wich wax and or polish best fits my needs

[silverliningdetail]

I have an 1985 Buick Grand National with the factory paint job. It is a black car that has just started to show some spider webbing? I`ve been using Miguires Gold Class wax on it but it just isn`t enough. What is the best wax for my car? How should I apply it with a buffer or by hand? What type of aplicator would be best to apply the wax? Please help!:sosad

[Lowejackson]

Welcome to the forum :up



My best advice is to download DavidB`s excellent book (first 8 chapters are free), this will give you a great set of answers to your questions http://autopia-carcare.com/lib/autopia/Autopia.exe



Steven

[Jngrbrdman]

Wax isn`t going to fix it. Wax is just to make a perfect finish look better. If the finish isn`t in good shape then you aren`t going to be able to hide it with wax.



On an `85 vehicle I wouldn`t imagine that there is any clearcoat on it, right? Probably it wouldn`t have much left after 17 years anyway.



I think we would really need to see some pictures so we know what kind of damage you have right now. You may be able to fix it with a polisher or its possible that you may have to just repaint the vehicle. It depends on the damage. I seriously doubt that you will want to tackle this job by hand. Its possible to do, but would require a lot of experience and time to do it right. Not to mention that it will wear you out like you won`t believe. Removing spiderwebbing on a car with a clearcoat is hard enough. To get that kind of damage on an older car repaired it may be nearly impossible to do by hand for a beginner.

[imported_Tony]

Lowejackson is right: read the book because you are going to need more than just wax. Then do a search on spider webbing/swirls. We would like to help but in your case you are going to have to do your home work to understand.



Welcome and good luck

[silverliningdetail]

The car is actually in really good shape for being 17yrs old. It has always been kept in the garage it has never seen snow and barley ever sees rain. Plus the car is driven less then 4,000 miles a year. The only places it is spider webbing is under the keyholes about the size of a quarter on each side and along the front of the hood just a little. I can email you pics but none of them are close up and they were taken before this problem started to happen.

[imported_Intermezzo]

An `85 GN or any American car made in that year will definitely not have a base-coat/clear-coat system. Most likely, it is a lacquer based finish.



If you aren`t happy with the way Gold Class wax looks on your car, then it needs some prep work done to it. Even if the paint is in good condition, it will most likely need to be clayed, cleaned/compounded & polished to bring out the shine before you apply your final wax/sealant. Only when you are happy with the way the car is shining should you apply your final wax or paint sealant.



BTW, what a sweet ride.. I love those old GNs!

[imported_Aurora40]

Like it has been said, pictures would help. If the problem is just swirls, then you probably won`t be able to remove them by hand. But, you may be able to hide them just fine. And you may be able to improve the appearance by hand.



A relative of mine has a 1987 Grand National that he owned since new, it`s garaged, and has about 22,000 miles on it. But, it has probably been washed like 3 times and never waxed during its lifetime. The paint wasn`t spotted with oxidation, but it was oxidized enough that it always looked dirty, and water just sheeted off of it. There were some paint defects from things sitting on the paint for years that just aren`t going to be fixed. About 6-8 months ago, I cleaned it up for him. I used Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner by hand and it did an excellent job of making the paint look clean and black again. I went throught about 5 foam applicators, though. Then, I hand-applied #7 which really made the car look amazing. The gloss and reflection it restored blew me away. This is also an excellent product for hiding swirls and spiderwebbing. I followed this up with Gold Class (it did look better over #7 than not over it, as I experimented on parts before settling on a product) which added some sparkle and, mainly, added some protection. Except for the few permanent defects, the paint looked brand-new.



If you have scratches under the keyholes, it may be from keys banging the paint when you unlock the car, or from fingernails when the handle is pulled.