Need Help with Restoring 2004 Honda CR-V

[CarefulCleaner]

Hi all,

Yesterday was literally my first day of "detailing," and I had a ton of fun! I regret that for the past several years, all I've ever done was a soapy water hand wash...

I went to the local supermarket and bought these products without doing much research (my line of reasoning was that I might as well stick with a cheap product line, until I'm more serious with this newfound hobby):
- Turtle Wax Ice Wash and Wax
- Turtle Wax Ice Spray Detailer
- Turtle Wax Polishing Compound
- Four microfiber cloths
- Four applicator pads

I discovered that the polishing compound did a wonderful job removing a lot of scratches and restoring the car's paint, which was badly oxidized (I don't get a lot of covering where I park). So I spent a few hours just polishing the car. Then I used the Wash and Wax to finish the job. Looking closely at the white paint, there are innumerable stones, black dots, and whatnot, so I ordered a clay bar online to take care of those.

Below are some questions that I have right now:

I'm taking my 2004 Honda CR-V to the dealer for maintenance in a few days. Are they able to fix/touch-up any of these (photo album) (http://imgur.com/a/G9I0n) scratches? If not, what do you recommend me to do?
The polishing compound I got is branded for light scratches. Would I need a more abrasive compound for deeper scratches? (Not sure if I'll have the budget for a polisher, so sticking with elbow grease for now...) Also, this car hasn't been maintained for years. How would I know if there's still clear coat on the car? Or, how do I know when to stop polishing/compounding because I'm doing too much damage to the paint?
From reading this forum and watching videos, the impression I get (and forgive me if I'm missing something -- complete novice here) is that the steps for car restoration is: paint restoration (claying -> compounding -> polishing) -> paint sealant -> wax. Is that correct? Currently, I still need to polish up a couple of panels on the car. But after I'm done, would it be correct to apply a layer of sealant, and then a layer of wax? I'm guessing I would need to buy a sealant and a wax, then? I think I made a mistake with the wash and wax and spray detailer -- both are for regular maintenance, correct?
A while back, I had a problem with bee poop, because I was parking next to beekeepers. Apparently I didn't clean two droppings, and now they've gone through the paint (I think) and left two black spots, with rust around the edges. Can I fix these? Can my dealer fix them? What do you recommend?


Thanks, any help would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to learning from everyone.

-CC

[GSKR]

I think back then was single stage paint on that.Did you get the color of the car paint on your microfibers,color transfer.

[CarefulCleaner]

I think back then was single stage paint on that.Did you get the color of the car paint on your microfibers,color transfer.

Just inspected my microfibers, no color transfer. But thanks for bringing this up; I didn't even know about the possibility of single stage paint (I'll do some Googling...).

[Mantilgh]

I wouldn't let the dealer touch it unless they are specifically well know for being able to fix such problems. May ask it they'll give you the phone number of the guy who does their lot touch up work.

Some of what is on the side of the bumper looks like paint transfer that should come off with a polish.

If it is not clear coated, white paint is really hard a will take a lot of effort by hand. I'd pick up some Megs Ultimate Compound as it should help speed things up a little.

The bee poop sounds more like imbedded iron. There are many iron removers available now and Griots has a new one that might be available OTC soon.

As far as the seal and wax, that is up to you. I would seal each panel as you finish it, then when you complete the vehicle, top it off with wax if you want(optional).

This may help you tell if you if your clear coat is still there, if it is clear coated.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/29197-beginning-clearcoat-failure.html

[CarefulCleaner]

I wouldn't let the dealer touch it unless they are specifically well know for being able to fix such problems. May ask it they'll give you the phone number of the guy who does their lot touch up work.

Some of what is on the side of the bumper looks like paint transfer that should come off with a polish.

If it is not clear coated, white paint is really hard a will take a lot of effort by hand. I'd pick up some Megs Ultimate Compound as it should help speed things up a little.

The bee poop sounds more like imbedded iron. There are many iron removers available now and Griots has a new one that might be available OTC soon.

As far as the seal and wax, that is up to you. I would seal each panel as you finish it, then when you complete the vehicle, top it off with wax if you want(optional).

This may help you tell if you if your clear coat is still there, if it is clear coated.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/29197-beginning-clearcoat-failure.html

Thanks for the detailed reply, Mantilgh. If I get some factory paint from the dealer, how difficult would it be to do the touch-up work myself?

Here's a close-up on the bee poop -- would I need to dab some paint on this after removing the iron?

53270

[Mantilgh]

Wow, that looks crazy. Did it eat through the paint?

For the touch up; it will always be noticeable close up even if you do great job, but will be a whole lot less noticeable than the black.

Difficulty depends on how good you want it to look.

Basically, clean it and put a couple of coats on it. To make it less noticeable, you'll need to wet sand and then compound/polish it after it has time to cure.