Alright, Im still a bit new in the world of cars, so if you would be so kind, i would like to know the BEST way (but no fancy expensive tools or anyhting) to make my bug shine!!!im pretty sure everyone has their own unique way that works best.
p.s. the paints not the best, but im hoping on getting it touched up soon.
Clean and Shiny
I use the Meguiers range of paint care products, if the cars new to you and you don't know the paint care history of recent years, then I would recommend you start from tge beginning and take things back to the start.
You start with washing the car down with a good quality wash solution like Meguiers Gold Class shampoo and a grit free sponge, once everythings washed and dried, use a Meguiers Clay Bar kit to remove all the years of build up of particles that will have bedded into the paint and make sure you use plenty of the wash lubricant stuff, do a panel at a time, it should feel 'gritty' at first when rubbing the bar over the paint and gradually tge panel should become more like glass on it's surface I.e. Very smooth, then use the paint renovator solution on the panel, this prepares the panel for you to finally polish the panel, you can top this with another polish finish if you wish. I thought my car was great with regular autoglym polishing until I tried the meguiers clay programme and I assure you the difference in shine and finish was immense!
Always make sure you do one panel at a time from start to fnish with all stages, never leave a panel 'bare' after claying and paint renovating as there is a strong possibility of paint damage as you will have removed all the protection it had from the elements until you reseal it with the polish. Try to do it on a fine day out of direct sunlight for the best results too.
There are loads of products on tge Market and here in tge UK Meguiers is the premium home car care brand, top 'proffesional' car care companies will use premium 'proffesional' product but to be honest I personally believe that should really be the reserve of lamborghini's etc as the stuff costs thousands of £££ literally!!!!
Alex
You start with washing the car down with a good quality wash solution like Meguiers Gold Class shampoo and a grit free sponge, once everythings washed and dried, use a Meguiers Clay Bar kit to remove all the years of build up of particles that will have bedded into the paint and make sure you use plenty of the wash lubricant stuff, do a panel at a time, it should feel 'gritty' at first when rubbing the bar over the paint and gradually tge panel should become more like glass on it's surface I.e. Very smooth, then use the paint renovator solution on the panel, this prepares the panel for you to finally polish the panel, you can top this with another polish finish if you wish. I thought my car was great with regular autoglym polishing until I tried the meguiers clay programme and I assure you the difference in shine and finish was immense!
Always make sure you do one panel at a time from start to fnish with all stages, never leave a panel 'bare' after claying and paint renovating as there is a strong possibility of paint damage as you will have removed all the protection it had from the elements until you reseal it with the polish. Try to do it on a fine day out of direct sunlight for the best results too.
There are loads of products on tge Market and here in tge UK Meguiers is the premium home car care brand, top 'proffesional' car care companies will use premium 'proffesional' product but to be honest I personally believe that should really be the reserve of lamborghini's etc as the stuff costs thousands of £££ literally!!!!
Alex
I been using Meguiar's tech wax 2.0 with the ultimate detail spray on top. Gives a nice deep gloss or wet look along with the mild hydrophobic property.
There is also this stuff called "NanoSafeGuard" which I highly recommend. Its a nano hydrophobic sealant. Very neat, but I have only used the kind for glass. No longer need window wipers, plus dust accumulates much slower. Oh and the slick butter smooth feel it gives is like no other product I tried. I would guess it provides great protection against scratches or flying rocks too. Can't find it anywhere but NanoEmporium.com but its relatively new I think.
Plain old turtle wax does the trick if you are not picky.
There is also this stuff called "NanoSafeGuard" which I highly recommend. Its a nano hydrophobic sealant. Very neat, but I have only used the kind for glass. No longer need window wipers, plus dust accumulates much slower. Oh and the slick butter smooth feel it gives is like no other product I tried. I would guess it provides great protection against scratches or flying rocks too. Can't find it anywhere but NanoEmporium.com but its relatively new I think.
Plain old turtle wax does the trick if you are not picky.
I have tried a number of products.My car was fully restored 10+ years ago and I still get comments on have pretty the paint looks. I started with Nu Finish Cling, then to Meguiar's Quik Detailer. The best that I have found is Mother's Showtime Instant Detailer with a micro fiber cloth. Eagle 1 is also at top of my list. The color of my paint is a Raspberry Metallic
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fatalifeaten
- Senior Member
- Posts: 512
- Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2008 12:05 am
- Location: The 480
Let's back up a step here.
Original paint? Respray? Single stage or gloss/clear?
If it's an original single stage, you can get some polishing compound and a buffer and bring the shine back with some patience and a little elbow grease. you have to be very careful though or you can put swirl marks in or burn the paint.
Once you get it buffed out, wax it up pretty, and keep it that way. If you take good care of it, you can get away with only having to buff it up a couple times a year.
I like Meguairs and Mother's products, but I'm sold on Eagle One's nano line. Easier to apply, lasts longer between washes, and seems to keep the sun fade away longer than the others do for my ride. Opinions vary, of course, but as long as you choose a good protection kit, and follow a regular cleaning schedule you'll see dramatic improvements.
Original paint? Respray? Single stage or gloss/clear?
If it's an original single stage, you can get some polishing compound and a buffer and bring the shine back with some patience and a little elbow grease. you have to be very careful though or you can put swirl marks in or burn the paint.
Once you get it buffed out, wax it up pretty, and keep it that way. If you take good care of it, you can get away with only having to buff it up a couple times a year.
I like Meguairs and Mother's products, but I'm sold on Eagle One's nano line. Easier to apply, lasts longer between washes, and seems to keep the sun fade away longer than the others do for my ride. Opinions vary, of course, but as long as you choose a good protection kit, and follow a regular cleaning schedule you'll see dramatic improvements.