Affordable polishes for a brown car?

[cjv998]

Hi everyone, I`m a college student (on a budget, of course :D ) who owns a 1992 Accord with Rosewood Brown metallic paint. I will be buying a 7424 soon, and I just bought Meguiar`s Deep Crystal system today. I was wondering if the deep crystal system is a good choice. I want something to remove the swirls my car has accumulated over the years, but I noticed there isn`t any abrasive in the paint cleaner or polish of the DCS, so I`m having second thoughts. Maybe there`s another product in a similar price range that will do a better job? If anyone`s curious, here`s a picture of the car after claybar-ing and waxing when I first got it. Actually, this brings up one more question. Is the scuffed-up area on the front bumper too large of an area to use touch-up paint on? (By the way, I learned not to wax a car in the sun after I took these pictures :chuckle: )



Edit: Took some pictures of the swirls tonight, one of which came out far better than the other. Not sure if that will help determine what product I should use, but I figure it`s worth a shot.

[SpoiledMan]

You should be able to find Meguiar`s #2 at a local auto parts store. The new formula is usable by DA polishers.

[xhaust50]

If you`re doing it by hand and through a local vendor I would pick up either Scratch X or Mothers Power Polish. Both are decent at removing swirls, but don`t expect it to be perfect. They are cheap too.



After you get a PC/Pads you should look into the Hi-Temp Polishes for paint correction. They are very cheap, and work really well. You can find them at Top of the Line Auto Detailing Supplies (http://www.topoftheline.com), or you can buy samples of them on here in the trading post.



As for the bumper, I would wait until you have a little more experience before trying to touch it up because it will require wetsanding and compounding afterwards.

[cjv998]

Alright, so I`ve looked into stuff a bit more, and I think I`ll be adding an abrasive polish after step 1 (paint cleaner) of the Deep Crystal system. At this point I`m thinking something along the lines of Meg`s #2 or Poorboy`s SSR2 (I`ll be using a PC for this, by the way). Any thoughts or alternatives here?

[xhaust50]

Yeah, you don`t need to use the DC1 if you are going to use a polishing compound because the compound will clean the paint as well. For a medium type abbrassive there`s Hi-Temp MC, DACP, Menzerna Intensive Polish, Optimum Compound, Poorboys SSR 2.5, etc.

[imported_jamesp]

will the Hi-Temp EC work with a PC? if so, which pad yellow, green, orange?

[BigJimZ28]

will the Hi-Temp EC work with a PC? if so, which pad yellow, green, orange?



yes it works great by pc

use a polishing pad

[cjv998]

So do you guys think a medium-cut polish would be a good place to start with those swirls (the car was claybar-ed and waxed with Meg`s Cleaner wax 3 or 4 weeks prior to the last 2 pics), or should I go with something a bit less aggressive? And also, it sounds like I don`t need step 1 of the DCS if I use a more abrasive polish. Should I just return all 3 products in the DC system at this point and get other stuff if I`m going to be using an abrasive polish with a PC?

[xhaust50]

If they are unopened I would return them. Not that they are bad, but you can do better OTC for the same price.



Good for nearly every vehicle:

Clay

Medium Cut Polish

Light Cut Polish / Cleaner Polish

Sealant



Also, the HTEC does work by PC, but I wouldn`t start with it. I`ve found the Medium Cut to be more than enough for the majority of the vehicles I work on, and have only used the Heavy Cut on spots of vehicles. Haven`t needed the HTEC yet.

Wax

[cjv998]

Okay, so I think I`m going to return the Deep Crystal stuff, and get some Hi-Temp stuff. It seems Hondas have soft clear coats, and I know you should try the least aggressive method first, so should I bother with getting the Medium Cut leveler/polish, or just get the fine-cut and see how that does? (Alternatively, I`m considering getting Optimum polish instead, but it seems about $10 more expensive. Any thoughts?) Either way, I`ll probably want a glaze, and definitely an LSP to replace my cleaner wax. I`m still open for affordable suggestions there as well.

[xhaust50]

Honda`s do have soft paint. I would get the Medium and Light cuts. The light cut finishes down very nicely, and even the medium does, so you would not need a glaze for it to look good (this isn`t saying you can`t use one though). As far as the Optimum Polishes, I purchased the OP but haven`t used it yet, and probably won`t. The Hi-temp compounds are great. I definitely like them better than my old DACP, #80 combo. They do dust a little, which is why some people add a little Optimum Polish in with their Hi-Temp compounds, but it definitely isn`t necessary.



As far as LSP, I`m not sure if you are looking for a sealant or a wax. For a wax, TOL has S100 and Optimum Car Wax, both very good.



As far as sealants I`m currently testing the durability of the Hi-temp terminator paint sealant, but it looks very good. They also have Optimum`s Poli-seal, which is getting good reviews.



You could also pick up good LSP`s locally. The NXT is a good sealant, although I`m not sure how durable it is. Mother`s Carnauba Wax looks good as well, but I know nothing on its durability either.

[imported_jamesp]

thanks BigJim :bigups

[cjv998]

How does this sound?



wash

claybar

Hi-Temp Medium w/ white CCS polishing pad

Mother`s sealer and glaze w/ black CCS glazing/finessing pad

LSP??? (Still up in the air on this...read below) w/ red CCS finishing pad



The Mother`s sealer and glaze claims to have a light abrasive in it, so I`m hoping it will help clean up and fill anything the HT medium leaves behind. Also, I still need an LSP. Here`s my criteria, from most to least important:



price (under $15 would be nice, but I`m flexible still)

appearance

durability (if it lasts a month or so on a daily driver that`s parked outside, I`m happy)



Edit: If I get a sealant, it looks like it`ll be NXT. If I get this though, I`m concerned if using Mother`s glaze will keep it from bonding (maybe I`ll skip the glaze if I go this route?) If I go with a wax over the sealant, it`d probably be Meg`s Gold Class.

[xhaust50]

Try the Medium Cut on the polishing pad, and if you need more step up to a cutting pad. If you use a cutting pad, you may have to follow with a lighter abrasive, or the medium cut on a polishing pad to take out any minor marring (but you may not, it breaks down very well). Mothers S&G is a very good glaze, but it is not abrasive at all. It does fill swirls very well though, and is excellent to use. The only problem is that as a glaze many sealants will not bond to it, forcing you to choose a wax.



As far as waxes, S100 lasts 3-4 weeks for me, Mothers is probably a bit more durable. Hi-temp has a cheap liquid wax (bahama mama), and most of their products are very good but I haven`t tried it yet (will do so this weekend). OCW may be a good followup to HTMC because it has some light polishing abilities, but at the same time it will remove the Mothers SG.



Too many choices!