Black Montero Sport this Saturday - advice?

[92MX83]

Hi there! (56k warning - long post... j/k)



I have a job coming up this Saturday; it`s a Mitsubishi Montero Sport, metallic black, decent shape. The truck belongs to a friend of mine, and she tries to keep it up, but it is parked outside 24/7, gets rained on and contaminated by various things. Her solution, in between my monthly visits, is to run it through the local swirl-o-matic at the Chevron, and it seems my efforts are in vain, despite my warnings to her, as it always comes back to me with loads of fine scratches.



I have been experimenting with various products/processes in the 6 or 7 months I have been doing the Montero, and did some major swirl/scratch/and spot removal in the fall before the rains came (all-day job, especially that roof - ugh!), but it`s been 2 months since I`ve seen the car, so I figure it`s not in the best shape. I`m guessing the last application of NXT via PC hasn`t held up all too well to the alternately sunny/rainy weather and owner neglect.



The reason I`m posting this is because this Saturday is the only day I can work on the car, and on top of this, she needs the car back after 3 hours. Fortunately, she keeps the interior fairly clean, but I need to allow as much time to work on the paint as possible.



I`d definitely appreciate some feedback on my proposed exterior process:



- Meg`s GC Wash

- Spot clay with Clay Magic Fine Grade

- #80 w/ PC & polishing pad on speed 5

- NXT w/ PC & finishing pad on 4

- #16 by hand, if time permits



I also have in my arsenal, among other things, 4*UPP, EX, AIO, and Souveran (but not for THIS car, heh heh). I am considering AIO then UPP instead of 80/NXT, but I realize AIO will not remove very fine scratches. Maybe #80, AIO, then sealant?



I also have a bottle of Mothers carnauba cleaner wax lying around. Should I just PC this stuff onto the car to save time and avoid all those steps? :scared



My friend isn`t really picky about any particular "look", she just wants her car to look nice and be back in 3 hours! Not even time to cure anything.

:rolleyes:



Sorry for the long post. I just wanted to provide as complete information as possible. Again, your tips/strategies/suggestions are deeply appreciated.



Much Mahalos,



Craig

[DSVWGLI]

That should be fine if the scratches are very light. If not you might need #83 to do the job. Try #80 with polishing pad first and if that`s not enough try it with a cutting pad. If you use the cutting pad be sure to follow with the polishing pad to remove any hazing from the cutting pad. Good luck with the detail, let us know how it turns out.:up

[92MX83]

Thanks, DSVWGLI. I hope my #83 gets here before Saturday!

[racepenut]

83, 80, #16 would be a killer combo!

[92MX83]

Okay, I had 2.5 hours, as it turned out. I was working like a madman. The wash, wheels and wheelwells alone took about an hour. I did a pass with #80, which visually reduced the swirls by over 50%, then did a pass with NXT, which made the finish a bit darker and clearer, but didn`t really take out any more of the swirls ( I suspect they were a little too deep anyway). Then I had to scramble to do the interior, which, thankfully was rather clean (mostly dusting with a Costco MF).



As far as the condition of the vehicle, it wasn`t as badly scratched up as I thought it would be. Apparently, she and her kids handwashed it a couple of times since I had last done the car, with sheepskin mitts like I had asked them to. The paint was still fairly smooth, if not slick, and I felt there was no real need to clay this time, given my compressed schedule. I wish I had an extra 30 minutes to get a coat of #16 on, though.



End result: my friend was happy, even though I wasn`t. Her standards, thankfully, are not Autopian by any means, but if they were, she would have probably given me more time, right? I`ll see the black beast again next month for more pain and humiliation. If the NXT is holding up, I might just go to the #16 after the wash.



Sorry no pics (I know, this thread is worthless without them), but one day, I will have a digital camera of my own, instead of having to hit my mom up for hers.



- Peace

[DSVWGLI]

You did everything you could in that small amount of time. With a little more time #83-#80-#16 would have given you the results you want.

[92MX83]

Hopefully she`ll give me more time next month. If I can get an extra hour, I`ll do the #83. Thanks!