Red Factor
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At-Home Paint Restoration
These pictures were taken on April 12, 2003
I can guess that everybody agrees that they want a new paintjob. I didn't need a new paintjob but really would like to have a nice, deep, shiny, red car. I didn't have $1,000-2,000 to spend on a new coat of paint. I decided that I wouldn't have a new paintjob anytime soon, so I just continued to wash my car normally to make it look like it had a good coat of paint.
The car sits in the sun everyday because I don't have a garage or carport to cover it. After the water would dry from washing it, there would be dull spots on the car caused from sun damage. I decided to give it a couple coats of wax to see what I could do. I headed up to the local auto shop to purchase application pads for the wax and I ran across a few bottles of cleaner I never have seen before. They were the Meguiar's Deep Crystal System waxes. I began to think and decided to see what I could do with on-the-shelf products. I was determined to get my deep red color back.
I spent about $30-40 on car wash and waxes and took them home to begin my major car detailing. Here is a list of the products I purchased:
Goo Gone Remover
Gunk Bug & Tar Remover
Meguiar's Deep Crystal Car Wash
Meguiar's Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner (1st Step)
Meguiar's Deep Crystal Polish (2nd Step)
Meguiar's Deep Crystal Carnauba Wax (3rd Step)
Armor All Tire Shine
Gunk Window Cleaner
Comet Cleaner
Chamois
Wheel Brush
Wheel Detailing Brush
100% Cotton Towel
I began the process by raising the car and taking all the tires off. The thought must be rolling around in your head on why I took my tires off just to wash my car. Well it just so happened that the car's tires needed to be rotated. So I did both at the same time. After the tires were off I began to wash the car. Since I do not have a carport or garage, and a water hose that did not reach the nearest tree, I had to wash the car in the direct sunlight. With this in mind I only did little things at a time so the applications of soap or wax would not dry or cause damage to the car from the direct sunlight.
I began by rinsing the entire car off and letting it air dry. After it was dry I used Goo Gone Remover on all my window seals. The black on them were discolored with film. I sprayed it on and left it on for about 2 minutes. After that I rubbed it in and then rinsed it all off. After that was finished I used the Gunk Bug & Tar Remover for the front of the car and the front of the side mirrors. I used this remover the same way as I did the Goo Gone. After that was rinsed off I began to wash the car with soap.
I used the Meguiar's Deep Crystal Car Wash soap to wash the car with. I rubbed and scrubbed everything I could see that resembled dirt or tar. The soap worked really well and even smelled good. After that was finished I used a chamois to dry the car. I made sure the entire car was dry before I began the waxing, so I started to wash my tires.
I started by rinsing the tires and then sprinkled Comet Cleaner onto the tire. I then used the Wheel Brush to rub the Comet into the tire. I then rinsed that off and used the remaining soap from the car to wash the rim of the tires. I used the Wheel Detailing Brush on parts that my hand could not fit into. After that I began to wax my car.
I began waxing the car with the 1st step of the 3 step process, the Meguiar's Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner. The bottle's directions told me to wax and buff one panel at a time so I started with the front of the car. After waxing and buffing every panel I buffed the entire car one last time. I didn't have a 100% Cotton Towel so I used a few 100% Cotton white undershirts I had. After this coat of wax was on, the car looked like it normally did with a regular coat of wax. It didn't impress me, but I still had two more coats to do. Here are pictures of the car after the coat of Paint Cleaner.
After the coat of Paint Cleaner I started on the 2nd step of the process, the Meguiar's Deep Crystal Polish. Since the sun was almost setting I waited to do this process the next day. I covered the car with many blankets and waited until morning. The next morning I took the blankets off and realized that the dew soaked through the blankets and got water on my car. I didn't want any water spots so I buffed all the water spots off and re-waxed the car with Paint Cleaner. I then started on the Polish. I waxed the entire front of the car and buffed that. I then waxed the back of the car and buffed that. I then buffed the entire car and really liked the improvement I saw. The Polish really brought the color out and made it deeper. Here are some pictures of the car after the Polish.
Since I didn't feel like starting the 3rd step of the process right away I moved over to my tires. I waxed the rims with regular wax and buffed them. I then sprayed Armor All Tire Shine onto the rubber. I really liked how nice they looked.
I finally began the last step, the Meguiar's Deep Crystal Carnauba Wax. I waxed the entire car and buffed it since the day was close to dawn and it was cooler. After buffing the car once more I started on the windows. I used Gunk Window Cleaner because it is window tint safe and foams when sprayed on windows cleaning them better. I used a clean 100% Cotton undershirt to clean the windows. Using paper towels is fine, but the 100% Cotton will buff the streaks away.
After that was all done, I put the tires back on the car and lowered it. WOW!!! That is all I could think and say. The car looked gorgeous. Here are the pictures.
The two day process was hot and strenuous but definitely well worth it. After looking at the final product, I really don't think I need a new paintjob anytime soon. These results were just derived from regular grade waxes. Once I get a garage I am going to use Meguiar's Professional grade restoration waxes.