probably be better off doing the glaze and wax by hand and some good applicator pads.

[Accumulator]

Xevuhtess7- I`m surprised that the DC #1 did anything for the swirls as it`s nonabrasive :confused: But all that really matters is that you`re happy with how it turned out :xyxthumbs



Doc Holiday- Note my often-expressed belief that a good theory is one that works in practice ;)



Yeah, the sealant/glaze/wax might work OK *if* the #7 will bond to the sealant properly. I dunno... in my experience it doesn`t even bond all that well to perfect-condition b/c paint, it`s like it needs an imperfect surface to bond to, perhaps it gets into surface flaws as a way of adhering. Given all the variables, I suspect this is one of those things that`ll work great for some people and not work well at all for others.