How do you shine up your cars paint??

[ThePunisher95]

I need to remove some water spots, a spot were I had to clean the car with those green scratchy pads and its not glossy on that spot, and I I want to make my car look like new on the outside....Paint is less than 2 years old..What should I use????

[BurnTire]

It depends how deep the spots are. Clay bars do a good job, mild compound, glaze then wax. Why did you use a green scratchy pad on the paint?

[BLK03SVT]

.....Why did you use a green scratchy pad on the paint?

I am curious to know this as well...

I think the claybar is the best thing invented since sliced bread. I was always hesitant to use it but it's super easy and makes your paint feel like glass. I use the porter cable DA polisher with Meguiars 7 and 27 and get great results every time. If you have scratches, use Meguiars "scratch X". I have a black car and it removed 99% of the swirls and scratches in the paint.

[trbofox]

The clay bar is not going to touch water spots or scratches. There is a good product from Zaino called Z-aio, I used it on a car that got parked under a tree and the wind kept blowing a branch across the hood. It will remove alot of the spots and scratches so that you can hardly see them, and will return the shine. It is definitely worth a try.

[Jacostang]

OOOOH. Scotchbrite on paint is a bad thing. Might need a pro to get that out.

[HIKER]

Last spring I messed up washing my car and took a phone call. After 10 minutes on the phone the water dried up and left horrible water spots, little white circles on the hood and roof. They were a bitch to get out. No detailer would remove them. The clay bar was too soft so I used a colorback wax from Turtle. It had just enough mild abrasiveness to it that it removed all the water spot after two, three rub-outs. After that I claybar'd the car with that Mothers Claybar kit from Auotzone. Worked wonders. After that a fresh coat of ICE detailer and rags would just slide off the car like they were on a bed or air.

[HIKER]

...and Dave.. How you doing????

[Jacostang]

Doing much better, thanks Gordon. It was a wake up call for sure!!

[1tuff68]

For water spots, wash the car with a quality car wash soap, then rinse, then sponge on some white distilled vinegar and let it sit for about a minute, then rinse it off and re-wash it. Alternatively, you can put a 50/50 mix of distilled water and vinegar in a spray bottle and spot treat it.

You must re-wax after doing this since it strips everything off of the paint, but it works well.

[sinspawn7]

I am curious to know this as well...

I think the claybar is the best thing invented since sliced bread. I was always hesitant to use it but it's super easy and makes your paint feel like glass. I use the porter cable DA polisher with Meguiars 7 and 27 and get great results every time. If you have scratches, use Meguiars "scratch X". I have a black car and it removed 99% of the swirls and scratches in the paint.

ive tried that scratch x stuff and its not really workin for me me. are you doin anything differnt than what the directions say?

[About2Bite]

50/50 distilled water and viegar. If you have a PC Menzerna Nano Polish works wonders.

Josh

[sinspawn7]

50/50 distilled water and viegar. If you have a PC Menzerna Nano Polish works wonders.

Josh
vinegar and water remove scratches?!?

[IMSHAKN]

vinegar and water remove scratches?!?

No, it removes the water spots. It's used in some detail shops.

[IMSHAKN]

ive tried that scratch x stuff and its not really workin for me me. are you doin anything differnt than what the directions say?

Scratch X is alright, but it's not my choice when it comes to scratches. With a DA it does a much better job using the new DA friendly formula. I don't like it because it uses fillers to hide some of the scratching. When I buff a car out, I use all water base products that do not contain any fillers so that I can tell when I have removed the stubborn paint blemishes that I'm battling.

[Ruckus46gt]

Menzerna works well but is dusty, its also hard to get your hands on right now. Good thing I have 64 oz's of it sitting in my room, along with zaino products, adams, klase, and poorboys. I use a mixture...for sat its going to be menzerna ip, then klase aio, klaze glaze, poorboys exp sealant

[IMSHAKN]

Never used the Menzerna polish before. Right now the main polishes in my arsenal are from griott's, zaino, some of the meguiars professional line, and a number of 3m polishes (I'm actually pretty impressed with 3M's current offerings).

[Mr. Austin]

And do you use just a regular buffer for this kind of stuff or is it like a terry cloth rub on? i have the same issues.

[1tuff68]

And do you use just a regular buffer for this kind of stuff or is it like a terry cloth rub on? i have the same issues.

Stay away from Terry Cloth! Use a foam applicator if applying by hand. A good off the shelf product is Meguiar's SwirlX. Work a 1 foot x 1 foot area by hand for about a minute and use some "passion" when applying. Should be easy to wipe off with a good quality microfiber towel if you worked it long enough. Might need to apply it twice to each area if the swirls are severe.

Apply a fresh coat of wax after polishing.

if that still doesn't cut it, hire a pro :D

Here's an example of what pros can do:
1967 Pro Street Mustang Paint Correction (http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32327)

[RockysMom]

I have had great luck with ICE, You can get it at auto zone, not too expensive and I use a soft cloth and it comes right off. Hope this helps :)

[Mr. Austin]

Thanks Guys!!!! I did the same thing as he did with the sponge. i was happy i got 40 year old marks of the car but now i have swirls

[1tuff68]

Thanks Guys!!!! I did the same thing as he did with the sponge. i was happy i got 40 year old marks of the car but now i have swirls

What product did you use to get the marks out?

If the product you used left "micro marring" then use a milder product to remove the micro marring left by the more aggressive product.


For example you could remove the deeper defects with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, then follow that up with ScratchX to remove the micro marring left by Ultimate Compound, then use SwirlX to remove the Scratch Micro marring if there was any left.

In my experience Technique makes a *huge* difference in the results you can achieve, so be sure to follow the directions and use even pressure on foam pads. Don't be afraid to use a little "passion" but don't apply all of your pressure using your finger tips.

If you have access to a DA polisher you can make short work of the swirls with a little practice :woot2:

[Mr. Austin]

lol no product and this was about 4years ago. but i used the green side of a sponge....:( And wow that you SO much. Ill be reffering back to this. Thanks for the tip!

[1tuff68]

lol no product and this was about 4years ago. but i used the green side of a sponge....:( And wow that you SO much. Ill be reffering back to this. Thanks for the tip!

Let me know if you need a hand, I'm always open to helping out a fellow classic 'stanger :D

[Mr. Austin]

Yeah Ill let u know! i am going to try out some stuff and if not ill let u know ;) thanks!!!