Got a chance today to do a little cleaning after my truck had some nasty dirt and salt on it for a good 6 months

Anyway, it was a quick wash. I didn't have the time to do a full detail. This is the result of about 2 1/2 hours work here. Most of that was cleaning up the bumpers and the exhaust tips with some mag polish. You can't really see from this pic, but the paint does need some attention especially on the hood. Next week I'll probably go get some clay since I can't find my bar from last year. After some claying and a bit of polish I hope it'll look even better. The week after that will probably be the interior. Anyway, here's a pic of today's work.

 

Nice job. Winters do suck.

 

Thanks. Question for the experts here. When I get into doing some scratch/etching removal, is there any way to get decent results using something like this:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...keyword=buffer

This is what I currently have to work with. I know it's not ideal, but I don't really have the cash to spend on a PC right now, so is there some kind of product I can use with that to get the results I'm looking for? I'm not looking for show car finish, but I do have some swirls and lots of etching especially on the hood. The etching looks even worse now due to wax from previous wax jobs getting in there and drying white.

 

No. That's only good for applying wax or a glaze.

 

that's about what i thought. it does work pretty well for just doing a wax job. so the only way to get rid of swirls and other marks of that nature is to use a DA polisher?

 

nice clean looking truck

 

You can do it by hand. By hand has it's limits but it is possible. you'll hate yourself the next day but in the end it's worth it if you don't want to spend the money on a PC and pads. If you want to attempt it by hand, pick up some Meg's SwirlX, ScratchX2.0 (make sure it's 2.0) or some Ultimate Compound and some good quality terry cloth towels (new, for use only on your paint). What product of the three I listed will depend on how bad your swirls are. I listed them in order of least to most aggressive. You'll want to use the least aggresivem ethod that gets the job done. You probably have seen microfiber mentioned before but for polishing by hand, terry cloth is the way to go. It has a bit more cut which will save you time and some of your arm, but not much of either.

 

believe me if i had the money i'd buy a PC tomorrow lol. but i'm in college and just barely can afford to get by with the 2 jobs i work, so i'll just do it by hand. a little hard work never hurt anybody anyway

i'll pick up some swirlx and scratchx 2.0 when i get the chance. i'll start with the swirlx as you said which should work pretty well everywhere except the hood. i might have to use the scratchx there. i have a ton of microfiber cloths, but i'll get some terry cloths as well for this.

 

You can try the MFs first if you want. It won't hurt anything. If it works it might save you a few bucks.

FYI, a little hard work is probably going to hurt you. Haha. If it was me, I'd probably break it down in to sections and do them over different days, maybe even weekends. I'm not a do-it-by-hand kind of guy. Haha.

 

good point, i'll probably tackle the hood first since its the worst. then i'll do a section a day. like a fender one day, and a door the next, etc. haha

 

That's what is called working smarter not harder.
I have a DA and I still do sections at a time.

 

Products can cut better/quicker with terry towels from what i understand. It's alottt of work though my new rotatory will be here monday!