what polish and wax to use? pros only

[79ws6bandit]

hey guys,



first off this is a great board. i just had a dream car painted. 79 trans am bandit. dupont base coat clear coat black. paint is awesome. very fine swirl marks from wet sanding, thats about. the scratches are so fine a think a polish will get them out. i want to detail the car before a show. i dont want to get complicated using 10 different products. i want someone to recommend 1 polish, and then a good wax to use. i just bought a bottle of mcguires #7 polish. if this is ok, what wax should i use. again, the paint is great. 5000 paint job. but i didnt want to pay for him to polish and wax it. please advise. also, when you guys polish and wax, what application do you use, circles, or back and forth.

[ScrampaTeg03]

Will you be doing this by hand or machine?

[Jngrbrdman]

Well, since you are already using a Meguiar`s product, how about using #26? That is a really nice wax. If you have access to something like S100 or one of the Pinnacle waxes then those would be excellent choices too.



#7 isn`t a polish. Its a Glaze. Glazes will fill some swirls, but that`s about it. If you want to remove the swirls or clean the paint then you need to use a real polish. The polish you use is going to be based on what kind of damage you are trying to repair. Since you are talking about wetsanding marks then I would think you need something pretty heavy. I really hesitate to suggest something without seeing the damage. Maybe DACP would work, but I`ve never really had a ton of success with that on wetsanding marks. You could try it and see how it goes. You may have to keep trying things till you get to the top of the list in abrasives (Diamond Cut). I wouldn`t start with Diamond Cut since its pretty hard core stuff. You are definitely going to need a machine for this one.

[79ws6bandit]

ok. let me clarify. forget the light sanding marks. they are pretty much non existent. what polish should i use, and what wax. lets throw out light swirls.

[boywonder]

A better question to ask is whether or not the new paint is single stage or clearcoated.

[79ws6bandit]

base coat clear coat

[Jngrbrdman]

Well, here are some choices on the Meguiar`s line. I don`t have the abrasive scale for 3M but I would like to.



#85 Diamond Cut = 10

#84 Compound Power Cleaner = 9

#4 Heavy-cut Cleaner = 8

#1 Medium-cut Cleaner = 7

#83 DACP = 6

#2 Fine-cut Cleaner = 5

#80 Speed Glaze = 4

#82 Swirl Free Polish = 3

#9 Swirl Remover 2.0 = 3

#3 Machine Glaze = 1

They don`t list anything at the 2 rating that I know of.





Pick a polish that is appropriate for what you are trying to fix and go for it. Its all relative so there is no such thing as "best".

[Scottwax]

Honestly, proper buffing after wetsanding on a show quality paint job should be part of what you paid for.



Without seeing your car, but that you state the swirls are light, your best bet would likely be using Meguiars #9 Swirl Remover or Swirl Free Polish from their Body Shop Pro line, then #7 and finish with #26.

[JustinR32]

Geez, I`m not a pro, but asking that question that way here is kind of like going to the doctor and saying, "My wife`s knee hurts. What do you think it is?"



This resource is best tapped by observing and choosing, from what you see, that which best matches your situation. You might describe as minor swirl marks that I think are killer.



Every car is different. Even pictures wouldn`t really help; I think a pro would like to see and touch the surface to give any worthwhile advice.



Like I said, I`m not a pro. But I learned how to resurrect a car that I thought would need to be re-painted, by reading, reading, reading Autopia. If you ask specific advice, it will be like a contestant on The Price Is Right asking the audience which price of the sofa to choose; you`ll get a cacophany of individual truths.



Mosca

[Gadfly]

Well chosen words. Particularly the last paragraph.

[Poorboy]

that was one of the best individual posts I `ve ever read...



at this level of enthusiast`s and pro`s it becomes very subjective:xyxthumbs