new car advice needed

[Rob79]

Hi all,
I have recently bought a new car. Paintwork is not the best to be honest. It's black in colour and dont think it's been washed for a few years :
There are quite a few swirls, some minor scratches and some white marks although I think these are dirt which will come off when washed.

My question is what would be the best way to go about getting the paintwork back as good as possible?
I was planning on
Good wash
Clay bar
Rinse
Ultimate compound
Polish
Wax

Would welcome any advice or other suggestions

Thanks

[jcurr10]

Re: new car advice needed

Sounds like a good plan, but if it hasn't been washed in a long time I would maybe think of doing an Iron Decon as well. I tend to do that after the wash and before the clay, but everyone has their own way of doing things. Just a thought, good luck!

Jeff

[Murr1525]

Re: new car advice needed

Hi all,
I have recently bought a new car. Paintwork is not the best to be honest. It's black in colour and dont think it's been washed for a few years :
There are quite a few swirls, some minor scratches and some white marks although I think these are dirt which will come off when washed.

My question is what would be the best way to go about getting the paintwork back as good as possible?
I was planning on
Good wash
Clay bar
Rinse
Ultimate compound
Polish
Wax

Would welcome any advice or other suggestions

Thanks

Yeah, some sort of iron and/or tar remover spray would probably be a good idea.

And then removing swirls by hand will not be easy at all... you may have to just shine it up and go from there...

[Nick Winn]

Re: new car advice needed

Sounds like a good plan, like others have mentioned, it is challenging task by hand. I would also encourage you to be concise of checking your work as you go, like evaluating the paint with proper lighting as you go, this way you do not end up with unexpected results.

[Rob79]

Re: new car advice needed

Thanks for the suggestions. Made a start today before the rain came ��.
Gave it a good wash,
Iron Decon,
Clay bar,
Rinse
Then only managed to do one panel with ultimate compound. Used the meguiars soft foam pad and applied on a foot square section at a time. Wiping off before moving on.
For the most part it worked well. I am left with a couple of small grey marks which the uc won't budge.
I went over them twice but worried to keep going over them for fear of damaging the clear coat
Should I look at using something slightly more abrasive or just live the the few marks that can't be got with UC?
I realise it's time consuming but I don't mind spending the time on it.
I have debated going down the route of a dual action but although not a complete novice I don't feel comfortable using one due to the damage it can do.

Oh and quick tip... Never buy a dark coloured car in low light condition �� not sure how I missed it but the paintwork on this car is shocking

[Murr1525]

Re: new car advice needed

I wouldnt want to spend the time by hand, then buy a DA next month.

Autogeek has some good videos on youtube with DA's, and may help with your comfort level.

[tomsteve]

Re: new car advice needed

I have debated going down the route of a dual action but although not a complete novice I don't feel comfortable using one due to the damage it can do.

a rotary in inexperienced hands can do damage quickly.
a DA is relatively safe plus there are speed controls on them. no need to start out wide open. you can start slow to get the feel of it.