19 GTI- want a quick paint touch up (have all MENZ polishes)

Striker

Active member
Hey guys-

Not a newbie to polishing or detailing here but would like some advice!

I have all the Menz polishes and was looking at deconing and claying sometime this week.

I also feel after I decon and clay; I should also polish. (would prefer not to trust me)

I’m wondering which of the Menz polishes I could do a once over with?

I’m thinking 3500 and a white pad ?


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No idea? YOU need to do a test spot on YOUR car. VW is typically harder clear, but you can polish 100 GTIs all the same, 101 might be different. What color is it?
 
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Striker- I`d wait until you do the Decontamination and see if it really needs any abrasion. I`ve decontaminated countless times without instilling any marring and unless something actually *needs* polished, I`d *NEVER* do it.

IMO/IME, if you do a proper Chemical Decontamination you won`t have to clay unless we`re talking something that`s *REALLY* contaminated, and I`m pretty sure that`s not the case with your VW or we`d be having a different discussion.

Claying can (IMO and again IME it`s a "can" not a definite "will") instill marring, so IF you do clay, I`d sure go about it very carefully even if it takes you as long as it takes me (which it won`t ;) ).

THEN, if it does in fact need..genuinely NEED... any correction, I`d go back to the "least aggressive first.." approach. But FWIW, I`d be pretty surprised if the 3500 (which I`ve never used) would do the trick, but as Billy Baldone said, you just never know.
 
Alright. I’ll do that then. I’ll throw some megs iron decon on it and rub it in with an applicator and see.

I have a few spots that have scratches induced by me unfortunately. These small spots need correction.


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^^^Start with the least aggressive method first. So go with your lightest polish/pad combo and see if you getting the results you wish. If not, step it up and continue until you achieve your desired results.

BTW: Great looking car! I like it!
 
Striker- Does it really even need the Ferrous Contamination stuff? Just askin`...Ours don`t and they`ve been through a few winters without it.

FWIW, the "what color is it" would only matter to me with regard to that kind of Decon. A white vehicle will show rust-blooms/etc. that your car won`t, and I don`t care about things that don`t bother me, nor do I try very hard to find new stuff that might ;) (Again, ours *do not need it* not even the silver Daily.)

I myself would just spot-correct the existing marring while bending over backwards to not instill more. But then I`m the Autopian Heretic who doesn`t do *any* Detailing unless I believe it really needs done :o I myself would be too busy driving the wheels off that thing! Man, I think that`s such a great car...and I don`t even like FWD stuff.
 
It’s my first VW and I love it. Car is built like a tank.

The other day I was washing it and felt little bumps on the paint as I moved my hand across the soapy hood


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Striker- Yes indeed, those *are* built right!

And speaking of "right"...OK, you`re making an informed decision about the contamination :D SO...be very, very careful and try to avoid turning that spot-correction into a major project.

Wonder if the Ferrous Contamination stuff is right for those "bumps"...I`d probably be looking at them under magnification, but then I`m always saying that about everything.
 
Truth be told, I’d have to give the car another proper wash.

It has not received a hand wash since October maybe November of last year.

I’ve been putting it thru touch less washes all winter long and it is wearing two coats of Sonax Net Shield.

Not sure if I should replace the net shield with the new megs m27. But that’s not as important as decon.


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Striker- Sounds to me like you got away with not spending your Whole Life keeping it clean recently, which I for one think is great :D Yeah, do a good-and-proper wash, deontaminate it, and see what you really need to do for *your* satisfaction.

I`d be all about getting the undercarriage/etc. all nice and clean post-winter, but that`s just me...
 
The undercarriage is protected with plastic covers plus I had the car coated properly. So not much to clean there.

So I did everything today and I topped it with the newer Turtle Wax Ceramic Spray. Man does it shine and is it ever slick.

I washed it, deconed with ultimate wheel cleaner (confirmed by megs to use on paint) and corrected the spots I scratched over the winter.

Pics don’t do it justice.

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I corrected the spots that had the scratches. That’s it. I didn’t feel like polishing the whole car.

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Striker- Yikes, those were *awful*! Even scratched the plate frame..

I`m glad you were able to do it that way, and didn`t get Uber-Autopian to the point of doing things that didn`t really need doing.
 
Yea me too. It’s a daily driven vehicle and the scratches were from my dog. They weren’t too deep. They are almost invisible after Menz 3000 and an orange pad.


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Striker- Ah, OK..that explains it. Heh heh, yeah... I know from Doggie-damage. I raised both of our current ones with Disposable Vehicles, which I sold once I had them dialed-in on "how to act around vehicles", but the older one now has such mobility issues that..sigh...[stuff] happens, and hey he means a lot more to me than the paint on a(ny) vehicle. I`m gonna hold off on having paint/body work done on the Tahoe since any new puppy will be a whole `nother go-around and I *don`t* plan to do the Disposable thing this time.
 
Striker, first of all, congrats on your new ride! My 2017 with 21K miles has been a real solid car! Just oil changes so far, but I do need to take it in once all this pandemic stuff is over with for a coolant leak. Likely the plastic water pump/thermostat housing combo.

Those plastic undercarriage covers seem to accumulate alot of gunk, IMO. They`re kind of a pain to remove, but not a bad idea to occasionally do it and clean under there.

The paint on these things are hard to correct, but swirl and mar just looking at it funny. I haven`t found the perfect combo yet. Not very autopian, but I`ll use a filler product (PB`s Black Hole) once a year to spruce it up. Do not want to polish often as the paint is super thin. The hood will also chip super easy if you do not have protection film. VW has a nice touch up pen kit that seems to work well and is around $30. The area around the rear wheels on the bumper are prone to chipping off easy.
 
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