Newbie help requested.

[Lawlmens]

Hey everyone I have been waiting a few days for my registration approval to be approved for posting on here, I have done lots of looking, reading, and researching on here with lots of luck as well as lots of confusion on mixed opinions etc on products so I figured i'd make a post about my situation to look for all criticism to correct my mistakes as well as opinions

A little background, I am VERY new to detailing, but I'm not a complete idiot when it comes to certain things either, with that being said my truck is a 2016 (paint and clearcoat still in excellent condition ) what I am trying to accomplish here is getting the very fine hairline scratches out of the clearcoat, they are not deep, a fingernail won't stick in them, and you can only see them in the sun, my truck is black.
I will attach some pictures from today, i did a quick detail ( everything by hand ) I clay barr'd it about a month ago so I didn't do that today,

Here is the process I did again, all by hand..


*note* I do not use all meguiars products as I am trying a local company to me some of their waxes etc, but I do however have meguiars ultimate polish, swirl remover 2.0 and a few others *

1. two bucket method one bucket with cleaning solution and second bucket clean water to remove dirt and contaminants from sponge

2. Wash and rinse then hand dry before sun dried with microfiber towels and left water spots

3. ( skipped this step today ) Clay bar with a lubricant

4. (here is where I need help ) I used swirl remover 2.0 and a microfiber round pad by hand and went over about a 12x12 area 4-5 times before wiping away hoping it would get those scratches I have mentioned away and it did not, did I not apply enough pressure, or should I use Swirl X 2.0

5. Meguiars ultimate Polish applied and wiped away with microfiber cloth

6. A Polymer Sealant applied and dried I let it sit roughly 15-20 mins before wiping away with microfiber cloth

7. A High Gloss Caranuba wax applied and dried until it passed the swipe test, then wiped away with microfiber cloth

The scratches are not noticeable in the pictures, but when the sun directly hits it, you can see the swirl marks / scratches .

Looking for all opinions on what I do and don't do wrong, what I need to change or any tips, thanks!

I am looking at getting a DA polisher to help speed up the process and give my arms a break, that is a whole new world I am still looking at learning as to which pads etc to use. .
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[Nick Winn]

Re: Newbie help requested.

Welcome to Meguiar's Online. Regarding waiting a few days for approval, we apologize for any inconvenience. Our current software requires us to manually approve new users. Once a new user is signed up, we approve within 24 hours. I am not sure what happened with you having to wait a few days, but will definitely look into it. We again apologize for any inconvenience.

Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 & Ultimate Polish Pre-Waxing Glaze are actually fairly similar. Both are what we consider Cleaner/Polishes. Both have very mild abrasives to remove very light swirls & fine scratches. They also both work to provide added gloss.

If you want to continue working by hand, I would first recommend using a Soft Foam Wax Applicator Pad like our W0004 Soft Foam Applicators. It would still be recommended to use a quality microfiber towel for wipe off. If you want to continue working by hand, yes, I would agree that a more aggressive product would be what is needed next, our Scratch X 2.0 or Ultimate Compound would be my recommendation.

Much of the same thinking would apply for using a dual action polisher as well. If Ultimate Polish does not work to remove the defects to your satisfaction, most often times the next step would be applying Ultimate Compound. If Ultimate Compound were used, it would be best to apply Ultimate Polish after to provide added gloss, especially for black.

Hope this information was helpful.

Nick

[The Guz]

Re: Newbie help requested.

Welcome to MOL.

First thing first is that is a nice truck. You have noticed how hard it is to keep a black vehicle looking good. But here is some input.

Clay bar only when you think it needs to be clay barred. No sense in clay barring every time. Once or twice a year is fine.

As far as not getting those light swirls and scratches out. The thing is that doing things by hand is not always going to get them unlike a dual action polisher. A machine will always net better results and of course in less time.

Ultimate Compound may give you better results by hand compared to ultimate polish or swirl remover 2.0. No need to get swirlx as you already have ultimate polish. You can try ultimate compound and see if that gets you the desired result and then follow up with ultimate polish to refine the finish and give you that gloss.

Try using a yellow foam applicator when using them. Microfiber tends to be a little more aggressive and can leave it's own defects and possibly haze the paint.

If you don't have the time you can use a cleaner wax like white wax or black wax. White wax will have more correction ability compared to black wax. Black wax will have more polishing oils to make the paint appear darker. There is also mirror bright polishing wax which is also a cleaner wax product but with a sealant instead of a carnauba wax. Not as much correction as white wax.

I don't quite understand your point about washing and water spots. Are you saying you got water spots or you are preventing them with the drying method you are using?

[Lawlmens]

Re: Newbie help requested.

If you want to continue working by hand, I would first recommend using a Soft Foam Wax Applicator Pad like our W0004 Soft Foam Applicators. It would still be recommended to use a quality microfiber towel for wipe off. If you want to continue working by hand, yes, I would agree that a more aggressive product would be what is needed next, our Scratch X 2.0 or Ultimate Compound would be my recommendation.

Much of the same thinking would apply for using a dual action polisher as well. If Ultimate Polish does not work to remove the defects to your satisfaction, most often times the next step would be applying Ultimate Compound. If Ultimate Compound were used, it would be best to apply Ultimate Polish after to provide added gloss, especially for black.

Hope this information was helpful.

Nick

Thank you Nick, I will check out the foam applicator pad in the mean time until I school myself in some DA polishing techniques and pads. What considers it to be a 'quality microfiber towel'
I will try ultimate compound by hand following it up with ultimate polish afterwards next time it is due for a wash! I can try to get some pictures in better sunlight of the scratches / swirl marks, but no guarantees that they will show in a phone camera.


Thank you Guz for the compliment on my truck. Trying to get it to a good shine again!
I only clay it once every few months, or when I neglect washing it after a good long while Could I use white wax for correction then black wax ontop of it, or my normal caranuba wax that I am currently using?

I am preventing water spots with my current drying method as long as i keep a good dry microfiber towel / cloth. if it begins to get wet enough it will just smear the water into a bunch of smaller waterspots, which come up with Ultimate Polish or anything else when that is applied next

Do you have any good recommendations on a good yellow foam applicator, whether it be for hand or by machine. Also, I have noticed different colors of foam pads being different abrasiveness it seems like, why yellow instead of another color with less or more abrasiveness?

Thanks for both of your timely responses!

[The Guz]

Re: Newbie help requested.

No need to top either cleaner wax. They both do a similar job. But if you wish you can top a cleaner wax even though the cleaner wax will have some protection.

Since you are doing this by hand the typical yellow foam applicator are what Nick and I are referring to. Meguiar's makes a nice set of yellow foam applicators. The other pads are for a dual action polisher and each pad is designed for a specific task.

Lake Country does make hand held foam applicators that are similar to some of their DA pads.