Total Novice Need Help

[TedSexington]

I have a silver 2002 Acura MDX, It has a lot of scratches and swirl marks from neglect. So I need help with what products to use! Telling which products to use step by step would be nice!

[Murr1525]

Re: Total Novice Need Help

Are you working by hand?

[TedSexington]

Re: Total Novice Need Help

Yes

[Andy M.]

Re: Total Novice Need Help

Well since you are new to MOL, Welcome!

You should really start here.

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle

This is the premise on what we all have learned and have expanded on. I have learned more here than anywhere else This is the best detailing forum out there, the members won't steer you wrong, and if there should be a question about a process others will chime in. Our forum expands the detailing world from those who do it for themselves, to those who are hobbyist, to the pro's themselves.
The products will never let you down, it is all in the process.

Again Welcome!

Andy M.

[yalerd]

Re: Total Novice Need Help

You should consider these products if you are working by hand
List of New & Improved Products for 2009

[Murr1525]

Re: Total Novice Need Help

Yeah, sounds like the new products might be just what you need if you want to remove the swirls.

1. Wash - Gold Class, etc, two buckets, good quaility towels/sponges.

2. Clay - Smooth Surface Clay kit

3. Clean - For swirl/scratch removal, the Ultimate Compound might be just what you want. Then you can get a milder cleaner for future details.

4. Polish -Deep Crystal #2 Polish is a good easy polish.

5. Wax - Nxt 2.0 is a good wax. 2 thin coats is what you want.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Total Novice Need Help

Besides car wash, clay and your choice of wax, to remove the swirls and scratches by hand you're going to want to get the below,


Ultimate Compound



Soft Foam Applicator Pads




Supreme Shine Microfiber Polishing Cloths





When applying a paint cleaner or a compound by hand to remove swirls and scratches, you only work a small section of a time, about a foot squared and then after applying, working the product for about a minute and then wiping it off you would then move on to a new section but be sure to overlap a little into the previous section.

Because you only work a small section at at time, the cleaning step takes the longest to do, this is true when working by hand or machine. Even with a machine you need to only work a small section at at time.

When it comes to applying a polish or wax AFTER you have done the cleaning step, then you can tackle large sections at one time because for these steps you're not trying to remove paint, just coat over it.

For the cleaning step, if you're trying to remove swirls and scratches you do this by leveling the surface and this means removing a little paint and you can't remove a little paint if you're trying to apply a paint cleaner to one half of a hood or door at one time. So stick with small, workable sections for the cleaning step.

Check out this thread in our Hot Topics forum which has lots of meaty threads with popular topics of discussion when it comes to detailing.

What it means to remove a scratch out of anything...

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Total Novice Need Help

From our How To Articles forum, the below threads show both a bird dropping etching removed and a what we call a Random Isolated Deeper Scratch Removed, (RIDS).

The Bird Dropping Etching was removed with M105 but you can do the same thing with Ultimate Compound. (At the time we removed the BDE Ultimate Compound wasn't out yet)


How To Remove a Bird Dropping Etching by Hand using M105 Ultra Cut Compound

Scratch Removed using Ultimate Compound

[TedSexington]

Re: Total Novice Need Help

Thx for info any more suggestions? Would any of the commercial line mirror glaze be any good?

[Murr1525]

Re: Total Novice Need Help

By hand, you could substitue #105 for the Ultimate Compound, or #7 for DC2 if you have them more easily available to you. #21 2.0 could also replace Nxt 2.0.

#7 would be the only "better" version. The rest would just be replacements.