Used car. Where do I start?

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waterloomarc

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According to the forum I haven’t signed in here since 2013...when my daughter was born and spare time went away ;) So once upon a time I used to enjoy this as a quasi hobby but I obviously haven’t kept up and have forgotten a lot. Which is why I’m here...

i just picked up an old 2006 Range Rover. It’s in pretty decent shape overall. Clearcoat is dull and plenty of swirls and scratches but hasn’t failed. My question is where to begin? It’s obvviously in much worse shape than my daily drivers which I’ve maintained pretty well. (Not up to snuff around here but certainly better than the average guy)

i have a DA and plenty of assorted pads. Should I do anything before hitting it with compound and letting her rip? What compound should I start with? If you run your fingers along the paint now it kind of grabs your fingers, it’s not slick at all if that makes any sense.

Anywa, sorry to ramble. Thanks for any help!
 
Wash it. Twice. Clay it. If you don't, all the embedded contaminants will interfere with your polishing process. Claying will restore most of the reflection of the paint and give back some of the original depth of the color, but the surface reflection will still be hazy. After you clay it you can do a second pass of decontamination using chemical removers, like tar and iron removers. Then wash it again. Now you're ready to compound it. Do a rough polishing with the compound using a few passes on each panel. This will allow you to discover the true state of the paint, and see all the defects for what they're: deep scratches, spot-like etchings, etc. Then you can go on an correct those, if you want. Always use a paint thickness gauge prior to beginning and during correction to see how far you can go. You can also try to touch up larger defects with touch up paint, which then you'll need to wet sand and compound again. Once all major defects are removed, you can go to the next step: fine polishing. This will give depth and clarity to your paint. Once you're done with that, you can seal or coat your car. Then afterwards you can possibly take care of the plastic trim using a plastic restorer, polish your headlights and tail lights, and dress your tires with some tire dressing. When you've done all that, you can then enjoy your "as new, or possibly even better" car.
 
1. Wash the car and dry it.

2. Decon wash. Start with a tar remover and then an iron remover. Finish with a thorough rinse.

3. Clay with a clay bar or a clay alternative.

4. Wash it again. And get a car soap that don't leave anything behind. Meguiars Hyper Wash D110 or Carpro Reset or Gyeon Bathe. Dry and if possible blow dry it so all the crevices gets dry too.

5. Begin with your test spots. The least aggressive approach first and then move up. A polish with a polishing pad to start with. Then you see if you need to move up to a compound or maybe just a cutting pad and polish. Be carefull to not chase to deep of defects. And concentrate on getting the best finish you can get.

There are so many great polishes these days. Griots Garage BOSS polishes, Sonax polishes, Menzerna, 3D, Carpro, Gyeon, Jescar and many others. Look around a little and see if and brand cought your interest. And ask which polishes you can get a great combo with. I like the user friendly Sonax Cutmax and Sonax EX04-06 or Sonax Perfect Finish. Others have another favorites and that's suits them. Carpro ClearCut and Carpro Reflect is another great combo. Menzerna HC400 and SF3500 is another one. All will get you great results.
 
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