I decided my black paint on the '88 Iroc-z need some good old TLC. So me being the one who goes all out. Buys all this stuff after some research on the net. Great right? My car will look great!

Dawn Soap
Quick Clay Kit
Scratch X
Show Car Glaze #7
Hi-Tech yellow wax # 26
3 100% Cotton Terry Clothes
2 Polishing Clothes
Mothers Aluminum Polish

Heres the problem, I've never waxed a vehicle in my life . I plan to do it all by hand, but i do have access to a Turtle Wax electric buffer. So lend me some tricks, tips, links, and opinions.

Thnx,

 

Stay away from the buffer if you don't know what your doing IMO. What is the Dawn soap for? That stuff is gonna strip all the old wax off the paint. The paint will be unprotected. As far as the other products, you should be just fine...read the directions. Don't mix products on the same cloth. Sounds like your gonna need more cloths by the way.

 

i perfer waxing by hand. yeah its tiring but its worth it IMHO. yeah you will definitly need more towels,i use about 6-lol. good luck with it!

 

Is there a way to mess up with a buffer like that? Mines like 10.000 rpm i think and i havent messed anything up. Makes for a much faster, but not nessceraly a better job. I use the wax pads from the auto parts store, probably on the same isle with the cleaners and towels. Also you might wanna get a old terry bath towel. California dusters work good for going over the car after u wax it, using it kinda as a buffer. And remember, the harder u work the better it will look.

 

If you use a buffer, MAKE SURE it's an orbital buffer. 10,000 RPM's? HOLY SHARK REPELENT BATMAN. THAT is dangerous!!! Not that it can't work though.

Yes, the Dawn soap will strip the wax. You have to strip the wax before you use the claybar.

I've used Mother's paint cleaner, then Their Polish, and my car looked FANTASTIC. I'm stepping up to Zaino for this season, but that's the high dollar stuff, no need unless you're showing, or you're just SUPER picky, AND you have GREAT paint.

 

maybe its not 10,000 im not sure just a round about guess

 

No dawn.... please no dawn... And if you insist on using a buffer, I'd advise you to only use it for removal rather than application seeing as you've got little experience. There's a large thread called "Car Wash Procedure" with much good advice. Read it here.

 

my mistake, its a 3500rpm..i was way off!

Also i meant to use it for removal. Ive never used it to apply wax.

 

Using Dawn soap is not bad if you're gonna wax afterwards. Dawn soap is not too harsh and it will remove certain contaminates that a soap formulated for a car wash won't. However, like mentioned before, it will remove any wax on the car. So only use it if you plan on waxing your car. Otherwise use a soap meant for car washing in between waxes.

I have never used the products you have (with the exception of the Mother's polish, good stuff), but I haven't heard anything bad about them either. I use a ClayMagic clay bar...works real well and its the cheapest of the bunch. I suggest you rinse your car after the claybar though, as the claybar solution tends to leave a reisdue (make sure you're in the shade).

After the claybar I like using 3M Rubbing Compound the 1500 grit kind. I use that for small scratches and water spots etc. I've applied it by hand however I find that the buffer works a lot better.

After the rubbing compound I use 3M Imperial Hand Glaze...that stuff is amazing it leaves a really deap shine. I apply that on by hand, it isn't necessary to use the buffer it goes on real easy.

Third I use Meguiar's Gold Class Clear Coat Car Wax....if you want a reall nice shine use the buffer but it isn't necessary to get good results.

A 3500 RPM buffer is easy to work with...its hard to mess up with it. Just be sure to not stay in one spot too long, move it around and get a good coat of the product. With the buffer the waxes spread out very well as opposed to using your hand. One more thing, make sure you use the correct bonnets for the buffer. For the rubbing compund a lambs wool bonnet works excellent when applying, but should not be used to remove...use a terri cloth by hand or a terri bonnet to remove the compound ( I don't know if scratch X is a rubbing compound). For the wax I used a foam applicator (the Turtle Wax blue foam bonnet is wonderful) and I removed the wax again with a terri bonnet...although I believe there is one better than a terri bonnet for removing....read the back of the bonnet packaging and see what they're good for.

I have Zaino as well, but I love it and I use it sparingly. My car is now a daily drive so I try and save my Zaino. The method I just described renders very good results...albeit it takes longer than Zaino, but very good nonetheless. Just take your time and read the instructions and you should be fine. Let us know how it went.

 

I don't see a problem with dawn either. It's the soap to use if you want get everything, wax included, off your car. Then just follow the instructions with the rest of your stuff and you shouldn't have a problem.

 

Dont buff at 3500 RPM, thats the limit on the buffin speed, take it slowly and make sure you dont buff dry, make sure there is enough compound under it, you need to compound it, it will look 100 times better, then wipe it down with a damp rag and then glaze it, then do whatever your heart pleases....