Car polish..need help

Ok I have searched and I could not find an exact answer. From the PA winters, I have those spider webs, you know, the ones from washing and drying the car. I have read a good wash, clay bar, polish and wax will take care of those scratches in the clear coat. I also know a polish is almost abrassive as it smooths out the paint. How do I apply a car polish to rid the car of the hairline scratches, but not scratch it worse?

A quality polish will remove old wax and oxidation. The abrasiveness you're referring to will be the result of the polishing pad you use. You can get pads that are not abrasive at all.

Depends on how far you want to take it. If you got Popeye arms you might be able to buff those spider webs out by hand, but I doubt it. Youre best bet is to invest in a buffer. They sell them at Wal-Mart and Autozone for pretty good prices. I'd go with a 10" one, the 6" ones aren't gona do much for you.

 

Using a buffer really isn't as hard as people would think. The trick is to let it do the work for you. Not to press down on it extra hard or anything when your going over your car (which you want to do panel by panel). The bonnets they sell with the buffer are usually crap though. I have a bag of microfibers and terry cloth towels and I just place those under the buffer and use them instead of the bonnets. It's a lot easier and u don't have to wash your bonnet when it gets stuffed with polish every 5 minutes.

 

Then, you gotta figure out which polish to use. I personally like Meguairs #7 (on the right in the picture). You can usually get it at specialty auto stores or Autozone can order it overnight for you. If you want to try something different or easier to find, theres always ColorX by Meguairs. Turtle Wax has a similar product called Color Magic. There's also Nu-Finish which is a great polish. And then of course we have online vendors here with harder stuff to find (OCDetails). Theres lots of different polishes to choose from.

 

If all else fails, have a professional (like me!) detail your car haha. Hope this helps.

A quality polish will remove old wax and oxidation. The abrasiveness you're referring to will be the result of the polishing pad you use. You can get pads that are not abrasive at all.

 

That's not really true. Most polishes have their own abrasives, unless it's a chemical cleaning polish.

 

Here are some articles to help get rid of swirls and such.

http://danase.com/Detailing-Adviser-c22/

PoorBoys SSR1 or SSR 2

PoorBoys SSR1 or SSR 2

 

 

Exactly what I've been using on my black obxt. Poor boys is great. It really helps clean up shitty subaru paint.

Find a detailer to do it for you, unless you are willing to invest time and money into learning how to buff, you will probably not get the results you are looking for with cheapie Walmart buffers and pads, and will probably end up aggravating the problem or not improving much at all

if you are not going to invest into a machine... I say don't bother... get some filler type 'scratch remover' and put on some good wax. It'll come back, but that's just how it is.

 

If you are going to get polisher like PC, there are Adam's Polishes for REALLY easy use for new guys, and there are 3M and Menzerna for those pro guys. If you are on 3M or Menzerna, you are probably ready for a rotary...

but yeah, you might consider taking it to a real detailer and try to keep to swirl free with good product and most importantly, good process from then on.

And when your done, coat it with Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze 16.9oz...great stuff. Is it the deepest gloss in the world? Probably not, but boy it protects and lasts--that's more my concern personally. Stick it on twice a year, and no worries. Again it's not "award winning" deep gloss (if that's what you're looking for), but it sure protects.