lisalisa

hi there everyone...

i recently bought a used 02 sc430 blk onyx and it wasnt in the best shape. after washing the car, i noticed a lot of fine scratches around the trunk area where i think the previous owner might have done by drying off the car b/c its around the spoiler. ive tried the meguires scratch X.. but it doesnt work all that well. ive tried the nano wax...but the car was great for a few weeks...but nothing more. nothing ive tried takes the scratches away...its not terrible..but i know its there.

ive read some of the detailing threads here and would love to wash and wax my car this coming weekend. what is the proper steps and the products some of you would recommend that i should pick up. sorry for all the questions...but im a newbie to all this...=)

thanks so much!

lisalisa

Guitarman

You'll need to decide if you want to tackle it yourself, or find a detailer that can remove them. By hand, it takes a good amount of work, and the right abrasives.

Without seeing them, I can't tell you they'll definitely all come out. Some may be deep enough that you'll only be able to lessen them, which sure helps in itself.

If you used Scratch X and still no luck, your next step is to go to a rubbing compound. 3M is good, either fine-cut R/C or Perfect-It III Rubbing Compound. You work it with a terry cloth or towel in back & forth (no circles) motions. It may take 3 or 4 applications of compounding and rubbing to start getting results. Try to apply even pressure, you can work across the area in an 'X" pattern (perpindicular) but no circles. If you see improvement, you can keep at it a time or 2 more, then you have to use a polish to shine up the paint (the rubbing compound will leave haze and swirls). 3M Finesse-It II Finishing Material (white liquid) or 3M Machine Glaze, or Menzerna Intensive polish will do the trick there. You can finish it off with a very fine swirl remover too, if you're really fussy (I do). Remember, straight lines when rubbing and toweling /buffing off the polishes too.

A pro would use a rotary buffer, and would be able to tell in a minute if they're going to level out. By hand, it's pretty safe to use those heavier abrasives, but you do have to know when to call it quits too. If you work the rubbing compound a few times, and they are still visible as before, you risk removing too much paint to go much further.

If you knew how to wetsand, I would say that a few passes with 2000 grit would either remove them or tell you they're not coming out. But that's a last resort either way. Let me know if you need more info on anything.

lisalisa

hey thanks !

after work today, i took myself over to pepboys to buy some mequires pre cleaning wax...polish, sealant glaze and the meg. nxt wax. when i got home, i washed the car, clayed it, and than use the 1st step with the meguires preclean. the question is, after that i do that, i know im suppose to use the sealant glaze than the wax nxt right? but it got late and i so i parked the car in the garage and i hope to finish up on sun. would it be ok if i just continued on sund. with the sealant than wax nxt? or do i have to re wash the car and re polish it? sorry for all the ?'s

thanks so much

lisa

Guitarman

Lisa, the only problem with any of that is that you can't use the glaze ( is that Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze??? ) prior to the NXT.

NXT is a synthetic polymer sealant, and polymers need squeaky clean, non oily , residue -free paint to bond to, if they're going to last a while. All those hand glazes have oils in them (for shine) and they will prevent you getting any durability out of the NXT if you were to put NXT over it.

NXT has a great shine to begin with, and swirl fillers (like a glaze) so there's no big benefit to using a glaze before it anyway.

You would use the hand glaze before applying a CARNAUBA WAX, not a polymer sealant like NXT. Now...you could go buy Meguiar's # 26 High-Tech Yellow Wax to use after the glaze if you want. That would work great, because #26 is a carnauba. As far as doing one step one day and the next step Sunday or whatever, yes, you can polish one day and add wax another, as long as the paint isn't littered with debris from trees etc. from sitting outside during that time. If it was, you'd need to at least rinse it and dry it.

IMO, just polish and apply the NXT, skip the glaze until you buy a carnauba wax to top it with.

jfelbab

Guitarman, FWIW, there is a whole group of folks over in the Meguiar's forum that do just that with good results. I've also tried applying NXT over #81 and I believe the gloss is better. NXT does bond well and the benefits of #81 were not deminished by it. I also got good durability if beading and shine are any indicator. Here is my RX330 after 68 days. This is a unwashed RX330 after a rain squall. I would have let it go longer but I was about to take a road trip so I rewaxed it. NXT is different than Zaino in this bonding regard IMHO.

Guitarman

I'll take your word for it J, I got all my polymer education from Ron Ketcham ( he's the guy that helps write the tech data for the car manufacturers) over at Automotive International years ago, and he will tell you that you can't apply a synthetic polymer over any oils and get optimum results and durability. It could be the abrasives and chemical cleaners in NXT removing most of them in the glaze Zaino not having those abrasives would sure make it harder to get that result. I have to remember not all polymers are created equal in how they work.

Of course, in the end, your experience speaks for itself, since I've never tried it with NXT I'll defer to your example. Hard to argue with success.

P.S I still don't know if Lisa meant #7 or another Meguiar's glaze.

lisalisa

hi there...

you know, i made a mistake...when i looked at the bottle to make sure what it was i got...it was the meguiars deep crystal system paint cleaner step 1, deep crystal polish step 2, and instead of getting step 3, i bought the nxt. Now, after i washed it, I used the paint cleaner so, does that mean i can use step 2 (polish) since its not the glaze? and than apply nxt?? or do i jump to the nxt and skip step 2? also, after the nxt can i make it any better? do i apply more coats? anything? is another system better as the ones u mention above, yellow wax...ect.??

thanks so much for ur help...

lisalisa

Guitarman

Yes, you can now use the step 2 polish and just substitute the 3'd step with the NXT. You don't really need anything else. Let us know how it goes Lisa.

jfelbab

Several Meguiars forum members have reported great results using the polish (DC#2) and following up with NXT Tech Wax. While I don't normally use the consumer products, I also have had great results applying a polish prior to the NXT wax. Be sure to let the NXT set up after application and prior to removal for at least 15-30 minutes. NXT likes to rest for a while (12-24 hours) and looks even better with a second coat after that wait. Several members, both on the Meguiar's forum and on the Autopia forum, report good results by topping NXT with a carnauba wax following NXT. The wax topper must be a pure wax and contain no cleaners. Some wax product that will work are Meguiars Deep Crystal #3 Carnauba, #16 Professional Tech Wax, and #26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax. I find that no topping is necessary to get good results like these. The latter image is of a 14 year old daily driver.

These results were achieved by using a Polish (#81), followed by NXT Tech Wax (x2)

lisalisa

another question...when i apply the nxt...or the yellow wax after...do i do circular motions? or back and forth? and also, so after the nxt, i can put the yellow carnuba wax right after or should i apply 12-24 hrs later?

thanks guys!

lisalisa

jfelbab

When I apply product by hand I use the back and forth motion. The theory is that if any sleeks or streaks are left they would only be visible at one angle. Be sure to remove product with your best micro fiber towel. See how easy it is to catch ADD (Automotive Detailing Disorder).

If you decide you want to try topping NXT with a carnauba you should wait the 12-24 hours for NXT to bond. You should also try to keep the car dry during this period as well. My suggestion here would be to try topping a small 2'x2' area on your hood and see if it actually looks better. Look at the area in the sun and from various angles. In my tests, the appearance change is negligible. If you don't notice a change, don't waste your time doing your whole car. Simply reapply NXT to the test area to remove the carnauba.

Just to reinforce this point...with car wax, thin, even applications are better than heavy and the key to a streak free shine not to mention easy dust free removal. So thin so as to hardly see the product is good. And, be sure to only apply products to cool paint in the shade.

What I've recently started to do with great results on my personal vehicles is to apply Meguiar's Tech Booster Spray Wax after every few washes. I apply this with a foam hand applicator very thin to the whole car and remove with a micro fiber towel. My suggestion is to not spray it directly on the paint. One spray directly on an applicator should do a whole body panel. This restores the finish to the just waxed look and feel, and really helps in keeping the dirt and road grime from sticking to the paint. If the product is hard to remove or leaves a powdery residue, you applied it too heavily. This process goes very quickly taking only 20-30 minutes.

When you are finished step back and admire your car. Then leave it for a couple hours and go back and look at it. NXT like many other waxes seems to look even better a couple hours after it's been applied.

How about some before and after pictures. Shots showing the sun reflection should show any cobwebs and blemishes.