newbie has tons of questions... help!

C

crappo

New member
i dont have tons of money to blow, but i want to fix up my paint. there are a whole assortment of scratches and tons of swirl marks. its a dark green 98 maxima, and was treated pretty badly. im not preparing a show car, i just want my car to have a nice deep shine, with as few obvoius scratches as possible.

I have bits and pieces of detailing stuffs right now. Some of it is good, and some not so good (bought before i found this place :().

What i have:
el cheapo polisher
megs cheapo cleaner wax
scratch x
megs #26 wax
turtle wax ultra gloss quick detailer
cotton finishing cloths

right now, im looking at buying a polish (megs dacp #83? #9 swirl remover?) could i use scratch x over the whole car as a polish, or to get rid of swirls? im also looking at buying another wax, maybe nxt. i only used it once, but this 26 doesnt seem to bead very well. or am i doing something wrong? and would clay bar or glaze be helpful? remember, i just have this one car. itll take a long time to finish this stuff. i dunno if it would be worth it.

so what would be a good plan of action for me? is that cheapo polisher any good (better than by hand)? i was thinking of going over the whole car with scratch x, and then a polish. then #26.

or is it impossible for me to remove the scratches? another option would be going to a professional detailer and have them do it for ~200 cdn dollars...

help would be much appreciated. thanks.
 
If you don't have the money to spend on the proper tools then you should pay a detailer to do it for you. Your "el cheapo polisher" is not going to be good enough. You need a real machine and that is going to cost you some money. All that machine is going to do is give you buffer burns from hell and just make it worse for when you do hire a professional.

You will not be able to remove the swirls and scratches by hand. Its just not going to happen unless you have a lot of muscle and know what you are doing. Don't even attempt it because it can cause big problems. I don't mean to sound all full of gloom and doom, but those are the facts. Get a Porter Cable if you want the job to get done.
 
Unfortunately, judging from your description of your cars finish, you are not going to achieve the look you’re hoping for by applying products by hand. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but the speed at which a machine runs coupled by the heat that it generates is what enables you to achieve that high gloss finish that just can’t be achieved by hand. Before I get bashed, it is possible to maintain a finish in good condition by hand, but it’s too hard to bring one back to life that way. First thing I would do is save enough coin to purchase a PC 7424 and some good foam pads. Products such as Meg’s #83 DACP and #82 SFP are not going to work like they were designed to do unless you put some power behind it. Scratch X is a good product, but it is not going to remove all the swirl marks in your paint. I would classify this product as a good hand applied touch up for paints in excellent condition with minor to no swirls. If you are on a limited budget, I believe the 2 best things for your arsenal would be to buy the PC and a bottle of Meg’s #83 DACP or equivalent. Polish out as many swirls as you can (this may require more than one application) and follow up with the #26. Good luck.
 
Hi there, here are some of my ideas..

right now, im looking at buying a polish (megs dacp #83? #9 swirl remover?)
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Like mentioned for #83 and #82 you need a machine. I read a post from another forum where a person used by hand and marred the paint. As for #9, I would skip that and get #82 instead if using machine. #9 seems to fill more than fix.

could i use scratch x over the whole car as a polish, or to get rid of swirls?
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You can. I would just use for spot cleaning if that. I'm not a big fan of this product, as it seems to fill more than fix also. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

im also looking at buying another wax, maybe nxt. i only used it once, but this 26 doesnt seem to bead very well.
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I hear ya, but how's the sheeting action of the surface with #26? NXT is a great product too.



and would clay bar or glaze be helpful?
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Always helpful. I think you'll only do this step maybe twice a year or as needed.

i was thinking of going over the whole car with scratch x, and then a polish. then #26.
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This is a good start. It won't give you the best results. ScratchX isn't quite aggressive enough to get you where you want to be. Even with your el cheapo. Again as mentioned the PC would be the way to go.

or is it impossible for me to remove the scratches? another option would be going to a professional detailer and have them do it for ~200 cdn dollars...
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Maybe not all but with the right products and technique you'll be surprised. As far as the pro route goes you have to weigh that out. $200 for pro detail. You'll spend about that for products to do yourself. Then how much time are you willing to spend. Add that together to see if you'd rather go the pro route. I'd say your looking at 7-8 hours with the PC #83, #82, then polish and wax. Is that worth your time or money??

Good luck and keep us posted!
 
If you spend the $200 now, you will have all that stuff 6 months from now when you want to do it again. So what are you out--your time and the learning curve.
 
$200 should almost get you everything you need (maybe 250). You won't be dissapointed with the PC or the products mentioned and, like OI812 said, at the end of the day, you still have the equipment.

You also stand a chance of not getting what you expect from the "Pro Detailer". It can be kind of 'hit or miss' on quality - in other words, you 'might' spend $200 and end up with a less than satisfactory job.

Oh, one more thing, once you get the paintwork up to a satisfactory level, maintenance is a breeze.
 
freedre said:
$200 should almost get you everything you need (maybe 250). You won't be dissapointed with the PC or the products mentioned and, like OI812 said, at the end of the day, you still have the equipment.

You also stand a chance of not getting what you expect from the "Pro Detailer". It can be kind of 'hit or miss' on quality - in other words, you 'might' spend $200 and end up with a less than satisfactory job.

Oh, one more thing, once you get the paintwork up to a satisfactory level, maintenance is a breeze.
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see the problem is that i dont know how to use the equipment, and after spending $250, i might not be able to do a very good job or even worse, screw stuff up. are there detail city people in the toronto area that could give me a hand?

i have only checked one place, that gave me the $200 quote. i also have a couple dings id like to fix, so maybe i could get it done all at once? im really leaning to getting it professionally done. like you said, once the paint is up to a good level, it wouldnt be too hard to keep up. id pick up some #9 and that would be all...
 
With regards to screwing up it's possible but keep asking questions on this and other forums. Also perform searches in the forum on products you are considering using.
 
Crapo, I am just like u. I don't have any experience on how to detail a car even washing the car correctly. However, I start to learn. It feels so great finally I finished detailing my car. Give it a try. Consider it as your chanllenge.
 
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