would this be a good combo?

[shyne]

I have pretty old paint my car is burgndy and is a 1991 model. When i got it the paint had some defects. Alot of swril marks, dirt and embeded grime onto the paint. The surface itself isnt very smooth and rarely got waxed till i got the car.



I say i had the car for 2 years now and ive been doing everything to try to get the best out of the paint. I clayed barred it once with mothers clay bar set which really didnt do much for me...maybe i was doing it wrong. I also tryed 3m`s swirl remover compound cleaner thing which also didnt help me much...again maybe i was doing it wrong, i think i might have used too much of it. I polish with megauirs #7 show car glaze and then use #26 high tech yellow wax for awhile now.



The paint is smooth after i wax but if u touch the hood, top of the car or the top of the trunk it isnt really smooth at all and you can feel alot of crap on it. I can also notice alot of swirl marks on my car and usualy after the first carwash from waxing the paint goes back to being a bit rough. I have heard once your car is washed and waxed its supposed to feel like glass, but my paint is far from that. I`m fed up with my paint!



so i just ordered megauirs medalion paint cleaner, autopia claybar set, and p21s/s100.



i was thinking of claying, using the medalion paint cleaner, #7 showcar glaze and then top it off with some p21s/s100.



what do you guys think? would those products help fix my neglected paint?

[shaf]

Hi shyne, and welcome! :welcome



It sounds like you have to give claying another shot. Hopefully you had cut the clay into 2 or 3 parts and still have some left over? The car should feel its absolute smoothest after you`re done claying. Grit-free, smooth, no bumps or specks of junk - like glass. You don`t want to rely on polishing to remove grit and contamination by the way. There`s a thread about using clay the Member Articles section of AU to help you out. Also check out the older threads about this.



If your swirling is really bad you may have to step up to a 3M fine cut rubbing compound or Meguiar`s DACP. Swirl removal by hand is hard work and using 3M swirl remover by hand is pretty gentle (almost too gentle) I`ve found, so something stronger might be necessary. Since you have Medallion coming you can try that of course. After using a stronger product you may want to back down to the swirl remover, and then glaze, then wax.



Your steps were all fine before but some problems with technique (and possibly product limitations for your swirls) may be holding you back. Read up on claying and try running a search for the older threads about hand swirl removal/removing.



Remember: 90% technique, 10% product. Good luck and HTH!

[Patrick]

I agree with 4D....You spoke much of "feel"....You can only get that with the clay bar....How are you using it ? Some prefer to do it while washing (me), and using only water (me)...lol...Others like using QD to lube with, wich is fine and dandy, yet other use water and a touch of soap.....Mothers makes top of the line clay bars, you need to find a techinque that will work for you....http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16743&highlight=clay+technique

This thread may help you....

Did you do it all by hand ?

Once clayed, go with the DACP.....then the 3M SMR....Keep in mind those products are very difficult to use by hand, it CAN be done, thats how a lot of us learned, but being (it sounds) somewhat new to detailing, you may be discouraged and aggrevated ! Dont give up, learn from your errors, and come back and ask questions......Theres lots of fine folks here who would love to help you out......I dont thik we`ll nurse you through it, but we can sure help !!

[shyne]

thanks for the replys. at the time i was using the clay bar i didnt really rubb it in, i was afraid to scratch the paint. it was a real hassle for me since i was using soapy water as lube and go even more pissed when it didnt help out much of my paint. i`ll try it all out and be sure to tell you guys the results.

[forrest@mothers]

Many 91`s were not clear coated - and the single stage paint is probalby hard as a rock after all these years, so it`ll talke some pressure with the clay to remove the contaminants.



Also, I`d really suggest you use a proper lubricant with our bar instead of soap water. Otherwise, you may end up with skid marks on the paint from lack of lubrication.



As paints age, they get harder to the touch. The good news is, new contaminants are less likely to bond to the finish. The bad news is, the ones already adhered to the finish can be difficult to remove.



Pick one bad area, and spend some time just on it (say, about 1 foot square). Try incrteasing the pressure with overlapping back and forth strokes and see if it gets smooth.

[shyne]

most `91 arent clear coated? i think it should be since its a lexus and all. but like you said forrest i`ll use proper lubricant this time with the autopia kit. wish me luck, if things go well those contaminats wont be that hard to remove.