What to do with the paint?

[nimo]

Hi guys. Nice site you all have and thanks for providing it.

I used to detail cars for 10 years, but its been the same since I have been out of the game.

I have to do some work on my bro's mustang and his paint has some oxidization with other minor defects. I would normally lay a wheel on it, but his paint in my opinion is to thin to risk burning it.

Here was my guess without any knowledge of product/procedure improvements in the last 10 years

Good cleaner wash
Clay bar
Good cleaner wax (by hand)
Good finish polish (by hand)

I will need to buy my products locally, so if you have any recommendations? (Time to do it is short)

Just trying to improve the paint as best as possible and give it a glaring shine. Within reason of course. :)

Any help or clarification you can provide would be great!

[nimo]

Any suggestions?

[TLMitchell]

If you're restricted to OTC products available locally Meguiar's is always a good bet.

Gold Class Car Wash is almost universally regarded as a top notch product.

Color X is a good cleaner/wax

Haven't tried it but folks are raving about Ultimate Polish. Same folks seem to like Ultimate Wax a lot too.

Meg's or Mother's clay kits are decent, mild clays and the kit also comes with lube. Clay Magic blue is a bit stouter and can be found in a kit.

Most Auto Zones or Pep Boys will have all of the above, might even find everything at Wal Mart. Pep Boys also has some decent microfibers in a 10-pack priced reasonably.

TL

[nimo]

Thanks TL,

The best I could find IMHO was Meguiars "Brilliant Solutions Paint Restoration Kit" locally. It got really cold here this weekend, so I had to postpone the job for a few days. I could order from Amazon too, if there is products that will do a much better job than the Mequiars I mentioned.

[opie_7afe]

how do you know the paint is too thin? did you use a digital paint thickness gauge? if so what was the readings?. and you should be able to buff it out using the correct pad/product combo. or get a DA polisher and wont need to worry about going through the clear unless it really is that thin. imo you cant tell paint thickness with eye, even those magnetic ones i would not trust. i still need to get me a gauge but that will be the future...

[nimo]

After some research, which is hard to tell unless you really have used the products. Here is where I am at with Meguiars material.

Gold Class Car Wash
Clay Bar
Ultimate compound or ColorX?
Ultimate polish or Ultimate wax?

The car has Saleen chrome rims and the Mequiars "Hot Rims chrome wheel cleaner seemed to get strong reviews. ???

Hopefully someone can give me insight on finally two decisions.

The car is a Supra Red color.

Thanks,

Nimo

[nimo]

how do you know the paint is too thin? did you use a digital paint thickness gauge? if so what was the readings?. and you should be able to buff it out using the correct pad/product combo. or get a DA polisher and wont need to worry about going through the clear unless it really is that thin. imo you cant tell paint thickness with eye, even those magnetic ones i would not trust. i still need to get me a gauge but that will be the future...

Yeah, I had the thickness checked.(sorry, don't have the number) After detailing for 10 years I have a very solid and intuitional knowledge of knowing when paint was thin. I probably detailed about 8000 cars back in the day. Can anyone look at the paint and know for sure? No. I would rather error on the side of caution.

I have a makita variable speed wheel/buffer we called them. Sorry, not sure what a DA is specifically. We also used the dual orbital and the big bonnet pad orbital back in the day. We weren't to technical back in the day, just called them a buffer and two orbitals.

I would like to think I was a knowledgeable detailer. I did wet sands, compounds, swirl removal, total interior removal and re-dyes. Big shows like the Detroit Auto Show.The worst of all having to run razor blades over a total cars paint to remove road paint or railroad over spray. Any detailer hates those when you have to razor blade paint off paint and maintian the integrity of the cars paint.

If I had a dual orbital I would use it, but didn't keep mine. I have wool and grey foam pads, but the foam pads were more likely to burn the edges than wool.I like the grey foam pads because they were more flexible that the hard yellow pads.

Of course my statements are just my opinion, so don't take them with a grain of salt. :)

I appreciate you chiming in and appreciate any further you have to add!

[nimo]

Just registered after I posted. DUH! Dual Action Polisher is the same as a dual orbital. Yes, that would be Ideal If I had one! Too bad I don't, I think I never kept mine because back then the pads tore off easily and often and they weren't cheap. Plus, I never had many problems with wheel marks in the paint.

[opie_7afe]

ok heres some charts i think will help you out with product choices, I'm always referencing the following chart http://www.auto-geek.net/charts/wax-chart.pdf contains how aggressive certain products are even if they don't list it on the bottle, and shows what products would be comparable in terms of aggressiveness. heres a thread also that will help with meguiars products http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/23583-aggressiveness-order-smat-products-might-surprise-you.html . also do you use foam or wool pads? if only wool i would get some foam ones so you can get a better finish. technology has changed alot, my dad has been detailing for a long while and he is just amazed at it all as hes been "out of it" for a while just doing his own car using OTC products.but good to have someone to chat with who did detailing back in the day...and as far as the dual action im talking about a porter cable 7424XP or griots garage DA polisher, the old big 10" pad orbitals are now called "wax spreaders" those have very little correctional ability...the 7424 has some power and with the new products out now you can even get out atleast 2000 grit wet sanding marks. and finish buffer trail free....fyi i use a rotary also and yes the yellow foam pads(sm arnold) are a bit stiff, i dont like the shape of them i like the one flat pad i have. flats are easy to controll just like wool is...some like the curved pads though!...good luck on your project!