can meguiars cleaner wax marr/micro-mar

[WRXINXS]

Hey guys,

I just got a used red painted strut bar for my car. I believe it is clear coated because it is smooth. It was pretty grungy because it has spent about 15 years in someones engine bay so I used OPC and rinseless wash n gloss combo in hot water to clean it up. It still had black smudges that would not come off the paint so I hit it with regualar meguiars cleaner wax (Their top seller in the burgandy bottle). Now I am seeing some swirling/marring on the bar and don't know if it was there before I used the cleaner wax or not.

Are the abraisvies in megs cleaner wax big enough to have caused this micro-scratching/swirling? I guess I should have used a chemical only prewax cleanser to be safe. I also some red color on my foam applicator which was weird because I think the bar is clear coated, but it does have nicks/scratches in the clear so I guess that is where I picked up the red paint.

Do you guys think the cleaner wax could have caused that or should I assume it was already there?

Drew

[cleanmycorolla]

Did you try to clay? perhaps if you didnt you polished around some particles, causing marring...???

if you see red on your applicator, cant imagine it having a clear coat.....

[cardaddy]

Not sure if it'd done that on it's own as it's pretty mild. What towel or applicator did you use?

[davey g-force]

It's hard to say just by your description, but I'd bet they were already there.

Cleaner Wax is very mild and plus, you yourself said "it was pretty grungy because it has spent about 15 years in someones engine bay", implying that there could easily already be some swirls on the surface.

Just my 2c.

[CM8 6MT]

It's hard to say just by your description, but I'd bet they were already there.

Cleaner Wax is very mild and plus, you yourself said "it was pretty grungy because it has spent about 15 years in someones engine bay", implying that there could easily already be some swirls on the surface.

Just my 2c.

I agree. That and probably not working clean. A cleaner wax causing micro marring is like saying a fine polish causes micro marring.

[WRXINXS]

True, I think they may have already been there as the bar is old. I did not clay the bar but I washed it down really well with OPC and rinseless wash n gloss. Then I applied the cleaner wax by hand with a foam meguiars applicator. Do you only get micro marring with more aggressive polishes and not fine polishes?

[Mike Phillips]

Meguiar's Cleaner/Wax is a very mild cleaner/wax and my guess is either the "cleaning action" revealed the scratches my clearing of the finish or your applicator material instilled the scratching.


See this article,


Factors that affect how aggressive or non-aggressive a product is (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/28458-factors-affect-how-aggressive-non-aggressive-product.html)


:)

[WRXINXS]

Mike, I think you are right. I feel that maybe the cleaning action reveiled the swirling/marring. It could have been the application but I did clean the bar first and used a brand new clean megs foam applicator pad. The pad did start discoloring very fast so maybe it picked up some grit the caused some swirling. Either way the bar looks great for its age so I'm pretty happy! I'd just hate to think I caused the swirling. BTW how would I know if the paint on the bar had been clear coated. It seems pretty smooth like the paint on my other CC cars so I assumed it was.

Drew

[Mike Phillips]

BTW how would I know if the paint on the bar had been clear coated. It seems pretty smooth like the paint on my other CC cars so I assumed it was.

Drew


Hi Drew,

I have an article for how to test for single stage or bc/cc in my article list. The link to my article list is in my Sig Line for every post I make. Here's the article,

How to Test for Single Stage or Clear Coat Paint (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/34829-how-test-single-stage-clear-coat-paint.html)




:)

[WRXINXS]

Excellent article Mike! Thank you again for your help!