E White

Spent many enjoyable hours in my youth bringing an old oxidzed finish back to life using products like Blue Coral, Simonize, polishing compound and rubbing compound. Found great satisfaction in seeing the color of the vehicle on the rag after using a product like Meguire's Heavy Duty Cleaner Wax. Enjoyed watching minor scratches and scrapes disappear with compounds. So, as much as I appreciate the benefits of clear coats in reducing the the routine of maintaining a finish, I miss the pride of having a shine that was attainable only through much effort.

Now that I have purchased a used "S" for my retirement and again have the time to bring a neglected finish back to life, I need new techniques to deal with a clear coated finish. If I would use my old stand-bys on the chips and scratches on the nose of my silverstone ... I assume that I would basicaly be removing the clearcoat before "rubbing out" the imperfections in the paint itself. Does this require having the clearcoat reapplied?

I have followed this forum for some time and realize there is a multitude of products available to deal with the new finishes. In fact, even the old standbys like Meguire's Cleaner Wax is reformulated for clear coat ... but I don't know what that means since it doesn't remove oxidation if there is a clearcoat ... does it?

Well, you know what they say about old dogs and new tricks ...

So, I will be getting some clay and probably invest in a Porter Cable (as my shoulders won't tolerate the old hand rubbing they used to) and start playing with different products. Since I am a cheapskate like most old farts I will probably start with using up my Meguire's Cleaner wax after claying and top that with the Meguire's carnuba (#26?) I also have on hand. From what I have seen here, I think most of you still remove the final wax by hand. Right? Got to spend some effort to get any satisfaction I figure ...

wanabe

hey e white-
my thoughts... i too have used the old products like rubbing compounds-
i would absolutely NOT use them on your car if i were you!
you need modern products that are clearcoat safe... unless you own an auto body shop where you can reclear coat your car-

you didnt really tell us what the specific problems are that you are correcting-
my guess is that you need a swirl removal product (a very light compound) and maybe a fine cut (only if you have scratches that the swirl remover wont get)- and you need products made for clearcoated cars (most modern polishes are made for clears).

and to answer your final question- i love my pc so much that i often use it to remove carnubas too... absolutely use it to remove synthetics cause it does a much more even job than you can by hand. i use a lambswool pad with a micro fiber bonnet over it (the lambswool is more for padding than anything else).

welcome back to detailing, and post back any more questions...
and in case you dont know, i love to see before and after pics if you can post em up!!

E White

Thanx for the input on the pc ... will have to try that.

Except for the nose, the paint on my used silverstone looks to be in good shape. However it is really rough to the touch when compared to my wife's 93 Camry that I have babied over the years. I'm am thinking using a clay bar will correct that even though I've never used clay before. I want to follow that with my Meguire's cleaner wax to polish it and then apply a couple coats of the #26 Meguire's paste wax.

With regard to the nose ... lots of nicks and scratches. They appear dark so I'm figuring they are through the paint. Probably should consider a repaint but am worried about the difficulty to get a good match.

Looking for something to try on these first ... am thinking these are beyond swirl remover but I will try that. What is "a fine cut" ?

S2KBobby

3M swirl remover is a very fine abrasive that will reduce it's cutting ability as you polish, bringing up a nice shine after "cutting" away the swirls and then polishing to a shine.

A "fine cut" is a rubbing compound that is slightly more aggressive than a swirl remover for the more difficult scratches to be polished out. Sorry I can't recommend a product name right now.

Autopia.org is a good site to check out detailing products, procedures and accessories.

Bobby

wanabe

bobby- this is one i like:

http://store.yahoo.com/classic-motor...erfincutc.html

excel

^ me also ^

Chazmo

How about some clay bar to start E WHite?

E White

That's the plan Chazmo ... as stated in my post above. Hopefully that will take care of the roughness I believe to be caused by neglect. Since I have a good supply of the Meguire's Cleaner Wax (my old standby), I will probably polish with that and follow with their #26 Paste Wax. Still not sure what to do with the nose. Some of the nicks are dark in color. This makes me think they are through the paint. I just got some touch-up paint and am going to play with that first. I think Silverstone will be a challenge for touch-up though.