ok, so on wednesday i did the fingers in the baggy trick and decided tonight id strip off the old wax, and clean the paint and wax it.

so i got this 3m rubbing compound, i have had it for like 3 years now, works wonders on this stuff, however, for some odd reason, with this truck, i cant get all the friggin residue off. i have rubbed the truck down by hand like 4 times now, and now im pooped =( yet theres still residue all over it! i dunno how to get it off, i have some buffers but i have only used it on my car to marginal results. so, as of right now, im thinkin the only way ima get this crap off is if i take somewhere to have it buffed clean.... which is i know is gonna be pricey so what do i do? id prefer NOT to spend money.

 

that stuff washes off pretty easily... try to wash it first

 

If it doesn't wash off -- it's not just residue. You've probably scored the clear coat.

Try using Meguiars Scratch-X if you can't get it any other way. Frankly, I think rubbing compound is generally WAY too aggressive for modern cars with thin clear coats. It's really more intented for enamels and lacquers without clear overcoats.

 

I didnt want to tell him that!!!

 

So i should wash it again with soap and water? then towel it dry
??

 

Yes, then if it doesn't look smooth and shiny do NOT take compound to it again. You need something milder and finer. Meguiars will do the job for you.

 

I kind of figured that maybe some folks were holding back -- but I guess I feel an unpleasant truth will give him a better crack at correcting it, lol. I didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, BUT I wanted to make sure he didn't compound it any further.

 

^^Right..you can't bear down at all. That stuff is harsh!

 

I prefer the honest truth, and all facts regardless of how bad it is, so that i can make an educated decision on the matter.

 

alright here it is...

i tried washing one section with soap and water, to no avail. still cloudy as all hell

so, i went to auto zone and got scratch X and while there, I got some clay. i tried the clay first. WOW what a difference. like, totally clean, then i tried the scratch X and it just made a good thing GREAT so, I did the whole truck, and now im really pooped. so, its sitting out there with no wax on it, just scratch x, and thats the best the hood has ever looked, the paint looks better now than when I bought it. also, the clay bar got pretty dirty from my scummy paint, but now its like ULTRA shiny, even tho there is no wax on it yet.

 

If you wax it now that you've clay'd and scratch-x'd it -- it's gonna' be AWESOME.

Don't do clay, etc. TOO often though as you do remove a bit of clearcoat each time. Try and just keep it well sealed and strip it with something milder than "compound" next time. Probably a light buffing with Scratch-X alone would be sufficient, but I'd keep it to once a year or so doing that.

Glad you got it!

 

I use Meguiar's Deep Crystal System Paint Cleaner once a year, after washing and before waxing. It has no rubbing compound or other abrasive. You'd be surprised how much crud the paint cleaner takes off (you can tell by the stuff all over the rags when you rub the paint cleaner off) even though you've just washed it. In addition, my wife once left a large bird droping on a door of her 03 Subaru Forester for I don't know how long. When I noticed it and washed it off, the surface underneath was real dull compared to the shiny paint around it. The Meguiars paint cleaner restored the spot so that it was as shiny as the surrounding area. Here's what the paint cleaner looks like; its a steal at $5 for 16 ounces:

http://www.meguiars.com/?auto-paint-...-Paint-Cleaner

BTW, I'd also only use ANY rubbing compound as a last resort. And I'd never use a power buffer with it.

 

skip your 3M stuff just use this when detailing hell look at my and evans truck there always spotless

do this. wash dry clay cleaner wax if you want. then a high end micro wax like NXT always. ALWAYS use micro fiber towels deticated to your truck only, and mechine wash them and never use dryer sheets with them or bleach, just soap. and you should be golden.

I detail on the side, i have never had anyone complain what i do there paint. It usually looks like factory when i am done, if not better. sometimes if its oxidized like my splash i will use some polish and do the steps as so, but not allways needed.
here is a vette that is a 2002 never was waxed every had swirls all over it. this is after i finished it. later on this year the guy sold it for what he bought it for becuase it looked so nice, he thanked me later on for doing such a nice job



now here using meguiars polishing steps going from meduim to fine to mechine glaze to cleaner wax to NXT i didnt clay
before

after


ok if you really dont have oxidization, like on your truck should not being its a newer clear coat. you dont need a clearner wax expecially if you clay first.
also stop using a carnuba wax if you are its a waste of your time these new synthetic waxes are far better then them. i know a meguars rep he wishes they could discontiue the old carnuba waxes because they arnt half as good as the new one's but they know people still want it so they dont.

if you are using a new synthetic wax you dont need to spend you time polishing off the wax a simple wash of the paint and clay baring will take off all contaminates that will hunder your shine on your paint, then just wax after that and you will be set. beleave me it works i wouldnt be telling you if it didnt and people dont call me XLT a street truck becuase its always dirty, i also get asked if its brand new hell its 12+ years old i must be doing something right here...

 

1000% agree rubbing compound is not to be used on good looking paints it for hard to get off belmishes like scratches or what not. also it tends to scratch clear coat paint very easily. 99999% of the time you can get off anything with a clay bar and its far damaging and having to buff back as a rubbing compound is.

 

Zach, what you neglected to address is the Scratch-X. He NEEDED that or he would not have been able to remove the micro-scoring the rubbing compound had done. Even clay won't fix that, and neither will wax. John's paint cleaner might have some of the same stuff to polish out the edges of those microscopic scorings, but probably not. What he did to his paint is WAY worse than just taking out swirl marks.

Not arguing with your treatment technique, and your results are OUTSTANDING -- but you seemed to be saying the Scratch-X was not necessary and I disagree with that. In cases where remediating damage is concerned, micro-abrasives in some form are usually necessary to smooth things out.

Or maybe you're just saying if he HADN'T used the 3M by mistake in the first place? Than I agree with you.

 

yes in this case i 100% agree he needed the scratch-x but guess what a fine polish meguiars has would have done the same thing for just about $4 less. just a FYI. i have scratch-x most the time dont used it unless i have something minor i want to take out but for a whole truck i would have opted for a fine polishing compound. i acully didnt say anything about scratch-x in my post go read i like the stuff.

i for the most part was talking about if he had not and i highly recommend never using the 3M stuff and just sticking with what i sayed does that make since John? i hope so because i was even losing myself there

so lets see here we both agree scratch-x is good and we just have different methods to use it in lol..sound good?

i really wasnt addressing him fixing the problem i was addressing him on how to contiue on keeping his paint nice being the fact it seems he fixed it understand?

 

Ha ha! No, I get it. In fact after I was done posting I thought about it and realized I understood you all along. I was doing to many things here at once and got lost I guess, sorry.

Thanks for clarifying though. I'll try that polish sometime. I've used scratch-x for years but nowadays I'd need CARTONS of it with the way I treat my truck offroad so I just haven't bothered.

 

FMD's original question was how to get the old wax off. N3ELZ suggested Meguiars Scratch-X. Well, Scratch-X may get old wax off, but in my experience its worthless for even the smallest of scratches. I've tried it on 3 different vehicles and got no appreciable results. I've also tried the Kit brand scratch remover and that didn't work either.

 

^^ how do us it. by hand or with a mechine?

 

You're absolutely right about that. There are certain scratches which do not "hide" when you smooth the "edges" of the gash down -- and that's all Scratch-X really does.

Scratch-X really works best on the kind of micro-scratches that occur from washing, mild vegetation contact, hazing from bird poop, etc.

The reason I suggested it is because the TYPE of scratches the compound leaves are just exactly the ideal -- micro scratches. It's where the too-hard compound has lightly scored the too-soft clearcoat.

Some scratches need to be REPAIRED, and that's all there is to it. Some of these products seem to promise miracles but they can't deliver. They still have their uses though.

 

well I grabbed the clay bar as an after thought. I figured, well so far i have really fscked this up, maybe if the scratch x doesnt work ill use the clay bar. by the time i got home, i decided to skid the scratch x and go right for the clay bar. I am glad I did. it removed ALL the 3m rubbing compound with alot less work than anticipated. once it was rmoved the finish was somewhat dull, it was shiny, but looked as tho i hadnt waxed it. I applied the scratch x to the entire truck, and it was just beautiful. I also went a step futher.

on my hood - which btw WAS oxidized ever so slightly, u could REALLY see it under flouresent light. i cut down the hood in half, one side nxt one side that other sutff its late i forget what its called carribean wax? ok, so i applied and removed booth, both were VERY close. but i chose the other wax instead of the nxt,

now ill tell ya why,

when i first got the truck the hood looked oxidized, and frankly i wasnt happy with the way my hood looked, cause it was different color than the reast of my truck, u couldnt tell by glancing at it, but both me n dad noticed it. i waxed it, and while it looked great the hood still looked like **** in my opinion, i tried nxt next, same result, tho it seemed shinier, however the nxt seemed to only last about 3 months before it began wearing off. so, i been using it cause it spent alot of money on it, but i gota wax it every 3 months, that kinda blows. so after i cleaned the truck, and mind u i am tickled pink with how awsome it looks and how great my hood looks, i decided to try dads wax again and see how long it lasts. after all, he uses it on the boat and it lasts for 6 months in the blazing hot sun so, maybe itll out last the nxt.

anyways, like i said, both waxes are VERYand i mean VERY close, i had to really look close to see the difference between the two. nxt gave it a more darker appearance, and this other stuff was just over all more shiny which i prefer. and maybe itll last longer.

then again, i wash and dry my truck by hand, i use a real sponge from the gulf of mexico, and dedicated Ranger Only towels to dry it, which could also be why my wax doesnt last as long cause i wash the truck about 4x a week.

i did pick up some microfiber towels for waxing, they worked pretty good, and i appreciate the tip on washing them.

even dad, who hasnt been out of the house in like 3 weeks was FLOORED by how shiny my truck is when he seen it in the shop today, heh, says he can shave with out a mirror LOL so im happy. I still got the nxt and will continue to jump between the two to see which i like more...

as far as chrome, dad has this stuff from the 50's i use, and, nothing touches what this stuff does, my bars are a lil pitted from the salt and what not but this stuff, is just WOW ok im going to bed.

 

Well, theres no way one could argue with your results, that's for sure.

 

I wish i could get the results you guys are getting. I have used scratch-x a bunch of times with so so results for example the paint on the top my of fenderflares is scratched pretty bad but isnt very deep it just looks like a spider web ( there not swirl marks by the way) and it did nothing, but the scratchs from my most recent accindent were a little deeper and it did a great job at hiding those.


I wish wax would last me 3 months. Mine usually done in 2 weeks but with how fast my truck get dirty I'm sure thats plays a huge part. I just let mine go a while with out waxing I think around 2 months decide today I should put a coat on it. I ended up putting 1 coat of scratch-x, 2 coats of meguairs cleaner on most of it, and 3 coats on the hood because the paint felt so dry. Granted the truck has a nice shine and has a satin smooth feel to it but anything closer than 10 feet you see how bad the hood is swirled and how bad the paint looks on the bed rails. I think i just might end up paying someone else to get it back in shape.

 

Ah, just drive it in tight trails in the woods a couple of dozen times and you'll stop worrying about the finish, lol!