Connor99 Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Hello there, First post here for me seems like the right place to come for help. I know very little about detailing etc. I've just bought a 15 year old metalic silver car that I'd like to restore to former glory. I don't think it's ever been waxed etc so looking a bit sad. On previous cars I've used T-cut (reccomended?) to refresh paint colour and waxed after. This car isn't highly valuable so I don't really want to spend loads on products, just enough to give it some life back and then I can keep on top of condition afterwards. As it's a silver metalic paint can anyone please advise some good products to do this. I presume a need a cutting compound first t-cut/3M, then maybe Megs clay bar? then some polish (can I miss this stage?) Finally P21S. I have though considered one of these more durable waxes as I heared P21S needs re-applying quite often. Are these perma-waxes any good? Sorry many questions I know. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snail Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Having just got a new (old) car, im in exactly the same situation as you. Personally, im going to wash her, Clay her, polish her, then wax her. You only need t-cut/paint cleaner if its got v bad paintwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimtim Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Hi, here's the process i follow when i'm doing a full detail: T-cut isn't a very good polish as the technology isn't very good. There are far better alternatives available! Can I also suggest that there are also better Clay bars than the Meguiars ones. The Clay Magic kit for example is the company that holds all the patents and as such still produces the best clay on the market (eventhough it is rare in this country) P21s is a very good wax and gives a lovely finish. For better protection you would be better looking at sealants and artificial waxes. These will last longer but some find the finish a little sterile. Some waxes blur the line, but my favourite finish is achieve layering a wax on top of a sealant. Best of both worlds then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor99 Posted May 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Thanks for your replies. I'm not sure abut the t-cut now. All I know is that I t-cut on a previous car and waxed and people thought I'd had a re-spray!! Like I said I don't want to spend a fortune, so would a t-cut/polish make claying pointless (the car aint prestige!). Also you say t-cut isn't any good, can anyone reccomend a decent polish to freshen up the metallic paint? And maybe reccomend a good artificial wax and sealant combo. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimtim Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 No polishing wouldn't negate the clay, becasue the nature of it means it shits the really stuck on stuff, that wouldn't be removed by a soft applicator pad. You will be amazed how good clay bars are if you've never done it before. As for polish, you have a few otions the Sonus hand polish bundle is a good bit of kit, but will require a good bit of elbow grease. The other option is a cleaner polish, these are obviously easier to apply by hand as they chemically clean the paint rather than abrasively polish it stripping 'dead' oxidised paint. Some good chemical cleaners are Clearkote Vanilla Glaze, Klasse AIO, Sonus Paintowrk cleanser. These will clean and hide marks by filling and rounding edges off the scratches. You can then top with a glaze to really hide the marks, or go straight for a wax/sealant.Again, somthing like Meguiars contains fillers so hiding the marks even more. Lots of choices and difficult to name one specifically, but for silver this is what i would suggest either going down the abrasive polish route or trying Clearkote VMG then top either of those with Nattys paste wax. There are extra steps you could add but that would be a good start. Cheers Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudson Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Hi, Slimtim is talking a lot of sense....If you go onto his site and look over the Audi A3 you will be smitten. I have an Audi A6 which had paintwork just like the A3 when i got it. A mate compounded it with Some Megs 83 and 80 with a PC and it came up ok but not as good as the A3. I currently have just purchased a pc and some of the Menzerna range of products as all VAG paint is really hard. I would say you need to get the paintwork on your car cut back to a level whereby most of the swirls are gone, only then can you really start adding depth and shine to the bodywork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnss8 Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 If your looking for a start then try your clay followed by the Megs 3 stage, if you want more than there are more professional ranges to try, but to get it looking really good then you'll probably need a PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpsmith Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 I would suggest using the Clay and then the Stage 1 before using the Stage 3 as the Stage 1 also cleans the paint in a different way to the Clay Bar. Adding Stage 2 in between would obviously give the best results but you could theoretically miss this is you just wanted a decent result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor99 Posted May 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 That's great, thank you all for your time replying. Once you look past the usual products on the high street there are numerous choices and it does get quite confusing! I guess much of it is personal preference. For me I'm trying to get a good level of restoration/re-fresh and protection without going the full detailing monty (that may come later if I get hooked!) I think I'll give the clay a try and see how the paint feels/looks after and then consider polishes. I will though, go for sealant plus wax in any case. One thing I am concerned about is that the paint is metallic. I have read elsewhere that you need to be cautious so not to remove the clearcoat. As my car is some 15 yrs old would it have clearcoat applied? Would the chemical cleaners (Clearkote Vanilla Glaze) and polishes (Sonus hand polish ) you suggest be 'safe'. I read somewhere that you can get T-cut for metallic paint I guess this would be an option? Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimtim Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 Hi Connor, What i would do if you want a quick effective detail is to clay as this will make a big impact on a 15 y/o car, then use Clearkote Vanilla Glaze (cleans polishes and has a bit of wax) and then top it with one of the Meguiars waxes. Meguiars #16 would probably be my choice. Cheers Tim All the products are safe and cause no where near as much damage as T-Cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor99 Posted May 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 Thanks all, you've helped a lot. Now for the hard work! Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnss8 Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 [ QUOTE ] I would suggest using the Clay and then the Stage 1 before using the Stage 3 as the Stage 1 also cleans the paint in a different way to the Clay Bar. Adding Stage 2 in between would obviously give the best results but you could theoretically miss this is you just wanted a decent result. [/ QUOTE ] Sorry i did actually mean the complete 3 stages didn't make it very clear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snail Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 My old audi was 10 years old, and had red paintwork that was starting to fade. I found Megs Stage 1 was fantastic, but its that good, you have to get the finish even, or it makes your paintwork look bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponge Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] I would suggest using the Clay and then the Stage 1 before using the Stage 3 as the Stage 1 also cleans the paint in a different way to the Clay Bar. Adding Stage 2 in between would obviously give the best results but you could theoretically miss this is you just wanted a decent result. [/ QUOTE ] Sorry i did actually mean the complete 3 stages didn't make it very clear [/ QUOTE ] I understood what you meant - use the Meg's 3 Stage (process). Not just the Meg's Stage 3. I used teh Meg's Stage 1 and 2, followed by NXT wax, for the first time the other day - very impressed. Only had time to do the front of the car though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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