New Products and toys.. best order to use them?

Hey guys. My first post here so I thought it should be a good one. I've fallen down the slippery slope and ended up with a plethora of products and a PC in my garage. I'm sure many of you can relate, no? Well now I need to figure out what the most practical way or order of using these products is.

List of Products:

PC 7424XP w/ 3m 5.5' plate
LC CCS pads - every color of the rainbow it seems like
Megs 105 DA Version
Megs 205
Klassee AIO
Klassee SG
Pinnacle Liquid Soveran Wax
Wolfgang Deep Gloss spritz selant
Megs QD
2 Bars of Pinnacle Clay



First I have 3 cars in the family:


1998 White Ford Ranger - has been abused by many drivers over the years. Paint has some light oxidation, surface scratches, light water spots and swirl marks.

2008 Black Chevy Impala - driven by the much better looking but less then automotive caring other half. Tons of swirl marks (light - mod), surface scratches and some minor bird stains.

2010 VW GTI Carbon Steel Grey - No real paint correction needed. Just looking for some upkeep and wanting to maintain the paints condition.



The Ranger and Impala will be my test cars as this is really my first attempts at using a PC/DA polisher. The process I'm going to use is below. Do you think it's acceptable or would you do it differently given the products I have? I'm also not sure about the color pads or the number of section passes for each product either. Maybe someone will have some better insight or tips for me.

- Wash
- Clay Bar
- 6 section pass M105 Orange Pad, Speed 5
- 4 section pass M205 Grey Pad, Speed 4
- Hand application of Klassee SG (rest for 8-12 hours)
- 3 section pass Pinnacle Liquid Soveran Wax, Red Pad, Speed 3.5/3


The GTI is virtually brand new, less than 2 months and is not a daily driver. During that time I have clayed the car and applied Klassee AIO by hand to the entire vehicle. I then applied the Klasse SG to the front portion of the car (doors forward) thanks to a looming thunderstorm. No wax has been used on the finish yet and I'm not real sure where to go from this point. What do you think about this process below.

- Wash
- Plastic bag check to see if claying is needed again
- 4 section pass, Klassee AIO DA Application, CCS Green Pad, Speed 3 to 4
- Hand application, Klassee SG (8-12 hours rest)
- 3 section pass, Pinnacle Liquid Soveran Wax, Red Pad Speed 3.5/3

And one last question if your not sleeping already, maybe mike can chime in. I read on the forums of someone suggesting a travel size spray/sprtiz bottle to apply a thin even coat of the Klassee SG, is there a link or an article written by someone explaining the proper application of this product?

Lots of pictures to come once i get started but for now I'll just throw in one of my new GTI.



Thanks a ton for reading and I appreciate all the hints and tips everyone will have for me

Scott

Sal said:

Your approach for the Ranger looks good to go. The only thing I would suggest: use a white pad with the 205. And remember to clean your pads as you go. On the fly is the technique I use.

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:xyxthumbs: Thanks for the reply. I have a white pad as well. When you say clean as I go, how ofter should i clean the pad? I only have one white 5.5' pad. Should I clean the pad after I'm done applying the 205 to 1/4, 1/2, or the entire vehicle?

Perfect. Exactly what i was looking for!

Update: Truck returned after being borrowed by family member....... What should I do now?

Hand washed the Ranger today and the paint is in worse condition that I thought. There are rock chips down to bear metal in some spots and deep scratches down to rusted metal too. Paint is beginning to peel / flake up in certain spots as well. The roof has a decent amount of oxidation and appears the clear coat is diminishing away as well. I clay barred all the horizontal panels and it was a mess. Lots of surface contamination. After running a my hand over the area's I clayed, it felt like there was still a bunch of contamination the "fine" clay bar missed.

Will a different clay pull up some more of the contamination?










Last but not least, the left side of the truck, wheel wells and fender linings are littered with asphalt. Almost a 1/4 inch thick layer! See pictures below. I'm not even sure how to go about removing this. Any thoughts? I do have some Stoner's Bug and Tar but I cant imagine that doing very much considering the condition. Gotta love when people use your vehicles and return them in such condition!

JonMiles said:

Dang Spin, your gonna need a lot of work on the ranger to get it looking right again. Looks like a full repaint is the only way you're going to get your paint back. The asphalt looks like it can come off with some serious scrubbing with degreaser. You are going to need to follow up with some clay, probably aggressive clay.

My suggestion if you are planning on correcting the ranger, tape off everything that is peeling and all edges very well. They seem to be easy to flake off.

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Haha, a new paint job. I was muttering that under my breath as I was assessing the condition of the truck this morning. However its just not an option. Who knows how many more miles she will go. There's already 188,000 and change on it. Original motor and tranny too! I still take it to Ford for regular maintenance minus the oil changes and the guys there think I'm nuts. They've never seen a ranger with that many miles.

A lot of work is an understatement. I spent 2 hours removing asphalt this morning in the wheel wheels. A pudy knife and Megs APC seemed to work well on the parts that were not touching paint or metal.

Taping off the flaking paint is a great idea. Thanks for the input! Im just going to proceed with my original plan but get a little more aggressive with the claying and removal of the asphalt. Then move onto the paint correction portion, M105/M205.

Anyone else have any other thoughts about the routes/ plans I have above for the Impala and the GTI?

5.4 Shelby said:

Nah, dont repaint. At 188,000, there cant be a lot of life left in the powertrain. Even if there is, looks arent what you are after.

Use it to experiment. Be aggressive. If you damage the paint, so what. All you are doing is learning. Try different techniques/products on different areas.

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:iagree:

Gives me something to practice on considering I'm new to the PC/DA. Thanks for all the advice guys. Its much appreciated. Has anyone applied Klasse AIO with a PC and if so what color CCS pad did you use? I was thinking a green pad or possibly something with not cut at all, gray or blue.