Saving my brothers BF XR6

[illavitar]

Hey guys this is my bros BF XR6 and it needs help! I believe the colour is charcoal black (metallic)



The paint is still in nice condition but feels contaminated as hell (I believe contaminated is the correct term). I run my finger nails across it and it's rough, I will leave fine scratches if I'm not careful. As opposed to the desired rich glasslike frictionless finish where fingernails would just slip around if you tried to scratch the panel. The car doesn't have any bad swirls or damage/oxidation luckily however the paint is long overdue for protection. I have a makita rotary buffer I wanted to use (if safe?) and the following products on my shelf:

Meguiars
Swirl X
3 step (cleanse, polish, carnabura wax)
tech 2.0 nxt wax
ultimate compound
fine cut
105/205 (don't see myself needing to use these)

Autoglym

Super resin Polish
Paint renovator
clay kit
tar remover

Honestly these products confuse the hell out of me which is probably why I have so many combinations of them. I'm aware some do the same as others so I should not use all of them together (which is what i orignally did on my car the first time lol). What ones would you recommend?

On no real basis I feel the 3 step meguiars would be the best bet for this car (ie cleanse/polish and wax) with a clay beforehand. Or maybe I should also use tar remover and a fine cutter on top of the 3 step/cay? The other query I have is the super resin polish/nxt 2.0 instead of the meguiars 3 step. I've heard the super resin is actually a cut&polish combo, and the nxt is a polish&wax combo. Whereas the meguiars are specifically individual (ie paint cleanse, fine cut, polish, wax) all in their own separate bottles. Would the super resin polish+nxt be a better choice than the 3 step or vice versa.

I also have the ultimate compound and paint renovator but surely those are for older/neglected paint jobs? The swirl X I'm not sure what it is even intended for as it doesn't remove swirls in my experience. I also have the rotary buffer but I wouldn't use that with the meguiars 3 step? I've heard that's hand only. Any suggestions for what products I should use? Buying more products is always an option but preferably I'd like to use what I already have in that list!!

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

cheers

[The Guz]

Re: Saving my brothers BF XR6

First off I would not recommend you to run your finger nails across clear coat. Clear coat is scratch sensitive. The baggie test is preferred to feel the surface and determine if you need to clay or not. You say there is no swirls but if the car has not been well maintainedl, there is a good chance there are swirls. It's hard to tell from that photo. I don't know your skill level and I would say if you are a beginner or an enthusiast you should consider a dual action (D/A) polisher.

I would wash, clay for sure. Try a test spot first to see if M205 is giving you the desired results. If it is not you could got more aggressive and go with either Ultimate compound or M105.

two options:
1) Wash clay, M205, NXT
2) Wash, clay, M105 or UC, M205, NXT


Ultimate compound can be used on newer paints as well. It's derived from M105. Just like ultimate polish is derived from M205.