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So I want to give major kudos to the original poster. I have a 2013 Volt that I bought last July. It had been sitting on their lot for 4 months and there were tons of swirl marks and surface scratches in the paint, which I negotiated off the price of the vehicle. It looked like they had washed the car with brushes, and like a dummy I took it through an automated car wash several times through the winter. So I made it worse. Due to work scheduling and weather, I haven't had the time or energy to correcting it but I did get several quotes on how much it would take (time/money) to fix it. The average of 4 quotes was $500/8 hours which was way more than I was willing to pay. So I found this thread and decided that I could DIY it. I procured all the recommended goods (Porter Cable buffer, pads -- though I used Freight Harbor 6" cheapies, clay kit, Meguiars Ultimate compound and polish, painters tape, and some Dawn). I watched all the recommended videos and took notes. This morning I executed. Like a dummy, I forgot to take before pictures but here are the results:     I also detailed the interior, which didn't take long as I keep it pretty clean (excepting all the road treatment I brought in on my shoes)  So here's my take. Holy poo poo. I have the utmost respect for those who detail for a living. It is hard work. I started at 9:00 am and finished the exterior at 4:00 pm. The interior (cleaning all the junk out of the mats, steaming them, treating the leather, dusting the surfaces and vents) took an hour. As far as the paint, I took my time on the swirls, marking things off, cutting, cutting again, cutting again, and again. Then polishing. Then waxing. The worst swirls/scratches were on the horizontal surfaces and the roof rails. They are 98% gone, and I have to look really, really hard to find the remaining 2%. It looks amazing, with a depth that wasn't there when I bought it. I hope I never have to do more than wash and wax it (by hand this time, no more automated washes and no more brushes), but I have the tools and confidence to do so if needed. Thanks a million, uh, $500, Ratbert! quick edit: The Harbor Freight pads worked just fine - they were on sale today for $4 each. I went through 4 cutting pads, a polishing pad, and a finishing pad. The only thing I would caution is that the cutting pads started throwing off fine foam particles after heavy use. I don't know if that's normal but I didn't risk it and swapped to a new pad when it started leaving foam dust on the surface. I had no issues with the polishing or finishing pads. Goober Peas fucked around with this message at 02:29 on Mar 9, 2014 |
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Mar 9, 2014 00:55
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ratbert90 posted:Holy wow that looks great! Amazing work! Thanks for the compliments! I can't express how swirly/scratchy the paint was before. I was surprised to even see the scratches on the black and chrome trim under the windows disappear. I'll definitely splurge on the better cutting pads if I have to do it again. Is it normal for a quality cutting pad to disintegrate? My hesitancy was around the price.
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Mar 9, 2014 02:32
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I've also used WD40 successfully on stickers and whatnot
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Mar 28, 2014 00:23
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So is there a long(er) term solution to spider webbing, other than wax? My car looks great for about 6 weeks, then the webbing comes back again. It still beads and looks great when it rains, just looks crazy when in direct sunlight. Goober Peas fucked around with this message at 19:38 on Nov 24, 2014 |
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Nov 24, 2014 19:32
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Chinatown posted:What type of wax? I would switch to a synthetic sealant. I've tried Maguires Next Wax and their Carnauba wax. The Next Wax looks better but the Carnauba lasts about 2 weeks longer before the webbing returns.
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Nov 24, 2014 19:54
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MomJeans420 posted:I use Optimum No Rinse, and you can use it to make quick detailing spray too. It also smells nice. Seconding (or thirding) this. It's good stuff.
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Mar 30, 2015 16:58
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Any prevailing opinions about Meguiar's Paint Protect 365? I've only seen a handful of reviews online. Most seem to be discussions around whether beading is better than sheeting -- it sounds like PP365 repels in sheets rather than beads. In any event, I'm trying it out. It's extremely easy to apply, harder to wipe off namely because it doesn't haze and you can't see what you've wiped.
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Apr 13, 2015 00:41
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Goober Peas posted:Any prevailing opinions about Meguiar's Paint Protect 365? I've only seen a handful of reviews online. Most seem to be discussions around whether beading is better than sheeting -- it sounds like PP365 repels in sheets rather than beads. So I'm coming up on 5 months with the first application Paint Protect. Still beading as well as it did on the first day. I'll check in again in a few months and/or when I put a second application on.
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Aug 22, 2015 21:55
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I have a nanosponge and it works great as long as you keep the surface well lubed. Under-lubed I end up with nanoskin scuff marks on the surface and the beginning of the end of the sponge. I get about 12 cars out of a sponge.
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Nov 23, 2015 19:04
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Goober Peas posted:So I'm coming up on 5 months with the first application Paint Protect. Still beading as well as it did on the first day. I'll check in again in a few months and/or when I put a second application on. Coming up on 10 months since I applied Meguiar's Paint Protect. Still beading well. The downside is that the car seems to be getting dirty progressively faster and/or needing washing more often. Will definitely be stripping it down after 12 months. I'm on the fence as to whether I'll reapply, it really depends on how hard it is to strip. It certainly applied easier than a regular paste or liquid wax. It's met expectations, and would recommend to folks like my parents who wash their car irregularly and are lucky to apply wax once a year. For a gearhead, 12 months is a long time to go without removing surface contaminates regardless of the product longevity. I've also noticed that it's harder to find locally -- Walmart had it last time I was in there, but none of the Autozones here stock it anymore.
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Jan 23, 2016 22:34
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blk posted:Is this a sealant? It's some sort of synthetic wax stuff http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/products/g36516-paint-protect/
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Feb 3, 2016 01:10
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meatpimp posted:Try Simple Green and a brush first. Totally misread that as 'brush fire' 
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Feb 6, 2016 00:44
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SperginMcBadposter posted:Do foam pads wear out? They don't seem to work as well after the first few sections even if I wash them. They still remove paint, but the finish doesn't come out looking as good. They also feel a lot softer all the way through than they did out of the package, but I don't know if that affects how well they work. The Harbor Freight pads wear out really quick. That's why they're about 1/2 the price of a name brand. I usually get one application per Harbor Freight vs 5+ from a Chemical Bros or 3M. Also using the correct speed setting helps too (ask me how I know )
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May 5, 2016 19:51
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Goober Peas posted:Coming up on 10 months since I applied Meguiar's Paint Protect. Still beading well. The downside is that the car seems to be getting dirty progressively faster and/or needing washing more often. Will definitely be stripping it down after 12 months. I'm on the fence as to whether I'll reapply, it really depends on how hard it is to strip. It certainly applied easier than a regular paste or liquid wax. It's met expectations, and would recommend to folks like my parents who wash their car irregularly and are lucky to apply wax once a year. For a gearhead, 12 months is a long time to go without removing surface contaminates regardless of the product longevity. Last check-in on Meguiar's Paint Protect - It still beaded reasonably well after 12 months +. As mentioned before, after about 10 months the car seemed to be attracting dirt and needed washing at least once a week to look good. That's the only negative I have. I stripped it this afternoon - Dawn dishsoap took it off, so even that lived up to promises. I followed with claybar, polish, and then decided to reapply the Paint Protect. Car looks amazing (no pics, I'm exhausted since I did all of this after 4 hours of yardwork). As a bonus, I still have more than 1/2 a bottle left after two applications.
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Jun 6, 2016 01:04
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Yeah, the best you're going to do with that is to clean and soften. Anything beyond that won't be worth the time/effort/cost.
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Sep 2, 2016 17:34
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ratbert90 posted:Filling never works well and ends up always looking like rear end. This has been my experience as well. Any money/time spent outside of reupholstering is throwing money away in his scenario.
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Sep 2, 2016 21:30
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Josh Lyman posted:What do you guys do to stop the inside of your windshield from fogging? Stop breathing  Like - are we talking about normal fogging or fogs all the time? Normal fogging can be helped by turning off the re circulation and using the defogger setting. And/or cracking a window. Fogs all the time is usually a leaking heater core
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Jan 24, 2018 19:29
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dissss posted:Is that dish washing soap? If so you really don't want to be using that. For regular maintenance, I agree. For stripping off wax prior to detailing, it's absolutely a good choice. Edit : beaten like a dead horse Goober Peas fucked around with this message at 01:14 on Aug 10, 2018 |
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Aug 10, 2018 01:11
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Seminal Flu posted:Possibly. It could be residual soap showing, too. Either way, let the detailer look at it tomorrow and you'll be sorted. This is the best answer. I'd go hands off until he/she can assess and get it squared away. Once it's sorted, I'd not only look into a ceramic coating and some plain old car wash solution, but also for a better place to park (if possible).
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Aug 10, 2018 02:36
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MrOnBicycle posted:I'm subscribed to Sweeeeeeeeeeet project cars. Everything he does works, but many of these tricks are not best practice to put it nicely. If I had a beater that I just wanted to spruce up, I'd go for it. For anything that's remotely valuable to me I'd do something like this: That's crazytown level of effort for seats in that bad condition. He literally could have installed new leather in the same amount of time or less.
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Dec 20, 2018 03:41
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If it's not state mandated, glass replacement is a comprehensive claim. Which for most people makes it not worth it.
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Feb 16, 2019 00:11
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I dunno, but ever car show I've ever been too has a lackey with one and he goes to town. Even on the exotics.
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Feb 18, 2019 23:19
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fknlo posted:I probably wouldn't have been anywhere near as angry initially if I hadn't just spent a bunch of money on the paint stuff. It's not that bad, I'm not exactly worried about resale or anything like that, and it's just a car. I'm obviously going to do my best to be made whole with the best body money can buy and all that jazz. Will the whole car have to be redone as far as the coating goes or can they just do part of it? Because that's gonna get paid for too. Anything that gets resprayed will have to be recoated. And you'll have to wait for the paint to cure before you recoat. Typically 30 days.
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Sep 8, 2019 02:04
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How do you guys keep your microfibers from spreading dust? The first use is great, but even after washing, subsequent uses leaves a layer of dust esp on windows.
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Dec 15, 2019 18:45
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So I got a black leather belt for Christmas and now have black dye transfer on my gray leather seats. Any hints on how to remove it without making things worse? I've tried Chemical Bros cleaner with and without a magic eraser and there's improvement - but it's still there.
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Jan 14, 2023 01:15
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Live in an urban area where I park blocks away from home. I've been using Optimum successfully for years. I load everything up (buckets, towels, etc) into my folding grocery cart and wash/dry in the garage with no issues.
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Apr 9, 2023 19:45
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