Re: Emystify the Car Care Forum (TREKinFlorida)
Give it a good wash with a paint cleanser, like the Meguiars Clearcoat paint Cleanser, PS21 paint shampoo, or whatever is to your liking. Then, I'd give it a once over with a glay bar to get any bonded surface contaminants off. If the car has never been waxed it's likely it has plenty on there, so get at least two clay bars and lots of lube. Run your hand over it and you'll probably find that the surface is a little rough. You want to go over it a panel at a time and fold the clay often. Work in small areas using the clay bar's directions until they are smooth as glass to the touch. If you get any of the clay on the paint, which happens if you've never used it before or it's cold, use bug and tar remover to get the clay off after you're done with the entire panel, as the clay and the bug and tar remover don't mix.
After the clay bar, use a polish specifically designed for dark car swirls. I've had good results with 3M Imperial Hand Glaze, and even better results with 3M Swirm Remover for dark cars. Zaino Bros also have a good product which is supposed to completely remove all swirls without removing any clearcoat like a traditional polish will. After you've polished, use a good wax to go over it, as the 3M IHG or Swirl Remover will come off if it's not protected. Or, instead of using the 3M polishes you can go with a polymer sealant like Klasse All-in-One which does a good job of filling in swirls and also acts as a tough outer shell that provides much more protection than wax. Unfortunately, you cannot put All-in-One over 3M polish because the All-in-one will remove it since it also acts as a paint cleaner.
Give it a good wash with a paint cleanser, like the Meguiars Clearcoat paint Cleanser, PS21 paint shampoo, or whatever is to your liking. Then, I'd give it a once over with a glay bar to get any bonded surface contaminants off. If the car has never been waxed it's likely it has plenty on there, so get at least two clay bars and lots of lube. Run your hand over it and you'll probably find that the surface is a little rough. You want to go over it a panel at a time and fold the clay often. Work in small areas using the clay bar's directions until they are smooth as glass to the touch. If you get any of the clay on the paint, which happens if you've never used it before or it's cold, use bug and tar remover to get the clay off after you're done with the entire panel, as the clay and the bug and tar remover don't mix.
After the clay bar, use a polish specifically designed for dark car swirls. I've had good results with 3M Imperial Hand Glaze, and even better results with 3M Swirm Remover for dark cars. Zaino Bros also have a good product which is supposed to completely remove all swirls without removing any clearcoat like a traditional polish will. After you've polished, use a good wax to go over it, as the 3M IHG or Swirl Remover will come off if it's not protected. Or, instead of using the 3M polishes you can go with a polymer sealant like Klasse All-in-One which does a good job of filling in swirls and also acts as a tough outer shell that provides much more protection than wax. Unfortunately, you cannot put All-in-One over 3M polish because the All-in-one will remove it since it also acts as a paint cleaner.
