restoring gloss and clarity

[rrucker5]

I am a used car wholesaler in Mississippi and have used your products for about the last 5 years.

I recently bought a black 2000 Cadillac Seville STS. The hood appears to have been painted with a single stage paint and does not have a clear , sharp refection to it. I have been told that to get that clear, glossy look back, the paint will have to be completely removed and the hood repainted and clearcoated. This will cost me about $400. Before I do that, I wonder what you would suggest I try with Meguiar’s products. There are some swirl marks and a few rock pecks on the hood panel too.

Thanks for any advice you can give
First post by new member

[Murr1525]

With this being such a new car, this is only the hood that was damaged and re-painted?

Even with Meguiars products, it may be hard to get a good match between single stage and clear coat paint.

You are working by hand? If so , the easiest thing to see if there is hope would be one or two well worked in applications of ColorX, applied withe some 100% cotton terry cloth.

If working with a PC, then an application of #80 or #83 would be where to start. Then follow up with #21, or some other wax.

I am not sure if it is yours, or if you are re-selling it, but ColorX for $7 should give you a pretty quick indication of if there is hope.

If it is going to be yours, you can also clay it, use ScratchX on swirls, a pure polish, and a separate wax step, but its up to you.

[Mike Phillips]

Hi rrucker5,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!


I agree with Murr1525,

Try something simple like ColorX first, see if you can restore an acceptable finish the inexpensive, simple way. If you can bring back the gloss, color and clarity with a hand applied cleaner/wax, or at least get it acceptable levels, then it might be worth trying to put a little more effort into it using either a dedicated paint cleaner by hand like ScratchX, or machine polishing it with a product like #80 Speed Glaze and then applying some wax.

It really depends upon your expectations, if you want it perfect then you'll probably have to have repainted, if you want to get the car so that when you stand back about 10 feet and look at the car it appears to be a clean shiny car that's all one color then you might be able to achieve this.

After washing the car, feel the horizontal surfaces with the palm of your clean hand, if you feel little bumps that didn't wash off then you'll need to clay the car.

Quik Clay System




After claying the finish, (if it needs it), then move on to either ScratchX or ColorX by hand. Work a small section at a time really working the product against the finish.

For ScratchX, after you apply it and work it in, immediately remove it as a paint cleaner doesn't need to dry.

If you choose ColorX instead, then allow it to dry after working it in before removing it.

Check out some of the below threads for more related informations...

1986 Ford Bronco II - Extreme Makeover
Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle
How To Remove Swirls By Hand
How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX
How to tell when a Meguiar's wax is ready to remove - The Swipe Test
How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX
What it Means to Remove a Scratch

p.s.

Thanks for posting to our forum!

[rrucker5]

Thanks for such a quick reply ! I plan on doing this project later today when it warms up. Except for the hood all other panels look good. I guess I will use the ScratchX first; but really it's not so much swirls as it is tiny orange peel effect thtat diffusses the reflection clarity. Does that description change the advice already given ?I guess trying to describe the finish is like trying to tell a mechanic over the phone about a noise your car is making.
The finish is not terrrible but I am too picky for my own good. Most car shoppers wouldn't notice what I am talking about ;but if I take the car to an auction every dealer iether runs their hand over the edges or surface of the panela or has a paint thickness measuring device.
Which polish and which wax do you recommend I use?
Thanks

[Murr1525]

Be sure to read the how-to's regarding the use of scratchX. It works well, but it takes a little time. To keep things even you might end up doing the whole car, but who knows.

The best/least expensive series of products would be this:

1. Wash - Use Gold Class or Nxt Wash.

2. Clay - Meguiars Quick Clay

3. Clean - ScratchX

4. Polish - Deep Crystal #2

5. Wax - Gold Class or Nxt wax

Depending how bad the orange peel effect is, you might end up needing a machine. But ScratchX is the most agressive product for hand use, so thats the place to start. Just work it in well, with some passion, and plan on a couple applications like in the How-To.

[LiquidBlack]

Was the hood repainted to single stage? Odd hearing about a 2000 Seville painted single stage.

Got a digital camera? Perhaps that could help us determine what might be good to use.