Need help restoring a 2007 Tahoe.

D

Deanw15

New member
So a little background. This is my grandparents Tahoe. Always been ran through auto car wash. Big no no I know. Trying to restore the finish. It is hazy and swirled pretty good on the hood. Sides don't seem as bad but still pretty hazy. What would be your steps and products for each stuff. I prefer do to this by hand. Question is can I get the as good results by hand? I know it will take longer but suggest the pads I would need to do this. I do have a rotary jus not real comfortable with using it.





Not the best phots sorry. But you can see what I'm dealing with.
 
No sweat doing it by hand.....

If you look like this





That's a lot of real estate to do by hand
 
Agreed ^^^

You can get it started by hand, but might soon realize that it will take forever and that is a lot of real estate to correct. Since the truck is in your family, I would wait a bit and source the materials to make this a lot easier. Even if all you can get is a PC , this would be a heck of a lot easier than by hand.
 
Deanw15- I'd be pretty surprised if a by-hand correction got that into decent shape. Yeah, it *can* be done, and I hear ya when you say you have nothing but time, but how many hours of uncomfortable work do you really want to put into it? Pick some area and try it, I guess. I *do* agree with not using the rotary since you're not highly skilled with it (don't want to make things worse instead of better).

If you put a solid afternoon into doing a small area, you should get a feel for what's required. Don't plan on doing the whole hood or anything like that the first time!

Products I'd use:
-Meguiar's M101 (aggressive compound to correct the significant marring)
-HD Polish (milder polish to leave a ready-to-wax level of gloss)

For pads/cloths I'd use whatever you don't mind gripping/rubbing with/etc. for hours. Maybe cotton pads/towels for the initial work with the M101 then foam pads or MF pads/cloths for the subsequent M101 work and the HD Polish. Have plenty as you need to either clean things out frequently and thoroughly (hassle), or switch to a fresh one, quite often. DO NOT get some big foam pad made for a polisher, that won't work by hand.

I'm able to do good work by hand with those products (but I only resort to that in areas where my polishers won't fit), even on hard clear.

Be sure to have *GOOD* lighting so you can accurately gauge your progress. Don't quit using the M101 until it's basically the way you want it (the HD Polish merely refines things after the M101 gets the significant marring out). I do believe it'll turn into an exercise in patience and determination more than anything else...I spent a *LONG* time correcting my Tahoe, and I was using good/agressive polishers.

Of course, then you have the whole issue of *keeping* it marring-free, which IMO is a greater challenge. Is this going to be your vehicle now or still theirs? How will it be washed/etc. in the future? I'd hate for you to put a few weeks of daily work into it only to have it all marred up again a month later.

Oh, and you didn't mention your plans for pre-correction decontamination...I assume you have that all figured out.
 
you could probably do panel per day, but imagine how your arm would feel after the first day.... ouch...
 
Ok guys I see what yall are sayin. Let say I pick up a dual action polishes. What would be a plan of attack as far as pads and products.
Accumulator. I plan to wash, and iron x it.and then clay it and polish and wax it. does this sounds like a good approach
 
Deanw15- That should work OK.

I'd probably use the same products with a polisher that I recommended by hand. I'd probably use MF Cutting Disks with the M101 and then "medium" polishing pads with the HD Polish. Do the by-hand approach in the tight/inaccessible areas. Heh heh, lots of "probably.." disclaimers there, but at least that'd be a good starting point for your consideration.

There have been some great advances in polishers recently. It kinda boils down to "the more you spend, the easier it'll be", so figure out your price point- long-throw polishers are great, but they cost more. I'd check out the various offerings from Griot's Garage; they cover all the bases pretty well.
 
If you are looking for a budget friendly DA, the harbor freight one is what you are looking for. All you need is a better backing plate and pads. I would recommend the new thin 5" Meguiar's foam discs and some 5" Meguiar's microfiber cutting discs. Now I'm a pro Meguiar's guy when it comes to their compounds and polishes. I would recommend M100 and M205. I've used HD Polish and let's just say that I end up reaching for M205.

I would go with the test spot first and go from there.
 
The Guz said:
..I've used HD Polish and let's just say that I end up reaching for M205...
Click to expand...

See how opinions and experiences can differ! I haven't touched my (gallon of) M205 once since I tried the HD Polish. Not a right/wrong sort of thing, just gotta find what works best for you and your situation.
 
Thanks for the comments guys. I was thinkin about picking up a cheap HF dual action and I think this will put me buyin one and gettin some good pads and backin plate. How many pads should I get to do a vehicle this size
 
How manypads? Short answer: Get more pads than you think you'll need ;)

Even if you clean them frequently (seems like I'm *always* cleaning my pads, numerous times per section) most people seem to need more than they expected to. I can't even guess how many used on my Tahoe...though MF pads can do a lot of work before you need a fresh one (if you keep cleaning them all the time).

You'll need more cutting pads than milder ones, since the final polishing isn't as big a job. Don't switch to the final polishing pads/product until things are basically looking the way you want. Let the aggressive combos do the heavy lifting and then just refine things a bit before LSPing. Today's correction pads and compounds finish out pretty well compared to the old harsh pads and rocks-in-a bottle stuff, so by the time you get the marring out you'll be really far along in the process.

Oh, and I don't use harsh foam pads any more (the old "yellow foam cutting pads") as I get better results easier with MF Cutting Disks. Orange foam Light Cutting pads are generally as harsh as I use (odd situations notwithstanding, for those I still like Meguiar's burgundy foam).

Give some thought to how you'll clean the pads. I usually use compressed air, even though it can blow the cut-off clear and old compound residue all around the shop if I'm careless. Washing them in mid-job can be a PIA as they need to be pretty dry for most combos to work right. Eh, I'd be hard-pressed to overstate how important I believe clean pads are, but it *is* a hassle.

Be sure to have plenty of (good) MF towels on-hand too.

And [repeat usual lecture about good lighting] ;) I find GM's dark metallics to be kinda tough with regard to proper inspection...don't want any surprises later, so make sure you can see how things are progressing.
 
Oh, and remember that many of today's compounds and polishes don't "break down" but rather just dry out. So they're always abrasive and can cause micro-marring (or even not-so-micro!) when you buff them off. I use a spritz of M34 Final Inspection when I buff off non-diminishing compounds to help buffer things a little.
 
I personally dont like the extra maintenance needed to use microfiber pads vs a good german foam pad, so I dont use them, and can still rock out perfect, clear, glossy paintwork with foam just fine..

What ever you decide to get, please get a good pad cleaner and clean the pads the same day after you are done, rinse them really well, and then set them out somewhere to dry.. If you have a dryer that has a reasonable Low setting, then perhaps that might work too, but you have to be careful..

This is also a reason we say to have lots of pads. If they are all used and washed and drying what are you going to do while you are waiting for them to dry if you dont have more more to use?

A pad cleaner that I have used for over a decade and absolutely works great for me is Snappy Clean, sold here..
It is low foaming, which is important, and rinses out of foam pads really easily, and it really cleans great...
Lots of choices here, this is the one that works for me and I need no others..

Good luck with your project !
Dan F
 
Stokdgs said:
I personally dont like the extra maintenance needed to use microfiber pads vs a good german foam pad..
Click to expand...

Heh heh, "good German foam pads"....I'm just *so* behind the times! I still think of MF as being newfangled. Guess that's a downside of hardly ever doing correction any more.

I oughta use a proper Pad Cleaner product too..still muddling through with APC/etc. :o
 
Accumulator said:
See how opinions and experiences can differ! I haven't touched my (gallon of) M205 once since I tried the HD Polish. Not a right/wrong sort of thing, just gotta find what works best for you and your situation.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Everyone has their favorite go to product.

Accumulator said:
How manypads? Short answer: Get more pads than you think you'll need ;)
Click to expand...

This is so true.

Stokdgs said:
I personally dont like the extra maintenance needed to use microfiber pads vs a good german foam pad, so I dont use them, and can still rock out perfect, clear, glossy paintwork with foam just fine..

What ever you decide to get, please get a good pad cleaner and clean the pads the same day after you are done, rinse them really well, and then set them out somewhere to dry.. If you have a dryer that has a reasonable Low setting, then perhaps that might work too, but you have to be careful..

This is also a reason we say to have lots of pads. If they are all used and washed and drying what are you going to do while you are waiting for them to dry if you dont have more more to use?

A pad cleaner that I have used for over a decade and absolutely works great for me is Snappy Clean, sold here..
It is low foaming, which is important, and rinses out of foam pads really easily, and it really cleans great...
Lots of choices here, this is the one that works for me and I need no others..

Good luck with your project !
Dan F
Click to expand...

Sometimes microfiber is needed. Although the new Meguiar's thin burgundy cutting disc is very good and is almost on par with their microfiber cutting disc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top