Car Polish And Wax Part 2 - Car Polish And Wax Part 1 - Different Between And Polish
How can I remove fresh stains, water spots, and smears on my car’s finish?
The best way to get rid of fresh stains, water spots and smears is to remove them as quickly as possible, before they have a chance to bake into the paint or cause permanent damage.
This is why Meguiar’s recommends keeping Meguiar’s Quik Detailer® or Ulimate Quik Detailer® or Final Inspection and a microfiber polishing cloth like Meguiar’s Supreme Shine Microfiber in the trunk or the back of your car, truck or S.U.V. Having immediate access to the right tools to remove fresh bird droppings and other unwanted contaminants at a moments notice can make the difference between an unsightly permanent stain or a show car shine.
If you have stubborn stains, spots or smears that a quick detailer will not remove, your next best bet is to wash your car and then use one of Meguiar’s paint cleaners like ScratchX or Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner to safely clean the surface and remove the offending contaminants.
Does Meguiar’s make a product that will fill-in and hide swirls and fine scratches in my car’s paint?
Yes. However, Meguiar’s has historically been known for creating the type of products that remove swirls and scratches, not merely fill them in. Most Meguiar’s waxes, paint protectants, spray waxes and pure polishes can be used to successfully fill in and hide fine scratches and swirls. However, the effect is only temporary and the scratches will reappear as the polish or wax wears off.
The best way to remove even fine scratches and swirls is to use a Meguiar’s paint cleaner like ScratchX or Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner to actually level the finish and thus remove the scratch.
Two products specifically formulated to bring ease and effectiveness to eliminating those difficult to remove swirls, holograms and cobweb scratches are:
* NXT GenerationTM Tech Wax 2.0 - NXT is unique among synthetic waxes on the market in that it actually accomplishes what others claim their product will do, but in reality don’t even come close. One or two thin coats of NXT Tech Wax will eliminate a majority of fine swirls and cobweb scratches. The results are finishes that have a deep, wet-look shine. NOTE: For severe swirls, we recommend pre-cleaning the surface with a Meguiar’s paint cleaner.
* NXT GenerationTM Spray Wax specially formulated to build on the results created by NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0. NXT Spray Wax will boost the look and feel of your finish to give it that just waxed appearance. You will be so impressed at how well it works that after you have tried this combination you will never use anything else!
The trade secret oils used in all Meguiar’s polishes are very important not only for enhancing gloss, depth and overall beauty, but also for maintaining the longevity of your paint by replenishing the resins that all paints are made with but which breakdown and deteriorate over time through a number of different methods:
* Lost over time as a normal function of breaking down (Law of Entropy)
* Leached out through frequent exposure to inclement weather and washing with detergent soaps
* Baked and evaporated out when exposed to extended direct sunlight and high temperatures
* Leached out when repeatedly exposed to harsh solvents used in poor quality car care products
* Abraded, scratched and scoured by mechanical abrasives that do not breakdown
Meguiar’s pure polishes will dramatically help to reduce the optical refraction that makes scratches so much more noticeable in today’s modern clear coats. Meguiar’s pure polishes include:
* Deep Crystal System, Step-2 Polish, (A2116)
* Show Car Glaze, (M0716)
Of these two, Show Car Glaze is extremely popular for traditional non-clear coat paints such as lacquers and enamels, while Deep Crystal Step-2 Polish is a popular and easy to use pure polish for modern clear coats.
Does Meguiar’s make a product that will fill-in and hide deep scratches in my car’s paint?
No. Deep scratches cannot be filled in and in some cases cannot be removed. If you drag your fingernail over a scratch and it gets caught, or slides into the scratch, then this scratch is to deep to hide and probably too deep to completely remove.
Meguiar’s believes the best way to approach surface defects like scratches is to remove them, not fill them in. In the case of deeper scratches - for example someone keys your car while it’s parked in a parking lot - then sometimes you are better off improving the scratch, not attempting to completely remove the scratch.
Removing a deep scratch could mean causing more harm than good if you go through the clear and expose the base coat, or in the case of a single-stage paint, exposing the primer under the color coat, which can then only be repaired by repainting the affected area.
For scratches like these you can often use a Meguiar’s paint cleaner to improve the scratch in such a way that is difficult to see unless you know exactly where to look. Often times this is more acceptable than paying to have the panel or section of your vehicle repainted.
How soon can I wax my new car?
A new car with a factory paint job can be waxed the moment it is rolled out of the manufacturing plant. Cars that have factory paint jobs are cured at much higher temperatures, sometimes as high as 300 degrees in special baking ovens. At a factory level, the car goes through the painting and baking process without any of the rubber, plastic, and cloth components installed. This is why they can expose the car and it’s fresh paint to such high temperatures. These high temperatures and special paints used at the factory level insures the paint is fully cured by the time the car is completely assembled.
After-market paint finishes however, are cured at a much lower temperature to ensure the method of baking or heating the paint doesn’t melt non-metal components such as wiring and vinyl. For this reason, it’s best to follow the specific paint manufactures recommendations for care and maintenance of fresh paint. Most paint manufactures that supply paint to the refinish industry recommend that you allow anywhere from 30 to 90 days curing time after the paint is applied before you apply the first application of wax.
To maintain your cars fresh paint during the recommended curing time you can safely use any of the below Meguiar’s pure polishes, which are not only safe for fresh paint but help to enhance the curing process while making your paint look it’s absolute best.
M-03 Machine Glaze
M-05 New Car Glaze
M-07 Show Car Glaze
M-81 Hand Polish
A-21 Deep Crystal Polish
Another product you can use to maintain fresh paint throughout the curing process and even afterwards is Meguiar’s M-80 Speed Glaze. Speed Glaze is a cleaner/polish that also contains a unique paintable polymer that will extend the durability of the product while offering protection to the finish closer to that of a real wax or paint protectant. Speed Glaze contains a high level of pure polishing oils and only a small amount of very fine diminishing abrasives for cleaning/removing surface imperfections, blemishes, and surface stain.
The amount of diminishing abrasives contained in this product are not enough to scratch the surface when applied by hand or machine. They will instead ensure that the surface is completely clean, enabling the rich polishing oils to penetrate into the surface creating deep, dark, wet-looking gloss while the paintable polymers provide a small but important level of protection to preserve your finish from attack and deterioration while it cures.
How do I remove the rough feeling from my paint?
Many environmental contaminants adhere to your paint so strongly, that even a high-quality car wash cannot remove them. Some may be visible to your eye. Others you’ll detect when you pass your hand across the finish after washing and notice it doesn’t feel as smooth as glass.
All of these contaminants can reduce your shine and ultimately do permanent damage to your paint. A safe, non-abrasive clay bar and high lubricity quick detailer like those found in Meguiar’s Smooth Surface™ Clay Kit. Removing above surface contaminants and restoring a smooth surface to your paint finish is easily accomplished with Meguiar’s® Smooth Surface Clay Kit. (Never use sharp, abrasive rubbing and polishing compounds that will scratch your car’s finish.)
How can I remove below surface defects like chemical etching, swirls, and scratches?
Chances are good that if your car’s finish needs to be clayed (the removal of above surface bonded contaminants), then it also needs a thorough paint cleaning. Paint cleaning, using a paint cleaner (not to be confused with the washing procedure and a car wash solution) is where you clean and remove below surface defects such as pore-imbedding stains, oxidation, scratches and swirls, road grime and other unsightly blemishes. By cleaning the paint after claying the paint, you will restore the optical clarity of a clear coat finish so that the underlying color coat can shine through. In the case of a non-clear coat finish, a good cleaning will bring out the full color spectrum and richness of the color coat.
Meguiar’s Paint Cleaners that are safe for use by hand on clear coat paints include:
* Deep Crystal System Paint Cleaner
* ScratchX
* M-09 Swirl Remover 2.0
