sayanythingrock

i have oxidation on the paint and have some scratches, after i wash it what should i d. i know i need to clay bar, but im gonna head over to autozone or napa to get some stuff. what do i need, i have a orbital buffer as well. give me some tips guys

Vicman17

Depends on how badly scratched the finish is. Get a mildly abrasive cleaner like Meg's Swirl Mark Remover #9 (you might need to do 3 to 4 passes) to use with your machine or use ScratchX by hand. It's a fairly mild product and if it doesn't do the trick then you need someone whose really good with a rotary to even out the clearcoat.

I've seen a badly oxidized finish restored with a DA polisher using Meg's Fine Cut Cleaner #2 (Meg's doesn't recommend this) followed by the SMR #9 then ColorX and the finish looked almost new.

Invest on a Porter Cable polisher with a decent set of pads and you can get better and more gratifying results. Then your options are almost endless.

exceldetail

Agreed.....This should be priority #1. You can attain good results by hand, but dont expect miracles with any "random orbital" unless its the true quality of a PC. Hand work can only go so far.
Find a Mothers or Megs 3 step at your local auto parts store, and have fun. Take some before and afters also!