I'm going to do quite the job on my TA very soon.

I have Meguire's gold edition wax, bought their scratch and swirl remover that comes in a tube to get rid of all my spider web areas of my black paint.

I do notice though that the black paint needs something to revive it, something to bring back a bit of the deepness of the colour, what should I get to do this...and should this be done before or after the scratch/swirl remover?

I know the gold class is the finishing touch...

thnx fellas,

lbrowne

 

3M Swirl Mark Remover part number 39009 for dark colored cars is the stuff on black.

 

ok so if I don't have that and I have to use the meguire's I have....

I'll try to get that stuff for the next time around

thnx

 

Now look at what you made me do, I have that stuff on order through NAPA now

So put the Meguire's Gold over top of that then?

 

Keep it simple: Meguiars or Mothers 3 step system. The paint cleaner, go over the entire car with it thoroughly; The polish (you should see the results by now), and two coats of Pure Carnauba Wax.

The dullness in the black paint is the oxidation that has developed in the clearcoat from a combination of wet/cold weather (snow, rain), old wax that has clowded from absorbing water and dirt, and natural oxidation of your paint. Don't over-scrub your paint with something like swirl remover or a compound (those are for correcting problems like scratches, and blemishes). The minute you work on and buff off the cleaner you will see results...........trust me, I've been there with black cars. Black cars can be very forgiving when it comes to wax and buffing, and on the other hand, they can be the most unforgiving in terms of bad bodywork and/or paint, dirt, scratches, and birdbombs!

Whala!

 

last summer i clayed my car, my car never sees snow, it sits in a garage all winter.

I don't think the meguire's gold is a wax I can layer, at least thats what i thought i read before.

I have 3M 39009 on order, and my car has swirls beleive me.

Should I use a cleaner wax as well? Here is the order I was going to apply:

1. Cleaner Wax
2. 3M 39009
3. Meguire's Gold

is this correct?

 

Please take my opinions with a grain of salt..........

If you want really good results, do not use a cleaner wax. Pure wax will give you a brilliant resolution when your paint has been well cleaned in the beginning, and properly developing adequate layers of fresh wax.

Whatever product you use in three steps, it should be in this order: (all products must be non abrasive and clearcoat safe)
1. Clearcoat paint cleaner (liquid or paste buff cleaner)
2. Polish (a neutral glaze to clean and smoothen the paint)
3. Pure Carnauba Wax.

The cleaner wax will give you a shine, but it will not develop into a deep lustered resolution in time because it is re-cleaning as it provides you with a limited amount of wax. It is safe enough to use, but it won't give you the deepest and best resolution, in my opinion. It is ideal (I suppose) for people that have a limited amount of time to devote to paint care, and are not concerned with having the best paint resolution. It is the minimum paint care that is required for clearcoats. But as the addage says......"You get what you pay for".

PS: to answer your question...

If you want to use your combo, then go with the 3m swirl cleaner, throw out anything that says cleaner wax, and pick up a neutral polish (#2), and use your meguiars product if its pure carnauba wax. It might be simpler to pick up a 3 step system like I mentioned earlier, and it also could yield better results. But as so far as what you have, that is what I would recommend.

 

i'd use the scratch x for scuffs and marks like that. to get rid of swirls i'd try megs # 9 swirl remover. it acts as a polish at the same time

are you appling this by hand ?? or buffer ??

 

A few months ago I was going to do the whole bit on my '70 Formula 400 Firebird...so I bought some Turtle Wax Compound and Turtle Wax (Wax) I bought a whole bunch of circular rubbing pads and a lot of terry cloth.

My car had some swirl marks, light scratches, and oxidation. I used the compound (both the compound and wax I got were the paste kind) I did sections at a time with the compound, rubbed it with a back and forth motion, not too hard, but with some pressure, then took a terry cloth and rubbed all the excess off with the same back and forth motion...I did this over the entire car and when I was done it looked great!

It took all the swirls, oxidation and light scratches out. Don't be alarmed if you use this and you see some paint from your car come off on the cloth. This is what is supposed to happen. The compound takes the very very very top layer of paint off and reveals the new looking layer of paint right underneath.

Then I went over the car with the wax and it looked awesome.

-Daniel-

 

You saw paint on your cloth because (I am willing to wager) the paint on your bird was the old laquer paint formulation that was used on cars up to around 1983 give or take. The vehicle cover of the paint was the pigment itself, instead of a clearcoat. Laquers, unfortunately, although quite stunning when new, would wear quicker and lose their color more rapidly than the modern base/clear paints. Even if you meticulously waxed a laquer, it would still wear comparatively more than the same effort given to a base-clear. Base-clears have their issues of their own, which includes being more sensitive to swirls and streaks, but overall they are more durable, and easier to correct slight streaks and swirls than the older laquers. Appearance wise, its hard to actually say which looks better. I used to like laquer's appearance better, but base/clears have come a long way, and a good base/clear will have as good, if not better, depth of shine and color resolution.

That is why in general, you should not get too carried away with abrasive cleaning your paint, unless its absolutely necessary. You should only use a buff paint cleaner to remove wax once a year, as the buff will also remove swirls.

It sounds like you did well with cleaning your paint. Now on to the waxings!!!