Any of these products worth salvaging?

Ralphie917

New member
My first post here, new to this detailing thing although its always something i wanted to get into... I was just too afraid of rotary buffers, then after some searching found the PC 7424, just got it in the other day.



I have a bunch of polishes/waxes/etc.... I have been reading alot through the website and know that most of the good stuff cant be bought at mom and pops car shop or the big chains.



Most of this stuff has just been accumulating over the years and some of it the past owner of the house left. It is a big clutter on my shelves and if its not a good product id rather not keep it...



I plan to clean my S10, its an '03, its been detailed once, there are light swirl marks on the finish, there is some "custom" pinstriping from trees while offroading - i realize there is little that can be done about the deep scratches without enlisting a professional/painting. But all in all except for a few major problem areas (deep scratches here/there, a few years of driving and sand has kicked up onto me rear flares and beat em up pretty good) the paint seems to be in good condition, its still semi glossy, and its fairly new so theres no oxidation or anything. Anyways what im trying to say is its average, it doesnt need a miracle, its nothing like ive seen from some of the before and after pictures on this forum.



What if any of these products would you keep? I realize some of them may be complete crap and others decent, but like i said most of it is just sitting.



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Thank you for your advice in advance!!!
 
Keep all of it and try stuff out. All the stuff will have different effects. Try them and see which ones you like.
 
For start you have almost everything beginner would need/use in Meguiar's line so I would for sure keep them.
 
The only thing that jumps out at me that I'd never try is the Turtle Wax compound. Most of it is worth anyone keeping around, especially a lot of the Megs, Zymol, and 3M stuff.
 
Maybe some of yall know something I don't but I would definitely toss out that #7 polishing compound in the green tin. I used some of that when I was a kid and I remember it being extremely abrasive. Maybe someone else that knows a little more about it can chime in with a definitive answer. Good luck.
 
bill57 said:
I'd keep 'em all.



Yeah, same here...but then I tend to, uhm, "accumulate" stuff :o



I do notice a fair bit of redundancy in the products shown though, and the absence of a decent mild abrasive with enough oomph to remove significant marring. I wouldn't try the TW compound or the Nu Finish Scratch Doctor...and the Dupont #7 is too aggressive for anything except last-ditch efforts (and it'll require follow up with a milder product anyhow).



Dunno about the DuraShine stuff, never tried it.



I'd get some OCP or Meg's #80 or something along those lines...and then experiment. Or something like the old 3M PI-III twins (05933 and 05937), which you can get at autobody/paint supply places. The lack of medium-strength abrasives is the only thing that grabs my attention.
 
xtahoex said:
Maybe some of yall know something I don't but I would definitely toss out that #7 polishing compound in the green tin.

I feel original question should be rephrased from "what to keep" to "what to throw out". It would be much more efficient.
 
tom p. said:
Some of that stuff is old. It is still useable??



Oughta be as long as the caps/lids are on right and they haven't frozen. I use stuff that's a *lot* older than anything he posted.
 
I have tons of old stuff that I still use, but I have some pretty lumpy Lexol (which still seemed to work, although I don't know how it worked when it was fresh). I remember blkZ28conv saying that some leather conditioners have lanolin in them which goes rancid...that's what looks like happened to that Zymol in the pic...but maybe not.
 
Yeah, good point, it's not like *everything* stays good forever. Some leather care products *do* go bad in a gross way and some of my vinyl dressings seem to need an awful lot of shaking up after a few years too (my old Griot's stuff is strictly for tires/etc. these days, looks pretty funky). Meg's #34 and Griot's SpeedShine seem to have a shelflife too, they "clear out" to the point that I'm not willing to trust them (takes years though).
 
That old #7 polishing compound in the green container can be used if you have a minor touch-up paint job that you sprayed on with a can of spray paint from your local auto parts store. Lighter polish would follow during the "rubbing out" process.
 
Stuff I would toss would include:

Mothers pre Wax cleaner

DuraShine

Megs 52

Zymol Conditioner

#7 PC

Turtle Wax

Kit Wax

Megs Cleaner Wax

Megs Nuba Wax

Zymol Cleaner Wax (made of dust and a little abrasivess)

Kit Liquid Wax

And the entire bottom row except #7.

1. Prep with the Megs Clay kit

2. Polish with the Megs DC Polish or 3M SMR (Its not clear if its for light or dark colors though)

3. Seal with either the Nano Wax Or NXT.

4. Maintain with the Mothers Showtime (Excellent stuff BTW)
 
what pads should i use with what??? Just picked up a 7424 on impulse for a good deal but i cant help but thinking im getting in over my head now.



Its confusing going shopping online and trying to make sense of whats what and what i should use....



Trying here to educate myself step by step, but it seems there so many different routes you can go.
 
There are plenty of good pads and other products out there. Just find any of the ones mentioned on here for a good deal and you'll probably be just fine. I'd recommend starting with at least a couple polishing and compounding (or light cut) pads to get going, some decent polish, a velcro backplate for the pads, and go from there.
 
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