Maddening Juke!

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mfemenel

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Morinin Gents-
I have 2011 Nissan Juke, black that I bought from Car Max a few years ago. It was a fleet car that I think was kept outside for 2 years. I've since taken good care of the paint, claying, polishing, waxing, garage kept etc etc but I can never seem to get a really good deep shine out of the black. I've mostly been using the Meguiar products, Swirl Remover, ultimate compound, ultimate polish and NX Wax. They look good from 5 feet away but the shine has never really been "deep" and rich. I'm not sure if this is because of the paint job, almost feels like it's a semi gloss rather than gloss, or that I'm missing something. Definitely some water spots on the hood but those usually come right out. Advice and comments great appreciated. Just washed it and those are pics attached. Hard to get it perfectly on camera.
 
Your going to get a lot input. Black is tough. If it was mine, i would hit with prima amigo first to prep it. A amazing 2 in 1 product. After the amigo it should look deep & rich. Then to keep it simple, as a LSP, I would use prima hydro max. As easy as spray and wipe. BUT..it will yeild 4-6 months of protection! And the black should really POP! To maintain I would use prima wax as you dry maybe 2-3 times a month. That black should look like a deep ink pool then!!

Prima Amigo Pre-Wax Cleanser & Gloss Enhancer, Prima prewax polish

Prima Hydro MAX Super Spray Polymer

Prima Hydro Wax As You Dry Spray, spray wax

View attachment 34825

My xterra with hydro max and maintained with wax as you dry.
 
Any LSP that contains higher percentage Carnauba will give you what you desire ^^
 
Have you machine polished the vehicle?

That is the essential step, IMHO, to achieving what you desire. I don't believe that there are specific miracle products that you can wipe on paint.

Although, some products are better than others - you probably just need a mild paint correction.
 
Back to the Juke. OP I typically use Megs 26 as a LSP. It is a unique product as it is both synthetic and natural. Also its only like $13.50 at the AG store. Worth giving a shot!
 
If the Mequires products aren't working then you need to revisit the pad & speed selection of your DA. If you are doing everything by hand I am not surprised that your not getting the results you want.

Everyone has a product preference. I have never worked on a Nissan so I don't know what kind of paint they have. You may search out other Nissan details in the "show & shine" area to see what products they use.

Can you provide a list of what equipment you have access to? Also exactly what products you have tried. This will help everyone make suggestions.
 
FWIW my wife had a Pewter Metallic( IIRC) 2012 Juke that had REALLY bad orange peel. If yours is bad too, you may not get as deep of a gloss as you would with a smooth paint job.
 
Well to be honest, I'm using cheap tools. I had a Waxmaster RA7000 that I used for years until I found this forum. I'm just a hobbyist and raising 4 kids so I don't have a huge budget to sink into tools. I recently updated to the harbor freight polisher and their orange/blue/black pads. 6 in. 5.7 Amp Heavy Duty Dual Action Variable Speed Polisher
I'm typically applying Meguiars Ultimate compound, and or polish at about 3k rpm and NX Wax around 1500 rpm. I spent some more time on it last night and I'm more convinced that the body is mostly polishing out ok but the hood is just flat out painful. Flat and no luster. Suggestions on affordable pad upgrades? Maybe that and a couple of the other products suggested in earlier posts would get me moving in a better direction. Thank you!
 
The HF DA is fine for a weekend warrior, but the backing plate and pads are terrible. Invest in a quality 5" backing plate and 5.5" flat pads (LC, Buff & Shine, Megs) and you should see better results. 5.5" pads are easier to use, have less mass for the polisher to rotate and cost less. Did you put a black line on the backing plate so you can monitor the rotation??
 
mfemenel said:
Well to be honest, I'm using cheap tools. I had a Waxmaster RA7000 that I used for years until I found this forum. I'm just a hobbyist and raising 4 kids so I don't have a huge budget to sink into tools. I recently updated to the harbor freight polisher and their orange/blue/black pads. 6 in. 5.7 Amp Heavy Duty Dual Action Variable Speed Polisher
I'm typically applying Meguiars Ultimate compound, and or polish at about 3k rpm and NX Wax around 1500 rpm. I spent some more time on it last night and I'm more convinced that the body is mostly polishing out ok but the hood is just flat out painful. Flat and no luster. Suggestions on affordable pad upgrades? Maybe that and a couple of the other products suggested in earlier posts would get me moving in a better direction. Thank you!
Click to expand...

I don't have any experience with Nissan paint, but you may need another step after the compound, or now that the major correction is done, simply go with a polish for now on.

Compounding will often get rid of the major defects, but it won't leave the paint glossy or "LSP ready". In order to really get the results you want, you'll need another step with a finer grade polish on a softer pad. Since you're already using Ultimate Compound, Ultimate Polish will be a good bet.

The first time I used a DA, I took on a long neglected Subaru wagon with soft paint. UC on a compounding pad did some great correction, but it was missing the real shine I was after. Following up with UP on a polishing pad brought out some amazing gloss and the paint was noticeably shinier when I was done.

As others have said get a better backing plate and pads. I use the HF DA polisher with great results, but the pads are terrible. I use the Lake Country backing plate with Lake Country Flat Pads.
 
Other than the above recommendations, move the polisher s_l_o_w_l_y over the paint; an inch per second is good. You need to bump up the RPM's too.
 
Thanks everyone. I had some more aggressive Meguiars 205 and that seems to have taken quite a bit of the dullness out of the hood, followed up by ultimate polish, a friend of mine suggested Manzerna sealant and there was another suggestion in this thread. i'll do some reading and see what makes sense. Trial and error I'm sure. Better pads are definitely on my wish list next time I have a little extra in the budget. What would you suggest I bump the rams up to for compound/polish?
 
All right. Here are the results after M205, Ultimate Polish and a coat of M21. I'm pretty happy. There's some room for improvement of course, a few scratches remain but all in all, really pleased. Once that M21 came off I was thrilled. Next time I'll work the hood scratches a bit more. I put another coat of M21 on and will let it sit there overnight and take it off in the morning.
Lessons:
1. Least aggressive to more makes perfect sense
2. Could use some better pads/backing plate as suggested
3. Found a friend at work who's into detailing his cars and we'll trade some goods before buying
4. I totally get why people like synthetics. Wow.
5. After 3 years of water stains on my windshield I soaked it in vinegar, then 0000 steel wool, followed up by M205 at high speed and moving slowly. UNBELIEVABLE DIFFERENCE.

Thank you everyone for your advice. Learned a lot, love the results and can't wait to do it again in the fall with some upgrades. First 2 picks are of the maddening hood.
 
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