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Waaaaaaaaaay back on this board's first day of existence, I posted for tips on rejuvenating my white 89 C900T's tired, neglected, non-garaged-hard-livin'-in-the-city finish. Armed with Saabneter's helpful tips, I went to work (slowly): I've since had time to put some serious effort into the hood, one door, one rear quarter & part of the hatch. The work I've done so far definitely outshines the remaining panels (pun, well, sort of intended), but, frankly, I'm less than thrilled with the results.
Specifically, direct light, either from the sun or light overhead at night, really brings out the scratches in the paint. Yes, the car is shiny, but scratches are clearly there. These are what I believe you'd call swirl marks: not always visible, round arcs that are very superficial, not immediately obvious damage to the paint.
Here's the regimen I've followed:
1. Wash well with dishwasher detergent/warm water.
2. Mother's clay bar & detail spray. This worked *pretty* well, but I was surprised to find that it took a lot more effort to remove the thousands of tiny black impacted specs than I'd read it would. Also found that a rubbing compound worked more quickly at achieving the same result (but did not use it -- just a test spot on the roof).
3. Meguiar's paint cleaner. This is the #1 stuff from their 3-step process.
4. Meguiar's polish, step 2. A very subtle improvement on #1...
5. Meguiar's Polymer Sealant 20 (not part of the 3-step process).
6. Meguiar's paste wax. This stuff is yellow, carnuba (sp?), etc. I did two or three coats, more on the hood.
I'm using all-cotton towels for everything except applying wax, btw. I'm using back/forth motions when removing product, not round/round, and I use separate towels for application, initial removal, & final clean-up. When I wash my towels, I run the rinse/spin cycle twice.
I've been accused of being somewhat obsessive and perfectionistic a time or two, so to qualify my efforts, these have not been your average I-hate-these-car-chores-let's-get-this-over-with-quick rubdowns.
Anyway, before I burn another million calories rubbing the remaining panels with potions & pastes, I would welcome any suggestions/recommendations on how to achieve a more scratch-free final result.
Thanks for your input!
PS One thing I noticed about the sealant is that it doesn't seem to work too well on wheels: I waxed one pair and sealed the other; subsequent washing has shown that dust comes off the wax quite easily, but sticks to the sealant-treated pair as if not treated at all. Have I been taken for a sucker to the tune of nearly 20 bucks for the stuff? Hmmm....
posted by 63.225.176...
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