Just bought a new car. Need Help! (Pics Included)

[ihavesoldout]

Hello guys,

I'm new here. I recently just bought a Honda Prelude from a dealer and they decided to detail it for me and left some horrible swirls and other defects in my paint.

So rather than hunt them down with a chainsaw I thought I would get to work on it and buy some Meguiars products.
The only thing is this will be my first detail, I have a brief idea but would like some additional help

I need to remove some scratches, swirls and cobweb marks.

I have the following products:
Scratch X
Meguairs DC 3 step, paint cleaner, polish and wax
Quick clay
and some applicators/microfibre towels etc.

Im thinking I should do it in this order:
1.) Wash
2.) clay bar
3.) Scratch X then paint cleaner (or other way around?)
4.) Polish
5.) Wax

Here are some of the trouble spots I would like help with:

Scratch my brother made by using detergent ont my bumper



Some rust on the left and something else on the right



Long hairline scratch



Rock chips all over the hood



Any help would be appriciated. If there is any more details you would like or any other products I hsould buy please tell me.

Thanks.

[scarface_]

What year honda is that? Looks pretty new, don't know how rust could be forming already because i have a 93 and i only have one lil rockchip spot that has a spec of rust. Another thing...that car came out of detailing looking like that? I would ask for my money back. But for your questions your steps look right according to the 5 step process meguiars recommends..

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle

And for the swirls i would agree with the scratchX since it seems you don't have a pc...


How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

Hope that helps some. I'm still learning so maybe more experienced ppl will chime in.

[Jbirk]

Hi and welcome.

Your first step is going to be to wash the car.

Make sure you have a good car wishing shampoo and wash mitt. The most imperitive thing is to have a clean wash mitt to avoid instilling more swirls and making things worse.

Use the two bucket method. Wash with one and rinse the mitt in the other. Grit Guard or something to keep the mitt off teh bottom of the bucket is a good idea.

Pre-rinse tar, sap, and bugs. Let them soak. Rinse well then wash and rinse well. Dry with something like the water magnet.


Next, clay your car with plenty of quik detailer or soapy water. If you use soapy water, rise each area and dry after clay. You should be able to remove leftover tar with clay. Rinse the car and dry to remove any clay film.

Now, you are going to use a cleaner such as ScratchX. I know you have the DC System and that DC1 is a cleaner. However, you have swirls and cobwebs and other terrible things, so use ScratchX and a hole lot of passion with a terry towel, since you don't have a Porter Cable DACP.

Wipe off any ScratchX residue and expect the paint to look nearly perfect at this point. It should be swirl free or very close and most defects should be totally gone. Y ou may need more than one tube of ScratchX, and a lot of terry towels.

Next, You can use DC2 to polish, or you can use a wax that has a polish in it. DC2 will allow you to bring your car to higher standards. It is a brilliant polish.

Next, wex with Nxt or DC3, since you already have that.

Jbirk


P.S. ScratchX is a Paint Cleaner that is stronger than DC 1. Well it may not be chemically stronger I cannot say for sure, but it has dimmenishing abrasives that DC1 doesn't have. You need the dimenishing abrasives and a lot of passion to remove your defects.

Another product you may like is ColorX., which is a strong cleaner wax.

Hats off to you for the project you are about to undertake. Let me start with a

and a


Only doing the work yourself are you going to get the quality you deserve. Well at least you aren't going to get it from the dealer that did the work above. I would say just don't bother with them because they do not know how to detail paint.

-Jbirk (If really serrious, get a Porter Cable)

[ihavesoldout]

Ok thanks alot guys.
It would be good to hear any other thoughts

Oh yeah and my lude is a 1992. Previous owner didnt take great care of the paint.

[ihavesoldout]

I forgot to mention that I have an orbital polisher. Im not sure how good that would be compared to a PC though.

[zr123]

^ ^ The orbital buffer will basically just help take the pressure off your arms. If you can manage to find a foam bonnet for it, you may be able to use it with the Scratch X to remove some of your defects. Before I purchased the PorterCable, I was an owner of an Ortibal Buffer, and was able to come through with excellent results.

Clay your car

Use Scratch X with a foam bonnet (or some sort of wax applicator bonnet) and work in the product. Once you're done that, wipe it off with a soft Terry (100% Cotton) cloth or a good Microfiber.

You can then choose to do the same with the polish and wax, or just stick to using your hand, since you won't be having to use all of that elbow grease to remove any defects at this point.