I own a 1989 Nautica Blue 5.0 Ford Mustang coupe with 49,000 miles. The interior and exterior are in great shape. The paint does not have clear coat. The car has never seen winter. I'm pulling my car out of storage at the end of April and want to put a nice finish on the car. I don't want to put on an ordinary meguier's, mothers, or turtle wax treatment that will wear off in a month. I want to use some high-end products that will last longer and give my car an insane shine that will set my car apart from the newer Mustangs on the road this summer. I already have plans to prep the car by washing it in dawn then using a clay bar. From there I'm looking for some advice as to what products and techniques to use. My question is, what do you recommend I do to lay a brilliant shine on my 1989 Mustang?
Tips and Recommendations Needed!
- Thread starter Jpeeps
- Start date
groebuck
New member
Skip the dawn - especially since your paint is single stage - it will only dry it out and dull it. High end does not always = superior shine. Hard work and the right tools for the job do 
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That being said - You don't mention if you have a rotoray or PC so I will guess you are doing by hand. You don't say you have swirls or anything to correct so let's go from there -
(everything I mention you can get on premiumautocare.com use detailcity code for 10% discount ).
car wash - 4 Star Ulitmate Auto Wash - best car wash soap I have ever used -
Clay - Clay Magic
Cleaner/polish - you can go two routes here - it depends on your preferences
Four Star Ultimate Paint Cleanser or Poorboy's Polish with Carnuba - the UPC is a great paint cleaner and one of the best preps for Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection (sealant).
Polish with Carnuba (PwC) is equally as good but had the added benefit of some filling ability if you apply a second coat by hand (if you DO need to fill hide some minor swirls).
Sealants - like I said Four Star Ulitmate Paint Protection (UPP) This stuff is awesome, goes on easy by hand and comes off like dust and the finsih is slicker than snot when your done. You can apply additional layers (three is the sweet spot I find) 24 hours apart. This Combo give the ultimate in clarity and shine.
If you go the PwC route then Poorboy's EX or EX-P (EX-P has no carnuba). EX is just as easy to apply and layer (I find two with EX to be the sweet spot). The difference is that EX does not leave as slick a finish (slick mind ya but UPP is the snot winner!) - but EX will deepen the color of your paint as well as shine shine shine.
With UPP, I usually top it off with a layer or two of a carnuba wax like Trade Secret..with PwC EX combo you don't really need to top it off with a carnuba since it is there in the product..
Either way you can't go wrong...
-That being said - You don't mention if you have a rotoray or PC so I will guess you are doing by hand. You don't say you have swirls or anything to correct so let's go from there -
(everything I mention you can get on premiumautocare.com use detailcity code for 10% discount
).car wash - 4 Star Ulitmate Auto Wash - best car wash soap I have ever used -
Clay - Clay Magic
Cleaner/polish - you can go two routes here - it depends on your preferences
Four Star Ultimate Paint Cleanser or Poorboy's Polish with Carnuba - the UPC is a great paint cleaner and one of the best preps for Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection (sealant).
Polish with Carnuba (PwC) is equally as good but had the added benefit of some filling ability if you apply a second coat by hand (if you DO need to fill hide some minor swirls).
Sealants - like I said Four Star Ulitmate Paint Protection (UPP) This stuff is awesome, goes on easy by hand and comes off like dust and the finsih is slicker than snot when your done. You can apply additional layers (three is the sweet spot I find) 24 hours apart. This Combo give the ultimate in clarity and shine.
If you go the PwC route then Poorboy's EX or EX-P (EX-P has no carnuba). EX is just as easy to apply and layer (I find two with EX to be the sweet spot). The difference is that EX does not leave as slick a finish (slick mind ya but UPP is the snot winner!) - but EX will deepen the color of your paint as well as shine shine shine.
With UPP, I usually top it off with a layer or two of a carnuba wax like Trade Secret..with PwC EX combo you don't really need to top it off with a carnuba since it is there in the product..
Either way you can't go wrong...
Woob
New member
For a cheap but good topper, go out to a Harley Davidson store and buy some S100. Its the same as P21S, just with flex agents. Make sure to look at your surface and see if you need any prep. Follow groe's awesome combos and your set!
JimS
Adopt a shelter pet!
Wash with a quality car shampoo. Use a quality clay. Beg borrow or steal a good polisher and then get some Poorboys Pro Polish to bring the surface to show car luster and then top that with EX-P or EX sealant ant then top that with Natty's Paste Wax. Nothing better in the world......imo.
I think the key is to use a really high quality polish and a qualilty polishing machine.
I think the key is to use a really high quality polish and a qualilty polishing machine.
NattyBumppo
Strange name, ain't it?
JimS said:
Staying in the PB line I think SSR1 would be a better choice than Pro Polish on a single stage finish. Perhaps Steve can offer some input on this.
As for the Meguiars or Mother's shine, take the time and do the job right and you should be able to put a show quality shine on your stang using those products. Plenty of show car winners and concours vehicles have Meguiars products in their kits.
BTW...the car sounds real nice. Howz about a pic or three?
Woob
New member
Hmmm. Looks like a good candidate for
SSR1, PwC, and EX, s100
UPC, UPP
PP, EX-p would look nice too.
SSR1, PwC, and EX, s100
UPC, UPP
PP, EX-p would look nice too.
sorry about the enormous picture. I tried to upload a smaller photo that turned out to be the exact same size. I don't know much about the paint stages of my vehicle other than the fact that my paint is whatever a 1989 ford mustang was painted with. It doesn't appear to have a clearcoat layer. If it does its much thinner than the clearcoat on today's vehicles. If any professional detailers are reading this thread I would appreciate some info about my car. Thanks