Just cleaned up on a warm winter day


My truck is now about 2 years old. I've done all the washing and waxing using Profection that was recommended by Beechkid. It does a nice job making the truck shine and I only need to apply it about 3 times a year. But now I can begin to feel some little bits of dirt on the paint and it has some micro scratches in the clear coat. Do I try a clay bar and use some polishing compound on the couple of larger scratches? Or should I have it professionally buffed?

 

Would one of those glaze waxes take out the little micro scratches?

 

Auto Geek.com has a lot of good info/video's on care & huge selection of products.

 

Hi guy...if they are more than what the pro paint sealant can handle (because it actually has a pretty fair amount of polish in it....if it's more swirl mark type then Pro/BAF P71 polish/hand glaze will be excellent. If there are very light surface scratches....3M-39003 Finesse It Finish Polish.

 

I think I'll try both of those products. Some of the scratches are scratches in the clear coat. The others are very light and just deter from the shine. Since I'm afraid of buffers, I'll use the 3M hand stuff for the bigger marks, then the BAF for the overall.

Do I give it a clay bar treatment first to get rid of the bit of grit I am beginning to feel when I run my hand over it?

 

I couldn't find the P71 so I went with the P21 Swirl Eliminator. I still have some of the Profection left so this time I'm gong to try the Satin Crème. I also pulled the trigger on a gallon of Red Cherry car wash. It was much cheaper, even after shipping, than buying soap locally.

Just bought my wife a non metallic bright red other brand car...so I think the Satin Crème will help the shine on that paint. It shows the micro scratches much easier than the metallic paint.

 

If you feel grit, try using hot water with dishsoap (non-chlorine..dawn or Joy), that will typically take 99%, then a quick wipedown with denatured alcohol should wrap it up....if it doesn't, then yes, claybar......the finist grit rating you can find...something in the 6000 range.

 

you will love the finish on that car when you are done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks and Thanks and Thanks and Thanks and Thanks, you're always a big help!

Is the denatured alcohol cut with water?

After that is the swirl remover the next step if the clay bar isn't needed...(I know that sounds like a dumb question but I just want to be sure)? I bought a Maguire's Clay Bar kit quite a few moths ago, I don't know what grit it is but I'll take a look. I was just afraid to use it.

 

Yes, mix with water about 50/50, then if clay bar isn't needed then go for the swirl mark remover....try it on a "bad area" to see how it does 1st...it will either be a yea! or Hmmm, it didn't do it as well as I had hoped.....if the latter is true, then just use the finesse and from there go directly to the satin crème or profection.

An fyi....since you are doing this by hand (IIRR), finesse is designed to be applied and keep working it until it dries & comes off...it does work easy.....to extend it's working time if you so desire, add just a couple drops of water to the application pad and it will extend the working time by about 30 seconds depending on the weather.

Meg's comes in 2 grits IIRR.....a medium & fine...the medium is 3500 grit while the fine is around 6000 iirr...the fine should take care of most anything you need.

I know you have an apprehension to using any type of buffer, but the little 6" diameter oribital that you can buy at any place will eventually become your friend (in the future)...just use the foam pads to apply and remove the wax/polish by hand for a great result.

 

I need to put my big boy pants on and just try a buffer on a small area...it sure would help with all acreage of paint these trucks have.

I still have the rough well water but I now have a 250 gallon tank that I can fill in town. Just need to get a pump and then I can wash it at home. I've noticed that the car washes in town don't have very clean water. It's probably because they are forced to recycle their water.

Thanks again

 

rather than using an abrasive to level down the surface around a scratch to the depth of the scratch, its better to just fill the micro scratch with a polymer based wax....I use the spray and wipe wet detailing sprays after i hose, wash, and wipe dry the truck.

the reason you do not want to use an abrasive to level down the surface around a scratch to the depth of the scratch, is that you will be basically sanding down the clear coat of your paint job.

 

I have some Maguire's quick detail spray...Is that what you are talking about?

I won't be buffing out the paint regularly, but the truck is now 2 years old.

 

I agree with above and not exactly what he's referring to.....

When doing paint correction, it's not always necessary to completely remove a scratch to make it look good. IMHO, it is best to leave as much paint on a vehicle as possible and there is a definite "balance" between maintaining a beautiful paint job and giving the paint the maximum life possible. In this case, over time paint shrinks and so do residual scratches. Each time that we use a heavy polishing compound to correct an issue we are removing paint....a very small amount, but we are removing paint, which correspondingly reduces the paints "life".

In this case, the finesse is just a fine polish and whether applied by hand or with an orbital (in lieu of a real buffer), it is really more of a paint cleaning & polishing than anything else.....which although will to a certain degree removing the light scratches, most of the time it is polishing the scratched are to a shine that visually hides the defect. The residual of the scratch if still seen, could be hidden with the use of the hand glaze/swirl mark remover which in essence "fills" the void and when you wax over the surface, it is sealed and typically completely disappears to the human eye.

That's why I recommend 1st trying the profection which has a fair amount of polish in it, then if that doesn't do it, try the hand glaze/swirl mark remover in a couple of spots to see if that works...if not, then give the finesse a try on those same spots....typically the hand glaze is not required as a next step if using the satin crème carnuba wax as it is so thick in coverage it typically fills the voids similar to what the hand glaze swirl mark remover does....but, you can always spot check to see what works and then do what is necessary on the panel as a whole to get the results you desire, without using extra time and product unncessarily.

Where if used with a conventional "buffer", this would work on the paint much harder, and yes, remove a very microscopic amount.

With regards to the detailers spray, it does to a minor extent cover very minor visual imperfections...but it does depend on the depth of the scratch/mark and to what is pleasing to the eye.

 

Thanks Beechkid...Does a glaze go on before a wax?

I have been using Profection on my Flame Blue truck, but I've also been driving it through heavy snows and WYO. CO, and MT mountain dirt roads. Heck, that's what I bought it for, it's not a show car, but I still want to keep it looking good for as long as possible. I doubt that I will be using a polish enough times to run out of paint. Is once every couple of years considered too much?

I'm still working on getting a supply of city water to use washing the truck. The well water has too much Bicarbonate and sulfides, I'm supplied with bottled water for drinking and cooking. I now have a 250 gallon tank that will fit in the back of an old truck I have...just have to get a pump and give it a test try. Once I have it working I will be giving my truck and wife's speeding ticket red car a spring cleaning.