Help a newbie!!

[dmechx777]

Help! I have no idea what to do.. :nixweiss



Ok.. I have swirl marks on my car..(black car) and I`ve neglected my paint.. not really bad.. but I`ve let bird poop and other things stay on my car longer than I should have. It`s a 2000. My question is: How do I remove the swirl marks? I have Meguiar`s scratch X and applied it.. and it didn`t seem to work. I was thinking of getting a buffer to apply it.. what do you think?



I was also thinking of buying a claybar.. then washing the car with dish soap.. clay barring it.. using meguiars and Z5.. glaze? (what should I use?) then I would Z2 the car.. do you use Z6? after Z2? Is the ZFX stuff worth it?? Any tips would be helpful.. my paintjob isn`t stellar by any means.. I want to enter shows this year but I`m a little embarassed of my paint job..



Thanks!! :xyxthumbs

[imported_BretFraz]

OK, first, welcome to the board. There are lots of knowledgeable folks here and by the sounds of your post, you`re gonna need a lot of help.;)



Priority #1 for you should be to get the paint in as good condition as possible. That means washing, removing surface contaminents, polishing, removing stains, oxidation, swirl marks, and defects in the clearcoat. That in itself will take alot of effort.



Forget about Zaino and all that for now. Zaino works best on a nearly perfect paint job and yours is a long way from that.



If your new to all this detailing stuff then I highly recommend you buy the Autopia Guide to Detailing e-book. The first 8 chapters are free but its all the other chapters that make the book worth $20. It is an excellent education in the art of detailing and will give you lots of hard info on products, tools, and techniques. You are going to need to know all this if you plan to restore your black paint.



If all this seems overwhelming then I`d suggest having a pro detailer polish your car and get you to a level where your skills can take over. It might be easier and smarter to do that. A good detailer can fix the problems, remove the swirls, and get your paint looking good. From there you can improve and maintain it. Give this idea some thought.



If the paint is as bad as you say it is, a buffer is almost mandatory. Hand polishing will take a lifetime to remove stains and swirls.



So take on what you feel you can handle and maybe let a pro take on the serious stuff. If you want to do this yourself, you`ll probably need to spend some serious $$ on tools and products.



Good luck. Let us know how things go for you.

[janderson]

First, I would run a search for Swirl Marks. That is a very common topic. I can give you an overview, but many others have written books on this problem.



First of all, wash that car. Use a good shampoo (PS21, Pinnacle, McGuires, etc.), so that you get all the gook off of the car.



Yes, I would clay the car first. Once you have clayed the car, you are working with your base layer (clear coat, and somtimes if the paint has deteriorated enough, the top layers of paint).



From there, I would use a cutting agent like 3M`s Swirl Mark Remover. It is not too harsh (very strong cutting agents), but it has enough "bite" that you can get rid of most "shallow" swirl marks and scratches. From there you would use a Zano or Klasse product.



I have only used Klasse, so I cannot speak on the properties of Zano (but as you can see by many posts, it is quite an impressive product). Klasse has a product called All In One (AIO), which has a tiny bit of cut to it, so that you are still removing your minor swirls. You would want to apply a few coats (I typically have applied 3 or more). From there, you would look and feel your paint. If you still see swirls, take a good look at them. They might be deeper than you had thought.



If you have access to a Porter Cable (power orbital machine), I would use that. You can do a lot with a PC. Once you have gotten the results that you want, you would then seal it in with Sealant Glaze (SG). I typically use a few coats of SG (4 and somtimes 5).



You should have good results, but again, I would run a search on the forum. There are many others who have gone into much greater detail than I.



Best regards.

[Ken B]

Most of the answers you are going to get at Autopia will involve a multi step process and maintenace rutine to make the car`s paint and trim look it`s best.



If you really do not have the inclination to make detailing your hobbie (like many of us) and want instant gratification you can try:



Wash with Gold Class (GC) or any goo car soap

Apply 3M Imperial Hand Glaze (IHG) to fill the swirls

Apply your favorite Wax -Caranuba based Paste is the recommended choice like Blitz, Meguires and the like



Clean the windows with a car window cleaner



Vacum the interior and clean out any stains

Dress all the plastic trim seats and and tires with a water based product (like Vinylex or 303, NOT Armor ALL)



Your car will look great for the weekend and all this will fade off in a week or two.

Enjoy



:xyxthumbs

[dmechx777]

How can you tell what`s abrasive and what isn`t abrasive? After I clean the car with dish soap and use the clay bar (can I use any instant detailer with it?) I apply scratch x with a foam pad.. but what do I take it off with?? a microfiber towel? Where do I get this??

[Lemonxxs]

Abrasive products tend to have names like Swirl remover, Scratch remover, compound etc etc.



With clay bars yes you can use QD as the lubricant but make sure you do it out of the sun so the QD does not dry too fast before you get a chance to wipe it up.



MF is micro fiber towels and most auto detailing supply companies sell them.heck even pep boys has some Turtle wax brand MF towels.



If you do not have any MF then use very soft cotton towels...100% cotton....also make sure the edges (serging) do not touch the paint as the tend to be harsh and may swirl.

[dmechx777]

I bought some white towels from autozone.. they are viking.. they say they should be used to apply and take off wax.. etc.. are these what you are talking about??



oh help me detailing gods :bow