[patrol28]

Hey guys, my car is in a desperate need of a polish (haven't done it since I bought it over 2 yrs ago), so wondering whats a good polish to use? I have the odd bit of bush pinstriping will a polish get rid of that, or am I dreaming? And whats a good technique to use?

Looking for all opinions, so don't hesitate. :cheers:

 

[GASSED GU]

autosoul does a good cut and polish.that tends to get it out of mine.or spend the money and get it done properly

 

[fnqcairns]

Will not touch the paint marks up much but I still use nufinish, I am lazy it goes on easy and after 3 applications evenly spaced over 9 months only need to do it again every 6 months to keep a water bead if kept outdoors indoors a year easy.

Is there anything else on the market that can also do this yet?

 

[EagleBay]

On my old D22 navara, I used a meguires medium cut compound with a makkita rotary polishing machine and an orange buffing pad to remove every scratch you see here, paint was like brand new. If you have a dark paint, you may need to finish with a swirl remover and a black buffing pad.

This pic was taken after a good wash which can hide some scratches for a few mins, I honestly thought I was going to require a respray.

Trick is to keep the polish moist, have a spray bottle with water in and apply every minute or so, but not too wet or it will fling everywhere making it a ***** to clean up

 

[GanG]

I use kitten number 1 in a cream polish..........yeah takes some elbow grease, but it stays on well, and I find a good coat of polish reduces the bush pin stripes as the sticks slide past rather than drag the paint.

I like to give mine 2 or 3 coats early on and then about every 6 -9 months another one.

The other thing to note is while commercial car washes are great..............they will strip the polish off your paint with the presoakers and chemicals they use, if you are going to put the effort into polishing it, you are wasting your time if you then use the car washes to clean it.

 

[patrol28]

Ended up getting some Auto Glym polish, knew a panel beater ages ago that used to swear by it and u never used to be able to get it from the shops, but now they have it at Autobarn so i'll give it a go and see what its like.

I got some 'applicator pads' to apply it with so anyone else got some techniques I should use?

 

[Slackrabbit]

Excellent choice with the Autoglymm. A bit more expensive but well worth the money. Any of the T-Cut products are also very good if you have something older or really want a deep cut before the shiny stuff.

I use an electric buff i got for $30 from super cheap and hasnt let me down. Let the machine do the work but remember to apply a nice even amount on the pad first then dab it on the panel with the pad.

Dont force the machine in any way or you can end up burning through your paintwork.

This may sound like suck eggs but never polish a hot panel ie one that has been sitting in the sun, always make sure the heat has gone and polish in the shade and only do one panel area at a time.

 

[4.2BeautUte]

I normally just use cheap turtle wax on the patrol. It seems to shine it up ok. I use auto sol on the chrome on the bike when it needs a good one over.

Funny thing is...the best stuff does the bike isa all purpose mr sheen! A fellow rider put me onto it and it's amazing! Paint, plastic, chrome, you name it! It's cheap as, super easy and fast to apply and shines up as well as any other car polish I've ever used. It also cleans bugs off the chrome awesomely!

 

[patrol28]

Excellent choice with the Autoglymm. A bit more expensive but well worth the money. Any of the T-Cut products are also very good if you have something older or really want a deep cut before the shiny stuff.

I use an electric buff i got for $30 from super cheap and hasnt let me down. Let the machine do the work but remember to apply a nice even amount on the pad first then dab it on the panel with the pad.

Dont force the machine in any way or you can end up burning through your paintwork.

This may sound like suck eggs but never polish a hot panel ie one that has been sitting in the sun, always make sure the heat has gone and polish in the shade and only do one panel area at a time.

The applicator pads I got were just small hand ones as I was planning on just doing it by hand, do you think this is a bad idea? Should I get one of those buffing machines?

 

[bamr33]

I use meguiars diamond cut compound and use an elcheapo buffer on my patrol when its got a bad case of pin striping. Works awesome wish i'd taken some before an after pics. It's a micro abrasive (very light cut) and doesn't damage clear coat, something you've got watch with all cut type polishes you use. You've still got to use a wax type polish after this to give the paint work a protective layer.

Welcome to Meguiar's Australia, the Leader in Car Car products

 

[dGQ]

Only ever used Meguiar's on my cars - do it all by hand (keep sweat off!). Spent yesterday polishing the old girl and then "autosol'd" the alloy... Ted Bullpit would be proud!

 

[jaxt]

I've heard these products are the beez neez
Final Inspection Car Care Products

but I've always used mequiars polish once a month and the quick detailer once in between waxes.
if being pov for the week I buy the turtle wax polish. turned out well...

however if you want a wax that doesnt' require too much elbow try the surf city garage wax range

pics (albeit crappy)

 

[silversurfer111]

Nice 32 GTR ya have there, get some volk bronce TE37's on her and then some Bronze TE37X's for the Patrol

OP : Meguiars and Autoglym are both good, remember though to Polish the Wax as they are two very different cycles. Polish to create gloss and Wax to keep it

You are right to keep your paint right no matter what the vehicle is, dirt especially if left in around wheel arches etc create rust and rot eventually so if you want the body to last as long as the engine will always give it a serious wash then polish an wax.

When this came into me it faded to pink and was nearly white, lady thought she would give it ago before going to get resprayed. Everything looks great shinning.

Washed 2 bucket, 2 sponge
De-Tarred
2500 wet and dry sanded
Autoglym 04b
Autoglym 03b
Autoglym 02b
Autoglym 01b
Dodo juice Hard Candy

I'm twisted i know, but i am seriously in to detailing and cleaning

Hope it turned out well for you, post some pics of your shiney GU next time you do it

 

[patrol28]

I haven't actually done it yet, cause we are going to cruiser park on the weekend so probably only gonna get a heap more scratches, last time I was there I scraped one of the rear quarters along side a tree so hopefully don't do that again.

 

[mrcrazydude]

Hey Silver Surfer, you seem to get turned on by this stuff so I'll direct the question to you, but other response welcome.

What do you use on the plastic trim etc (door pieces/flares etc) mine are really faded, & the tyre guy put stuff on the tyres (which I normally hate, but this has come up ok!)
Looked like shoe polish (they just left it on as if smeared with a brush/rag) & in a day or so had cleaned up & the tyres almost look new!
Where it's splattered on the plastic a little, the plastic has gone back to black, & made me realise how crap the rest of it looks lol!!

Cheers guys!

 

[silversurfer111]

Product

Hey Silver Surfer, you seem to get turned on by this stuff so I'll direct the question to you!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha, yeah i'm kinda into my detailing and stuff. I have been valeting for years and always looking for that completely scratch and mark free paint finish. I use Autoglym Rubber Cleaner Plus 5 for all my plastics, tires etc.

Be very careful you don't put it on your pedal rubbers (i know people who have) and also no where near you rubber car mats (if you have them fitted) as it is extremely slippy. Use a microfibre cloth and really rub it into the trims, do it twice and repeat after one week. Eventually you will find the finish lasting longer and your having to do it less.

Hope this helps,

P.S : Clay bars are great for the likes of the rubber wheel arches then finish with Autoglym Rubber Cleaner.

 

[USTUCK2]

i only use the autoglym range for a polish, but if need to get scratches out i use meguiers scratch x

 

[jimbo_1984]

I am in the valeting game over here for the last 5 years and have tried every differant product imaginable. The best thing I have used on crome so far is 3G compound folowed by a good wax, For the paint work on any car there are a few differant types of wax avable here anyway I don't know about over there but I only use concept trade perfect II but only comes in 5ltr cans. I hate the auto glym range takes far 2 much effort and is full of silacone which is a pet hate of mine aswell ask any spray painter how much they love silacone and you will know what I mean. The only silacone based product I have ever liked was turtle wax plus tefalon brillant finish fron that. If you wan't to get rid of light scratches just read the label and see if there is any cutting agent in the wax that will make it as easy as possable to gake them out. When using any wax it useualy helps to make sure that car 4x4 ect is very dry first as water around rubbers ect will only drive u mad when it comes to taking the wax off again. When applying the wax using a damp rag or app pad will make it a little easier to apply plus make the wax go further. On the black trim outside I like 2 give them a very good wash make sure there is no dirt on them than use a product called vista again concept, this a laquer and will stay on much longer than any gel ect plus comes up black again after a wash. When washung any car, 4x4 wash it at home rather than a brush wash, use the hottest water you can put your hand into and a good car wash shampoo or if u plan to wax it after a TFR would be better as it gets deeper into scratches ect and will make the end job alot better. Tyres I use tyre paint however alot of the int plastic products will be fine. I have yet to find anything that will last any period of time realy also depends on the look you wan't when they are done. A good trick for rubber mats and peddles I have found is wash them with the chemical you have used to wash the car with than apply a non slip floor polish you would easly find in a local super market. Windows I use a glass polish very easy to use get no streeks ect and never miss a spot with it. If they are very bad clean them before polishing them with water and vinager salution and newspaper than polish the windows with glass polish. Please note it is a glass polish not wax ect. Auto glym do an ok glass polish that alot of people I know use both in the house and on there cars.

Hope this has helped a few people out there. If you have any questions send me a pm I will help u in any way I can.

Regards
John.

 

[dbsep]

I use 3m products But I have never found anything that can really take away water marks. Maybe I need a water softner thing in the water lines. Got any advice Jimbo1984. I now have to wash it at night and then dry it down in garage this seams to reduce the water marks.

 

[Squalo]

Mine got the first handwash I've ever given it today Usually it just gets a hit with the pressure washer... nothing like a handwash to make you realise how much attention the paint really needs.

Lots of good tips here, am going to get into it again Saturday morning - got plenty of bush pinstriping to clean up, am going to also need to put some white paint on a few places on the flares and claybar it back.