I got a lexus with a lot of work to be done, advice please.
08-30-07, 02:07 PM
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
I got a lexus with a lot of work to be done, advice please.
Hello everyone, i just got a 98 SC300, black on black. the car is in awesome mechanical shape, however the owner didn't seem to know how to maintain the car cosmetically. the paint is in bad shape; there's a lot of scratches and swirl marks, scuffs everywhere, chips also and mild oxidation. I claybarred it and it made a slight difference which tells me he had it done before i bought it. i used mothers scratch remover as well as meguire's #7 but no luck with scratches or scuffs. i'm decided on buying a porter cable and i have few questions. There is a lot of pad options out there, is there an option i should get, or should i just get the basic? Also, what's the best, fairly priced products i should use with this ignored paint. Any help would be greatly appreciated guys and btw it feels good to be a lexus owner
08-31-07, 07:11 AM
#4
OK, I'll start.
How about some pictures of the defects?
You need to wash and dry your car and then evaluate every inch of the paint. If there are scratches that you can feel with your fingernail they will probably not be fixable with a polish. You can improve them in most cases but they won't go away.
Now you need to plan your course of action. Chips and deep scratches will need to be repainted. If you only have a few you can try touch-up paint but that usually always looks less than stunning. If the car is otherwise mechanically excellent you might start budgeting for a repaint.
If you will be painting or retouching, you need to first clean the areas with a solvent like Dupont's Prepsol or some other body solvent. Paint the defects, let it cure then wet sand and polish. Don't apply any wax for at least three months. Sadly this will get you into cold weather.
If your paint chips and scratches are not too bad you might just grab a PC and polish. I'd pick up a couple polishing pads, (Meguiar's 8006 or Lake Country white) along with some Meguiar's #83 Dual Action Cleaner/Polish and #80 Speed Glaze. Your 98 probably is not clear-coated so the pads will turn black. That's ok, it won't hurt them. I'd apply a couple coats of a sealer like NXT Tech Wax or Meguiar's #21 and follow with a coat of Carnuaba wax like #26 for the winter.
Based on the timing you should do the polish now and see how well it cleans up and plan to do a repaint or more aggressive touch up in the spring when the weather warms up. Since you can't wax fresh paint for three months you probably don't want to be doing this going into winter.
How about some pictures of the defects?
You need to wash and dry your car and then evaluate every inch of the paint. If there are scratches that you can feel with your fingernail they will probably not be fixable with a polish. You can improve them in most cases but they won't go away.
Now you need to plan your course of action. Chips and deep scratches will need to be repainted. If you only have a few you can try touch-up paint but that usually always looks less than stunning. If the car is otherwise mechanically excellent you might start budgeting for a repaint.
If you will be painting or retouching, you need to first clean the areas with a solvent like Dupont's Prepsol or some other body solvent. Paint the defects, let it cure then wet sand and polish. Don't apply any wax for at least three months. Sadly this will get you into cold weather.
If your paint chips and scratches are not too bad you might just grab a PC and polish. I'd pick up a couple polishing pads, (Meguiar's 8006 or Lake Country white) along with some Meguiar's #83 Dual Action Cleaner/Polish and #80 Speed Glaze. Your 98 probably is not clear-coated so the pads will turn black. That's ok, it won't hurt them. I'd apply a couple coats of a sealer like NXT Tech Wax or Meguiar's #21 and follow with a coat of Carnuaba wax like #26 for the winter.
Based on the timing you should do the polish now and see how well it cleans up and plan to do a repaint or more aggressive touch up in the spring when the weather warms up. Since you can't wax fresh paint for three months you probably don't want to be doing this going into winter.
08-31-07, 01:12 PM
#5
Instructor
Thread Starter
thnx for the reply man, i appreciate it. i'm gonna take some pics and post then as soon as i can. there is few deep scratches but mostly i have swirl marks and scuffs that test negative on the "fingernail test". the swirl marks bug the ***** out of me, let alone the scuffs the look like he dragged a bag over the hood or something. i tried couple of products by hand with no luck so i ordered the PC7424.
08-31-07, 02:13 PM
#6
Here are a couple of YouTube videos on use of the PC. The process presented is what you should pay attention to. This process will work with a number of products.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZVDsiEQ8-w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89323lmQ2LI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZVDsiEQ8-w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89323lmQ2LI
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08-31-07, 05:12 PM
#13
Well you can make a ton of improvements to most of the car but that pillar has clear coat failure. It will need a respray to correct. The scratch on the hood is going to be a challenge as well. I think you can make most of it go away though.
When you get started do a small 1' x 1' or 2'x2' section with the PC and #83 or whatever polish you choose. Move the PC slowly and with some pressure. Try to correct that small area before moving on. If you can fix the small area with the product and technique you can expand that to the whole car.
When you get started do a small 1' x 1' or 2'x2' section with the PC and #83 or whatever polish you choose. Move the PC slowly and with some pressure. Try to correct that small area before moving on. If you can fix the small area with the product and technique you can expand that to the whole car.
Last edited by jfelbab; 08-31-07 at 05:15 PM.
08-31-07, 06:44 PM
#14
Instructor
Thread Starter
well, most of these scratches are superficial and smooth to the touch or fingernail. what polish do you recommend? I was planning on using Menzerna intensive polish. Also, can i get pads from a local store instead of waiting for online orders? Thnx for your help man, you're the man. i wish other people could participate also, but oh well.
08-31-07, 07:05 PM
#15
I'm a long time user of the Meguiar's Professional products but there are a lot of good products you can use. It's best not to get too hung up on the manufacturer and pay more attention to the process. After using dozens of different products you will find some that you like better than others. Yet if you get the process right you can achieve good results form many of them. Each product has it's own learning curve. Once you get comfortable with a product and like how it works it is good to stick with it. I've used Meg's 83 and #80 for years and I have developed a familiarity with the stuff. I get repeatable results so I stick with it. The same can be said for almost any quality product so ignore the zealots who tell you that only their favorite stuff is any good and use what works for you.
I'm also surprised that there are not more comments in this thread. Must be the holiday weekend. Everyone must be out detailing their cars.
I'm also surprised that there are not more comments in this thread. Must be the holiday weekend. Everyone must be out detailing their cars.