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Gentlemen,
I have a '98 200sx with a factory black paint job, and over the last six months or so I've noticed that the paint has become very dull and the swirl marks from previous wax-jobs have become painfully apparent. Here's a few pictures to give you an idea of what I'm talking about (photobucket is down as I am posting this, but the pictures should work once their servers are up again):
Has anyone else encountered this sort of problem? These pictures were taken after I washed the car today. The last time I waxed was about three months ago. I'm planning on selling the car in a few months, so I'd love to have the paint job looking nice before I put it on the market.
Thanks for reading.
Last edited by FadedKM83 : 01-17-2006 at 02:32 PM.
I was a professional detailer for years, even owning a successful buisness for a while. Take my advice with confidence Okay, So here is what I would do. First use a regular dishwash soap. just the cheap stuff. Yes I know everwhere says dont, trust me use it.. You want to get off all the left over wax and this is the best way that I found to do it. Next get some Clay Magic. Only that brand. Follow the directions. The more time you spend here on this step will have a direct effect on the end results. Now was the car with a good car soap. Finally use a orbital buffer to apply a good wax like Zymol Or P21s Its not really a big deal. Just use something of high quality. Remove it with a static cloth finally a wipe down with a small wet terry cloth towel as you dry behind it with another small terry cloth towel. This should give you back your shine.
Do not skip steps nor half ass any of the work . Black cars are very difficult to get right . But yours is not too far gone. Good luck and post up the results.
Just a thought, but you know you are supposed to REMOVE the wax before it dries after you put it on, right?
:-D
The above recommendation is great, or you could use some cleaner-wax after the dishsoap.
If you are looking for a show-car shine then spend some time on it. If you just want it to look "good enough" to sell, then just wash it with dishsoap or soap + ammonia splashed in there and then cleaner-wax it (and remove it after you apply it this time! :-) )
__________________
Sweet '93 NX DE+T GT28RS- For Sale
Thanks for the input guys. Rob, I was under the impression that you are supposed to apply the wax, let it dry, and then buff it out after it dries. I did not let it sit for more than 20 or 30 minutes before removal after I applied it last. Am I waxing incorrectly?
I`ll work on it when I have a free weekend and post pictures of the results. Thanks again for your time guys.
Some waxes are not supposed to be left to dry. Some you take off still "wet". This might have been your problem from the get go. Follow directions on the wax you use each one behave differently. Also stay out of the sunlight
My paint did the same thign on my 98, only thing you can do is keep it clean and out of the sun. when it shined, it shined, but most of the time it had spots like that, its just bad paint. And Zymoil is just reboxed Turtle Wax, I think you are thinking about Zaino....
From my vantage point, it looks like you left the wax on too long (probably under direct sunlight). This allowed the wax to "bake" onto the paint and when you went to buff it off you, consequently, did not remove all of the wax. You will definitely want to wash the car with a dish soap first. However, my next step would be to go over the car with a polish and a high speed random orbital buffer. Do this slowly and work the entire car. This is very important. Do not skip this step. You may have to repeat if all of the swirls and sratches were not removed on pass 1. After that is done, wash the car again (you can use car soap this time), but remember to always always always use a high quality microfiber towel for both the washing and the drying. Anything else WILL put microswirls in your clearcoat...and you worked so hard to polish them out. After the wash, you are ready for wax. If you want the deepest shine possible you are going to have to go with a carnuba wax. My favorite is Meguiers #16 or Zaino Bros, but Ive also heard great things about Poor Boys products. The best over the counter carnuba is, ironically, Turtle Wax Platinum Ultra Gloss. Make sure you follow the directions. APPLY IN THE SHADE. After removal, feel free to apply another coat, as this will add additional depth as well as serving to hit the spots you missed on pass 1. If done properly, I assure you your car will look 10X better.
Remember,
1) wash and wax in the shade
2) work the buffer slowly
3) use a carnuba for depth and shine, a sealent for longevity
4) Always use microfiber. Nothing else.
Products I like
1) Menzerna polish
2) Meguiers #16 pure carnuba (discontinued), Turtle Wax Ultra Gloss Carnuba Wax
3) Meguiers NXT car soap
4) Poorboys microfiber towels.
5) Porter Cable random orbital buffer with a light cutting pad (yellow pad from Meguiers)
Thats it. If you follow those directions you will fix your problem.
__________________ 93 Black Sentra SER 01 Sequoia Limited 06 R6 Raven
Tokico lowering springs/struts, Front Strut Bar/AT RSTB
93 Red Sentra SER.....STOCK No longer own
15.763@87.04 w/ 2.423 60'
I was a professional detailer for years, even owning a successful buisness for a while. Take my advice with confidence Okay, So here is what I would do. First use a regular dishwash soap. just the cheap stuff. Yes I know everwhere says dont, trust me use it.. You want to get off all the left over wax and this is the best way that I found to do it. Next get some Clay Magic. Only that brand. Follow the directions. The more time you spend here on this step will have a direct effect on the end results. Now was the car with a good car soap. Finally use a orbital buffer to apply a good wax like Zymol Or P21s Its not really a big deal. Just use something of high quality. Remove it with a static cloth finally a wipe down with a small wet terry cloth towel as you dry behind it with another small terry cloth towel. This should give you back your shine.
Do not skip steps nor half ass any of the work . Black cars are very difficult to get right . But yours is not too far gone. Good luck and post up the results.
You were a professional detailer, and you are telling him to clay then wax over oxidation like that?
