Pics of black single stage mess, need recommendation

[toy4two]

What we have here is a black single stage Lexus RX300 that lives on the street of our beach town 24/7, I just recently found it a home off the street and want it to look like it used to when I had a garage.







The hard water from sprinklers has stained the paint that a water/vinegar mix would not remove. There are swirls from auto car washes. There are also these ugly white speks that look like ash in the paint that Mothers Scratch Remover won`t remove, I have no idea what that is. Of couse there is also bird droppings etched as you can see in the picture.



I tried the Meguiers RX and was disappointed with what they recommended. I plan to buy the pro stuff for this project, PC, pads, and polish, what would you guys recommend since its single stage?

[imported_themightytimmah]

Single stage is pretty similar to clearcoat, just softer. Its easier to get scratches out of, but harder to keep from oxidizing. I prefer working on SS actually, most people don`t. One thing to keep in mind- your pads will turn black bigtime. Its supposed to happen, just a little scary if you`re used to BC/CC.



I`d get:



PC

2 orange pads

2 white pads

1 black pad

Poorboy`s SSR2.5

Poorboy`s SSR1

Clearkote Red Moose Machine Glaze

Poorboy`s EX Sealant

Pinnacle Souveran



Go over it with SSR2.5/orange until the major defects are gone

then SSR1/white until its haze-free

then RMG/black to add depth and hide irremovable defects

then EX by hand

Wait 24 hours then Souveran by hand

Add another coat of Souveran every wash until you get to 3.

Enjoy the best looking black vehicle on your block, possibly in your state.

[Accumulator]

toy4two- Welcome to Autopia!



I use different products than themightytimmah, and I`d clay it before polishing. Other than that his advice is right on the money. Heh heh, yeah, you`re gonna have some nasty looking pads after this job, but don`t let it bother you.



I`d use 3M PI-III RC (05933) or Hi-Temp Medium or Light Cut, with Meg`s #80 for the follow-up polish. Then some glaze (I kinda like Meg`s #5 for glazing), then some wax. Souveran looks great but a) I dunno how great the finish will be after the polishing and b) it doesn`t last long. But this is all just personal prefernce stuff and if you ask ten people you`ll get ten different answers (all of which will work fine ).



Oh, and even with the softness of black single stage, you might find you need 4" pads to do the worst of the work. The PC has its limitations, but the smaller pads can help a lot.

[JeffM]

Unless you are going to dive into maintaining your vehicles yourself, it would be perhaps cheaper to hire a REAL pro, not one of those quicky wax type people, and you will love the results.

[toy4two]

ok I took your guys advice and sprung for a SONUS SFX Polishing kit with Porter Cable, yellow, white, blue pads. It came with SFX2 so I figured I would give it a try.



I used SFX2 with Yellow pad and the swirls just melted away, very impressive. It got most of the water spots out, but there are a good number left the PC could not get out on 4.5k speed setting.



I need some suggestions on what to try next. I have the following products on hand to go with the SFX2:



Meguiars PERFECT-IT II RUBBING COMPOUND FINE CUT 39002



Meguiars Fine Cut Cleaner



Meguiars Speed Glaze



Meguiars Yellow Carnuba



Meguiars Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner Step 1 - Polish Step 2 - Carnuba Wax Step 3



Zaino Z5



Zaino Z2



I was thinking of going with Yellow pad with Rubbing Compound on it. Does that sound like a good idea or a bad idea? I figure the SONUS SFX2 is equal to the Meguiars Fine Cut so I skipped it. Trying to not buy anymore products



Cool link to describe different manufacturers abrasive levels:

http://www.dano.pocketrubbish.com/de...oductchart.htm

[Accumulator]

If it were mine I`d probably jump right in with the 39002, it`s really not that aggressive. But wear a dust mask as the silica-based dust from the stuff is like breathing asbestos



If the Meg`s #2 is the new stuff that can be used by PC/hand as well as rotary then it might be another way to go. But then again, you`re doing well with the SFX2. Maybe you just need more passes with it. Plan on the 39002 and the #2 being more aggressive than the SFX2 (but that`s a guess as I haven`t tried the SFX or the new version of #2).



FWIW, I do almost all my polishing at speed 6, or at least 5 (never lower for correction).



Whichever you use, work it until it`s almost dry and repeat until things are looking almost perfect. Then follow up with the Meg`s #80 Speed Glaze (on a polishing pad) before using your LSP. You might try the Deep Crystal Step #2 between the #80 and the LSP but I probably wouldn`t bother.



In this case I`d use the Meg`s yellow wax (#26 I should think) as the LSP.