Bringing back the shine

[mr evil]

I have some pretty dirty paint on the hood and trunklid of my Cutlass.

The car color is code 15U Astral Silver, which is metallic. I don't know if this has clear or not? It's an 86.

Anyways, I went at a small spot with some Turtle wax sh*t I had in the garage and it really seemed to do jack.

So, I've never taken on this task before and have 0 experience. Can anybody give me a starting point or products and crash course in paint surgery?
Is there different methods for metallic vs flat paint? Clear vs non-clear?

I've tried to research this but there's so many ****ing products and systems it makes my head hurt, lol.

Figured some of you guys must have come up against some shitty looking paint too. What all did you do?

 

[axisg]

my car is white and parked outside so I feel your pain. All that I find works is to Clay Bar and Wax. Everything else I find ends up with swirl marks which look worse than dirty paint to me. Clay bar is such a PIA but it works.

 

[billyjack]

G-bodies, both solid and metallic colors were all old-style, single stage acrylic lacquer. Definitely make the first step a clay bar cleaning. After the clay I use the Meguiars Pro Mirror Glaze products, primarily #3 cleaner and #7 Show Car Glaze, then a final coat of wax. Though wax won't improve on the shine quality you obtain from #7, it does help it last longer. Cruise around the Meguiars website for some good info and videos, especially the video on swirl removal. I've never used the "black bottle" products they show in the video, but I've heard good reports from others. Some pros even like to use Scratch-X as a compound for really weathered paint. Remember the #1 rule of pro detailing- always use the mildest product that will get the job done. You can use very aggressive compounds when necessary, even 1500-2000 grit sandpaper, but it will then add extra steps to the process to remove the swirls and scratches that the aggressive products leave behind.

Bill

 

[mr evil]

Thanks for the tips. I did give this TW stuff another go last night(it's polish in a green tub) and found it will work, but with alot of elbow grease. I'd be rubbing that car until next year, lol.

I check out the Meguirs site and look into a clay bar and how to use it. I thought I read somewhere that if you drop one of those you may as well throw it away because it will be contaminated. Is that true?
Anyways, thanks again, I'll post back what results I can achieve.

 

[billyjack]

That's true about the clay bar. Its job is to pick up particles, and any dirt it falls on, if you drop it, will stick. You can remove the dirt particles, but if you don't get every one, those that remain on the clay will scratch your paint.

Bill

 

[mr evil]

Well, I went and got that kit that Meguirs was showing off on the site, so I'mm going to do it tonight or tomorrow. I'll do the hood first, half and half and document the difference.
They didn't have a great selection at Canadian Tire here, but I grabbed a Mothers polish for after the bar as they didn't have great selection of Meguirs.

Thanks again...

 

[78 Green Lemans]

Well, I went and got that kit that Meguirs was showing off on the site, so I'mm going to do it tonight or tomorrow. I'll do the hood first, half and half and document the difference.
They didn't have a great selection at Canadian Tire here, but I grabbed a Mothers polish for after the bar as they didn't have great selection of Meguirs.

Thanks again...

I found that Napa has a better selection of Meguiars than Canadian tire. Wal-Mart also carries mothers and i beleive have started carrying meguiars as well.
Post pics of the difference it made with the clay bar or whatever products you use. My wagon needs attention too. 🙂