Advice on Wax and Paint

Alright everyone i need some help and some advice. My first question is what do you think the "best" way to go about touching up the paint on my car. I have a few scratches on my car. the worst being this one (picture below) i cant tell if its key or not but its not deep at all. i was recommended to get a touch up pen from the dealership with my exact paint color. anyone have good luck with these?

 

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i239/IKBENVACA/2012-12-16_15-53-33_913_zps2de5d588.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i239/IKBENVACA/2012-12-16_15-53-14_700_zps0ba628f4.jpg

 

 

ok so my next question has to do with wax and kind of coincides with the first question. I accidentally touched the corner of my garage pulling in and got some residual paint on the front bumper. i also tapped a pillar in a parking garage resulting in the same effect (pictures below) i know i know really dumb. so my question is in which combination of "cleaning wax" and touch up paint should i use to get the best result. and on the same note what are recommendations for cleaning wax and finishing. nothing crazy expensive. just something solid and run of the mill i.e. armor all or meguiares. and if someone could give me a some good methods applying and also taking off.

 

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i239/IKBENVACA/2012-12-16_15-54-19_633_zpsc6c495de.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i239/IKBENVACA/2012-12-16_15-52-34_321_zps442c13ce.jpg

 

I just bought this today off of someone on craigslist. Seems like it will get the job done. hope this size and an electric is ok? also what type of pads should i buy? i would assume that it would be better to use a more abrasive for the cleaning process.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i239/IKBENVACA/2012-12-16_16-02-59_770_zps7c9b29f3.jpg

 

Please before anyone responds, please be nice and only leave positive helpful comments.

Clay bar the scratch to take any particles off of it, then try either Mothers or Meguiares cleaner wax. That usually works pretty well for me. I've never used a buffer though, only elbow grease.

 

Interested to see what other detailing folks have to add

Few things I see here.. Touch up paint is fine to use, just be very careful when applying it.

 

I'm not sure what "cleaner wax" is (maybe just marketing?) but that buffer you should be very wary when using. I have no idea what that is but it looks like it can be paint damaging. You have to be careful when using buffers like that because they can burn right through clear and damage the paint.

 

I'd recommend taking it to a body shop.

Example of [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Mothers-California-Brazilian-Carnauba-Cleaner/dp/B0002U1TVW/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1355763682&sr=1-2&keywords=mothers+cleaner+wax]cleaner wax[/ame]. I assume it means that there are abrasive particles in the wax that help to polish

Touch up paint is best for chips. Long scratches like that are just going to look like long scratches with a blob over the top of it if you try to paint it with a brush. Dealership paint or not, it isn't going to look very good.

 

Cleaner wax doesn't do a whole lot. It is just a solvent in a lotion and doesn't have much in the way of physical abrasives. Even with a machine you aren't going to get anywhere with a cleaner wax. It doesn't remove scratches.

 

If you can feel the scratch with your fingernail then it is too deep to polish out entirely. You may be able to lighten it up with polish, but it won't go away that way. You'll want to get something fairly heavy like Meguiar's ScratchX or GS27 if you can still find that. Rub it in the direction of the scratch and it should cut it enough to lighten it up as far as it will go. Then you'll need to use a lighter polish to remove the haze. There are a few steps to proper scratch removal, so don't expect this to come in one bottle with easy directions. If it was that easy to do, then nobody would have scratches on their paint.

 

One thing that I discovered last year is Dr. Colorchip. There are a couple posts about it on this forum even. That stuff is amazing for scratches and chips that can't be polished out. They send you body shop quality paint (meaning it is already thinned and is a perfect match) and some crazy solvent stuff. You rub the paint into the scratch and then wipe off the excess with the solvent. Somehow it leaves the paint in the scratch and removes everything else. I have been blown away by how clean the repair looks afterwards. Definitely an awesome fix. It isn't some temporary solution either. This is paint and not colored wax. It fills the scratch with paint and that is that. I would highly recommend it to anybody with a car.

Clay bar the scratch to take any particles off of it, then try either Mothers or Meguiares cleaner wax. That usually works pretty well for me. I've never used a buffer though, only elbow grease.

 

Interested to see what other detailing folks have to add

 

great thanks for the advice ill start things off using that

Few things I see here.. Touch up paint is fine to use, just be very careful when applying it.

 

I'm not sure what "cleaner wax" is (maybe just marketing?) but that buffer you should be very wary when using. I have no idea what that is but it looks like it can be paint damaging. You have to be careful when using buffers like that because they can burn right through clear and damage the paint.

 

I'd recommend taking it to a body shop.

 

i just always assumed people used buffers when waxing cars? maybe i had the wrong impression. but i would definitely not want to risk make clear coat or paint :/

Touch up paint is best for chips. Long scratches like that are just going to look like long scratches with a blob over the top of it if you try to paint it with a brush. Dealership paint or not, it isn't going to look very good.

 

Cleaner wax doesn't do a whole lot. It is just a solvent in a lotion and doesn't have much in the way of physical abrasives. Even with a machine you aren't going to get anywhere with a cleaner wax. It doesn't remove scratches.

 

If you can feel the scratch with your fingernail then it is too deep to polish out entirely. You may be able to lighten it up with polish, but it won't go away that way. You'll want to get something fairly heavy like Meguiar's ScratchX or GS27 if you can still find that. Rub it in the direction of the scratch and it should cut it enough to lighten it up as far as it will go. Then you'll need to use a lighter polish to remove the haze. There are a few steps to proper scratch removal, so don't expect this to come in one bottle with easy directions. If it was that easy to do, then nobody would have scratches on their paint.

 

One thing that I discovered last year is Dr. Colorchip. There are a couple posts about it on this forum even. That stuff is amazing for scratches and chips that can't be polished out. They send you body shop quality paint (meaning it is already thinned and is a perfect match) and some crazy solvent stuff. You rub the paint into the scratch and then wipe off the excess with the solvent. Somehow it leaves the paint in the scratch and removes everything else. I have been blown away by how clean the repair looks afterwards. Definitely an awesome fix. It isn't some temporary solution either. This is paint and not colored wax. It fills the scratch with paint and that is that. I would highly recommend it to anybody with a car.

 

perfect! thank you for the help and advice. im going to look into that right away. im going to take your word on it though.

 

if i dont go that route than ill try one of those two waxes you recommended.

 

so would you also recommend not using an orbital buffer during any of this process?

I certainly wouldn't recommend using that particular buffer. You can polish cars and get rid of scratches with random orbital machines, but what you have there is not something that I would ever use.

 

If you want my advice, spend the $200 bucks on the proper polisher, pads, and products and save yourself some grief. A Porter Cable 7424XP dual action polisher will run you about a hundred bucks shipped. Pads are anywhere between 8 and 12 bucks apiece. Polishes are generally between $12 and $20 bucks a bottle. If you have $200 and want to spend it on the stuff you need to maintain your car's appearance, then let me know and I'll put together a list for you. I'm pretty sure that list exists somewhere on this forum already. Cutting corners is never worth it. You end up stepping over dollars to pick up pennies when you care for your paint that way.

i just always assumed people used buffers when waxing cars? maybe i had the wrong impression. but i would definitely not want to risk make clear coat or paint :/

 

There are a lot of different types of 'buffers'. What you have there has a wool pad on it, and that is the sort of thing which will burn the paint. It builds up a ton of heat and friction and will literally twist and burn the paint. Random orbital or not, if you are using wool pads then you are putting your paint at risk if you don't know what you are doing. This is why I only use foam pads. For one thing, I've never come up against a problem I couldn't fix with foam pads, and for another I just like to use things that I can safely recommend to other people. Wool bonnets are effective for a purpose, but most people don't have that particular purpose, so they aren't necessary. Unless you are a body shop then you don't need wool pads.

thank you so much for the advice! i dont know what i would do with out your help! but that makes sense. im not sure if its a common miss conception for people to wax there cars with mechanical orbital buffers, but it certainly has been for me. im very curious to see what foam pads etc you would recommend. and yes if you wouldnt mind making me a list i would very much appreciate it. you have me intrigued and curious now. it would be even better if you happened to live in nor cal than you could show me lol

My in-laws live up in Lodi, so I'm in northern Cali from time to time. The next time I'm up there for any extended amount of time I'll have to try and get something organized.

 

A lot of things just comes down to semantics. When we say we are 'waxing' the car it doesn't always mean we are using wax. Same thing with 'polish'. Sometime you 'polish' the car with a paint cleaner and sometimes it is with a compound. They are used as terms describing an action and not a product, but not everybody realizes that. So when they say they are going to 'buff' out their car, some people will draw different conclusions as to what 'buff' means. Is it with a 'buffer' or just hand buffing? Does it mean they are polishing, waxing, or what? Confusing stuff for sure.

 

I've got some time to kill this week, so I think what I'll do is write it up and put it on my site. It is a question I get asked a lot and the recommendations are usually the same. In fact, I'll have to check to see if I've already written it up.

Here's some basic ideas from AutoGeek.net

 

As to scratch removal it all depends on how deep... typically if you run your nail across it and it gets hung up it's too deep. otherwise you can polish it out with a scratch remover or compound.

 

Here's AutoGeek's Guide to Removing a Scratch

 

For most other items a swirl remover and some hard work you can make most disappear....

 

Here's a chart of the levels/uses of many manufacturers:

AutoGeek Compound Chart

 

The larger the swirls/scratches the more aggressive compound is needed.

 

Typically I've had good luck with a 3 product/multi pass system for cars that have never been "Polished"

#1 - Heavier Compound (#6/7) - 2X

#2 - Medium/Light (#3/4) - 2X

#3 - Polish - 1X

 

I prefer Sealants vs. Wax for the sheer fact they hold up longer, and have been using Zaino for years, but there a some much newer companies out there now I'm eying up:

PoorBoys

Optimum Polymer Technologies

 

If nothing else you should invest in Optimum "No Rinse" just for general washing.

 

I've also heard some pretty amazing stories about the Hyper Compound Spray and their Opti-Seal Wipe On/Walk Away Product