Alright, now I know that there is endless talk about this kind of thing here, but if you guys don't mind I was hoping you'd be willing to answer some questions and give me some suggestions again in my own thread. Thanks in advance too.
Okay, so here's the situation. I have a 97 GT (in case you either didn't notice my name or... well lets just hope you could figure that one out [8D]). Anyway, I have a 97 GT, black, that has probably never had a good hand wash... well, ever. I just bought it a few months back from a guy who was the only owner and he got it serviced EVERY 3000 miles perfectly, but he never did any more than that. When I looked at it the paint even had a pretty bad haze and just looked like it had never been washed and waxed. I guess he took it through a car wash or something because that wasn't as bad anymore, but there is certainly still a haze over the entire paint surface. Also, I'm worried that being older and never being cared for, the paint will have a bunch of small scratches and swirls all over.
I'm looking for something that will give it an extremely deep cleaning and waxing for this first time. Since it's the first time and it needs to be caught up and done really well, I don't mind spending the money for the highest quality products. I also would like to know what what recommendations anyone would have for getting out all the little imperfections in the paint. I don't think the paint is all that bad, it's just that it's never been cared for. You can see a pic of my car currently here: http://www.ajerman.com/car/side.jpg and you can see how it has no shine at all to it.
So, without going TOO crazy on cost, what's the absolute best products to get a really deep down clean and shine on a 10 year old, black, paint job. Assuming I can find the products I want around here, I'll probably start working on it Friday and use as much of the weekend as I have to to make it look really good. I feel like the look of the paint is what makes my car look old now. I'm sure you guys can give me the suggestions I need to be one of the sexiest cars on the street again. Thanks again to anyone who takes the time to read all this and help me out.
Oh, and what I had in my head so far was to start with the dish soap wash to really strip everything from the paint and completely clean it, then to clay bar it. I think that's where I want to head to start, but I don't know what the best products are for black and if there is anything good to use to clean out an old paint job and clear up the swirls a little.
Also, am I better off using something like a porter cable to get more into the waxing, or is doing it by hand the best way to go. I have no problem turning my arms to noodles to do this. Like I said, this is the first big one and I want to do it right.
I would not use dish soap on the paint. There is really no need for it. First wash the vehicle. The I would claybar to really get rid of all the contaminants in the paint. It will also make the paint feel really smooth. Next I recommend a good polish. Also I think the Porter Cable is well worth the investment. You just can't achieve the results you want by hand. With the Porter Cable you can get awesome results and be a beginner. You also don't have to worry about burning up your paint.
If you decide to go with the Porter Cable you will need a new backing plate to go with the pads. You will need an orange light cutting pad and a white polishing pad for sure. You will use those a lot. If you want to put wax/sealant on with it you will need the gray finishing pad. I recommend starting out with the least aggressive pad and the least aggessive polishing. If you don't see the results you are looking for just up to the next aggressive. Remember if you use a medium to heavy aggressive polishing you have to step down to a polising pad and a light polish to finish off the paint.
Next you can apply a glaze to give the paint a little more pop. This step isn't really necessary but I lot of people prefer to do it.
Now you can either apply a sealant or wax or both. I prefer to put on a couple layers of sealant, letting it cure in between layers. Then I top with a good carnuba wax.
I you follow these steps your paint will look incredible! It will take some time and dedication but it will be totally worth it in the long run!
If you have anymore questions feel free to ask. I will be glad to help.
I dont think it would matter if u used Dawn. If there's nothing on there anyway. I'd just use some car wash- Meguiars Gold Class, NXT, Duragloss901. Then i'd clay it. Meguairs makes a clay bar kit, and autozone sells a couple of clay kits. You might want to start with Meguairs Deep Crystal 3 step system. Be sure to pick up some microfiber towels and applicator pads. Also, i'd look at getting some NXT polish or Turtle Wax Platinum Ultimate Paint Gloss or some Meguairs #26 HiTech Yellow Wax. U might want to stop by a body shop supply store and talk to those guys. If you're experienced with the PC then i'd use it. You should talk to juztang on here. He gives great advice and sales some great products and is a forum sponsor. You could also look at autopia.org and look at their Guide to Detailing. There is a wealth of information there on detaling. U could spend weeks reading in there forums.
By the way, for a black car make sure you are using good microfibers and the proper washing technique. After you get the car all polished up like you want it, you don't want to get a lot of scratches and swirls back. I like to wash with 2 buckets. Once bucket for your wash solution and another for rinse water. This will help so you don't put a lot of dirt back into your paint. I highly recommend using good microfibers on black. They will be much safer on your paint. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the suggestions, I'll take all I can get. I like to think I'm fairly car smart, and I've washed cars before, but I'd rather play dumb and learn from everyone else who has more experience. Do you (or anyone else) have specific product recommendations? I don't really know the difference in all the waxes and what works best on what colors, etc. I had a friend who was obsessed with washing his car and he used Zaino one time and it made his silver car look like a mirror. I don't know if that's the best I can get for black too or what.
Also, as far as making it look better goes, I plan to get it tinted very soon and I'll probably get new wheels as the tires I already have wear out. They still have a fair amount of tread on them so I'd rather not get bigger wheels and waste them.
Thanks again for the suggestions so far. Keep em coming everyone. I want to gather as much information as I possibly can before I go out and buy everything.
Edit:Took a while to type that one, ended up walking off and I have a few replies since I posted it. In case you wonder why it sounded weird haha, I was just writing that reply to Juztang.
Andrew- I just sent you a pm with products I recommend. There are waxes and sealants that I recomomend for certain colors.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving guys!
Thanks, I got that and will look into it all.
Also, if there is anything I learned from that friend I mentioned before it was to use microfibers. I think he probably had at least 50 in the back of his car haha. This kid would use a quick detailer like every other day or any time he saw a single spot on his car.
Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving to you and everyone else as well Juztang. It's about time for me to go get cleaned up to go to our friend's house for dinner.
Reccomendations wanted for first big clean up
