So I have been taking good care of the max till this past fall. Now it has rain spots that don't seem to come out, and some swirl marks. It's an 02 majestic blue. Here's what I would like to do, PLEASE add/delete/change as necessary:

1. Wash with dawn to strip all waxes
2. Clay the bar
3. Apply polish/cleaner??? (this is what I need the recs on)
4. Apply Klasse twins (love them!)
5. Top with Meguiars Yellow

What I really need is the polish/cleaner reccomendations. What should I try first, and work more abrasive from there... a nice order of abrasiveness would help maybe? Or is there one or two ideas that would be the most successful? I dealt with the imperfections for a while but I'm now tired of it and ready to put in the hours. This is all done by hand though. Maybe I should just call a professional detailer, those of you who do this for a living what's the ballpark like? I'm in Los Angeles. Thanks in advance!

Neal

 

Everything looks okay except for that all-important step 3...

Get some quality folded-up terry towels or applicator sponges to polish with.

Doing swirl removal by hand is tough, time-consuming work. Budget lots of time for this job, maybe even a couple days. Skip "swirl removers" for now, or you'll be there forever judging from the damage that you describe.

I think you should start with something slightly stronger, like a Fine Cut Compound (3M) or Cleaner (Meguiar's #2), or Meguiar's #83 Dual Action Cleaner/Polish. I've heard a 3M product called Finish Restorer (Wal-Mart?) may also be appropriate. Try to read up on some articles/posts to get an idea of how to polish properly. It's not that complicated, but good method helps.

You may have to follow that product up with something lighter like a swirl remover if the finish isn't left fine enough. It's like sanding a block of wood...

 

Some of the products I've found so far are:

Meguiars Medallion Paint Cleaner
Meguiars Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner
Meguiars Clear Coat Body Scrub

Any recs? I may try the body scrub or medallion cleaner 1st...

 

Out of those 3, try the deep crystal. However, Bman and I both think you might need something a little stronger like DACP to remove the imperfections and then follow up with the Klasse Twins.

 

Hmm, from what I have read 2nd hand, I think the Body Scrub and Medallion are both noticably stronger than the Deep Crystal. Still, I would hazard a guess that something like DACP would be more effective and more worth your while to buy.