My car has pretty bad swirls and scratches. I've claybarred it, used Maguier's detailing spritz, and used NXT wax. NXT wax actually does a pretty good job of disguising everything. It's a temporary solution but does a good job and is relatively cheap and easy. Hope it helps.

 

Meguiar's Nxt 2.0 does have fillers. It will hide minor imperfections but it won't work miracles. Two products that I've heard of having really good masking abilities is Prima Amigo followed by Prima Banana Gloss. Glazes are another good way to hide imperfections. Poorboy's World Blackhole (for dark vehicles) and White Diamond (for light vehicles). Follow that up with a good sealant and you'll get a great look that will provide good protection and will hide some of the problems. It's not the right way to do it, but it will help until you get around to doing it right.

 

Your car can be saved. You just have to spend some money to fix it. But think of it this way. You can spend $250-300 on supplies and detail your car quite a few times or have your car detailed by someone and charge you up to $300.

 

Holy swirls! Wow, I never seen swirls like that. Those look really deep into the clear coat.

Did you use a brillo pad to wash your car? Talk about scrubbing behind the ears!
Or did you use your cat with claws deployed?

 

dude that's nothing. hit youtube and look for junkman videos, i was watching some of his stuff last night where he was doing some correction on a car he hadn't washed in two years. i can't believe what the porter and some Adam's polishes and compounds along with clay did for the paint on that car. Look for his ten part series, that is what i am talking about.

 

Yeah, junkman's camino is beat up. Adam just came out with a new polish. severe swirl remover. check it out.

 

Thanks for all the help guys!!
One more question. What kind of buffer should I look into buying?
Or should I just order this?
http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-551-a...shing-kit.aspx

 

That buffer is probably the best you can get from a power:safety ratio. You really can't do much harm to the paint unless you're trying to. Don't bother looking for a deal on one either. For the most part, dealers don't make any money on the machine itself. They make their money off of selling the pads that go with it. If you don't want to spend that much (it is a pricey machine) you can go the route of the Porter Cable 7424XP. The Flex is faster, more powerful, and has forced rotation meaning if you are applying pressure to the machine while polishing it won't bog down and stop spinning. Generally though, you don't want to apply much pressure. It's good practice to let the pad and polish do most of the work using only enough pressure to keep the pad against the paint.

Looking at that kit, I like how they make the polishes the same color as the pads. This is useful for people that are just starting out and don't know which pads to use with which polish. I find myself wondering who makes their pads though. Most companies are using Lake Country pads. That being said, there are two green pads that LC makes and both have less cut than the orange pad.

Just a couple things to mention if you're going to do this yourself. All paints are different. As bad as the paint looks, it doesn't mean you have to go the most aggressive method first. Always go least aggressive method first. In the case of that kit you posted, the fine polish with the white pad. Do a 2x2' section and check your work. Only move up to a stronger pad/polish combo if needed. Going more aggressive than necessary only increases the amount of work you need to do and you remove more clear coat than necessary. Tape off all of your plastics and rubber with masking tape for delicate surfaces such as blue painters tape. This will prevent any damage or polish/wax residue from staining your trim from accidental contact. Don't forget good MF towels. And make sure you do a thorough wash and clay before you polish anything.

 

the guys at detailers domain recommended this polisher kit:

http://www.detailersdomain.com/theub...onalizations=y

Followed by this sealant:

http://www.detailersdomain.com/menze...&variation=617

That stuff is quite a bit cheaper than the kit you are looking at on the Adams site, and if you email them they have a 15% off code they will give you. i have some swirls on my car and water spots that i cant get off the car for anything. That is what they recommended to fix it. FWIW im moving to a gual bucket grit guard wash system form now on. I spent too much money on the car and mods and spend too much time trying to keep the damn thing clean to half *** wash it and mar the finish. money well spent on some good stuff me thinks. from some of the videos i have seen of junkman and others doing paint correction, odds are you won't need the really strong compounds, i still can believe how good that ratty camino turned out and he didn't even use the strongest stuff adams had.

I think this is the part of that vid that shows him fixing it and the before and after:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMbZN6aaerg

Also FWIW, hes talking about the flex you are looking at versus the porter unit here, this dude is convincing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XAqpOe9Zt4

 

The Flex outperforms the 7424XP but the 7424XP is still a good machine.

Menzerna makes good products. I've never used the Power Gloss or the Power Finish but I've heard good things from both of them. SIP (Super Intensive Polish) is another good product from Menzerna. Also, the smaller pads are more effective and easier to get in to smaller areas. I actually use 4" pads on my PC.

Phil is the owner of Detailers Domain. He's a good guy and knows his stuff. His shop puts out VERY nice work.