Detailing plan for Dark Grey Metallic Paint?

[Adhiraj]

Hi guys, I have a 2014 Nissan Sentra (Car is about 10 months old), and I've been taking pretty good care of it since day one. Microfibre wash mitt, double bucket system, twice polished by hand with Ultimate Polish, and waxed with Gold Class Wax. I also use Ultimate Quik Wax every 3 weeks or so on the car. There's a picture below giving you a general idea of what the car looks like.


However, I've recently noticed a few minor scratches on the front and rear bumpers (most probably tiny rocks on the roads etc), as you can see below. (The car is dirty in the pics though.) None of the scratches are deep when I run my hands over them, except the isolated one.

Rear Bumper

Front Bumper

Isolated deep scratch on door panel

I'm planning on buying a DAS6-500W DA Polisher, as well as the necessary products to remove the scratches, and maintain my car's look. I'd be most grateful if you could help me with 2 things:

1) Which polishes/compounds and pads do you recommend in order to remove the scratches in the pictures? (I'd like the least aggressive ones, of course!)

2) Do you have any recommendations regarding polishes, on how to give my car the best reflections/gloss possible? Its dark grey metallic, and bit tricky to make the flakes 'pop'.

Thanks a lot in advance! Any extra tips are very welcome

[Adhiraj]

Re: Detailing plan for Dark Grey Metallic Paint?



Any recommendations please?

[Top Gear]

Re: Detailing plan for Dark Grey Metallic Paint?

Adhiraj, I'm sure those scratches will disappear with some DA work. There are many combinations, but I use the Mirror Glaze pads (burgundy, yellow, beige) with Ultimate Compound, Ultimate Polish, and Gold Class wax. That combo will definitely pop! I also use Gold Class Quick Wax instead of Ultimate, to match the booster to the main wax. Use the videos on the main Meg's website for how to get started.

[Adhiraj]

Re: Detailing plan for Dark Grey Metallic Paint?

Thanks for your reply Top Gear (and sorry about Jeremy, btw!). Your recommendations are in line with what I had in mine. Although, wouldn't ultimate compound be a bit too strong?

I saw a chart on the forum which says how much "cutting power" each product had, and Ultimate Compound was really high up in the list. I wouldn't want to remove too much clear coat while doing the DA work. Do you think ScratchX 2.0 would work, or even SwirlX? If you've used those products before, do let me know at how effective they would be against those kind of scratches.

Thanks a lot again, and great Genesis you have

[Top Gear]

Re: Detailing plan for Dark Grey Metallic Paint?

Thanks on the car

Not to worry about Ultimate Compound (UC). It's going to take some practice for you to get used to trusting it, but with foam pads and starting slow and easy, you should have great results. I also use ScratchX almost interchangeably with UC. Both are very safe cutting products, as long as the clear coat itself is in good shape, which yours looks to be.

[Adhiraj]

Re: Detailing plan for Dark Grey Metallic Paint?

Yes you're correct, I probably just need some getting used to working with UC and ScratchX 2.0. By the way, have you used Meg's #205 Ultra Finishing Polish? From what I've seen on the forum, it works wonders (see link below)!

The Ultimate Finishing Polish? :

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?34312-Meguiars-205-The-Ultimate-Finishing-Polish-My-Thoughts

[davey g-force]

Re: Detailing plan for Dark Grey Metallic Paint?

You could try the ScratchX (on a test spot) first if you're really worried, but I wouldn't hesitate to go straight to UC for those scratches.

I doubt ScratchX will work in this case, but worth a shot if you already have it, or don't mind buying it.

[davey g-force]

Re: Detailing plan for Dark Grey Metallic Paint?

M205 is a great finishing polish. It's generally used on a foam pad as a follow up to a compound such as M105 or UC.

BUT team it with a MF Cutting Pad and it can work wonders - cutting like a champ whilst still finishing beautifully! It's quite similar to UP (which you already have), so probably not worth buying for you.

[Adhiraj]

Re: Detailing plan for Dark Grey Metallic Paint?

Ah alright! Thanks a lot Davey. I'm definitely going to get UC and a couple of pads for the DAS6-500 I'm ordering then. Your help is very much appreciated guys!