Ther perfect shine?

[jdrumstik]

I have an 88 prelude, repainted $3K job, black in 2002, however, I started detialing it without knowing a thing (back when it was my sisters car) I used nasty rags and well, after all these years of weekly waxes, its got some pretty bad swirls, plus its black

I was woundering; I want to remove the swirls. What product should I use?

Also after that I want to really bring out the shine of the car, so I suppose I should apply some sort of sealent on top and I was woundering what the best kind is. And then on top of that I get some sort of wax right? And I suppose I need some sort of wax remover before I can take out scratches?

Alltogether I would not a have any problems with spending $50, but no more than $120 please, im not rich, thats why i drive an 88 honda.

[curtis73]

Buy yourself some hand glaze and some good carnuba wax. I'm partial to Meguiar's professional line stuff. I would suggest buying a buffer and some good bonnets, but this is the $50 answer, not the $150

The basic three categories are rubbing/polishing which are a little hefty for a few swirls, glazing which can be done by either hand or machine depending on the glaze you get, and then wax/protectant.

Get some hand glaze (make sure its not machine glaze) and grease up your elbows. Follow the directions. One of the reasons I prefer the Meguiars professional line is because the polishing agents (only slightly present in the glaze) are designed to break down as you use them. They start out a tiny bit more aggressive, then as you work it and it dries, the cleaners become smaller and softer. The longer you work it, the more good you're doing. Follow it up with a good liquid carnuba wax.

You don't need to start with any wax remover. The glaze is strong enough to cut out scratches in the paint, it'll cut through the wax.

[jdrumstik]

i ended up buying a whole bunch of cool stuff

Klasse ALL-IN-ONE, 10 oz. KUS-KLA-10 1 16.95
Sonüs Enhance (SFX-2) SON-420 1 13.95
P21S Carnauba Wax P21-127 1 31.95
Klasse High Gloss Sealant KUS-KLS-GLA 1 19.95
Glaze
The Perfect Shine TPS-CLYLUB 1 9.95
Detailing Clay Intro

the clay will go first to clean it. THen the Klasse polisher. Then the Sonus Enhance swirl remover, then the Klasse High gloss sealent glaze (which is actually more like a polymer wax) and then let that sit for 48 hours to harend and I will throw on the p21S.


any thoughts? And should the polisher or the swirl remover go first?

[Twitch1]

Dude, I see you're in So.Cal, Orange County. You coulda got the pros to detail your car for that money around here. I spent that for my El Dorado including interior attention.

[Matt_IS300]

Originally Posted by curtis73

Buy yourself some hand glaze and some good carnuba wax. I'm partial to Meguiar's professional line stuff. I would suggest buying a buffer and some good bonnets, but this is the $50 answer, not the $150

The basic three categories are rubbing/polishing which are a little hefty for a few swirls, glazing which can be done by either hand or machine depending on the glaze you get, and then wax/protectant.

Get some hand glaze (make sure its not machine glaze) and grease up your elbows. Follow the directions. One of the reasons I prefer the Meguiars professional line is because the polishing agents (only slightly present in the glaze) are designed to break down as you use them. They start out a tiny bit more aggressive, then as you work it and it dries, the cleaners become smaller and softer. The longer you work it, the more good you're doing. Follow it up with a good liquid carnuba wax.

You don't need to start with any wax remover. The glaze is strong enough to cut out scratches in the paint, it'll cut through the wax.

I've seen you post a lot of helpful info. I've always just used polish on my cars as has my dad. We usually just use something like Nu Finish or a meguires polish but don't mess w/ the 3 step process. What are your thoughts on that? I really don't want to spend a couple hrs cleaning, then polishing, then waxing the car. I also plan on getting some Meguires X scratch removal or the G2 stuff for light scratches. Thoughts on either?

[curtis73]

Got your PM

Unfortunately I have very little experience with the other scratch remover products that you mentioned. I have used one called scratch-out that worked really well and I imagine the two you mentioned are very similar. The only problem I have with products like NuFinish is that they are called polish, but they are very poor at polishing. They are more of a polymer that is used instead of wax. They are excellent at protecting paint (making it bead) for a long period of time, but as far as removing hairlines and providing a glass-like shine, nothing beats the polish, glaze, and wax process.

Unfortunately, paint detailing is still one of those things that you really get out what you put in. The more elbow grease you use (done properly of course) will get you better results.

I might first try a clay bar detailer (won't help with scratches but it will remove contaminants) and then an easy coat of NuFinish. See how it covers the hairline scratches. It might work pretty well, but I doubt it will last long. Acid rain, washes, and other environmental factors will erode the polymer out of those hairlines pretty soon and they'll be back. The multi-step elbow grease polish'n'wax physically removes the hairlines so the good looks will last until you use another dirty rag and put new ones in it

I'm not a detailing expert, I'm actually just spitting out what I just learned a few weeks ago from a detailer. So if I'm wrong or if he gave me bum info I hope someone here will correct me.

[jdrumstik]

Originally Posted by Twitch1

Dude, I see you're in So.Cal, Orange County. You coulda got the pros to detail your car for that money around here. I spent that for my El Dorado including interior attention.

man I detail cause I think that its fun! Besides, a lot of people have paid me to detail their cars over the years! (im almost 17). Anyways, I've been doing basic waxing on my dads cars (we have 5 cars right now including mine) since I was 14! And I've been washing them since I was like 10! So this is sorta my things and im ready to kick it up a notch!

[Matt_IS300]

Originally Posted by curtis73

Got your PM

Unfortunately I have very little experience with the other scratch remover products that you mentioned. I have used one called scratch-out that worked really well and I imagine the two you mentioned are very similar. The only problem I have with products like NuFinish is that they are called polish, but they are very poor at polishing. They are more of a polymer that is used instead of wax. They are excellent at protecting paint (making it bead) for a long period of time, but as far as removing hairlines and providing a glass-like shine, nothing beats the polish, glaze, and wax process.

Unfortunately, paint detailing is still one of those things that you really get out what you put in. The more elbow grease you use (done properly of course) will get you better results.

I might first try a clay bar detailer (won't help with scratches but it will remove contaminants) and then an easy coat of NuFinish. See how it covers the hairline scratches. It might work pretty well, but I doubt it will last long. Acid rain, washes, and other environmental factors will erode the polymer out of those hairlines pretty soon and they'll be back. The multi-step elbow grease polish'n'wax physically removes the hairlines so the good looks will last until you use another dirty rag and put new ones in it

I'm not a detailing expert, I'm actually just spitting out what I just learned a few weeks ago from a detailer. So if I'm wrong or if he gave me bum info I hope someone here will correct me.

I polished my car for the first time today and I used the Nu Finish I had mentioned before. It didn't help w/ the scratches but I used my buddies Meguires scratch X remover for light scratches and that seemed to help but I'm thinking that's going to eventually wash off after washing my car a few times. Should I repolish those touch up spots after I use the scratch X to prolong the cover?

Also, were you saying that the 3 step process will help w/ the shallow scratches or will it be the same deal as I'm describing w/ the scratch X? You elude that it might cover the scratches permanently? I was also thinking about trying to use another scratch remover that's a bit more abrasive to help cover the scratches.

The Nu Finish made my paint look awesome, the best I've seen it since I purchased the car 1/29/05. Now I need to do something about those scratches.

Let me know

[curtis73]

Polishing physically removes scratches. The way it works is by abrasively cutting into the paint to more or less bring the rest of the surrounding paint down to the level of the hairline scratch. Hence the elbow grease involved. The secret is that the polishing process uses progressively finer polish until the naked eye can't see the scratches. Then, when there are no more visible scratches, the wax fills in the remaining hazy scratches and makes it look like glass. In your case, you're not removing any significant amount of paint with the light polish so its not as aggresive as that definition makes it sound.

Polishing is a mechanical removal of scratches. The Scratch X stuff is just that. It physically uses abrasives to resurface the paint. It doesn't leave any wax or protectant behind. The waxes and polymers like NuFinish are just covering scratches, not removing them. Wax and polymers don't stick around long, so even if they cover the scratches they will let them re-appear in short time.

Polish = abrasion to remove scratches
Wax = protection and coverup to fill scratches.

[curtis73]

Oh, and by the way...

You had asked more about the "three steps". The number of steps is more of how much your paint needs. Lets say for instance you just wet sanded your paint with 2500-grit paper. You'll need about four levels of polishing, then glaze, then wax to get it to shine just like new. If you have some light hairlines, you don't need the first three polishing steps, you can just polish starting with the least aggressive fourth step, then glaze, then wax. You can skip steps, but it won't produce the same results.

Its not unlike trying to sand a piece of rough-cut wood. You start with a coarse paper, then work up to a fine cut. If you try to skip steps and go straight to the final finish with fine sandpaper you'll spend days doing it and not get the desired results. Paint is the same way. If anything you could skip the glaze part and just go from the scratch X to the wax or nu finish, but you won't get the same results.

I say, polish, glaze, wax, and then nap followed by a tylenol for your aching elbows and hand cramps.

[Matt_IS300]

Originally Posted by curtis73

Polishing physically removes scratches. The way it works is by abrasively cutting into the paint to more or less bring the rest of the surrounding paint down to the level of the hairline scratch. Hence the elbow grease involved. The secret is that the polishing process uses progressively finer polish until the naked eye can't see the scratches. Then, when there are no more visible scratches, the wax fills in the remaining hazy scratches and makes it look like glass. In your case, you're not removing any significant amount of paint with the light polish so its not as aggresive as that definition makes it sound.

Polishing is a mechanical removal of scratches. The Scratch X stuff is just that. It physically uses abrasives to resurface the paint. It doesn't leave any wax or protectant behind. The waxes and polymers like NuFinish are just covering scratches, not removing them. Wax and polymers don't stick around long, so even if they cover the scratches they will let them re-appear in short time.

Polish = abrasion to remove scratches
Wax = protection and coverup to fill scratches.

Thanks a lot I think I get what your saying..............So basically my best bet is to use a medium level (previously used light) scratch X type polymer to help cut down the paint near my scratches and that will help solve those issues for good. Then after that is carefully done, I can polish/and or wax the car to protect and further seal the scratches for the final step?

Does that sound right? How hard do you rub w/ that stuff as I don't want to rub off too much paint and do more damage than good.

[curtis73]

Basically, yes. You use a product like a polish to physically buff out scratches, then a polymer or wax to protect it.

I would just use moderate pressure. Better to use too little pressure and have to do it again than use too much pressure and dig in too far

[Matt_IS300]

Cool I'll try that and see how it works. Thanks for the advice.

[stoned_pimp420]

as far as wax goes I've ALWAYS been partial towards Mothers carnuba cleaner/wax it comes in a red tub and this shit is freaking awsome! I own my 88 blazer but when I bought it, it was a parts vehicle and had sat up for practically 7 or 8 years before I bought it, then I put 2 coats on it a week apart from each other and my paint looked practically new. It even removed rust stains on the hood where bolts had sat on it and rusted literally to the hood to the point that I had to pry the nuts and bolts off with a screwdriver. the paint even held a sort of "wet look" for almost a month. but it takes a lot of time to fully wax a vehicle of that size so my arm was sore but it saved me from buying a paint job.