Using ColorX by hand, for the first time, tips please!

[Raymond]

Just bought ColorX (on sale at Target heh), and I want to give it a shot. I saw some before/after pictures Mike Phillips posted on a car he did with hand-applied ColorX and a coat of NXT, so I want to try it out on my car.

How much product should I use?
Do I use a normal foam applicator pad to apply, or is there something else to use?
Do I let it dry to a haze before wiping off, or do I apply and wipe off instantly?
Just use a normal microfiber to remove?

etc etc... just looking for whatever tips, tricks, how-tos you guys have on using ColorX, as it's new to me.

[Murr1525]

Re: Using ColorX by hand, for the first time, tips please!

Hard to say the exact amount, something of a quarter size I guess.

Foam would be fine, though like with ScratchX, terry or MF could be used for more bite if needed.

It is a cleaner/wax, so if you want to take advantage of the wax, you would need to let it dry first.

Yeah, regular cloth to remove.

Its a nice product, just work it in like a regular cleaner for a quick detail, or you can give it a bit of extra passion for stronger cleaning, or iere was some kind of defect to try and remove. (Though there would be better products for that of course.)

[Mort Corey]

Re: Using ColorX by hand, for the first time, tips please!

Great product. I use it for spot repairs between detailing and full waxing.....like if there's a spot from tree droppings or water spotting....it removes minor defects and leaves protection behind as a bonus.

Mort

[Raymond]

Re: Using ColorX by hand, for the first time, tips please!

Good stuff guys. What do you mean by "there would be better products for removing defects"? Keep in mind I don't have access to any sort of machine so everything has to be hand applied unfortunatley. Thanks for the help.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Using ColorX by hand, for the first time, tips please!

The worse the paint is, the more product you'll want to use and the more you'll want to work only small sections at a time.

If the paint is in bad condition, you want a "liquid" amount of product on teh paitn because you want a wet solution of the chemical cleaners doing some work for you. If you work to dry you won't have the "liquid" cleaning abilithy working in your favor.

Here are two threads... this one...

1986 Ford Bronco II - Extreme Makeover


And this one, both of these were done completely BY HAND, no machine work whatsoever. Just a little passion behind the pad...

ColorX
http://www.meguiars.com/?liquid-car-waxes/COLORx

Although the below car is painted, you can see the power of ColorX. Here's what ColorX did by hand to a 1947 Plymouth Coupe,

Before - Horrible Swirls throughout the finish








First we removed the white paint overspray using Meguiar's Quik Clay System now replaced with Smooth Surface Clay Kit.



Then applied one hand application of ColorX followed by one hand application of NXT Tech Wax Liquid

[Murr1525]

Re: Using ColorX by hand, for the first time, tips please!

What do you mean by "there would be better products for removing defects"?

Most places that sell ColorX would also sell a product called ScratchX. If you cant tell from the name, it is a bit stronger of a cleaner, meant for removing as much swirling/scratching as possible by hand.

Folks who work by hand might do the bad spots/areas with ScratchX first, then go over everything with ColorX.

[Raymond]

Re: Using ColorX by hand, for the first time, tips please!

Thanks for the post Mike! My paint isn't in bad condition as far as fading goes, but it does have a decent amount of swirling (not NEARLY as much as that plymouth though)... so I think if I use this stuff right, I might be able to get rid of a lot of the swirling. Wish me luck!

[Raymond]

Re: Using ColorX by hand, for the first time, tips please!

Most places that sell ColorX would also sell a product called ScratchX. If you cant tell from the name, it is a bit stronger of a cleaner, meant for removing as much swirling/scratching as possible by hand.

Folks who work by hand might do the bad spots/areas with ScratchX first, then go over everything with ColorX.

Yeah, I have ScratchX too.. I really need to give it another shot because when I used it for the first time I must have did something wrong (from what I've read on here, I was using too much product), and I left new swirls instead of removing the old ones. Luckily, after my last detail (clay, cleaner wax, polish, carnuaba wax) those swirls were gone... so I'm trying the ColorX this go around.

[Murr1525]

Re: Using ColorX by hand, for the first time, tips please!

What kind of applicator were you using?

And yeah, you want the product to break down before you remove it to leave a nice finish. So using too much, or keeping adding, will tend to keep you with fresh abrasives, not diminished ones for the final few passes.

[Raymond]

Re: Using ColorX by hand, for the first time, tips please!

When I used the ScratchX I was using a foam-centered, microfiber covered applicator pad. I think that's what it was, I bought it in a 3pack at AutoZone because none of my local stores sells Meguiars applicator pads.

[Murr1525]

Re: Using ColorX by hand, for the first time, tips please!

Could be the applicator as well. Often when there is a stubborn defect, one could use a piece of terry cloth by hand for an application or two as it is more agressive, then an application or two by foam to finish up.

I am not totally sure where MF would fall between foam and terry, and even then there are softer and coarser MF's.

[Raymond]

Re: Using ColorX by hand, for the first time, tips please!

Well today after I washed the car I decided to try out a test spot on my rear spoiler to see how the stuff worked. Used a Meguiars foam applicator pad to apply the Color X, worked it into the area fairly well and let it dry. Wiped it off with a microfiber and could already tell a difference. Then I gave it a coat of NXT 2.0 (also the first time using this wax) and let it dry, wiping off with another microfiber.



You can seriously see a line from where I used it versus where I didn't, and keep in mind the car had a fresh coat of GC liquid wax from last weekend on it. The area I did it on has less swirls, feels SO much smoother, and the paint looks wet. I can't wait to do the entire car with this. It's going to save so much time over the normal Scratch X, paint cleaner, polish, carnuaba wax combo I was using before.

Thanks guys!!!

[imacarnut]

Re: Using ColorX by hand, for the first time, tips please!

colorx =

[Vormund]

Re: Using ColorX by hand, for the first time, tips please!

I second that ^^

Most versatile product in Meg's range IMO.

I had a small scuff on the mirror of my brand new car....I was thinking Scratch X at first, but used ColorX and it came out nicely.

[dozer]

Re: Using ColorX by hand, for the first time, tips please!

wow that was a real nice job...thanks for that info