Help with my Show Car

[Marietta]

Hi All! I have a 1969 Barracuda that went thru a total frame off restoration before I bought it in 2013. The seller told me not to wash it, but to just keep it clean with the California Car Duster and Wizards Mist & Shine/microfiber cloths. I’m pretty particular, and the car still looks and shows good, but it’s starting to get some tiny scratches in the paint that are driving me crazy even though no one else seams to notice them. I feel I need to do something more, but I’m not quite sure what. Right now I am thinking of trying:
Meguiars Ultimate Wash & Wax or Gold Class Shampoo & Conditioner
Ultimate Polish or M205
P21S Wax or Meguiars Ultimate Liquid Wax
I will be doing everything by hand for now and want as fool proof, show quality results as possible. Any quality suggestions between the products I’ve found or any others would be MUCH appreciated. I do NOT want to mess it up! It looks really good now, I just want to up it to excellent.


Thanks!

[BillyJack]

Re: Help with my Show Car

If it's a show car that's not driven regularly, use either a rinseless or waterless wash to avoid leaving water in places where it could lay, causing rust problems later. Both UP and M205 are fine, M205 being the more aggressive of the two, but if the scratches are that minor, you may want to try the new 3 in 1 Wax first.
It will accomplish minor scratch removal, polishing and wax protection, which you can top later with your wax of choice. Ultimate Wax is the longest lasting product, but for a beautiful glow on a classic car where durability is not the primary concern, you may want to try Gold Class or M26.

Bill

[Old Bear]

Re: Help with my Show Car

I can definitely relate to your situation.

The El Camino was painted in 2013, and I purchased it in early 2014.
I have never taken a water hose to anything but the aluminum wheels.
I found I had to abandon the car duster. In fairness, it was not a California Car Duster brand.

Primarily, I use Meguiar's Ultimate Waterless Wash and Wax (G3626) or Meguiar's Rinse Free Express Wash and Wax (D115 diluted 4:1).

D115 comes in a gallon and is a concentrate. It is designed to reduce costs by diluting with distilled water. Then using a quality mist sprayer on the smaller bottle.
Be cognizant of storing detailing supplies in those cold windy OK winters. Been there, and did not have a garage. I know those ice storms can be cold and summers hot.

One thing that might help is being OCD on towel management.
I don't want to rub dirt or dust into the paint.
I start by folding the quality microfiber towel in half and then half again.
That makes 8 sections of the towel.
I then spray a panel or maybe only 1/2 of the rear fenders, top or hood.
Now, I visually break that down even further.
I take a small clean sub section of the 1/8 towel section, like the very end and roll the edge as I make one swipe.
My goal is to pick up the dirt, yet rather than a hard 3/8" dark line, I want to see the dirt picked over a wider 3/4" to full one inch section.
This technique tries to not push the dirt into the paint, by providing clean towel as you roll it with you fingers.
The towel section is then curled and a new section is provided as we do the next wipe.
Don't allow the dirt from the towel to touch the clean parts of the towel or the paint (reduce as much as possible).
Remain aware of where the dirt is on your towel.
Check frequently for wide rather than narrow lines.
I might only get 4 or 5 wipes from a towel section.
Use a separate microfiber towel to lightly buff after each 1/2 section or full panel.
Rotate the buffing towel folded into 1/8th through to clean sections as needed.

Does it matter if you use 6 microfiber towels or 16 microfiber towels to clean your car?
You are going to wash them anyway in a separate wash load.

Hopefully this image will illustrate what to expect to see on your cleaning towel.

[Old Bear]

Re: Help with my Show Car

My post above is meant to suggest tips that might reduce adding those small scratches to your paint.
Bill's response also covers removing them.

In the image above, I wanted to show that the lines are wider because we curled the fingers as we wiped.
Hopefully that came out by seeing wider lines, not narrow lines.

I am not familiar with the Wizards Mist & Shine.

These are the two maintenance products I mentioned.
You might try the white solution and see if you like it.
If so, then consider purchasing the similar (not fully identical) D115 in a gallon.
One gallon concentrate makes 5 gallons less than twice what you are likely currently paying for 1 gallon of Wizards Mist & Shine.
To me D115 gives me the advantage of not worrying about not using enough product.
I spray on twice as much and save money over the consumer line.
I want the extra lubrication of extra product to avoid adding micro scratches.

[Old Bear]

Re: Help with my Show Car

The Wizards Mist & Shine that you are currently using differs a little.

It says that it is safe for fresh paint.
Although your paint cured after about 90 days, that could be important over a fresh repaint.

It also says it "Hides swirls".
Although anything on top of the paint, even a couple of molecules thick can help flatten the surface, I don't think either of the two cleaning products shown above contain any fillers for hiding defects.

It also says "Anti-static".
I can't respond whether the two shown above are anti-static.
I frequently put Meguiar's Ultimate Fast Finish (UFF) on after cleaning each panel
Rather than for 6 month to a year protection, I find that UFF rejects dust collection at car shows when it is the most recently applied product.

[Marietta]

Re: Help with my Show Car

Thank you so much for the suggestions! I will be doing more research on them all. The car duster will not be used on the Barracuda again. I think most of the scratches came at a show earlier this month when it unexpectedly started pouring rain and my husband "helped" by wiping the water off with a bath towel he found in the truck.

The car is very clean, my microfiber towel never gets that dirty except sometimes after I wipe the wheel wells after driving on gravel/dusty roads. I am very picky where it's driven and I use a new towel with lots of wizards every time I take it out, starting at the top and working my way down with undercarriage and wheels last. It is always wiped down and covered after it is driven and stored in a clean, insulated garage. I love the finish on the car and the gallon of wizards I bought 3 years ago is still going strong, but these scratches I see in bright sunlight are driving me nuts!

Do I need to "wash" it to remove the wizards before I try the 3 in 1? Do I need to remove the 3 in 1 before trying the UP, if it does not work?

[Old Bear]

Re: Help with my Show Car

That is a very nice looking blue 'Cuda.

"Do I need to "wash" it to remove the wizards before I try the 3 in 1?"

You want the surface free of anything that might get caught in your hand applicator pad, dual action polisher or rotary polisher pad.
You do not want to add more scratches.

"Do I need to remove the 3 in 1 before trying the UP, if it does not work?"
Meguiar's 3-In-1, Ultimate Polish, or M205 polish will remove the wizards.
If you wanted to, you could add a step with isopropyl alcohol or something to safely remove waxes or sealants down to the paint.

[Old Bear]

Re: Help with my Show Car

If you are doing the correction steps by hand rather than dual action polisher, it is worth reviewing some of the articles in the Forum "Working by Hand".

You want even pressure cross the whole pad.
You can very easily get "finger ridges" if you press with the finger tips.

Watch the video below and see how Mike Pennington keeps his fingers flat and even pressure on the applicator pad.

Also there is another preparatory step called claying.
In the video below at roughly 1 minute in, it briefly shows how to check for above surface contaminants stuck to the paint.
Here is a big tip, you really need to try to feel the difference.
Run your hand lightly over the paint (Be careful of jewelry, it can scratch the paint).
Do you feel small bumps?
Next, put your hand into a clear plastic sandwich bag and try the test again.
Does it magnify the feeling of the bumps?

There are different grades of clay to help remove those contaminants before you polish.
From what I see of your paint, you might need the safest/mildest one shown in the video.

One thing you can try.
Any chance you have light scratches where your feet may have drug the lower door threshold getting into or out of the 'Cuda?
If so, you can try the clay tests, claying and polishing there first to see if it brings up more questions.

https://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?66592-How-to-Remove-Swirls-with-Meguiar-s-2018

[drumdan]

Re: Help with my Show Car

M205 + M26 paste is my typical classic show car combo.

I will also use Ultimate Polish + Gold Class.

It depends on the paint though.

When I did Autorama prep for Bruce Kimmer's 69 Camaro I finished with M205, and waxed with M26 paste. He won a first place trophy that year.

The cutting process was done with the Rupes system. Specifically a combination of their blue microfiber / blue compound, and green microfiber / green polish. The finish was looking very good, but the M205 just took it to the next level. I could have used a Rupes polish/pad, but the M205 on blue Buff and Shine foam pads, and the Porter Cable 7424 was just gorgeous. I did use Ultimate Polish on a couple panels, but in that situation I felt like I got the finish I wanted faster with M205. Just like three small dabs to start, and reloading with one or two. Light pressure, speed 4, two or three passes.

I applied the M26 paste by hand with a yellow meguiar's foam applicator. A classic wax that I've used for over 20 years now!

[Marietta]

Re: Help with my Show Car

Thanks guys! I have the Clay Kit, UC and some pads coming tomorrow to get hubby's Charger R/T cleaned up so I can use it as a test car for the Barracuda (he's either going to PAY for what he did to the Barracuda or I'll be the best wife ever!). I'm trying to decide whether to get the 3 in 1 or just go to the UP or M205 with a wax. I saw a video where the M205 made a car look worse when done by hand (the paint was in pretty bad shape and I personally thought the guy used way too much product but it left an awful haze that he could not get off). Is the UP safer to use by hand, or should I be good to try the M205? Does the 3 in 1 really make sense, or should I just wax after polishing? I had been looking at the Ultimate Wax, is the M26 better in my situation? I will be doing everything by hand on the Barracuda for now and am trying to return it closer to a "1" than "3".

[Old Bear]

Re: Help with my Show Car

There are two different things being discussed in this thread.

1) Trying to identify and minimize the occurrence of scratching.
2) Defect correction

Looking at 1 again.
We used to use soft cotton towels for years on our vehicles.
We now have softer microfiber blends that try to trap dirt and dust, rather than rub the particles edges into the paint.
As I understand it, the 'Cuda was cleaned, went to a car show, where it was lightly cleaned again.
Then it rained. Being OK, that could have been a little or a lot of water in a very short time.
Then the cotton towel came out and was used.

We could joke and say the next is for the Love of Marital Bliss.
Yet, really let's see if we can focus more on what is causing this surface damage.

Are the scratches more severe on the hood, roof and trunk - than on the sides?
Were you parked under a tree or was dust blown before the rain?

If the paint finish had been cleaned and little to no contaminants collected on the horizontal surfaces before drying, then there should be closely similar towel inflicted marks on the sides as there are on the hood. If the rain/wind brought contaminants down on the horizontal surfaces, then the toweling may have generated more scratches to those.

If not .... Then continuing to also focus on the general maintenance procedure could be a good idea.

There are 128 oz per gallon. For a solution to last 3 years, that is about 42 oz per year.
Even with only 6 outings per year and a wizard detailing before leaving and a touch up at the show, would be under 4 oz per use.

Could increasing the amount of lubrosity help?
If there is anything in the product that helps the microfiber towel encapsulate the contaminants, could increasing the product volume help?

When I moved to a sprayer with a finer mist, doubled the amount of product and towels, I feel that the number of micro scratches reduced.
It might be worth a try. The costs were minimal due to the concentrate, washing the towels and the reusing the finer spray nozzle.

[Old Bear]

Re: Help with my Show Car

Regarding 3-In-1, M205, and Ultimate polish.

M205 Ultimate Polish would be my choice if using a DA polisher. Then following with a protectant. It is almost legendary in it's ability cover a wide range of correction needs by changing your technique.

3-IN-1 saves you time, and may reduce touches to the paint since it is leaving a bit of sealant as you go. It also includes some cleaners, some paint conditions may benefit from those.

Ultimate Polish is going to be good for a subset of uses for M205. It is also designed to be Consumer Friendly and may be easier to use and wipe off.

Ultimate Liquid Wax and Ultimate Paste Wax are actually sealants. They are easy to use. I recommend ULW for your car because, it should not stain your door rubber trims and is easy to use. With UPW or ULW, it is not a case of "More is Better". They are designed to go on very thin and then be easily taken off. Using too much can require more rubbing so keep the paint touches lower by not applying too thick.

There really is value in performing a test spot, even when working by hand.
It might be best not to have that be the middle of the hood, until you are comfortable with your technique.
None of us knows how you paint will respond.
Do you know for sure if you have 2 stage paint, color coat with a clear coat?
Could it be a single stage paint?

[Marietta]

Re: Help with my Show Car

Maintenance isn't really my problem. I've had the car for over 6 years and I never noticed more than a few very minor scratches before the rain/towel. (Like when a kid ran up and put his hands on the car at a show 2 years ago and his bag hit the fender.) I am anal about never wiping with a dry cloth (except for the duster which may be responsible for some of it and why I am not using it again) but am constantly wiping it down after someone touches it. It's got a deep glow in the metallic paint that I love and I tend to have a problem with sometimes using too much wizards, which makes it kind of greasy/streaky looking. The rain happened in the middle of a huge concrete parking lot but there was a bit of sand accumulated in the corners of the rear window where the water pooled which I think came in the rain. (The car was hauled to this show as it was 2 hours away thru downtown Dallas traffic.) None of the scratches can be felt, even with a plastic bag, and I have to really point them out for anyone else to acknowledge they are there, they just bother me. I don't remember the exact numbers right now, but it was repainted with several layers of B5 and several more of Clear before I got it and has only been in the rain the one time and never washed. (Previous owner spent +$80K rebuilding it and told me to only use the duster and microfiber/wizards on it - which I have, so far.)

Hubby is off hunting right now, but he's going to be very happy with his Charger. After spending 3 hours washing/scrubbing it and hand rubbing in some UC samples I had from a show, it looks better than it has in 10 years. The UC actually took out some scratches that my fingernail caught in! I will be using the brand new MVP Buffer I found in the box with the samples to apply the UC coming tomorrow after I get some good bug and tar remover and clay it. It seems a shame to reward him by fixing up the Charger after what he did to the Barracuda, but he did agree to let me do whatever I wanted to it as practice on fixing my car and I really don't know how to use any of these products so he is taking a risk that I would never take with the Barracuda...

[Old Bear]

Re: Help with my Show Car

You can use this procedure to move images into your Gallery on the Meguiar's Online Forums server.
The procedure will tell how to add it to a post.
https://meguiarsonline.com/forums/sh...ghlight=images

[Denner55]

Re: Help with my Show Car

"Do I need to remove the 3 in 1 before trying the UP, if it does not work?"
Meguiar's 3-In-1, Ultimate Polish, or M205 polish will remove the wizards.
If you wanted to, you could add a step with isopropyl alcohol or something to safely remove waxes or sealants down to the paint.

Heard of using isopropyl alcohol before on removing sealants, good to hear it is really safe to use.