Total Noob who wants to get started

[SailRace]

Only because i'm really just getting started, when i get to do my Jeep, i'm going to just use the thre Optimum products and see if i'm happy or not. I may end up getting some Souveran to bring out the black, as Mike suggested. I'll have to play it by ear as i go. I don't look forward to claying the jeep, as it's surfaces are a pain in the ass, but i guess its a necessary evil.

Can i find Stoner's locally, or do i need to order it?

 

[1 Clean WS6]

Can i find Stoner's locally, or do i need to order it?

Stoner's IG can be found at any local auto parts store and even at Target or Wal-Mart. It is one of the best over the counter glass cleaners out there.

If you decide to wetsand those scratches start with the 3K grit first and make as few passes as possible as the paint is very thin on that hood (I had already noticed a spot of failure from either sap or a bird bomb on the both the hood and the roof). Use the Optimum Compound via PC to remove the haze and check your work often. Try to get them within 75% of what you are happy with...if you decide to remove them completely you will compromise your clear without question. By this time next year you will begin to see failure.

Call me before you start the sanding process and I'll walk you through it if you'd like.

 

[wterry]

To follow up on what Mike said about stoners. I got my first bottle at Wal-mart but it was in the aersol can type spray and I found it quite annoying since the overspray for me was hard to control and it went everywhere. I even tried spraying onto a MF towel first.

I then found the IG at pepboys in a spray trigger type bottle and it is MUCH MUCH MUCH easier to control the pattern. Just my $.02.


P.S. to not waste the IG, I gave the bottle of aersol spray to the wife for inside cleaning duties.

 

[SailRace]

...if you decide to remove them completely you will compromise your clear without question. By this time next year you will begin to see failure.

Call me before you start the sanding process and I'll walk you through it if you'd like.

Mike, I porbably will give you a call. I'm waiting on the sand paper to arrive now, so possibly this weekend....I may, as I've said, leave the weekend for the Jeep, and test out my PC skills first, before attacking the Volvo. I'm frustrated that the previous owner was so careless, but every time i get behind the wheel, and am able to sneak bast BMW and Audi owners who aren't used to seeing someone DRIVE a volvo wagon, it all seems worth it again. I do love the car.

As for the Clearcoat failure. Is this an inevitable problem, or, if i continue to upkeep and protect the paint, can it be resolved, delayed or prevented in anyway. What will the failure end up looking like?

Mike, once again...i just can't commend you enough on how much help you've been, and on the advice you've given about taking care of this car. You truly are a gentleman...

 

[wterry]

I posted another thread on the Black Grand Prix I did today. First time with the PC, have fun with it and go SLOW, take your time. I learned alot today. I also learned I don't like my Menzerna products!!!


Mike I may have a job for you. My boss needs some work done on his Acura MDX. Looks as if the wife drove through paint or something because its splattered downt he passenger side. Told him to try to clay it, and explained how to do it, but he said it didn't work. I will talk to him tomorrow and give him your contact info.

 

[1 Clean WS6]

Thanks again for the kind words Raif!!

CC failure is not inevitable on your car (other than those two small etched spots were it already exists). The very reason I did not sand those hood scratches down was because I wanted to avoid that problem. They are deep enough clear scratches that if you sanded them completely (i.e. removed the scratch 100%) the amount of clear left on your paint would be dangerously thin. Given that it is a black car that sits exposed to the lovely ATL weather/pollution while you are at work 5 days a week it would be only a matter of time before the thin layer of clear left from sanding began to fail. I think you would be much better off skipping the sanding process and instead level them some more with your PC and then use a product with some fillers to hide them. That way the scratches will appear much less drastic and a safe level of your clear would remain intact.

There are some great pics of what CC failure looks like floating around at there. Here are a few...

 

[1 Clean WS6]

I posted another thread on the Black Grand Prix I did today. First time with the PC, have fun with it and go SLOW, take your time. I learned alot today. I also learned I don't like my Menzerna products!!!


Mike I may have a job for you. My boss needs some work done on his Acura MDX. Looks as if the wife drove through paint or something because its splattered downt he passenger side. Told him to try to clay it, and explained how to do it, but he said it didn't work. I will talk to him tomorrow and give him your contact info.

Menzerna polishes are simply fantastic but without question have a learning curve involved. I would not have suggested your first go with a PC be with them...especially IP.

Try some light polishes first that break down easy (i.e. Meg's #82 or PB's SSR1) and work your way up the aggressive scale from there.