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djwagz

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Hello,

New to the forum. Have done a lot of research here and it seems like almost too much to know where to start.
My question is this: I have a 2008 focus that has not had much attention to the paint. I have a harbor freight buffer and wool pads. I would like to renew the paint job. The shine is ok, I think it suffers most from oxidation and dirt and grime that doesn't come off with basic washes. I would like to keep it cheap and simple as this is no show car. Basically trying to keep to a couple products to buff and then seal/shine. was thinking of ultimate compound/sealant. don't know if 105/205 is necessary. Just need some feedback on what may be the best course of action. Thanks for your help

Feed back please
 
a fine polish like 205 should bring out a significant amount of gloss.

or

get a PTG if your paint is really low you can always get the car repainted, but that could be in the thousands...

Which Harbor Freight buffer do you have? A rotary or DA?

Either way welcome and ask away...
 
Welcome to AG!

Pics would help us help you, but not a problem.

Without seeing it, I'd say it sounds like you need to clay it to start with.

Then try the Ultimate Compound. If it was me I'd do the M105 then M205. Then wax.

Good luck. Take some pics of before and after so you can post on 'Show n Shine' forum.
 
Have you done a thorough wash and used a clay bar on the paint yet? That would be where to start.

Ditch the wool pads for now until you've tried something way less aggressive like a foam polishing pad.

If you're going Harbor Freight, I'd recommend getting some of the 6" Warrior foam pads and the correct size packing plate and start with your Ultimate Compound and a blue polishing pad and see where that gets you.

This really doesn't need to be all super complicated.

So...Which polisher did you get from Harbor Freight?

If you have the rotary....Do you have any experience with using a rotary polisher? If not, I definitely recommend picking up a DA for your first paint polishing project unless you have a mentor beside you who really knows what they are doing with a rotary.

There are tons of guys in the world who "Think" they know what they're doing with a rotary polisher. That is until you trust them to work on your car with it and they proceed to burn edges all over your car's paint job. Just make sure you're not dealing with one of these guys.

You can learn how to use it by watching lots of videos and proceeding cautiously and using a low speed setting until you begin getting a feel for it.

Lots of tape will save the edges of your car's paint if you're inexperienced with a rotary polisher.

So tell us a little more about your self, your polisher, your experience level etc.

Feed back please
 
djwagz said:
Hello,

New to the forum. Have done a lot of research here and it seems like almost too much to know where to start.
My question is this: I have a 2008 focus that has not had much attention to the paint. I have a harbor freight buffer and wool pads. I would like to renew the paint job. The shine is ok, I think it suffers most from oxidation and dirt and grime that doesn't come off with basic washes. I would like to keep it cheap and simple as this is no show car. Basically trying to keep to a couple products to buff and then seal/shine. was thinking of ultimate compound/sealant. don't know if 105/205 is necessary. Just need some feedback on what may be the best course of action. Thanks for your help

Feed back please
Click to expand...

Here you go. He keeps it real.
 
Paint doesn't look all that terrible. If it were me, and I wasn't trying to get all the swirls out of it and just bring out a little shine and seal, I would make a shopping cart with the following.

-2 5 gallon buckets
-2 grit guards
-1 microfiber wash mitt
-1 bottle of soap (make sure it is safe for waxed cars)
-1 clay bar or nanoskin autoscrub handy towel
-1 drying towel
-1 bottle of quick detailer or clay lube (I would use Nanoskin Glide if I wanted to wax afterwards, or Nanoskin Shock if I didn't want to wax)
-1 package of Microfiber towels
-1 bottle of window cleaner (I use Stoner's invisible glass)
-1 bottle of Rain-X or some other glass sealant
-1 tub of wax (there are tons out there, both off the shelf, and here on AGO)

once you have all of that, wash it using the two bucket method and grit guards.

dry it

clay it using the clay bar our autoscrub and glide/ shock 1 panel at a time. dry each panel using a microfiber towel after claying.

If you didn't use Shock, wax the car.

clean and seal glass.

If you are happy with the results, good. continue doing this. The Nanoskin Shock is a sealant, so no need to wax over it, and it'll bead and help repel dirt and water.

Hope that helps. If you are wanting to remove swirls and scratches, take a look in the Detailing 101 section on here, it helped a lot.

I am new to detailing as well, so I am giving you advice based on what I have done in the past, and what I would do as a basic wash now. I hope that helps.
 
First, welcome to the forum. My advice to you about your particular car, or more specifically, your car's color is, don't expect the kind of eye-popping BAM! type of shine and glint from silver (and/or white) that you get from basically all other colors. Silver is difficult at best to really make pop - even for some of us veterans. You can make it happen, but you have to do everything in your power to help it get there. First you have to remove anything/everything currently on top of the clear coat, i.e., previous waxes, sealants, contaminates via clay bar, etc. Then once there's nothing between you and the CC, it's all about the polishing. You want to create as brilliant of a shine as possible prior to waxing/sealing. You can make it shine but you have to do your due diligence in the prep area.
 
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