Best wax or polish

[marosmith]

I use mcguires polish on my ocean blue metallic boxster but still some sun-spots/ rain spots left afterward.

What type of wax/polish and method of is recommended for these cars with a darker metallic color?

[ChrisJP]

Best info about detailing in Autopia.org:
http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/

[WhipE350]

Maro, I could go on for a LONG time about this. I brought my car from a no ding so so finish to just amazing...lots of learning and re-learning.

Ocean blue metallic should be about the same as my Guards Red to bring out the best.

It sounds like you might have to go to a say Medium-Cut compound or as Meguiar's calls it 'cleaner' or you could start with their Fine-Cut if you want to start of less abrasive. You'll need a random-orbital and foam pads. Now trust me when you use a Medium-Cut it will scare you pretty good, the car will total white/haze but moving to a Meguiar's Ultimate Compound or 3M Rubbing Compound and THEN your Mequiar's Ultimate 'Polish' will bring out the true beauty of your car. I've gotten so good at this it's almost like giving away trade secrets. I final switched from a cheapo 12 inch orbital to a Griots 6 and 3 inch orbital and am loving life. With all the steps above I talk about I still had high sun/noon sun cobwebs (like every car I have seen at Porsche events). I wanted to do better. Using the following method I was able to remove those cobwebs and expect to be one of only a few at the car show I'm going to that is web free. Now it is possible just using the Griots orbital with there orange pads is what did the trick...it is a real try and retry experience to become an expert. Anyway the final step I did that made the paint perfect at noon sun was an orange pad with Zaino PC Fusion, then Mequiar's ultimate polish, then Zaino Z-2 Pro applied by hand.
When I first got my car there were many (10 years of cotton towels) micro scratches that on my first attempts were just rounded off and the car looked great, but up close they were still there. It took the Med-Cut to get rid of them.
The Zaino Z-2 Pro is really amazing, ya other stuff will make the car look better then 99% of all cars...Z-2 will take it higher...I'm a believer.
Here is a pic of my car with Z-2 BEFORE I got rid of noon-sun cobwebs. If you want any more details let me know or PM me.

[marosmith]

Thanks. I have always waxed by hand and I normally use the round thing that comes with the round of wax- will that work with your recommendations.

[Dale_K]

I have the Ocean Blue and got good results with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound. I used a genuine high speed buffer. It really put the life back in the paint. Worked fabulous the first time I did it.

BE CAREFUL! Eventually I attempted to fix some stone chips on the hood and I used the high speed buffer again. From sad personal experience I can tell you it's 100% possible to burn through the clear coat (and the color coat too) if you go crazy with an aggessive wool pad. If you see color on your pad, STOP.

My car after the first buffing with Ultimate Compound.

[WhipE350]

Originally Posted by marosmith

Thanks. I have always waxed by hand and I normally use the round thing that comes with the round of wax- will that work with your recommendations.

Not if you want results like Dale's and mine. Some manufactures will say you can but I've never seen it. Ya Dale had guts to use a high speed buffer. With today's quality random orbitals and the improvement of compounds to break down under less heat you don't need to chance it with high speed.

I would agree with Dale and just start with the basic compound like Mequiar's or 3m, if it isn't good enough for you then you'll need to go to more 'cut'. You don't have to have a high priced orbital like I just got, remember I did the car the first time with 20year old cheapo 12 inch. I got the foam pads to fit it at Auto-Zone. I would avoid wool pads, with the slower speed orbitals the compounds don't break down well and it will leave a lot of what I call 'eyelash' micro scratches on paint.

Too bad you don't live near Charlotte i would give you the older orbital I have and the pads, I have the new one so don't need it

[marosmith]

Ok I will get the foam pad attachment for my drill and maguiars ultimate compound and I will try to post my results.

Thanks guys for the results.

[WhipE350]

Be careful with the speed of the drill, you don't need anything more then 1200 rpm per a minute

[KevinH1990]

I use Black Magic liquid wax with a Porter Cable random orbital buffer.

The results are probably not quite as good as those you can obtain with a 2 or 3 step process, but the return on the time invested is high. I find that if I spend about 3 hours every 2 or 3 months using Black Magic and then wash the car regularly that it looks better than 95% of the cars I see on the road.

I use my car to commute, so it gets dirty and I don't have a lot of time to detail it. I think you need to pick a method that fits with your lifestyle. That said, dedicated detailers like WhipE350 and Dale can achieve amazing results and are a great resource for information on techniques and equipment.

[bklyn]

I use Rejex Polish, no buffing. The only trick is after you are done the car needs to be out of the weather (garage) for 24 hours for the polish to cure. Check it out online!

[teamwenz]

I am a big fan of the Griots products. Their random orbital,machine polish and best in show wax. The results are amazing. I use their speed shine in between bi annual polish wax sessions. You will get 90% of the swirls out and I have a black car that shows every little flaw. Their products work and I am no professional by any means and I can achieve great results. Even if you don't buy their products the videos are a great place to start and learn.

[marosmith]

I ended up getting a cheap orbital and Meguiars ultimate compound, ultimate polish, and carnauba wax.

I started with the compound and to be honest probably went over it 4 times and still there are some spots. I think the car was washed regularly but never really waxed.

Well, I followed the compound with the carnauba wax. It looks great from a distance- but if you get real close you can find some spots especially on the hood.

I'll take some pics when the sun comes out.

[WhipE350]

I have to agree with kevin. My other car is a 2009 E350 MB that I commute daily in. I've never touched it with the buffer, I just take really good care of it all year long and it rocks, the finish is like a mirror after each wash.

Maro, sounds like you are learning the way I did. If you really want to now get rid of the spots you'll have to make the scary jump to a cutting compound. I did exactly what you did and even used same products and it looked better then 95% of cars but since my Boxster is a project car I wanted more. I got some med-cut and took the dive, the car will look awful afterwords but now that you have practice you'll be able to bring it back with the compound then polish. If you can use foam pads with the compound and polish it would be best. For the med-cut you can use just terry if you want.

One you get it looking nice it will be as easy a weekly wash to keep it beautiful.

Good luck!

[marosmith]

Originally Posted by WhipE350

I have to agree with kevin. My other car is a 2009 E350 MB that I commute daily in. I've never touched it with the buffer, I just take really good care of it all year long and it rocks, the finish is like a mirror after each wash.

Maro, sounds like you are learning the way I did. If you really want to now get rid of the spots you'll have to make the scary jump to a cutting compound. I did exactly what you did and even used same products and it looked better then 95% of cars but since my Boxster is a project car I wanted more. I got some med-cut and took the dive, the car will look awful afterwords but now that you have practice you'll be able to bring it back with the compound then polish. If you can use foam pads with the compound and polish it would be best. For the med-cut you can use just terry if you want.

One you get it looking nice it will be as easy a weekly wash to keep it beautiful.

Good luck!

Once the polish set in after a few hours and I saw it in the sun it appeared that the spots had more or less gone away. It's looking pretty good now and I think I may be happy- maybe.