...no more. so 4 years of daily driving and the not so best care..... i had some pretty ugly swirl marks and scratches... and the headlights and taillights were looking pretty hazy as well..... after clay-barring and waxing last weekend... i was not satisfied and something had to be done...

used a craftsman 10 inch polisher... which is not the best for the job but it works... (it was a gift, and it's bulky)...

applied turtle wax premium grade polishing compound... this stuff is a "medium" grade compound for scratches and swirl marks.... and i think it works great. It's not so aggressive that it takes off the clearcoat/paint.... and it's not so weak where you could polish for days and never get the desired results.... basically it takes effort... but end the end it works great... and that's all I care about.



then I used meguiars deep crystal polish...



and then waxed it with....meguiars gold class



and here is a taste of what i was left with before getting rained out...



I got the hood, roof, taillights/headlights, and the hatch done.... then got rained out after starting on the drivers side. I will finish the rest tomorrow.

 

even though you said it's "medium" compound, that stuff is pretty damn aggressive. You don't even need an aggressive pad for that polish. Since you haven't taken care of your paint for 4 years, i would of used something much lighter with a semi aggressive pad to save clear coat. But it's over now. ALso, that megs polish, it is barely a polish. It can't take out any scratches you made with that compound. If you put your paint under heavy lightying, you should have tons of micro marring in the paint. Best time to use a good polish, then finish up with either a glaze or light polish then top it off with a wax.

 

The Turtle polishing compound is serious stuff. Hope it turns out OK.

 

Are you guys confusing it with heavy duty rubbing compound?

I tried a less aggressive compound and it wouldn't do anything, which is why I switched to something a little more aggressive. There was never any paint on the pad... and I used it just enough to take out the swirl marks. If one application wouldn't remove the swirl marks or light scratches, I doubt it harmed the clear cloat. Am I wrong?

When you say that polish is barely a polish and can't take out the scratches from the compound.... you're talking about scratches I can only see under heavy lighting? I can't see any in direct sunlight.. I don't have a light source heavier than that. I guess "micro scratches" that I can't see in direct sunlight are better than ugly swirl marks visible all the time? From what I see it could be waxed directly after the polishing compound... because it looks perfectly fine after this step.... the extra polish is just for good measure...

Maybe my "detailing newbie" eyes are lying to me... but I like what I see.

 

Its cool. There is no standard for labelling polishing products. Two brands may say “medium” and they are completely different in abrasiveness. If it works for you that's all that counts.

 

Compound is compound. There is a huge difference in compound and polish. When you used a lighter compound, the reason you didn't get results was because you probably didn't use a right pad or that craftsman machine was efficient. There would be no paint on the bad because our cars have a two stage paint. If you did see paint, then you would of ate through the clear already. But yes, any compound or polish, will always harm the clear.That's what it does to take out the scratches.

I have worked on cars that have been neglected for 8 years and still didn't have to use a compound. Only time i break out the compound is when i do wetsanding with 1500 or 2000 grit. I don't see the need. You would be surprised how much clear you took off the car. Only way to find out how much you took off the clear is with a little meter. Like i said, the smarter thing was to actually use a light polish and pad and move up from there. Saving clear is always the good thing to do.

Those micro marring and scratches left behind from the compound, it is what makes your car not shiny and smooth looking. The process of polishing after a compound is called "bring the shine back". After most compound, your paint should look dull, or kind of a not normal smooth. This is perfectly normal. BUt you will need to finish your job for your paint to look good again. Compound will never be a last step polish. Remember that. You may think it looks fine, it's no where near fine. I think your paint color is hiding a lot that you can't see. After that wax wears off in a week or two, your paint is prone to messing up badly again sooner than if you finished your paint with the right polishes.

 

After using the polishing compound the finish is not dull at all... but very shiny and smooth.

You're probably right about the pad i used... the less aggressive swirl remover might not have worked due to the pad....

I guess time will tell... but for now it looks great to my eyes...

I appreciate the feedback.

 

3 weeks... 3 washes... 1 hail storm... no additional wax....

Still lookin' pretty wet to me...

Can you tell I didn't do the bumper?

 

Lol, not at all.

 

yup...still looking great. the bumper doesn't look as wet...but oh well.
i gave up on my front bumper until i get it repainted in the future...it's got too many rock chips.

 

Lol that is a great pic.

It's a really good comparison between waxed and unwaxed. The rest of the car looks great.

 

he didn't wax at all though..

 

next time try the meguiars NXT liquid wax. It's expensive but you will be amazed

 

Well, I guess if you are only considering over the counter waxes. Try spending a little more on Poorboy's Natty Wax, P21S, or the Pinnacle Series II for much better results than NXT will provide. NXT is a decent wax that I use on my work vehicle, but not for a really wet or detailed shine.