dull finish on white 99 Corolla - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

TK1975 · 11-14-2009, 10:17 PM

I don't know how long ago the car was waxed. I washed it and clayed it. The finish is dull on the hood, roof, and trunk. Is paste wax and elbow grease the best way to wax a dull finish ? I used some Meguiar's NXT Gen tech wax that I had left over and there is some streaking on the section that I did. Any suggestions for restoring shine. I don't have a buffer.

Thanks

eyezack87 · 11-14-2009, 11:46 PM

Um, the only way to get rid of oxidation is to polish it. You're more than welcome to do it by hand but I sure hope you're ready to bulk up as a result of it lol. Meguiars M105/Ultimate Compound work great by hand

searle · 11-15-2009, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TK1975

I don't know how long ago the car was waxed. I washed it and clayed it. The finish is dull on the hood, roof, and trunk. Is paste wax and elbow grease the best way to wax a dull finish ?

Wax (natural, typically with carnuba) or Sealants (synthetic, typically with polymers) only protect the finish, they dont really enhance it. Washing removed dirt sitting on top of the surface, and claying removed contaminants bonded to the surface, but you probably needed to also use a "paint cleaner" to clean contaminants right in the paint surface - especially if the paint has been neglected for several years. Sadly, if your paint has lots of swirls other issues, you may need a more agressive "swirl remover" and dual orbiter unit to work them out (and if that is not sufficient, you probably need a knowledgeable detailer).

Then, to maximize the finish "depth" you should use a glaze/polish (oils), although this has less effect on white cars than black or red cars. The polish/glaze gives the car a "deep wet look"

but have ZERO protection.

So, the final step is to protect with a wax or sealant.

Note that you can get cleaners that also have polish, and/or wax products with polish, and then you only have 2 steps (cleaner+polish then wax, or cleaner then wax+polish).

All the above typically only needs to be done in spring and fall, and most of the year you can just wash and wax.

eyezack87 · 11-15-2009, 05:16 PM

Polish and glaze aren't the same thing though...and if you get an effective polish, it wont leave oils behind....

Heres a before and after for the OP. This was polished with a buffer with no glaze or left over oils. Its a 94 Dodge Caravan that I did...

PS, if your finish is as bad as that, I feel sorry for you. It'll take quite a while by hand to get it back to perfection. Afterall, you are removing the oxidized (dead) paint on top and revealing the clear underneath it by hand...

searle · 11-15-2009, 08:42 PM

Unfortunately, different manufactures use different terms. if by polish you just mean a cleaner, that is what some manufacturers mean, while others used the term polish to refer to a wax, and some use it to refer to glazes. Hence best to avoid the term polish altogether. I would say the Cleaner is just that, while a Glaze puts some oil and conditioners back into the paints, and a Wax or Sealant is for protection.

As I said in the earlier post, glaze/oils can sometimes be part of a cleaner (Meguiars does this in some cleaners) and similarly glaze/oils can sometimes be part of a sealant (Mothers does that) or wax (Meguiars also does that in some protectants).

Does not change the basics. cleaners clean the paint and can be used to remove swirls (depending on agressiveness). glazes add that wet-look depth, and wax or sealants provide protection. And, glazes can often be included in cleaners and/or waxes to reduce that extra middle step.

Getting back to the original question, wax will help neglected paint, and glaze+wax will help a little more, but a really good finish needs really good preparation, and that means a good cleaner (for neglected paint). Wash+Clay is not enough,

dktaco · 11-15-2009, 08:57 PM

Polish and glaze are separate things. And you will need a dual action polisher to remover oxidation or heavy swirl marking. Probably a stage 4 polish or a compound then followed by a medium polish. After top with a glaze/sealant and your favorite wax. Read here for more info!

eyezack87 · 11-16-2009, 05:27 PM

*sigh* there should be a standardization in the terms. From what I've read so far, only Megs confuses the crap out of people. Everyone else distinguishes them properly

dktaco · 11-16-2009, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eyezack87

*sigh* there should be a standardization in the terms. From what I've read so far, only Megs confuses the crap out of people. Everyone else distinguishes them properly

If you know the difference you have nothing to worry about...

eyezack87 · 11-16-2009, 06:04 PM

Oh, I'm not worrying about me. I'm more worried about the newcomers to the detailing world haha. Its as confusing as confusing gets when the terms are so generally described

searle · 11-17-2009, 09:27 AM

Yup, Meguiars seems to be the main (?only?) one who absolutely uses the term "pure polish" when talking about glazes (oils to give the paint a deep wet look and hide swirls, with zero cleaning compounds).

Many (?most?) people and companys seem to use the term polish to mean slightly abrasive cleaning action to remove swirls.

Unfortunately, most end consumers use the term polish to mean wax & shine.

Hence my earlier comment that it is best to simply not use the term "polish" at all, and use "cleaner" and "glaze" and "Wax" or "Sealant".

Some folks are bound-and-determined to try to force the whole world to adopt their particular terminology, but that just adds more confusion to end-consumers.

So, back to the original post question, just applying a WAX to neglected paint is a start, but a poor start. However if that "wax" is one of the combination products with cleaner+glaze+Wax/sealant then it will have much better results - but most consumers simply dont know what their "wax" product really is. Hence, for really good results, a good cleaner first and then a good glaze+wax will give great results - and you know specifically what your are getting.

And, sadly, if your paint is really neglected, then even a hand applied paint-cleaner or dual-orbiter applied oxidation/swirl-remover may not be enough, and you may need more agressive (more abrassive) cleaning done by a skilled professional detailer - - if you really need that level of near perfect restoration. Most folks will be very happy with a good wash+clay+cleaner+glaze/wax.