new guy with a dilemma and questions

[jbone]

My friend called me about five minutes ago and asked me to help him clean up his 87 Grand National this Saturday. He is trying to sell it and he wants to bring it to a local car show next wednesday. Here are a couple of my issues...



1. I havent yet invested in a PC which I had planned to do but havent gone through with it yet. (Does anyone know if there are any common retailers that sell them that I may be able to find locally?)



2. I also dont have anything to "clean" the paint with. I am curious to any suggestions on what products to use to clean/correct the paint (and which pads). Hopefully I can find some of the stuff locally or have it shipped FAST. It has spiderweb scratches, and looks a little cloudy.



3. The car has been stored outside for a few years, with little if any waxing. The paint is original, and is "checking"(?) on the hood and roof. He understands that the hood and roof will have to be repainted but is hoping to get the rest of the car looking decent enough to sell. He is perfectly fine just waxing it but I want to do more than that.



I am sure you may be assuming that I have never detailed a car. Well I have but only using a rotary with which I am uncomfortable using and no longer have. Its been a while since Ive done this stuff and Im trying to get back into it but dont wanna screw this up.



How likely is it that I will get holograms using a pc?



I was planning on washing the car with dawn, clay bar it, and then im not sure which direction to take with products, to correct the paint. (Its black)



So any suggestions?

 

[DaGonz]

My friend called me about five minutes ago and asked me to help him clean up his 87 Grand National this Saturday. He is trying to sell it and he wants to bring it to a local car show next wednesday. Here are a couple of my issues...



1. I havent yet invested in a PC which I had planned to do but havent gone through with it yet. (Does anyone know if there are any common retailers that sell them that I may be able to find locally?)

Lowe's home improvement center sells them. You can probably get the 6" pads from Meguiar's at an auto body supply store

2. I also dont have anything to "clean" the paint with. I am curious to any suggestions on what products to use to clean/correct the paint (and which pads). Hopefully I can find some of the stuff locally or have it shipped FAST. It has spiderweb scratches, and looks a little cloudy

.



I would use the Meguiar's Pro line of products. Meg's #2 fine cut cleaner, followed by Meg's #9 swirl remover, then top it with #26 High tech wax

3. The car has been stored outside for a few years, with little if any waxing. The paint is original, and is "checking"(?) on the hood and roof. He understands that the hood and roof will have to be repainted but is hoping to get the rest of the car looking decent enough to sell. He is perfectly fine just waxing it but I want to do more than that.

It sounds like the beginning of paint failure.

I am sure you may be assuming that I have never detailed a car. Well I have but only using a rotary with which I am uncomfortable using and no longer have. Its been a while since Ive done this stuff and Im trying to get back into it but dont wanna screw this up.



How likely is it that I will get holograms using a pc?

Almost impossible!

I was planning on washing the car with dawn, clay bar it, and then im not sure which direction to take with products, to correct the paint. (Its black)



See my answer to quote 2 above.



So any suggestions?

YOu gave us a real short notice... but if you can get the products, PC and pads and take your time to do each panel correctly, it should be all right.

 

[HBR]

My friend called me about five minutes ago and asked me to help him clean up his 87 Grand National this Saturday. He is trying to sell it.........

A little OT, but you have any pics and a price you can PM me? TIA



Best of luck getting her looking good, great car. Kids (read wife) forced me to get rid of one in '91.

 

[jbone]

A little OT, but you have any pics and a price you can PM me? TIA



Best of luck getting her looking good, great car. Kids (read wife) forced me to get rid of one in '91.

I dont have any pics, or price at the moment but I can talk to him and let you know! I do know it needs a little TLC, but its a great car. He took the best of it he could mechanically.

 

[jbone]

DaGonz : thanks for the tips I feel much better Know.



Is there anything I should be applying in between each step or no?



It is def a sign of paint failure. From what I understand it is somewhat common on those cars. (Problem w/ factory paint?)

 

[backwoods_lex]

If you can get the PC and a light cutting pad, and if you are not comfortable doing the regular process (or if you just get those first time frustrations), you can use some meguiar's cleaner wax. It cleans, has a very mild polish, and has lots of fillers. It is essentailly a glaze IMO.

 

[eyezack87]

Careful with the hologram statement DaGonz, I managed to get some from #83 on a jet black BMW. Thats when I found out that at certain temps #83 finishes LSP ready -.-"

 

[jbone]

thanks again for the suggestions. I have also found a local shop that sells 3M products, any suggestions on those (3M)?

 

[imported_Denzil]

Careful with the hologram statement DaGonz, I managed to get some from #83 on a jet black BMW. Thats when I found out that at certain temps #83 finishes LSP ready -.-"

You got holograms with a PC?

 

[Setec Astronomy]

It is def a sign of paint failure. From what I understand it is somewhat common on those cars. (Problem w/ factory paint?)

LOL...a 21 yo black car that has been "stored outside for a few years, with little if any waxing" and you suggest it's a factory paint problem? From what I've seen, paint failure is "somewhat common" on ALL 20+ year old cars stored outside with little care.



I think you'll do ok if you can get your supplies. Good luck!

 

[jbone]

LOL...a 21 yo black car that has been "stored outside for a few years, with little if any waxing" and you suggest it's a factory paint problem? From what I've seen, paint failure is "somewhat common" on ALL 20+ year old cars stored outside with little care.



I think you'll do ok if you can get your supplies. Good luck!

well the reason I suggested that was because I know of other people with factory paint who have the same issues that have garage kept their cars. Im sure his is probably advanced with the storage issues but...