Hello from Allentown, PA

eicheldp

eicheldp

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Hi all,
I just joined the forum although I've been lurking in the background for a while. I have a question concerning which product to use initially.

My wife's car is an 05 Elantra that has been neglected and I want to start putting time into the exterior to allow the car to last a lot longer (only 44,000 miles). The car has not been waxed in years (my fault) so I plan on doing quite a bit to it to clean it up.

I have a Porter Cable 7424 (don't know if it's an XP or not) which I purchased used from a friend. I installed the new backing plate and purchased new Lake country smart pads to use (Green, Gold, Red, Black, Pink & white).

My question is what liquid should I use initially to remove the oxidation from the surface and should I clay bar the car first?

My other vehicles are a new 15 Altima and an 04 Porsche Boxster(which I'll have more questions on later).

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
The car should be washed, Iron X'ed, and clayed before you go to polish it.

However, I'm wondering about the integrity of the clear coat if the car was neglected for so many years??

A lot of times what people think is "oxidation" on base coat / clear coat system paint, is actually clear coat failure.
 
swanicyouth said:
The car should be washed, Iron X'ed, and clayed before you go to polish it.

However, I'm wondering about the integrity of the clear coat if the car was neglected for so many years??

A lot of times what people think is "oxidation" on base coat / clear coat system paint, is actually clear coat failure.
Click to expand...

True

Decide on a brand and pick a polish and compound. Do some test spots with pad and polish combos starting with least aggressive first.

Here is a way to view different brand polishes, compounds, and their relative aggressiveness. Some, or most, may be pad dependent.

UPDATED 9/2015: Autopia Polish Comparison Chart
 
Hey! A fellow Allentonian! I'm in Allentown as well ��

Welcome!

There are so many different products to choose from nowadays. My one two punch products (after claying and decontamination of course) are Meguiars M101 and Car Pro Reflect.

However, since you're just starting off I can recommend the Meguiars Ultimate line (Ultimate Compound, Ultimate Polish and Ultimate Wax). They are quite user friendly and can be found at almost any auto store. Not to mention they are relatively inexpensive compared to other products.
 
Welcome to AGO!! You will learn plenty from this site and you will kick ass once you do!!

Have fun detailing your ride! That is probably the only advice I can give. Many others will give you details...I just say have fun when you do it!!
 
Thank you all for the warm welcome and insights.

@ swanicyouth - Thank you, although neglected, the vehicle spent 8 of it's first years in the garage - only moved outside after the arrival of the Porsche. It does need a good cleaning and polishing, but it's not horrible.

@ Angus - Thanks for the link to the chart - most helpful.

@ Mantilgh - Thanks for the chart - again most helpful.

@ Vue - Thanks neighbor, I'll have to check those out! Hopefully we'll meet in the future.

To everyone else thank you for the welcome. I look forward to new and more interactions.

Don E.
 
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