some questions

[lubo4444]

Hello, i'm new to the forum. I do read this forum a lot and i only use Mequiars Products. I finally decided to register. I did find many helpful threads here and the forum seems to be very friendly. I have few questions and i'm not sure if this is the right place to post them. If not, i apologize and please move it to the appropriate section. My car is black with blue pearl in it (factory color). My questions are:

1. What is the best Mequiars product for the dash and the door interior? I do have some faded regions inside my car and i'm looking for the best product to restore the faded regions, make it darker and to make it shiny.

2. What is the best and safest Mequiars product to clean my car from old wax? I want to strip the old wax and clay/polish/wax again.

3. What is the best product to fix rock chips from my hood? The hood has many rock chips but they are not deep. (that's how i bought the car from the previous owner )


Those questions were probably asked before but i read so many threads on here and i saw many different opinions and now i'm confused. So i decided to ask them. I appreciate all the help and tips you have. Thank you.

[Murr1525]

Re: some questions

1. I tend to go with either Natural Shine or Supreme Shine for the interior plastic/vinyl. Cant really say what it will do to faded areas, but is a good start.

2. Dont worry about 'removing old wax'. One of those old habits that wont go away. Just go with the usual process.

Wash
Clay
Clean/Polish
Wax
Wax

of course, which product are needed for the cleaning step would depend on the car condition, etc.

3. Touch up paint, applied very fine and thin with a tooth pick, etc.

[weavers]

Re: some questions

1. what color is the dash? Honesty fade trim can only be restored with painting. a rattle can works, just use very thin coats and paint 10-14" away. its so easy to mess up interior plastics. if you don't want to paint and its black try forever black, its more like 6 months black. megs natural shine looks good too.

2. to remove wax use a degreaser like dawn dish soap instead of car wash soap. or spray ipa and water. ipa is rubing alchol, i use 91% with a 1:1 dilution of distilled water. It also works great at cleaning glass and doesn't cost to much either.

3. learn to live with it. you can try touch up paint. use very thin coats with a tooth pick or syrine. be sure to put clear coat and wet sand and compound. if your car has metalic paint its very hard to match, and paint will fade in the sun, so even with factor touch up paint it may not be a perfect match. i see a lot of people doing touch up work and it looks horrible. so honestly pay a body shop to do it. its a real pain painting body pannels and so much work goes into it.

[lubo4444]

Re: some questions

1. I tend to go with either Natural Shine or Supreme Shine for the interior plastic/vinyl. Cant really say what it will do to faded areas, but is a good start.

2. Dont worry about 'removing old wax'. One of those old habits that wont go away. Just go with the usual process.

Wash
Clay
Clean/Polish
Wax
Wax

of course, which product are needed for the cleaning step would depend on the car condition, etc.

3. Touch up paint, applied very fine and thin with a tooth pick, etc.

Thank you. I did buy the Supreme Shine today but i did not use it because i wasnt sure if it's a good one or not. I'll stick with it then. Actually the faded regions i have are made of plastic so i guess i'll paint them.

1. what color is the dash? Honesty fade trim can only be restored with painting. a rattle can works, just use very thin coats and paint 10-14" away. its so easy to mess up interior plastics. if you don't want to paint and its black try forever black, its more like 6 months black. megs natural shine looks good too.

2. to remove wax use a degreaser like dawn dish soap instead of car wash soap. or spray ipa and water. ipa is rubing alchol, i use 91% with a 1:1 dilution of distilled water. It also works great at cleaning glass and doesn't cost to much either.

3. learn to live with it. you can try touch up paint. use very thin coats with a tooth pick or syrine. be sure to put clear coat and wet sand and compound. if your car has metalic paint its very hard to match, and paint will fade in the sun, so even with factor touch up paint it may not be a perfect match. i see a lot of people doing touch up work and it looks horrible. so honestly pay a body shop to do it. its a real pain painting body pannels and so much work goes into it.

Everything inside the car is black. I'll probably stick with Wash/Clay/Polish/wax because i dont want to ruin something. This seems to be safe.

About the rock chips, i'll try the factory touch-up paint and i hope it gives me good results. I know it wont be perfect but it will be better than now. Thank for the help.

[mis3]

Re: some questions

1. Since you bought the Supreme Shine already, this is the product for your interior.

2. The CLAY and CLEAN steps will remove old wax from your car.

3. Apply the touch-up paint uisng a tooth-pick, better with multiple applications (let it dry in between). I do not apply clear coat or do anything to them afterward.

[ethereal45]

You could also try ultimate protectant or ultimate black (same product) as they are meant for restoring faded black trim and vinyl.

[lubo4444]

Re: some questions

I'll use the Supreme Shine then. I guess i picked the right one. It's kind of hot where i live at the moment so i'll be doing the clay/polish/wax when it gets colder. I'll use the touch-up paint method with a tooth-pick and i hope i get good results from it. I'll check the ultimate protectant/ultimate black and if it does not help, i'll probably just paint them. Thanks for the help guys.

[mis3]

Re: some questions

There is really little you can do with rock chips. This is just the price of highway driving.

Maybe it's too late for your car, the clear bra works well. I installed it the next day I picked up my car. I liked it somuch that I later installed it to all frontal areas including the side mirrors, front of the roof, etc.