Where did I go wrong?

W

WSUcommuter

New member
Onyx black '98 S-10, 125,000 miles. I bought it used with 65,000 miles. I pulled the gold pin stripping and removed the badges, washed it with a good car wash, and waxed it with Meguiar's Gold Class. This was about three years ago, man I thought I was cool.



None of the bird stains on the roofline disappeared, neither did any scratches. The driver's door shows some white rings in the clear coat and what appears to have been another bird bomb, all happened prior to me buying the truck.



About a year later I found myself attacking the truck with a 10" orbital buffer after washing, using Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #9 Swirl Remover 2.0. This did remove all the swirls (previously viewable in the sunlight only) from the truck, I was quite pleased. I followed with the 10" and a coat of Gold Class once again. Man, I still thought I was cool.



Another year goes by, after washing I buffed some scratches out by hand with Scratch-X, then go over the whole truck with my 10" and #9 Swirl Remover 2.0, then the GC with the 10". There are still all the spots in the roof and doors, but the very light rubs and scratches are gone. Better yet, still not perfect. There is not much depth to all that awesome shine though.



I've read the Autopia guide to detailing V. 3.30 three times through since I joined the site. Today I decided was the day- a serious exterior detail. I washed with Blue Coral auto wash, toweled dry. I dusted with a Cali car duster to remove the lint from the terry towels. I used a Clay Magic clay bar on many areas on the truck. I wiped it down again and ran #9 Swirl Remover 2.0, removed it and ran Show Car Glaze #7, both with the 10" random orbit buffer.



I used the glaze sparingly but by far it was the hardest stuff to get off! I have yet to even finish the other side since I spent the better part of two hours buffing off the glaze before going to the other side. What did I do wrong? Why is it so hard to get off?



Also, I plan to use #26 hi-tech yellow wax next, but I'm not looking forward to the last side of the glaze if it won't come off without smearing all over the place like it did today.



Oh, and the spots where the roof and door damage was mentioned previously is still there. What steps am I missing? Why the hassle in removing the glaze?



Sorry for the book!
 
Check out the hall of fame I think there is a post on there by Mike Phillips on how to remove #7. I think it went something like lightly wipe off let it rehaze then wipe off again.
 
10" buffer? Are we talking Sears or Wal-Mart type? If so, that is your problem. No serious defect removal is possible with those things, they are far too weak. Trust me, I used to have one. Now it is a paperweight. Get a PC.
 
Fair enough. I've read enough about the PC 7424 to feel confident in purchasing it. I just ordered one from Amazon.com.



The 10" was a step up from doing it all by hand. Oh and BTW, it was a Wal-Mart special. I broke one and took it back for another new one :)
 
you wont be dissappointed with the difference between the PC and the 10". Be sure to pick up a little more aggressive polish than the #9 too.
 
hmmm I would start off with a cutting pad and #9 if those are the products you want to stick with. then possibly a polishing pad and #9 topped with #7 then wax of your choice.
 
I do have #2 Fine-cut cleaner but I bought it also pre-Autopia. The back directions say for use with a rotary buffer only, so I'm guessing DA won't work out too well with this product.



Thanks for your help!
 
You *might* be able to use that along and follow up with the #9 to remove the hazing from that. I am not sure if the #9 will clean it up though. I have very limited knowledge of that polish. I tell you what, if you PM me your address I have a few extra bottles of different polishes laying around that are never going to get used. I can send you a bunch of 8 oz bottles with different polishes if you would like.

Shoot me a PM if you are interested.
 
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