Looking for input on 2007 JGC paint restoration.

[brentm]

First post here... and I'm all in.

Here's what I got... 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee, black paint. It's been garaged all its life. I've clay barred and hand waxed it every year. I've stuck with Surf City Garage and Meguiars products for the most part.

The paint is looking a little dull. It's accumulated enough scratches from washing/drying/walking by it with a coat on that its time to cut the paint a little...

So, I thought I was doing a good job on research and asked my wife for a Porter Cable 7824xt, which arrived right on schedule.

Now it's time to figure out what products/pads to use. I'm hoping to leverage your experience and generosity in helping a noob...

Here's an example of what I'm up against. Please note the scratch.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b97/ibanezbrent/IMG_0053_zpsytvm0kdu.jpg

Here is my bill of materials thus far...

Dual-Action Hook & Loop Flexible Backing Plate 5"
White Lake Country 5 1/2 Inch Flat Foam Pad
Orange Lake Country 5 1/2 Inch Flat Foam Pad

Meguiar's M105 Mirror Glaze Ultra-Cut Compound
Meguiar's M205 Mirror Glaze Ultra Finishing Polish

Am I on the right track here? Do I need a glaze and sealant also? If so, what products would you recommend?

Thank you!!!

[davey g-force]

You may want to consider changing the M105 for Ultimate Compound- -more user friendly.

And yes, you'll need to seal and/or wax or coat the pant at the end..

[Billy Baldone]

If you already have those items, no need to buy more,The 105 is fine, it just has a shorter work time,and dusts a bit more. As for when your done, yes you should seal/coat..... I personally use Menzerna Power Lock. Easy on easy off, and lasts a good 4-6 months.

[Don M]

If you already have those items, no need to buy more,The 105 is fine, it just has a shorter work time,and dusts a bit more. As for when your done, yes you should seal/coat..... I personally use Menzerna Power Lock. Easy on easy off, and lasts a good 4-6 months.


:iagree:

If you don't seal the paint, all the work you've just done is sitting out in the open unprotected and readily susceptible to damage. I can't say anything about the Menzerna, never used it. I used Ultimate Wax over the Ultimate Polish (a sister to M205) with great results.

[brentm]

thanks everyone for the input!!!

I haven't purchased anything other than the Porter Cable polisher. I'm still in my research phase.

Thanks for the rec of Ultimate Compound. It looks a little less aggressive. And Menzerna Power Lock has good amazon reviews too.

Is one pad per panel the going recommendation? I know you can clean them too. So clean and/or replace every body panel section? I'll probably buy the right number of pads for one car and clean them before I do my wife's silver CRV. A more forgiving color, but it also has more scratches.

[Don M]

Is one pad per panel the going recommendation? I know you can clean them too. So clean and/or replace every body panel section?

One per panel is a bit TOO often (unless you have a lot of pads and like cleaning a lot of pads after a detail), or unless you have a LOT of embedded dirt that washing/claying didn't remove. You can tell when your pad starts to look dirty ie: you can SEE the dirt on the pad. I personally divide my car into three sections: Top (roof, hood, trunk), Right side, Left side and use a new pad for each section with on the fly cleaning while doing each section. Experience will tell you when the pad needs cleaned of excess product, it starts acting 'differently.'

So a minimum of 4-5 pads for one application (compounding or polishing) so a total of 8-10 on a compound & polish of a car. But since when you're sealing/waxing a car, all the cleaning & polishing has already been done, there's no dirt left to pick up, so I only use 1 finishing pad to wax the whole car, I just make sure I don't use too much sealant/wax, so I don't overload the pad, but waxes/sealants spread far more than compounds/polishes do, so you won't be using as much product to cover the car anyway.

[Billy Baldone]

If i were you, knowing you have a PC already and nothing else, and all you want is to do your Jeep. I would get the Meguires DA correction system. That is about all you should need to get the results you are looking for in one simple package. Watch the videos, its a great way for you to start out with great results.

[brentm]

34929

I just wanted to say thank you to all who helped guide me on this project. Here's a midway photo pic my work. I still have more detail work to go but Megs ultimate compound, M205, and manzerna sealant were excellent recommendations. At times I felt like I could have used a heavier cut but for 99 percent, the ultimate compound did just fine with multiple applications.


Thank you all again!. [emoji5]

Brent



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[davey g-force]

Glad it worked out for you.

Be sure to share some finished 'beauty shots' :)