Product Selection Help, Please?

B

Bull

New member
Hi all,



I just joined here, and posted a friendly "hello" in the section for newbies.



Below are some pics of blemished areas in the paint of my '95 Formula. The car is nothing special, just a fairly clean four-season driver of which I am quite fond. I'd like to purchase some products from the autopia website by the end of the week, so that next week I can get the car cleaned up a bit.



I already plan on getting the Porter Cable random orbit buffer with an assortment of pads, and some detailing clay, but what polishes and waxes should I use? The Klasse sounds pretty appealing for the final coat :idea



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Hopefully, from the pics you can see that I am dealing with some scuffs and some areas on the lower bumper and nosecone that are a bit dull looking, even after a wash.



Thanks for your time reading this, and for any suggestions you might be able to offer.



Dave
 
TTT for today.



Come on, guys, help a fellow car-lover out. I know there are a million products out there, and I've been reading through the archives here to get an idea of what people are using on their rides. But, as a detailing noob, I'd feel better about parting ways with my money if I had some guidance about what I might want to use on this car in conjunction with the Porter Cable in order to be safe and effective.



Thanks in advance. :D
 
looks as though your going to need some pretty aggressive polish and an aggressive pad. those are pretty serious scuffs. should be fun though.



I would try some SSR 2.5, maybe Optimum Compound



Followed by SSR 1, or Menzerna FP



Basically you want to use a heavy polish to get rid of all those crazy scuffs, (if possible), then lighten up to a finishing polish to take care of the rest of the small stuff created by the heavier polish, then seal it up.



I love carnauba waxes but if you want to go with the Klasse SG, that would be fine too, you will start experimenting with many products if you stick around here long enough :-)



Eventually you will find one or two product combos that you really like and youll stick with them (most of the time, curiosity always gets the better of us around here :-))



hope that helps steer you sort of in the right direction.



Also i believe autogeek sells package deals with the PC. You get like the PC with pads and some polishes all for a package price, its worth looking into.



i bought mine awhile ago from this website came with the PC and an assortment of Sonus pads.



Jim
 
Jim, many thanks for taking the time to respond.



Would I use the more aggressive polish only in the areas immediately surrounding the scuffs, or on the entire panel?



So far, I have seen the package deals for the PC both on the autopia site and at danase.com. Now, I am learning that there are a wide variety of pads from which to choose, and that the 6.5 Sonus pads that come with the kits on here might be too large to be totally effective?



So much to learn, so few hours in the day!



Thanks again for your help, I am going to go and look for info on the products you mentioned.
 
Bull- Welcome to autopia!



Qs like yours can be tricky to answer as what *we* might use might not be feasible for you. Many GM cars of that vintage have fairly hard clear, and yeah, your marring is pretty significant to put it nicely!



But I'm a sucker for a green f-body...so here's what *I* would recommend for you:



You'll need some 4" pads for the PC to tackle the worst of the marring. Get a small backing plate for them and some orange light cutting pads.



IMO you're not gonna get it nice enough for the Klasse twins. I don't think *I* could and I'd be using a rotary (and I'm somewhat good at this stuff, or at least have a lot of experience ;) ). SO.. I'd use a different approach.



I'd use 1z brand polishes topped with Collinite brand wax. They'd remove a lot of the marring, and hide a bit of what's left. The Collinite won't highlight flaws the way the Klasse would and it lasts a *long* time (looks good too).



Get the 1Z Ultra/Extra Polish (forget which name they use these days) for the bad stuff, it's pretty aggressive but breaks down well. Use that with the cutting pads. Then do the whole car with polishing pads and 1Z Paint Polish. You *might* want to go over that with 1Z MetallicPolishWax but I don't think it'll be necessary. Top with Collinite wax. If you're pooped after all the polishing you can wait and wax it after the next wash; the 1Z stuff leaves enough wax behind to last a few weeks.



I get my 1Z stuff from Aloha & Welcome to Our Oasis for All Your Auto Detailing Supplies & Accessories . They also have Collinite or you can get it direct from Collinite or sometimes it's available locally.



The above is just my $0.02 and everyone has their favorite approaches. Hope it turns out nice, whatever you use.
 
Accumulator, thank you as well for taking the time to write that detailed response. No need to be gentle in referencing the marring of my paint...I won't be offended by plain language! As I said, I know the car is nothing special, but I do happen to like it and I am thinking that if I put some effort into it with the proper tools and chemicals, I'll be able to make it look better than it does now...that'll be good enough for me!



I will look into the products that you mentioned in your response. I was hoping to buy everything I needed from one source, like here or Danase, but perhaps that will not be possible.



You know, I actually own a Milwaukee rotary polisher...quite an expensive piece of equipment. I used it on a few cars years ago...my dad bought it for me to try and revitalize his older truck. I'm sure I didn't really know what I was doing, though, and think that as a beginner to powered polishing, I am better off investing in a random orbit like the PC.



Thanks again.



Dave
 
Bull- I learned on a Milwaukee back in the day, and yeah, I'd sorta nudge you towards the PC too ;) Or maybe a Cyclo, which I generally prefer.



Yeah, by all means give the Autopia store and Danase as much business as possible, but hands-down I'd go with the 1Z stuff from PakShack.
 
Bull, Accumulator is a SMART man, i didnt even think of 1Z. You should definitely check it out!



Dont forget to post pics when your all done!!



Jim
 
Like mentioned earlier you will get many responses on brands of products to use. Heres my two cents. If you are ordering from Danase I would get the Optimum brand of polishes. Optimum Compound, Polish and maybe Poli-Seal. These can be worked for a longer time than some other polishes and with a PC that is suggested. His 5.25" pads are nice with the pc because they are not to big as to decrease the pc's effectiveness and not to small to take too much time. An assortment of pads is great b/c the Optimum is somewhat pad dependent. 4" pads will help with the major correction areas. After the prep is done then choose you form of LSP whether it be sealant, wax, or both. Collinite is good, Poorboys Nattys Blue is good and so on. Another recommendation is proper wash technique and supplies. Thats another post. lol
 
MDRX8 said:
Wow, you have problems... Acc. knows what he is talking about and he is very respected on this board
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Well, I wouldn't call them problems. It's just a driver, and I enjoy the car even as it sits now.



I am excited to see what I can do, though. :2thumbs:
 
that looks like it needs some work by rotary- I'm not sure how much you can fix with a PC. Maybe try some HI-TEMP Extreme Cut and a cutting pad and follow up with some finer polishes and milder pads.
 
wannafbody said:
that looks like it needs some work by rotary- I'm not sure how much you can fix with a PC. Maybe try some HI-TEMP Extreme Cut and a cutting pad and follow up with some finer polishes and milder pads.
Click to expand...



A mix of the H-T EC and the 1Z Ultra/Extra seemed about as aggressive as I think you can go by PC. On a 4" cutting pad it'd do some correction, even if it would take a while. I was trying to keep my suggestion very simple but yeah, a bottle of the H-T EC would probably be money well spent, good suggestion :xyxthumbs
 
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