new and confused

[ralph]

I just bought a g-100a. I am confused about all the different products to use and what order they are to be used in. I have a 1995 black corvette, very low mileage, high neglect. I want a show car finish. I have the time to do the job right. The car is garage keep and hardly moves. What pads do i use? All the diferent numbers, please advise.

[Zitosonic]

Hello, check this thread

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2524

[Mike Phillips]

Re: new and confused

Originally posted by ralph
I just bought a g-100a. I am confused about all the different products to use and what order they are to be used in. I have a 1995 black corvette, very low mileage, high neglect. I want a show car finish. I have the time to do the job right. The car is garage keep and hardly moves. What pads do i use? All the different numbers, please advise.

Hi ralph,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

Here are the basics,

First wash the car thoroughly.

Second, inspect for bonded contaminants by feeling for them with the palm of you clean hand on the horizontal surfaces. If you feel little bumpy things, then you need to clay your car's finish.

Third, apply a Meguiar's cleaner/polish with the W-8006 foam polishing pad on around the 4.0 to 5.0 setting.

Forth, re-polish the finish with a less aggressive cleaner/polish or a pure polish and a new, clean, dedicated W-8006 foam polishing pad.

Fifth, apply two thin coats of wax allowing each application to dry for 10-15 minutes or until it swipes clear.

What do you have in your arsenal of product to start with?

Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Ralph,

I noticed we never heard back from you? Here's a little more detailed information for you...

When working on dark colored paints, you really need to take every step you can to insure good results. Meguiar's never recommends using a cutting pad on the dual action polisher. While it may remove the defects the aggressive nature of the cutting pad when used with the oscillating action of the dual action polisher will haze the finish and it will often times require a rotary buffer to remove the haze.

Conversely, the same pad used with a rotary buffer will create a clear, high gloss finish. It has to do with the action of the machine and how it works the diminishing abrasives against the finish.

Here's a thread that discusses this more fully.

PC+83 not "cutting" it!

I'm not sure who's pads you using, but if you want to try to polish the paint out on this car again, here's a basic outline as to how to approach it.

Here's the basic order of steps to follow,


Washing
Before detailing your car, first do an extremely good job of washing it. Remove all the dirt from all the nooks and crannies. This prevents any small abrasive dirt particle from entering into the machine polishing process and potentially instilling a swirl. Get the Car Sparkling Clean to start with and everything will be downhill after that.

Claying
After that clay the car, at least the horizontal surfaces. Again, do a good job of claying to insure you remove all above surface contaminants. The level of gloss you can achieve from your car's finish is mostly determined by how smooth you can make your paint. Claying will make your car's finish as smooth as glass.

Cleaning
Cleaning is different than washing. Cleaning is removing both above surface defects like oxidation and below surface defects like swirls, scratches, etchings, and dirt that has embedded itself under the surface. Choose the appropriate paint cleaner for the condition of your car's finish and your application process. If you're unsure of which paint cleaner or cleaner/polish is right for your car, describe your car and if possible post a picture and we'll be glad to make some recommendations.


Polishing
Polishing after removing the defects is typically using a pure polish that is non-abrasive to restore brilliant high gloss and deep, dark reflections. This is an optional step and one best used on medium to dark colored car.

Protecting
This is where you apply your choice of wax or paint protectant. Adding a layer or two of wax creates a sacrificial-barrier on your car's paint to protect it and also add shine and gloss. Generally, two thin coats will insure even coverage with a uniform appearance.

Maintaining
Maintaining is the use of products like a quick detailer or a spray wax to maintain that "Just detailed look" in-between regular washings, and the regular application of a normal coat of wax.


Meguiar's always teaches,

"Always use the least aggressive product to get the job done"

The idea is to see if you can restore an acceptable finish using the least aggressive product. Starting with a mild paint cleaner or cleaner/polish and testing to see what can accomplished with it is the safe way to learn which product you will need to safely remove the defects. If the first products you try don't do the job, you can always substitute a more aggressive product.

The most aggressive you can go with Meguiar's products and a dual action polisher is using our #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish and our W-8006 foam pad on the 5.0 setting. Getting any more aggressive than this can cause hazing of the finish and if the defects are serious enough to require a more aggressive product then you should use a rotary buffer or take it to a professional who is experienced with the rotary buffer.


When it comes to removing swirls and other defects using the dual action polisher, here are two products that work really well,

#80 Speed Glaze
#83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish



In keeping with Meguiar's philosophy of using the least aggressive product to get the job done, if you are unfamiliar with these products and/or your car's paint, then always perform "Test Spot" to a small are first before attempting to do the entire car.

"If you cannot make one small area look good with your prescribed products and process, then you will not be able to make the entire car look good"

Makes sense huh?

To do a test spot, start out with the #80 Speed Glaze with a W-8006 foam polishing pad and buff for 3-4 minutes.


When cleaning paint with the dual action polisher, you want to map out in your minds eye a section or area about 16" square or rectangle, or whatever fit's your car's body panels shape. The idea is you don't want to try to do to much of an area at one time or you will not get good results. The dual action polisher is gentle in it's cleaning and polishing action and for this reason, trying to work on too large an area at one time will not remove enough paint to remove any defects.

Note: To remove a below surface defect, you must remove some paint until the highest points of the surface are level with the lowest depths of the defect you're trying to remove. This means removing paint. This also means how deep of a defect you can remove is determined by how thick you paint is. Often times you can improve a defect, but not completely remove the defect as to do so would remove to much paint and in the case of a clear coat, expose the color coat and in the case of a non-clear coat finish, you will expose the primer under the color coat. How much paint you can remove is hard to know because you can never know exactly how much working film-build you have to work with. Experience in this area helps a lot and sometimes luck is a factor to. Remember this, light swirls are generally pretty safe to remove, but deep scratches like key scratches etc. you will probably be better off merely improving the way they look so they don't stand out like a sore thumb, the to attempt to completely remove them.

When using the dual action polisher to remove defects, map out a section to work in your minds eye. Check the speed setting on the variable speed adjuster. For removing defects you usually need to be around the 4.5 to 5.0 setting. Meguiar's never recommends running the polisher faster than the 5.0 setting as these higher speed settings produce an oscillating action that is too violent in it's speed and motion and this combined with time creates heat and the synergy of all these factors will loosen the Velcro material attached to the foam. Keep your speed settings at 5.0 or below.

After applying some product to your foam pad, (already attached to the polisher), place the face of the foam pad onto the finish and then turn the polisher on. DO NOT turn the polisher on before it has come into contact with the foam pad or your will sling product all over the place and then you'll get to clean the splatter up instead or work on your car's finish. Once you have turned the polisher on, move the polisher around to spread out your product over the area you are going to work. This is important. What you're trying to do here is to spread-out your product so that you have a film of fresh product spread out over the surface you're going to work. THEN begin to work the product against the finish using a slow arm speed, moving the polisher back and forth over the section and overlapping your passes by 50%. You should run the polisher in a couple of different directions, always with overlapping motions, to insure even cleaning over the entire surface.

Note: The reason you want to spread your freshly applied product out over the section you're going to work is because if you turn the polisher on and immediately begin to work in one place, as you're working the product against the finish the diminishing abrasives are breaking down. As you continue to move around the area you're working, by the time you get to the last portion of the area you're working, you will be using a much less aggressive product than when you started out because all the while the diminishing abrasives have been breaking down. If when you first start out you take a few moments to spread the freshly applied product around over the entire section you're going to work, and then go back to your start point, you will have fresh product ready to be worked into the finish as you move from one area to the other.

Does that makes sense?

After you have buffed the area for 3-4 minutes, (how long you buff can be relative to the temperature and humidity in your area, also the type of paint your working on and the amount of product you applied. The important thing is that you buffed long enough to work the product against the finish and have broken the diminishing abrasives down, but you have not buffed to long and buffed to a dry buff. This is something that is hard to explain with a keyboard and a computer monitor and is really something that first-hand experience will teach you), stop buffing, wipe off the residue and inspect the results in two kinds of light, (if possible). If your results look good and are acceptable to you, then repeat this process, (#80 Speed Glaze with the W-8006 foam pad on the 4.5 to 5.0 setting), and after removing all of the residue you can then go on to the waxing step.

If your results don't look good, and this combination of products is not removing as many of the swirls and scratches as you would like, then try repeating the above to the same test section using the #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish. Use a new clean W-8006 foam polishing pad for this step, or a W-8006 foam polishing pad that you have previously used with the #83.

Here's a suggestion
Use a permanent marker to mark the back of your buffing pads with the product number you're using with them so you don't mix different products onto different pads.


After buffing the test section on the 5.0 setting remove the excess product and re-polish the same area with the #80 Speed Glaze and the W-8006 pad marked and used with this product. Repeat the same procedure as originally outlined for doing the test spot with the #80 above. After you are finished buffing this area, remove the residue and inspect your results again in two kinds of light if possible.

The goal of coarse is that now your car's finish will look great! and be ready for you choice of wax. If your car's finish does look great and meets your expectations then repeat this 2-step cleaning approach to the entire car. If not then chances are very good to remove the defects and meet you requirements the finish will need to be professionally cleaned and polished using a rotary buffer by an experienced professional.



Hope this helps...

Mike

[Mojo1]

Thanks Mike for above post ,alot of help for another Newbie!BTW here is a shot of a quick bit a of work I did with a cheap buffer and #9 I have since bought a 7336 and waiting on pads and s such

[mombasa]

Excellent post Mike. Just one question - for a 16" or 2 foot x 2 foot area, how much product (like #80 or CCBS) do you use on the PC pads?

I know that by hand one would use an amount the size of a dime. Autopia suggest using an 'X' or a circle around the pad but that looks a bit excessive .....

I have an red Alfa Romeo GTV (1998) with some oxidation and light to moderate swirls.

Plan of action is :

1 - Wash using sheepskin wash mitt and 2 bucket method.
2 - Clay using Megs's clay.
3 - Prepare with Clear Cost Body Scrub (CCBS) and PC with polishing pad
4 - Polish using Deep Crystal 2 (DC2) and PC with finishing pad
5 - Seal with #20 using Foam Applicator pads and buff off using terry towels or ultimate wipes. All by hand
6 - Wax using Foam Applicator pads and buff off using terry towels or ultimate wipes. All by hand.

Any thoughts?

Thx

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Mojo1
Thanks Mike for above post, a lot of help for another Newbie!BTW here is a shot of a quick bit a of work I did with a cheap buffer and #9 I have since bought a 7336 and waiting on pads and such

Looks good Mojo1!

#9 is a very nice, light duty cleaner/polish, it restores clarity to clear coats and brings out the richness of color in non-clear coat finishes. You're going to love the dual action polisher, if you liked the #9, I would suggest looking at the "The Essentials Kit" for Power Polishing with the G-100



This is a limited time offer and will expire on Dec. 31, 2004

You will like the #80 Speed Glaze and the extra pads for sure...

Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by mombasa
Excellent post Mike. Just one question - for a 16" or 2 foot x 2 foot area, how much product (like #80 or CCBS) do you use on the PC pads?

I know that by hand one would use an amount the size of a dime. Autopia suggest using an 'X' or a circle around the pad but that looks a bit excessive .....

Placing your product in an "X", or in a circle around the foam pad is a proper amount of product to use and makes sense as I have posted this on Autopia in the past and it's also something Meguiar's teaches in our "How To" video.

"How to remove paint defects"


Meguiar's has also been teaching this since the early 1990's when Meguiar's introduced to the detailing world the dual action polisher. (I think Meguiar's introduced this specific tool in their 1994 "Brilliant Solutions" catalog. I have collected all of them through the years so I could double check), this was long before discussion forums like Autopia and Meguiar's Online were around. (GUI style, i.e. vbulletin, not Usenet Newsgroups)

It's also important to remember that when you're first starting out, your pad is dry and will absorb the product your trying to apply to the finish. As you continue to work, you can cut down on the amount of product you apply as your pad will become saturated.

I have an red Alfa Romeo GTV (1998) with some oxidation and light to moderate swirls.

Plan of action is :

1 - Wash using sheepskin wash mitt and 2 bucket method.
2 - Clay using Megs's clay.
3 - Prepare with Clear Cost Body Scrub (CCBS) and PC with polishing pad
4 - Polish using Deep Crystal 2 (DC2) and PC with finishing pad
5 - Seal with #20 using Foam Applicator pads and buff off using terry towels or ultimate wipes. All by hand
6 - Wax using Foam Applicator pads and buff off using terry towels or ultimate wipes. All by hand.

Any thoughts?

Thx

This sounds like a great plan. All of the above product will work like a synergistic system and after each step your finish will get smoother, glossier and more clear.

One of our members who is a professional and experienced detailer loves the #20 Polymer Sealant as a Last Step Product, (LSP), and produces some spectacular results with it. Check this out,

Bmw 745il Make-over



Just to make sure, does your car's finish have a clear coat?

Mike

[Mojo1]

This is a limited time offer and will expire on Dec. 31, 2004

You will like the #80 Speed Glaze and the extra pads for sure...

Mike

I saw that a little late and I had already ordered a bunch of goodies online. I plan on a complete do over on my Suburban when all the stuff gets here . Love this site.

[fred]

thank you for the superb explanations

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Mojo1
I saw that a little late and I had already ordered a bunch of goodies online. I plan on a complete do over on my Suburban when all the stuff gets here . Love this site.

No problem, just thought I would bring it to your attention before the offer expires and in case you need anything.



Mike

p.s.

Thanks for the kind words....

[Mojo1]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
No problem, just thought I would bring it to your attention before the offer expires and in case you need anything.



Mike

p.s.

Thanks for the kind words....

Thanks ,hopefully the $160.00 worth of polishes,cleaners ,glaze and pads will be a good start. I couldnt find much here locally in Houston .

[mombasa]

Hi Mike,

Thx for the info. Very helpful. I'll check out the video as well. My car has solid paint.

Also, it looks like Meg UK (I'm in the UK if it wasn't clear before ) have stopped stocking #20 - so I may have to substitute with Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection.

Cheers

[SprintKing]

just a lil OT
mojo1 what a great result well done on that brilliant shine & i must say that mike you give the best answers... ever thought of writing a novel? i find your writeups to be like a little story

great work