Hi all, new here to the board and "detailing" in general - I've washed plenty of cars over the years, but this detailing thing....wow! It's just the thing to soothe an obsessive mind....glad I'm not alone!
I just picked up a 97 Volvo wagon. Being a "boring" family car, the paint and interior have been largely ignored by the previous owners - not abused, just ignored. Along with some fair sized dings and chips, It has a ton of light to medium scratches from going through cheap auto-washes, scratches on the roof from sliding stuff across it, and worst of all, in places, the hood shows what looks like scratches from a random orbit sander...possibly a botched respray or detailing?
Deciding to tackle this myself, I bought a PC 7424 from AutoGeek, along with the pad kit - Wolfgang Concourse (1 orange, 2 white , and 1 black). I also picked up some 3M PI Compound, Swirl remover, and Liquid Wax.
Well, I went to work one night, slinging product all over the car and myself, and when I was done, I swear I heard the paint chuckling at me - it was barely any different! I was completely dejected.
Reading these forums, I've since learned that I needed to dial up the speed on the PC (I never got above 3!), and that people have had issues with the 3M products. I tried again the other night with the "consumer level" 3-step stuff from Megs. With the PC speed up around 5 there was definite improvement, but it's still not knocking things down like I'd imagined as the scratches are still there.
Please help! Is it the pads? The products? Volvo's clearcoat? Total lack of skill? Do I need to get heavy handed and get a wool leveling pad? A rotary? (scary)
None of these scratches go through the clearcoat in fact, most barely catch a nail. I don't want to go too heavy on the abrasives, but I can't keep throwing good money after bad in a blind effort to find something that works. Any advice is greatly appreciated - I've gotta be able to justify this loony purchase to the wife
I just picked up a 97 Volvo wagon. Being a "boring" family car, the paint and interior have been largely ignored by the previous owners - not abused, just ignored. Along with some fair sized dings and chips, It has a ton of light to medium scratches from going through cheap auto-washes, scratches on the roof from sliding stuff across it, and worst of all, in places, the hood shows what looks like scratches from a random orbit sander...possibly a botched respray or detailing?
Deciding to tackle this myself, I bought a PC 7424 from AutoGeek, along with the pad kit - Wolfgang Concourse (1 orange, 2 white , and 1 black). I also picked up some 3M PI Compound, Swirl remover, and Liquid Wax.
Well, I went to work one night, slinging product all over the car and myself, and when I was done, I swear I heard the paint chuckling at me - it was barely any different! I was completely dejected.
Reading these forums, I've since learned that I needed to dial up the speed on the PC (I never got above 3!), and that people have had issues with the 3M products. I tried again the other night with the "consumer level" 3-step stuff from Megs. With the PC speed up around 5 there was definite improvement, but it's still not knocking things down like I'd imagined as the scratches are still there.
Please help! Is it the pads? The products? Volvo's clearcoat? Total lack of skill? Do I need to get heavy handed and get a wool leveling pad? A rotary? (scary)
None of these scratches go through the clearcoat in fact, most barely catch a nail. I don't want to go too heavy on the abrasives, but I can't keep throwing good money after bad in a blind effort to find something that works. Any advice is greatly appreciated - I've gotta be able to justify this loony purchase to the wife