Need some advice

[fidelfs]

I am new to the forum and I am very excited about what I am reading. I will learn a lot and as a by-product my car will look great.



I have some questions. I am using Meguiars products to wash, polish and wax my car.

Is there a difference between consumer and professional products? If so what shall I use?



When I got my red corvette the dealers applied something to the car but not the best quality product so I washed, polished and wax it. I have a Chevy avalanche/2002 and I did the same when I just got it.



I can feel a difference when I slide my finger between both cars paint.



The avalanche is really smooth and I don’t feel my finger stick on the paint surface. The corvette’s surface is different. It is not sticky but is not smooth as my truck.



I wash my corvette every other day or every 3 days. I wax it every 3 weeks.

I wash my truck every week or sooner depending how dirty is. I wax it every 3 months.



What am I doing wrong with the corvette?

[Magellan498]

Well, if the feel of the paint is gritty or dirty, then you should try claying it.



You can find clay at most auto parts stores. (Autozone, etc.) Most people here don`t like consumer grade Meguiars clay and would choose Mothers or Clay Magic over it.



As for the consumer and professional grade products. I am a big fan of Meguiars pro products. They work great and usually don`t have those infamous confusing product description problems.



You might also want to check out other polishes. Try 3M polishes, they are also very good.



And if you want to get some wax too, go for S100. You can usually find it at your local Harley Davidson dealerships. Hope some of this helps! :D



Oh yea and :welcome to Autopia fidelfs!

[LOTA OT]

Which meguiars products are you using and what proceedures did you use? You should be able to get good results with the consumer products, but it really depends on your technique and prep work.



I`m not totally sure from your post, but the dealer put some product on your vette, did they put the same on the avalance? Do you have any idea what they put on the vette? Perhaps you just need a little more prep work on the vette.



Michael

[shaf]

Which vehicle do you drive more frequently and how are they stored and parked? :confused:



Are you saying the paint feels "rougher/grittier" or "grippier"?



It sounds like you drive the Corvette more often. If this is the case, then yes all it probably needs is a claying as cars more frequently taken outside and driven around will accumulate more contamination.

[fidelfs]

The corvette is only 1 1/2 month old and the avalanche is a year old.

I keep the corvette inside the garage and the Avalanche outside.



The paint is not rougher/grittier. It is a little grippier than the Avalanche. My wife always plays with the cars when I finish appliying wax.

She throws a towel on the paint surface. When she does that to the Avalanche the towel goes all the way to the other side. The corvette is different the towel stops before reaching the other side.

It is like the air hockey in the arcade. When you insert the money and the air flows the put slide very easily but when the times expire the put does not slide well.



It is like that.

[fidelfs]

Could be I expect to much from the chippier chevrolet paint they use for the Corvette?

[Accumulator]

Originally posted by fidelfs

Could be I expect to much from the chippier chevrolet paint they use for the Corvette?



I dunno, some Vettes have better paintjobs than others, and even though they`re both Chevies, I`m not sure it`s fair to compare it to your truck.



When *I* had a pewter C5, yeah, the towel wouldn`t stay on the car, and *I* though it had a pretty lousy paintjob. I was using Pinnacle products on it. Note that it was unusually well pampered, not a daily driver, so that might not be the route for you.



Since you like Meg`s stuff, on another thread we`ve been discussing Meg`s #16 (Pro) paste wax. If you prep the surface right first (clay, polish, etc.) it will give you a VERY smooth surface. Note that #16 doesn`t get much mention here (compared to #20, #26, GC, etc.), but some of us think it`s great stuff, including Mike Philips, who WORKS for Meguiars and thus oughta know their products.

[schoi]

Well, I have a black C5, and I`ve gotten good results with things like Klasse AIO and Meg`s No. 7. It`s really hard to say anything without actually seeing your car. If it needs to be clayed, definitely do so. Polish, if you need to do that. Try a good cleaner, like GEPC or AIO. And wax / seal that. Should come out nicely.