hey i have a few questions i have been practising polishin on my 1999 escort im no to good i dontk now if im moving to fast but most of the swirls are still there. i have a orange an white pad that ive used and cleand in pad cleaner is it time to get rid of em yet??? and am i moving to fast i use pbs ssr2.5 with the orange pad cuz the paints in bad shape. but theres still swirls now my wife just got a 2005 metaliic blue scion tc the dealer did a hack job and iwanna fix it for her come spring so please i need help i also use the xmt fine swirl remover 2 and swirl remover 1 now shudi use the 2 first then do a few passes with the swirl remover 1 then do the glaze and wax

 

I'd try following our polishing guide as close as you can for maximum results.

Some things you can do to improve your results:
- Move the buffer slower
- Add more pressure
- Use a faster speed
- Use smaller pads
- Use more aggressive pads or polishes

I'd recommend using the Meguiar's M105 / M205 combo for maximum results with a PC. Here's a step by step guide on how to properly apply the Meg's polishes with a PC.

Hopefully this helps improve your results.

 

Hi George,

have you ever heard of SUPAGARD? it's a sealant product that is used primarily in Europe. a friend of mine heard i was a car guy and brought an application pkg (one use) back from Ireland. nice gesture, and he's offered to help detail my car as well (he used to be in detail biz back home). i figure that this product won't do any harm so i'll go ahead and throw it on since my friend went out of his way. i'm happy with the products i've been using but what the heck...

anything you can tell me about it? all i've found is that dealers charge an arm and a leg for it in the UK, and it gets mixed reviews (like most things). apparently it's supposed to last 3 years. yeah, right. not like i would leave my car alone that long anyways.

thx for your help.

 

I don't have any direct experience with Supagard, but chances are it's a sealant that dealerships will use to sell their customers on. Chances are you won't get much more than 6 months of protection before needing a reapplication, but try it out and see how it works. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the product after you apply it and get a chance to assess the durability.

Not many products will last 6 months, or more, if there was everyone would be using it and I'd certainly be carrying it!

Keep us posted

 

Hi George,

I'm looking into getting a PC 7424XP in the next month or so. Do you have any recommendations on what to go along with it? Or what packages you offer that I should look into? My G35 is black, has fine swirls, and a ton of holograms from a previous detail. I'd really like to get those holograms out as they're quite the eyesore when I don't have a fresh application of wax on the car.

Also, where I live and park, its not surprising to find my car covered in moisture/dew in the morning. Fog rolls in almost every night. Do you have any recommendations on what compounds and products to use that might last longer or work better in these conditions?

I already have your basic car wash stuff which I previously ordered from you guys.

Thanks!

 

A great package to get started in properly polishing your paint would be to look into this PC 7424 XP kit with Meguiar's M105 / M205 polishes and 5.5" pads. It comes with everything you need to achieve professional like results your first use. Here's a link to step by step instructions on how to get the most out of that combo.

One of our longest lasting sealants we have to offer is the Blackfire Wet Diamond. It goes on and off easy, looks great on any color, brings a very slick feeling to the surface and has great durability with the Polycharger additive.

Between those two things, your car should look like new! Let me know if there's anything else I can give you a hand with.

George

 

I recently purchased a 2007 G35x and noticed some spots on my wheels. I thought they would come off with a good wheel cleaning, but they have not. What can I do to make them look new again. I've attached a pic for review. Thanks in advance!!!

 

Looks like an acidic cleaner got to the wheels and stained the clear coat. What you'll want to try is to polish your wheels using a metal polish. Try something like P21S Finish Restorer or if you have a light clear coat polish around for your paint, you can give that a try too.

Keep us posted on how things turn out. Good luck

 

Thanks for your insight, George!

 

hey George i was just wondering what you would recommend for rubber care (door/hood/trunk seals) right now i am using Wurth and it seems to be good but i didn't know if you had any insider info on potential harm in the long run, thanks for all the great info on the board and step by step's on the site.

 

Hello there,
I just purchased a sexy 06 Ivory Pearl G35 from a local CarMax dealer. One thing I noticed when I was looking at the car on the lot is that there were these micro-sized black specs covering the entire car, everywhere front to back. I mean you really have to get down close and look at them, but they are there. I picked at them a little bit with my fingernail and they would come off, but basic rubbing doesn't work. I figured it was some tar spray or something that is probably normal on cars, but is amplified a bit by my car being Ivory Pearl (white).

I asked the dealer about it and he called one of their "detailing" guys over to look at it. He said no problem, we can get that off with clay bar. So while I was finalizing the sale they took my car out back to have it washed, vacuumed, and clay bar applied to get rid of those black spots.

Well, the deal was done and now I am home with my brand new sweet ride, but still notice the black specs all over the car. It looks as though some may have come off (being generous as to the fact that they might have tried), but the majority still remains everywhere on the car.

How can I get this off my car? Do I need to just do a clay bar detail myself or what? My paint looks pretty nice, but definitely is dulling and has some minor surface scratching and swirls in it that I would like to correct as well. I assume it all has a good 4 years of none of this ever being done. Is doing this work myself recommended for a newbie? I'd like to save money and learn by doing it myself, but definitely don't want to put my new sweet ride at any risk.

Thanks a million!

 

From what I know the Wurth product for rubber seals is pretty decent. I personally will go over the seals with some Leatherique Prestine Clean dispensing it in a 4oz pump spray bottle. This helps maximize the usage of the product and stretches the product thin for a nice even application. Prestine Clean does a great job nourishing the rubber keeping it soft and flexible. When the seals begin to dry out, that's when they can crack, harden and discolor. Follow up with some UV protection for maximum results. Something like 303 Aerospace Protectant would do the trick.

If the Wurth product is doing the job, stick with it until you run out and decide if you want to try something else.

Hope this helps.

Your on the right track, you'll certainly want to invest the time to properly clay bar your paint. You have two ways of looking at it, you can start with a fine grade clay bar and try to minimize the time spent polishing. Clay bars can often leave behind some marring on the paint, which you'll need to polish to remove. The other option is to jump to a medium grade clay bar which will remove the black spots faster than a fine grade clay, but you'll be sure to leave some marring left behind which will be more work on the polishing side of things. Here's a link to our clay bar guide for more information on how to get the most out of your clay bar experience.

After properly claying your entire car, you'll want to polish to remove the swirls and scratches in your paint. I just put together this Porter Cable 7424XP polishing package recently, and it's a perfect combo for someone just getting into polishing. It utilizes the Meguiar's polishes, which are easy to achieve professional like results with when used properly.

Here's a couple links for resources on how to safely polish your paint with a buffer and achieve outstanding results, even your first time around...

Polishing Guide
Polishing with Meguiar's M105 / M205

After polishing, be sure to properly protect your paint with your choice of a sealant or wax. For a nice durable sealant, I'd suggest trying Blackfire Wet Diamond. It's one of our most durable waxes, very easy to apply and remove and leaves behind a slick, wet looking surface. The protection should also help prevent stubborn contamination from building up on your paint again.

If you have any other questions on anything, or need a hand selecting any products, please do not hesitate to ask.

Keep us posted on what you end up using and how things turn out

George

 

Great! I checked out the polishing package you sent and notice it includes a hard cutting compound (i think?). From what I read, that compound is pretty strong. I don't think my paint is too bad at all really. Just some minor swirls and scratches that I would like to eliminate as best as possible (minus all those pesky gritty black specs all over the car). Although, I don't know what the clay bar will do to it after I finish with that. So do I really need to use that hard of a compound?

So from what I gather, I should wash and clay bar the entire car, then polish twice (harder, then softer polish), then followed by a sealant. Is this the correct process?

With those four steps is there anything else I need as far as accessories?

Here's what I got so far:


Clay bar: I am still unsure as which clay I need, fine or medium. If the guys really already tried to do a clay bar on it I'm thinking I might need a medium, but I am really afraid about messing up my nice sexy paint finish and I know the fine is easier on that. Also, can I just use the ONR concentrate from the wash kit above for the clay lube here?

Sealant: I read a sealant suggestions thread you posted for Inifinti paints, and Ivory Pearl was not listed under the recommendations for the Blackfire, so I checked out some others, which were recommended for Ivory Pearl. Although, I see the Blackfire has many good reviews on your site. What do you think?

I'm a real newbie here, so additional guidance on anything else I might need to do/get would be great. I would hate to buy some of this stuff and end up finding out I forgot to order some simple item like a proper pad that I need and have to pay for shipping all over again

 

Good questions... The Meg's polishes are unique in a way that their aggressiveness is directly related to how much pressure you apply. So say you were to use the M105 on a light scratch and applied it with very little pressure, it won't be too aggressive. If you lay into it with the buffer, then it can become a pretty aggressive compound as the name states.

You'll want to start with the least aggressive approach first, so see what the M205 does for you in terms of results and adjust from there. There's a good chance that on the soft Infiniti paint, M205 will correct a majority of the imperfections. At some point, you'll probably need the more aggressive polish, so it's nice to have that on hand as well as the more aggressive pads. You never know when a shopping cart may hit your car, or a door ding, bird bomb, etc.

I'd go with... Wash -> Clay -> test M205 and monitor results -> if more cut is needed go to M105 -> M205 -> Sealant

I'd use the fine grade clay first because a medium grade will mar the finish of soft paint pretty easily. ONR is a great clay bar lubricant, you can certainly use that. I'd recommend picking up a 22oz spray bottle to dispense the ONR clay lube solution unless you already have a dispenser bottle you plan on using. You may want a second one for the Meg's All Purpose Cleaner too.

You can't go wrong with Blackfire Wet Diamond on any color paint. It's one of the best looking sealants, that is very easy to work with and offers great durability.

I'm not sure if you have microfiber towels, but I'd recommend a dozen or two for everything you're looking to do. I'll usually use a couple towels per coat you are planning on removing, not to mention what you'll need for the interior and other areas of the car. You also want to avoid using the same towel for various products. For example, if you used the same towel you used to remove the polish to remove Wet Diamond, the abrasive particles in the towel from the polish could remove the coat of Wet Diamond as you wipe.

You'll certainly be off to a great start with that package. If you have any other questions on anything, let me know.

Before diving in, I'd recommend giving our auto detailing guide a final look over so everything is fresh on your mind. Be sure to keep us posted on how everything turns out once you get a chance to use everything.

Good luck

 

Thanks again!