Simplest way to spruce up this paint?

[morcar7b]

Hi all, this is my first post here. I'm not a hobbyist but a DIY-er who has decided I ought to take better care of the cars we own.

I don't have a lot of time for car care, but to tell you the truth I really enjoy it when I do.

I have a 2005 Ram 1500 that I'm getting ready to sell. It's 13 years old and has some scratches, a little dent and some nicks. I'm not trying to hide those things, but I want to make the paint look good. I've already cleaned the inside really well, the chrome outside, used a black restorer on the outside parts (like door handles, bumpers, air dam), and started headlight restoration. It's starting to look really good!

But the paint....
There are some scratches on the hood running fore to aft. I'm pretty sure these are from those automatic drive-thru car washes. (Please don't scold. )



And here's a small dent where a would-be midnight burglar got upset about being chased away and chucked a big stone at the truck:



Some more minor (I think) scratches on the front fender:


And the clear coat's coming off the camper shell. Now I might be taking off the camper shell and sell that separately.




As I said, it's 13 years old and I'm not trying to hide that. But I am selling it, so I don't want to spend a whole ton of time on it, you know?

What do you think would be simple but have a good effect? Thanks!

[ffboy]

Re: Simplest way to spruce up this paint?

I would use a decent cleaner wax or a wax with more polishing oils in it, I'm thinking the original Megs Cleaner Wax (paste or liquid), mirror bright polishing wax or black wax, I would apply 2 coats and apply in with more moderate pressure to get the most out of the cleaning and polishing effects of the said waxes. Some of the scratches may require more intensive work (scratchX2.0).

You can top it all off with Ultimate Fast Finish. Now that product is simple to use, the ultimate time saving paint protection product!

[Murr1525]

Re: Simplest way to spruce up this paint?

Yeah, for just something quick, a good cleaner/wax is likely the best bet. And if working by hand quickly, even a stronger compound wont really affect the scratches anyway.

Maybe just give it a pre-cleaning with something like TRIX real quick to help a little more.

[morcar7b]

Re: Simplest way to spruce up this paint?

And if working by hand quickly, even a stronger compound wont really affect the scratches anyway.

I bought one of those Megs DA Power System that goes on my drill. I used it to polish the severe oxidation on the headlights. It worked well there.

[Nick Winn]

Re: Simplest way to spruce up this paint?

Welcome to Meguiar's Online! If you are looking for maximum results, in a short-er amount of time, the combination of a good wash, clay bar if needed, and a cleaner/wax, like other members have mentioned, would be a good approach.

Over time, environmental contaminants can stick to the top of the paint, & depending on what they are or how long they have sat on the paint, they may or may not come off during washing. This turns into an above surface contaminant.



After washing & drying, when the paint is dry, and your hand is dry, physically feel the paint with your hand, and inspect if it feels rough. If it is not completely smooth, it would be best to use a clay bar on the vehicle, to remove these above surface contaminants. Especially since you are selling, this step is not completely necessary, but it will make the cleaner/wax application much easier, and you will get better results, as opposed to not removing them. Below is a video highlighting the process:



After the clay bar step, a quality cleaner/wax would be a good way to go. Light-Moderate Defect removal, added gloss & added protection in one step. If you are going to apply by hand, our Mirror Bright Polishing Wax would be my recommendation. If you will be working by machine, our D166 Ultra Polishing Wax would be my recommendation.

For the isolated scratches, our Scratch X 2.0 would be a good choice. You should be able to minimize the appearance of those scratches, but they do look pretty deep. To get them completely out, you would need an aggressive compound, an aggressive cutting disc, on a machine, like a dual action polisher. This would be best to perform after clay, and prior to applying the cleaner wax.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted!

Nick @ Meguiar's.

[Blueline]

Re: Simplest way to spruce up this paint?

I bought one of those Megs DA Power System that goes on my drill. I used it to polish the severe oxidation on the headlights. It worked well there.

I have one also and find it great for spot correction. Unless you have arms like Popeye The Sailorman, it would be very very uncomfortable to to a large vehicle entirely. I wouldn't want to even do a small car with one. However each to their own. As others have said, I would go with a cleaner wax, ColorX if you can find it or Meguiar's #6.

[morcar7b]

Re: Simplest way to spruce up this paint?

Thanks, Nick Winn and Blueline.

I decided to buy the Meguiar's Mirror Bright Polishing Wax. It's supposed to arrive by today but I probably won't get to it till next week sometime. After watching a few more videos, too, I've decided to use it with my DA Power System that goes on my drill.

I'll let you know how it goes.

[ffboy]

Re: Simplest way to spruce up this paint?

I'd top it all off with Ultimate Fast Finish, since it's too easy to use, I would take this short extra step to seal that shine.