Half way through my detail and need some advice

B

badfish

I detail therefore I am
My wife has a 1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport painted purple. This has not really been taken care of since it rolled off the manufacturing line. We bought it used a couple years ago and most of the time my wife usually takes it through car washes when it gets dirty (I know, I know...I keep telling her not to do that).

So, I just got my PAC order in early last week and I started to go to town on it today. So far it has gotten the following:

NTX Wash
Claying (Took off a bunch of nasty crap)
Dressed the inside with PB Natural Look
Vacuumed the interior fairly well.
Cleaned Glass with Stoner

Now here is where I need help. The exterior is pretty oxidized and hazy with some scratch mark and some pretty significant swirling. Here is what I have in my arsenal:

SSR 2.5
SSR 1
Natty's
NXT Tech Wax
PC

What steps do you recommend with the above products to get this thing looking nice again? I was thinking of washing again with Dawn or something like that to get the left over residue from car washes, cheap waxes etc off so I have a fresh start on the paint. Then I was going to clay it again and start on the scratches and swirls. If Dawn is bad is there something else I can use to really stripe off all the grime?


I will be filling this post tomorrow with tons of picture goodness :D Since I have tomorrow off and it is going to be 72 I am going to spend most of the day on her car. The wife is also buying me some oxyclean and a LGCM tonight at target!


Thanks for any advice you can offer.
 
emetzger said:
I like the poorboys product and skip the NXT. What pads do you have for the pc?
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Thanks for reminding me. I need to buy some pads tomorrow at pep boys or checker auto. What do you recommend?
 
I think your next step should be something like Klasse AIO or Poorboys ProPolish. They are "chemical" polishes which will help to remove the oxidation and leave a clean finish for swirl removal.

Perhaps some other member in the area could share some with you if you don't have any. :dunno I see that you're in Minneapolis, and while I know that there are other "citizens" in Minnesota, I'm not sure who would be closest - maybe try an "URGENT" post in the Swap Meet Formum :confused: I'm sorry I'm in AZ & there's no way I could get anything to you in time to help you out tomorrow :(

From there I think you'll have a better idea of the severity of the swirls, and whether to go straight to SSR 2.5 or to try SSR 1.0.

I think I would then seal the finish (EX - if you can beg some), and then top with Natty's.

Good luck & let us know how you make out!!


Edit - I don't think you'll find pads for your PC at AutoZone, PepBoys. I would suggest your local Meguiar's distributor, who might also be able to recommend the correct Meguiar's "chemical" polish instead of AIO or ProPolish.

Go to http://www.meguiars.com/DealerLocator/DealerLocator_template.cfm choose "professional products, and enter your zip code to find a list of local Meguiar's sources.
 
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I don't know what brands they have at pep boy's but get some 7 1/2 in diameter if you can with a cutting and polishing pad . If its Lake Country brand then yellow is cutting and white is polishing.

Use a cutting pad with 2.5 at 5k , 6k for the bad areas. You might have to do a couple of passes since you describe your jeep as a reg at the carwash. The 2.5 will clean up any left over wax or residue you have on the car . No need to use Dawn .

If you still feel up to buffing and not entirely happy w/your results you can go polishing pad and SSR
 
Well, i just ordered some EX-P and PB polish from PAC. Should be here by the end of the week. I think tomorrow I will just work on the interior. Her carpets are a mess.
 
hey there. Sorry i could not help you out sooner as i am from MN. not far away either. Are there any items you will still need?

Greg
 
GregCavi said:
hey there. Sorry i could not help you out sooner as i am from MN. not far away either. Are there any items you will still need?

Greg
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No worries. I am actually in Inver Grove Heights so not that far from you at all. I think I am going to wait it out until this weekend but thanks for the offer!
 
I agree about trying AIO to chemically remove the oxidation if the paint's condition is as severe as you menioned. Be careful using it though because it will keep removing dead paint with repeated applications and if that's all that is on the car, it will eventually remove all of the car's paint down to the primer. Since it's a 1998 model, I doubt if that will happen though unless the finish has really been abused in some way such as continous washes with dishwashing detergent, etc. but you said that the car hasn't been taken care of so that's probably not a problem either. Good luck with your detail.
 
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