911SCRVA

The paint is original and it's mostly gorgeous. But I'm contemplating (not in any rush) to buff out some light scratches/swirls Any expert opinions?

Spyerx

By hand? Machine? I use the meguiars consumer products on my cars.

What color is the car? Is it single stage? (you'll know if you rub the paint with some polish or wax on it and the towel turns the color of the paint)

With my cars, I start 'light' and then work up to stronger chemicals depending on what they need. I use compound rarely. I do use the meguiars ultimate polish which is very very gentle.

I use a Rupes orbital machine, and will use those with the soft or med foam pad, if the car really needs it I"ll use a light Microfiber pad.

Point is: the chemical is fine, but, it also depends on what you need, what the paint needs and how you will apply the product.

911SCRVA

Thanks for your response. The car is silver. I figured I'd use something like Rupes orbital machine with a soft pad. From there, I'd use the polish. The paint still has plenty of gloss. If you stand five feet away, you'd never notice the slight swirls. Or the faint discoloration where a previous owner let gas dribble down the side of the car.

Speedster911

I use Griots products and as Spyrex recommends, regardless of what brand products you use start out easy with whatever you do.

Personally I would start with Griots speed shine and clay.the entire car to see what your truly dealing with. I would then use their correcting cream - although I have their buffer, I do the majority of my cars by hand , again to truly understand what you are dealing with go slow and east. If it needs slightly more after first application than do with buffer lightly. If its original paint, P cars don't have the thickest paint and I would be cautious. I would then seal it, polish it and finish with wax . The silver paint will gleam!!

And before you do anything, as Spyrex asks- Is it single stage or two stage paint. Take a little wax and apply / rub off- if there is a bit of " silver" on your rag its single stage- if it comes off clear its two stage. I believe it should be single stage if OEM paint.

911SCRVA

Thanks for your response. I wasn't aware of single or two stage paint processes, so thanks to you and Spyrex for educating me. It's the original OEM paint, so I assume it's single. I'll test the paint with some P21s Carnauba Wax to see if anything comes off. One point of clarification, are you recommending a three step process -- 1. seal, 2. polish, 3. wax -- whether or not I use a buffer? Aside from Griot"s Speed Shine and Clay, what products do you recommend?

Spyerx

silver is 2 stage. It will have a clear.

If you want to use meguiars products, the ultimate polish on a soft pad (or by hand) is a good place to start. If you have rough areas you can try the same chemical on a medium pad. You can also try the compound on a soft or medium pad. Then follow with polish. then wax.

Speed shine is a quick detailer. Clay simply removes contaminants.

The clear coats back in the 80s weren't amazing so just work up from mild to more aggressive and go slow, don't rush, and you'll be fine.

If you are using an orbital polisher with good foam pads, it's really really hard to burn paint. A rotary with wool is another issue!

theiceman

i think it was a lacquer clear back in the day ..

911SCRVA

Thanks, Spyrex. I'm actually not loyal to Meguiar's (or any other product). It was more the concept of whether a compound was the right thing to use. I should have broadened my question out to say: "I have swirls and light scratches, what's the best approach?" Is this the generally accepted approach: Wash>Decontaminate>Polish>Wax? After decontaminating, I was planning to use Griot's G9 orbital polisher with their orange foam correcting pads and their one-step sealant. But I don't know if that's the best approach.

Speedster911

I am OCD with my three step process= Not sure that is what the pros would do but I am happy with the final results. Not pushing Griots products , I think everyone eventually finds a manufacturer they are happy with. If you go to the Griots website, they have videos on the usage of each of their products that may provide you some guidance and techniques. Good luck and post photos of your car when completed.

PCA just had a techtactics session on detailing cars, many products discussed{

r911

somewhere, floating around on the internet is a color graphic showing the abrasiveness of the 3 or 4 dozens of Meguiar's products

you might want to just call them

and beware - "compound" means different things in different brands

TheTorch

per @r911 this is kind of overkill, but informative:

https://www.autopia.org/Todd-Helme/polish-chart.jpg

911SCRVA

Thank you!