Clay or Polishing compound - poor pics attached

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guy1138

New member
Background: Wife's white (yay!) 1997 T-bird. This car has been in Hawaii for 2 years now, and I don't think it's been waxed in all that time. Hasn't been washed much either. I got the bug to rehab this car b/c the wife has been out of town for awhile, so I have to look at this dirty car everyday. Anyway, I broke out some Meguiars cleaner wax to rub out some scuffs from a parking lot bump a couple of months ago, and it worked so good, I thought I would try to rehab the whole thing.



I started with Meguiars gold wash and a sponge. It got some of the grime off but the red pineapple dirt was still on there like glue. So tried using a bug sponge the passenger rear quarter panel. I followed it up with a coat of the Meg. cleaner wax. Here's how it looked.





Actually, it's not too shabby, I can live with that, and plan on using the NXT wax when I finish the whole car.



The next night I used some TW polishing compound (green label mild stuff, not the red beastly stuff) on the hazed plastic headlights then coated them with wax too, then I went to Florida for a week.



I came back tonight and resumed my bug sponge routine, but I broke out the polishing compound for some hard to get spots, scratches on the door handle, and the entire lower rocker panel/body cladding. It was just too tough. Now, I know the paint is softer on the plastic cladding, but am I really risking anything serious here? Should I be using a clay bar instead? More pics of the condition of the car below. Sorry they're crappy, but I really only have time to do this stuff in the evening.







Any further advice would be greatly appreciated. Can I use this polishing compound on the water etching on the glass? The TW website says I can, but I want your guys' opinion.



I'm thinking of entering this car in the July detail contest, but unfortunately I don't think it will win due to the fact that my skills are weak, and the before shots of the car taken at night don't do justice to how bad this car actually is.
 
No, that side shot does justice! I think it just depends on how much time/money you want to spend. If you want to clay first--all that pineapple crap on there will kill your clay bar--so if you're ok with tossing it after, do that first, then go back over with the polish to finish. If not, just keep going with what you've been doing.
 
Thanks for the vote of confidence Mike. So which is typically more abrasive, the polish or the clay bar? If I finish the whole car using the polish should I follow it with a claybar, or would that be a step backward?



Is anybody else other than Bill having trouble with the photos?
 
I see the pix OK.



Most clays won't abrade paint because the lubricant used creates a "fluid bearing" effect. They just abrade anything sticking up above the fluid film.



Depending on the particular polish you're using it may be anywhere from barely abrasive to very abrasive.



Clay first to remove crud that's stuck on the paint. Then polish to smooth out the defects in the paint's surface.





PC.
 
The conventional wisdom is that the clay will remove stuck-on stuff while removing less paint than if you polished. Meguiar's likes to use the terms, I think they are "above-surface" and "below-surface" contaminants. So something stuck ON the paint is "above-surface" and something stuck IN the pores is "below-surface". So you use the clay on the above, then a polish for the below. As I said earlier, the only reason some people would use the clay second would be to keep from ruining the clay prematurely...of course others throw the clay away after use anyway.
 
I came back tonight and resumed my bug sponge routine, but I broke out the polishing compound for some hard to get spots, scratches on the door handle, and the entire lower rocker panel/body cladding. It was just too tough. Now, I know the paint is softer on the plastic cladding, but am I really risking anything serious here? Should I be using a clay bar instead? More pics of the condition of the car below. Sorry they're crappy, but I really only have time to do this stuff in the evening.
Click to expand...



Just to clarify, a clay bar won't do anything to fix the scratches. Maybe try the rubbing compound first (to take care of all the itty-gritty work), followed by a clay bar, and finally the cleaner/wax. Clay kits are fairly expensive, but using the compound first might extend the life of the clay.
 
Thanks for all the info. The car really isn't scratched very much, so maybe this polish is over-kill. I am keeping it lubed with soapy water as I polish though, so I hope that will reduce the "scuffing" of the clear
 
guy1138 said:
Thanks for all the info. The car really isn't scratched very much, so maybe this polish is over-kill. I am keeping it lubed with soapy water as I polish though, so I hope that will reduce the "scuffing" of the clear
Click to expand...



You mean "clay," right? Personally, I prefer using a quick detailer as a lubricant. It's only slightly more expensive, but a lot less messy.
 
oversteer said:
You mean "clay," right?
Click to expand...



No, I mean polish. I'm using TW polishing compound. The directions say to use a well dampened cloth, so I'm keeping the cloth wet with soapy water, while ensuring the area that I'm working on is also wet.
 
TW polishing compound :nervous2:. That might be ok on white, but honestly, I think that you'd do well switching to something better. Meg's #80. You'll put the same effort in, but the results will be nicer.
 
I'll check and see if the local auto places have it. I'm in Hawaii, so I'm not too thrilled about mail order :-(
 
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