meguiars three step process...did I just waste my money...

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PBNJ

New member
well I bought myself step one and step three of the three step process and I was going to buy the second step tommorow but after reading several forum reviews it seems that these products dont do much as far as removing swirls from you car (I drive a black one with a LOT of problems) I really need to get some good stuff. Am I mistaken or is this stuff useless. I cant post pictures yet but to give an idea there are spots on my car that is old wax that I just cant remove, its almost like the gloss of the car is gone in certain spots and I mean big spots, like a foot by foot area....



Which product does the most for removing swirls and scratches? the polish or the wax?



PICS PAGE 2



dang :grrr
 
sounds like the clear coat is failing on your car, and there is nothing that can be done about that.



none of the products you have will remove swirls or scratches.



to get rid of swirls and small scratches you need to correct the paint with a machine polisher and polishes/compounds. wax simply protects the finish and adds some gloss/depth
 
I agree with Danny that from your description it sounds like clearcoat failure, which is un-fixable except by repaint (I will however reserve judgement until we can see some pictures).



As far as the Meguiar's products you have bought, I'm not quite as cynical as Danny, but working by hand is a long, tedious, tiring, not usually very rewarding process of removing defects.



The step 1 is a good chemical cleaner, and may have some effect on minor swirls. The step 2 is a glaze that is kind of a pain, most of the time I consider it not worth it to use the Meguiar's glazes. The step 3 is an OK liquid carnauba wax. However, if you use this 3 step process and put plenty of elbow grease into it, you will likley see a noticeable improvement...just don't expect your car to look flawless after.
 
Does it look somewhat like this?
P7130646.jpg
 
PBNJ- Welcome to Autopia!



My opinion is kinda in-between those of Danny318 and Setec Astronomy.



The Deep Crystal stuff isn't really *bad* for what it is, but it's mighty limited in what it can do.



Well, maybe the Step Three Wax could fairly be called "bad" as I can't think of anything very good about it :think:



You'll get the most out of the Step One Cleaner.



IMO you'd do better with something like Meg's Scratch-X v2.0 or maybe even just their Color-X Cleaner Wax. Those dull areas (assuming they're not clearcoat failure) might even need some preliminary work with Meg's Ultimate Compound. All these products area made to work by hand.



Note that wax generally just seals in/protects what a *polish* does. (A "real polish", not some glaze like the Deep Crystal Step #2 Polish.) You get it nice and then wax it so it stays that way.



IMO a better three step would be Ultimate Compound, Scratch-X v2.0, and Color-X (or maybe some other wax for the final step).
 
I would return the 3 step, go with the process listed by Accumulator. It may be more work, but you will actually get some results.



Do you have a machine, or will this be by hand?
 
I just got a porter cable 7424 but it had no pads so I have to find some online. I returned the meguiars stuff but I dont know what to get now that will remove the swirls and scratches, Im ready to get this work started but Im really clueless on what to get to work this. The paint is nothing like what you just posted im gonna try and see if I can throw some up soon. Its just looks like its shady. Can any of you guys give me some advice on what to get, it seems the only place I can get any items is from Canadian tire or wal mart...the selection is not so great....Im trying to find Canadian sites online to buy from but even thats a pain.



Any help is appreciated, check back becase I will upload pics soon.
 
PBNJ- Here's my PC lecture in a nutshell:



Get a small backing plate so you can use 4" pads.



Get 4" orange light cut pads. Get some 4" polishing pads. If you have very soft paint then also get some finishing pads.



Get the same Meguiar's products I recommended for use by hand (Ultimate Compound, Scratch-X v2.0), or get the M105/M205 twins.



Get good lighting to inspect your work. Work one area until you know what works/doesn't, don't just jump in and do the whole car until you have things figured out.
 
PBNJ said:
I just got a porter cable 7424 but it had no pads so I have to find some online. I returned the meguiars stuff but I dont know what to get now that will remove the swirls and scratches, Im ready to get this work started but Im really clueless on what to get to work this. The paint is nothing like what you just posted im gonna try and see if I can throw some up soon. Its just looks like its shady. Can any of you guys give me some advice on what to get, it seems the only place I can get any items is from Canadian tire or wal mart...the selection is not so great....Im trying to find Canadian sites online to buy from but even thats a pain.



Any help is appreciated, check back becase I will upload pics soon.
Click to expand...





eshine.ca

./..
 
the car is a chrysler 300 and I have 5 inch counterweight so Im gonna have to go with the 5 inch pads. This is my first time going to do this, im gonna practice on my mothers passat first of course haha Ill take any tips or write ups that you guys know of....again pics are on the way just need to upload them
 
Just because you have the 5 inch counterweight doesn't mean you're stuck only using 5 inch pads. Like Accumulator mentioned, 4 inch orange pads are the way to go if you're trying to get scratches out with a PC.
 
mikenap said:
Just because you have the 5 inch counterweight doesn't mean you're stuck only using 5 inch pads. Like Accumulator mentioned, 4 inch orange pads are the way to go if you're trying to get scratches out with a PC.
Click to expand...



so a five inch isnt gonna help? dang you know how hard it is to get anything below a 6 in my town? killing me man sheesh but thanks. Im soaking up all this info you guys are throwing me so please keep it coming.
 
FWIW, I use the 6" counterweight with all pads, even the 4" ones.



The counterweights are based on the assumption that the backing plate (of a given size) will only be holding a single sheet of sandpaper. A foam pad, wet with product, will weigh so much more than that that any difference in the size of the plate/pad will be inconsequential in the overall scheme of things.



Some people don't notice any diff between the weights and even those of us who do will tell ya that it's not a big deal.
 
^^^ what he said. there is a difference but its negligible. anyway ur supposed to use the 4" pads with the 5" counterweight because the only other one they sell is a 6" weight (from a PC7336) which would give it more vibration than the 5" one anyway. lol i have both counterweights and never change them when i change backing plates. too much hassle unless im gonna be using it for extended periods. but that doesnt happen anymore since i got a flex and the pc is used for hard to reach areas but mostly for applying LSP.
 
PICTURES!!!!! finally sheesh sorry for the wait, if you guys cant see the issues iin certain pics, let me know and ill circle the area in photoshop for ya, please gimmie some input on this :nervous2:





these are teh foggy/cloudy areas



IMG_0089.jpg


IMG_0090.jpg






I think this is excess/dried wax that was buffed with a polisher but F'd up royally, theres no gloss anymore its dry and i cant even scrape the white stuff (wax?) off... its also on the second picture along the door protector....



IMG_0091.jpg


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this is some major scrapes/scratches, you cant see the extent of them because of bad lighting but jesus were talking major issues



IMG_0093.jpg


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I dont even know what sh!t is haha



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sad thing is this isnt all of the problems, theyre everywhere but these are the types of issues they are (i just dont know what theyre called or how to fix this) I found something else on the car but a freind of mine told me it was called " Orange peel? sound familiar?



now im a rookie, never used a polisher before, bout to trade in my PC for a rotary maybe because this stuff seems like its gonna be long hours even with a rotary. Can I do this or do I need to take this to a paintshop and redo the car? Im dedicated and have a couple practice cars I can do to get used to the Flex/makita (whichever I figure out to trade the PC for). PLEASE ADVISE ME!!!! im checking on this daily for your replies so shoot the sh!t!!
 
Keep the PC so you don't make a bad problem worse with a rotary. With the right pads and polishes, I'd be surprised if most of your problems couldn't be fixed with a PC. It might take a bit longer but I think if you're that dedicated, setting aside an entire weekend to work on it won't be that big a deal. People here seem to be split into 2 camps. The ones who praise the PC for what it's capable of while aware of its limitations and the ones who underestimate what it can actually do or those who NEED the speed of a rotary. Unless you're high volume detailing, I don't see a need to ditch the PC.
 
No idea, its like its the same wax stuff yet its comiing outta the paint lol. Thing is I most likely would be doing this for a while so yes I would rather get the rotary. I figured Id just go on a slow speed so as to not burn anything until I progressed and got better? what you think?
 
Im just really negative on the PC because I saw a youtube video of the flex Vs the PC and the fllex just cleared the scratches up so much quicker and better than the PC...



edit: oh and another thing about the lovely paint on the vehicle...lots of runs...is that fixable?
 
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