Meguiars, a 3 step Approach to Paint

[conthedon]

So I've done an extreme attempt at hand correction for swirls, etc. Doing repeated applications of Meguiars Ultimate Compound, Meguiars Swirlx, Meguiars Polish using CCS Euro Foam Pads which I really like. I'm still in progress of completing (seperated work into several days) since did wash (ONR), clay (using mothers clay bar and Optimum in clay lube dilution, Meguiars compound, swirlx, and polish, optimum opti-seal. Just took a picture of the hood with cam phone. Should've taken a pic of the car lol but forgot, but it is really shiny. I haven't finished yet, but the last product will by Pete '52 Black Pearl Signature Paste Wax. Anyway I thought it came out pretty good.

 

[93fox]

Its amazing what people can achieve with Meguiars OTC products. Looks good man! Put some Meguiars gold class wax and your gonna love the way it looks! :dblthumb2:

 

[conthedon]

Its amazing what people can achieve with Meguiars OTC products. Looks good man! Put some Meguiars gold class wax and your gonna love the way it looks! :dblthumb2:

Yea, I mean they aren't miracle products (by hand at least) but they do a very good job, I am def happy with the products. even though my paint was reflective and shiny after an ONR wash even with light to moderate swirls but this pushed it to another level with correction. Thx for the tip but I'm going to try out Petes 53 that I haven't had a chance to try out.

 

[James K]

It's hard work, but in the end it is worth it if you are happy with the results. You will love the Pete's 53.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

So I've done an extreme attempt at hand correction for swirls, etc. Doing repeated applications of Meguiars Ultimate Compound, Meguiars Swirlx, Meguiars Polish using CCS Euro Foam Pads which I really like.

Key words being repeated applications...


One thing I post from time to time is that it takes more skill, technique and knowledge of what you're doing to rub a clear coat finish out by hand than it does with a machine. By saying "rub a clear coat finish out" I mean remove swirls and scratches not just spreading out a coat of wax.

One thing for sure, as soon as you can get your hands on the easiest tool there is to use and give it a try you'll likely never want to work by hand again. Tools like the PC, the GG and the Megs G110v2 are the easiest of the tools there are to both learn how to use and to master.

Machine cleaning and polishing is faster and always produces better results than working by hand.


Man versus Machine

How to choose the right polisher for your detailing project

Video: How to pick the right polisher

 

[conthedon]

Key words being repeated applications...


One thing I post from time to time is that it takes more skill, technique and knowledge of what you're doing to rub a clear coat finish out by hand than it does with a machine. By saying "rub a clear coat finish out" I mean remove swirls and scratches not just spreading out a coat of wax.

One thing for sure, as soon as you can get your hands on the easiest tool there is to use and give it a try you'll likely never want to work by hand again. Tools like the PC, the GG and the Megs G110v2 are the easiest of the tools there are to both learn how to use and to master.

Machine cleaning and polishing is faster and always produces better results than working by hand.


Man versus Machine

How to choose the right polisher for your detailing project

Video: How to pick the right polisher

Trust me Mike, with how anal I am about my car, I would get a machine any day. But I live in NYC and unless they make power cord outlets that are in the sidewalk I am out of luck lol.

UPDATE: upon inspection it didn't clear all swirls but it did improve and smoothed out, and as you can see bv my hood and photo of my car at a distance (sorry again about cam) it cleaned up the paint really nice and pops (the picture doesn't do it justice at all).

Two things to note:

1)it's my first time doing such an extreme job so I can't put much emphasis on the product, as my "passion behind the pad" possibly was not enough to completely remove (as it is a tiring job, that's why i did it over a course of several days). As with a previous thread post with my first engine cleaning, I didn't do a perfect finish on the first pass/try, but a very good result (same as now with using Meguiars for correction).

2) it did improve to the point where unless your a couple of feet in front of the car/at that perfect angle to see it, you can't really tell, so in my opinion it's still a win...it's still one of the most eye popping cars in the neighborhood. (and keep in mind it's a NYC car and is exposed to the elements 365 days a year)

I still have sections to complete which I will be using more pressure and faster throws with the pads to see if indeed my pace was not fast enough. All in all, still worth it (again not a miracle product, but very good). I'll be taking a final finished photo later on today.

 

[Perfections]

I applaud you for doing this by hand, most want 100% perfection just like I do but in reality most people can't tell "the difference between a swirl and a squirrel" lol

 

[conthedon]

I applaud you for doing this by hand, most want 100% perfection just like I do but in reality most people can't tell "the difference between a swirl and a squirrel" lol

lol it was hard work, one thing I really like about the ultimate compound / or swirlx is that the oils or whatever is mixed in the product, finishes well. You wouldn't realize you're using a compound, it finishes with a high gloss like a polish.

 

[conthedon]

With fathers day approaching and to cap my detail week, I decided to clean my dads car (2010 Volvo C70). He's away right now so I decided to give his car a much needed car wash since he doesn't care much about keeping it clean lol (for example below pics used ONR wash at 2oz/clay lube dilution since his car hasn't been cleaned probably in months). Many sections of his car were grey with dirt, you would think his car was grey and not black..can you tell which is the cleaned side? lol. I'm sure he'll be happy with the surprise.

 

[conthedon]

More pix....

 

[Perfections]

For sure that will be a nice surprise gj

 

[conthedon]

another after picture I took a day ago (w/ cam phone), which was after a final polish of Optimum Poli Seal (AIO) with just one application with a white Euro CCS hand foam pad. But just to give more an idea of how it all came together and it might not be a 100% flawless paint condition, but the results are that it still looks great. My ultimate final steps next week will be adding another layer of Optimum Opti Seal, letting it cure, topping off with Pete 53' paste wax and applying Optimum Spray wax on the wash after that.

You can see how good the reflection is:

you can see how the black sapphire metallic paint pops right through:

 

[Mobile detail]

Put the pete's on thin. less is more with that wax. I have it and like it but it is really hard to take off.can't wait to se the end result! Great job!

 

[conthedon]

Put the pete's on thin. less is more with that wax. I have it and like it but it is really hard to take off.can't wait to se the end result! Great job!

paste waxes should be applied thin (at least that's what I thought), but thanks for the tip!

 

[conthedon]

update:

monday put on another layer on opti seal and a optimum spray wax, came out looking good...first time I really got to check it out in the blazing sun today and it sparkled, looked clean with metallic flakes popping through. I looked at a spot on the panel that's on the drivers side..rear quarter panel I believe..i didnt see the noticeable swirl spot created by a car wash drying with towels during the winter time (which was their pre polishing steps)....other things I noticed that the Scratch X 2.0 works really well with CCS orange foam pads (I used in the past yellow foam applicator, not even a comparison to the better cut orange pad, and I'm sure the white pad would do well also). Plus optimum instant detailer works really well on glass, it rained like crazy on the drive home today, but I was happy that the rain beaded/slid right off the windowshield making it much easier to see..also after getting back to the city, my car was dry which I was happy about, the wax must of kept the rain sliding right off. Will have a final pic soon after pete 53 is put on..

 

[conthedon]

finished w/Pete 53: (i took pictures a couple days after applied and driving on the road, so not the cleanest but it still looks great). It didn't come up as good as it looks in person, but the metallic flakes look really good in the sun.

The reflections are so good that if you look at the back window, the house reflection looks just as good through the window as it does from the paint.

 

[zilla]

Awesome results by hand, with OTC products. Just goes to show with hard work and proper technique, you can get excellent results regardless of the type of products you're using. Well done.

 

[conthedon]

Awesome results by hand, with OTC products. Just goes to show with hard work and proper technique, you can get excellent results regardless of the type of products you're using. Well done.

thanks..I'm definitely happy with the results with the products used. Was a lot, a lot, of work but worth it.

 

[conthedon]

I didn't want to start a new thread so I decided to post it under this thread since used Ultimate Compound, Swirlx and Euro CCS pads. My dad had some noticeable scratches on the trunk that apparently the garage he parks it in are careless, but there is no way to prove they did it. So he asked me if I would work on it. I used Ultimate Compound, orange ccs pad, and swirlx with a white ccs pad. After many passes it was hard to tell where the scratched areas were originally (as shown in the before picture, you can easily tell where the scratches are from a distance). What remained, you had to catch it at a certain angle up close (it was hard to get the right angle to take a picture of the final result). He was pleased, and I was as also, of how well it turned out.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

 

[BobbyG]

Many times you can't remove the defect but this is a great example of how you can dramatically improve the finish with some hard work and regular products...rops: