# What do you recommend



## SilentJB (Jun 1, 2015)

OK, so I've done the embarrassing thing of introducing myself in the newbie area and putting pictures up of the serious issue that I have - The wifes Pink Astra H... See incriminating evidence below.

In my defense prior to lapse, I did look after this car and has been machine polished before, however the guy that did it. Didn't have any kind of sealant and within a few weeks it went back to how it is now... So hopefully with your kind words of advice. If you could see yourself in pointing me in the direction of what you would use it would be very much appreciated.

I'm not afraid of hard work and want to put the effort in to getting this car shiny again, my wife loves this car and was named Ruby as it was really nice and shiny when we first bought her. Here are the incriminating pics of said car... Somebody has pointed out the Tyre, please ignore that for the time being. New shoes will be on in the not to distant future.









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## SilentJB (Jun 1, 2015)

Now I'm not looking for step by step. I've got the following on its way.

Valet Pro Snow foam and Lance for Nilfisk pw.
Lambs wool wash mit.
2 buckets
Bilt Hamber clay bar - New.

Looking to buy the Kestral DA

So I need:
Restoration polish recommendations

OK, I'm looking for some advice on what to do once I get it shiny again, do I seal then Wax.

What do you guys do?

What's the best/mid range wax to use that would help protect the Astra from going pink again?

All help is gratefully appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Chris.


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## muzzer (Feb 13, 2011)

Okay, polish wise it's a bit of a pays your money and makes your choice type of thing as there are so many on the market.
I personally use megs #205 and #105 yet others swear by menzerna or scholl. Others still use auto finesse so as you can see there are a wide range to choose from.

As to what to do afterwards, if you use a sealant then you dont need to wax and vice versa, a decent wax will protect without the need for a sealant. The only thing i will say is, a wax will be a heck of a lot easier to apply than a sealant for someone who has never used a sealant before. I havent ever used one but was told by a very very knowledgable member that it takes skill to apply a ceramic coating properly


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## SilentJB (Jun 1, 2015)

muzzer42 said:


> Okay, polish wise it's a bit of a pays your money and makes your choice type of thing as there are so many on the market.
> I personally use megs #205 and #105 yet others swear by menzerna or scholl. Others still use auto finesse so as you can see there are a wide range to choose from.
> 
> As to what to do afterwards, if you use a sealant then you dont need to wax and vice versa, a decent wax will protect without the need for a sealant. The only thing i will say is, a wax will be a heck of a lot easier to apply than a sealant for someone who has never used a sealant before. I havent ever used one but was told by a very very knowledgable member that it takes skill to apply a ceramic coating properly


This is good, so far it looks like I will give the sealant a miss then... I'm not afraid of spending the money (withing reason). I will have a budget of around £250, but that's also got to get me a machine polisher too.

I'm at a point of needing to build my collection up, so wax wise it will have to do the Pink astra and also be good enough to use on a Dark mettalic blue Peugeot 407.

Only megs products I have ever used before are the 3 step and that was done by hand. I've really let this go. So got to do it right.... :buffer:


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## suds (Apr 27, 2012)

AG HD wax is very good for the money if you don't mind a hard paste wax


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## stumpy90 (May 13, 2014)

Id buy the 105 and 205 from meguiars, some hex pads and coat it with fusso dark or fk1000p to finish.


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## cheekymonkey (Mar 15, 2008)

firstly before polishing you need a good oil based glaze such as megs no7, apply 3 or 4 coats to rehydrate the paint. After this you will find it wont need to remove as much paint when you polish


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## OvEr_KiLL (Mar 2, 2015)

would he not be alright using a da and meguiars ultimate compound?


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## SilentJB (Jun 1, 2015)

cheekymonkey said:


> firstly before polishing you need a good oil based glaze such as megs no7, apply 3 or 4 coats to rehydrate the paint. After this you will find it wont need to remove as much paint when you polish


If the paint has oxidised would I not be better bringing the red back???

I don't know much about it so I'm looking for all feedback as possible.


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## cheekymonkey (Mar 15, 2008)

by first using the glaze to rehidrate the oxidised paint you are bringing the red back, meaning less paint needs removing afterwards


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## SilentJB (Jun 1, 2015)

cheekymonkey said:


> by first using the glaze to rehidrate the oxidised paint you are bringing the red back, meaning less paint needs removing afterwards


That does kind of make sense.... What wax would you recommend?


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## Penfold90 (Jun 22, 2013)

Surely it'll be rehydrated enough when he covers it in water?? ;-D


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## Bevvo (Feb 1, 2013)

cheekymonkey said:


> by first using the glaze to rehidrate the oxidised paint you are bringing the red back, meaning less paint needs removing afterwards


That's the first time I've heard that. It seems a little far-fetched to me. Yes the oils in the glaze might bring back some colour and shine but that would only be temporary masking of the problem as once the glaze has gone then you're back to square one i.e. oxidised paint.

I'm happy to be proven wrong though by an expert on the subject.

As for which wax, then you could get dozens of different answers, but my choice would be BMD Helios. It has UV inhibitors in it and it is an absolute dream to use. A 50ml sample can be had for a reasonable price.


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## SilentJB (Jun 1, 2015)

Bevvo said:


> That's the first time I've heard that. It seems a little far-fetched to me. Yes the oils in the glaze might bring back some colour and shine but that would only be temporary masking of the problem as once the glaze has gone then you're back to square one i.e. oxidised paint.
> 
> I'm happy to be proven wrong though by an expert on the subject.
> 
> As for which wax, then you could get dozens of different answers, but my choice would be BMD Helios. It has UV inhibitors in it and it is an absolute dream to use. A 50ml sample can be had for a reasonable price.


I don't really know much being a newbie an all... So I'm more than happy for people to give me advice, point me in the direction of certain reads and the likes.

I am more than happy for wax suggestions.


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## cheekymonkey (Mar 15, 2008)

Bevvo said:


> That's the first time I've heard that. It seems a little far-fetched to me. Yes the oils in the glaze might bring back some colour and shine but that would only be temporary masking of the problem as once the glaze has gone then you're back to square one i.e. oxidised paint.
> 
> *I'm happy to be proven wrong though by an expert on the subject.*
> 
> As for which wax, then you could get dozens of different answers, but my choice would be BMD Helios. It has UV inhibitors in it and it is an absolute dream to use. A 50ml sample can be had for a reasonable price.


which expert did you have in mind


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## cheekymonkey (Mar 15, 2008)

SilentJB said:


> That does kind of make sense.... What wax would you recommend?


single red It has to be vic red


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## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

Whilst Megs No7 is not always needed, it really can work wonders with neglected (single stage) paint. Can be applied day or so before polishing and afterwards. Not the easiest product to work with however the effort is rewarded. 

Not tried it on older paint but for someone who wishes to experiment, I do suspect the Bilt Hamber Autobalm could be a very interesting product


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## cheekymonkey (Mar 15, 2008)

think majority will say this guy would qualify as a expert

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...w-car-finish-antique-single-stage-paints.html

some other write ups on the subject
http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/13...tte-single-stage-paints-technically-speaking/

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2014/11/28/detailing-tips-for-vintage-single-stage-paint/


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## Kickasskev (Sep 18, 2012)

Believe it or not, a rotary polisher and some water for the pad (green 3M) will fetch a faded car like that back up. No need for loads of abrasives, may be a final glaze coat, give it a try


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## cheekymonkey (Mar 15, 2008)

the green 3m isnt that the courses pad 3m do


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## J306TD (May 19, 2008)

cheekymonkey said:


> the green 3m isnt that the courses pad 3m do


Yer it's their compound pad


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## cheekymonkey (Mar 15, 2008)

J306TD said:


> Yer it's their compound pad


cheers buddy, thought it was, would of thought the abrasive of such pad would be what removes the oxidized paint


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## footfistart (Dec 2, 2013)

I did a corsa and used orange and green lake county pads and megs ultimate compound.


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## minibbb (Mar 9, 2012)

Another vote for meguiars ultimate compound. Just did my Suzuki Jimny which had faded red single stage paint. 
It looked almost identical in fade to your Astra.
This is after one hit of UC over the car using an orange Hex pad.








Lovely product to use- no dusting and great results. I've used FK1000P to seal it to will hopefully keep the fade at bay!


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## SilentJB (Jun 1, 2015)

footfistart said:


> I did a corsa and used orange and green lake county pads and megs ultimate compound.


This is the inspiration I need, how abrasive is the Ultimate compound? What did you finish the car off with?

Mine isn't as bad as that. one thing I am worried about is that in certain parts I can still see a shine on top of the pink, so could I be onto a losing streak with this one?


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## footfistart (Dec 2, 2013)

Thank you. Its not massively abrasive but pad choice will definitely improve it. I finished the car down with m205 and two layers of meguiars liquid wax. 

A shine on top of the pink. Well it will machine off and leave that nice glossy red colour. All the pink is, is dried out, oxidized paint.

You want a good sealant to keep that shine or a coating if your into that stuff. 

This took me 22 hours.


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## SilentJB (Jun 1, 2015)

footfistart said:


> Thank you. Its not massively abrasive but pad choice will definitely improve it. I finished the car down with m205 and two layers of meguiars liquid wax.
> 
> A shine on top of the pink. Well it will machine off and leave that nice glossy red colour. All the pink is, is dried out, oxidized paint.
> 
> ...


Jesus that's a long time. I'm just hoping it doesn't take me that long.

Certainly gives me inspiration to get mine done and what can be done... One thing I will be doing is keeping on top of it going forward.


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## Bevvo (Feb 1, 2013)

cheekymonkey said:


> which expert did you have in mind


Sorry but I couldn't find the part where Mike Phillips said that as a result he only had to remove x microns instead of y microns.

Neither could I find the bit where he said that the oils in a Meguiars product which has gone unchanged since the 1920's would also be compatible with relatively modern European single stage paints.

Perhaps I made the mistake of expecting something a little more scientific as proof.


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## suspal (Dec 29, 2011)

I'd be inclined to rehydrate the paint for at least 24hrs using meg#7 before any polishing then seal the pint afterwards.


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## cheekymonkey (Mar 15, 2008)

Bevvo said:


> Sorry but I couldn't find the part where Mike Phillips said that as a result he only had to remove x microns instead of y microns.
> 
> Neither could I find the bit where he said that the oils in a Meguiars product which has gone unchanged since the 1920's would also be compatible with relatively modern European single stage paints.
> 
> Perhaps I made the mistake of expecting something a little more scientific as proof.


:lol::lol::lol: I dont know what your drinking,But if it comes to this planet i defiantly want to try it:doublesho


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## Bevvo (Feb 1, 2013)

cheekymonkey said:


> :lol::lol::lol: I dont know what your drinking,But if it comes to this planet i defiantly want to try it:doublesho


Hey, I'm not the one who misinterprets a Mike Phillips article about restoring "Classic and Antique paint" and then makes misguided and unsubstantiated claims about it: 1) being equally applicable to a relatively modern Vauxhall Astra wearing single stage 2-pack paint; and 2) resulting in less paint needing to be removed via polishing.

Perhaps you don't need to look too far from home to see who is taking the mind-altering substances!

I would love to agree with you but that would simply mean that two people were wrong. :thumb: Therefore we will have to agree to disagree on the matter.


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## cheekymonkey (Mar 15, 2008)

you asked for a expert, I gave you 1. you then decided to moved the goal posts, #7 is still used by many for this same purpose now a days including on vauxhall paint. Infact last year i did a mates GTE which is classed as a classic and as it has for all the years #7 works perfect. As i recall there were more than just mikes write up i added.
You can do it which ever way you wont, but i will use the #7 method as it the best way and the right way


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## minibbb (Mar 9, 2012)

cheekymonkey said:


> you asked for a expert, I gave you 1. you then decided to moved the goal posts, #7 is still used by many for this same purpose now a days including on vauxhall paint. Infact last year i did a mates GTE which is classed as a classic and as it has for all the years #7 works perfect. As i recall there were more than just mikes write up i added.
> You can do it which ever way you wont, but i will use the #7 method as it the best way and the right way


I would certainly try number 7 on my car as don't want to keep removing paint.

What protection can be used over the top of it? Would FK1000P sit over it?


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## cheekymonkey (Mar 15, 2008)

minibbb said:


> I would certainly try number 7 on my car as don't want to keep removing paint.
> 
> What protection can be used over the top of it? Would FK1000P sit over it?


fk would be fine, what other lsp's do you have


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## SilentJB (Jun 1, 2015)

I like a good debate... so if I went down the #7 route, would you do it by hand or would you machine polish, if by machine what pad would you recommend?


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## Adot (Sep 14, 2014)

Bevvo and Cheekymonkey.

I think there is a misunderstanding. Mike in my interpretation is saying that polishing without first hydrating, you may remove more paint than is necessary.

Let's say the oxidised paint is 10 micron.
Mike I think is saying that polishing dry you may remove 12micron as it's so fragile etc.
My intial interpretation of what cheekymonkey was saying is that you'll only need to remove 7 micron instead the full 10 but I do not think that is what was being communicated.

So in essence you are both right if you understand where I am coming from.


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## SilentJB (Jun 1, 2015)

Adot said:


> Bevvo and Cheekymonkey.
> 
> I think there is a misunderstanding. Mike in my interpretation is saying that polishing without first hydrating, you may remove more paint than is necessary.
> 
> ...


This is way above my head, don't get me wrong here I understand the thickness of paints. Just very confusing.

I'm also ready to order the stuff, so if someone could help me with the last questions it would be appreciated please 

After I've gone to town on it all and done all the cleaning of the car, got rid of all the contaminants. I do the following:

Megs #7 how's best to apply? How long do I leave this before buffing off? This could be the issue. I don't have a garage to store the car. I do have the use of a friends car port to polish under.

From the above stage:
Megs #105
Megs #205

Then a wax, which is either going to be FK100p or something else!

Have I got this right?


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## cheekymonkey (Mar 15, 2008)

SilentJB said:


> This is way above my head, don't get me wrong here I understand the thickness of paints. Just very confusing.
> 
> I'm also ready to order the stuff, so if someone could help me with the last questions it would be appreciated please
> 
> ...


]

You can do it both ways, but if you havent much experience with a machine you better of by hand. use the #7 24 hours before polishing. personally i dont buff it off, Work the first layer in to the paint and when you get to the end of first layer just carry on with the 2nd layer. normally i do 4/5 layers.
depending on the condition of the paint (scratches etc) you may not need 105. if there are scratches that 205 wont remove then you will have to use 105.
On the very first polish i also add a couple of blobs of #7.

if you have any IPA of panel wipe use after you finish polishing then wax


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## SilentJB (Jun 1, 2015)

cheekymonkey said:


> ]
> 
> You can do it both ways, but if you havent much experience with a machine you better of by hand. use the #7 24 hours before polishing. personally i dont buff it off, Work the first layer in to the paint and when you get to the end of first layer just carry on with the 2nd layer. normally i do 4/5 layers.
> depending on the condition of the paint (scratches etc) you may not need 105. if there are scratches that 205 wont remove then you will have to use 105.
> ...


All I can say now is watch this space... Cheapest place I have found things are at Clean Your Car... with the other things I have already got, the pink Astra will be no more once my products arrive and will be known as Ruby again.

I will do my best to get some full before and after pics, I know there are a few good scratches on it... I even have some proper hop ups so I can reach the roof area properly.

I really do appreciated the advice you have all given me. Wax wise I have gone for the Vic Red so will see how well that works and how long it lasts too.

Now for a really silly question, what would you normally do for the up keep in keeping it clean?


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## cheekymonkey (Mar 15, 2008)

vic's red is perfect :thumb:


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## SilentJB (Jun 1, 2015)

I'm excited for the stuff to turn up, really can't wait to do it. At the moment the headlights will let it down, but will be rectified.


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## SilentJB (Jun 1, 2015)

So, I've made a start on the Astra. Thread here:

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=4936958#post4936958


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

SilentJB said:


> I'm excited for the stuff to turn up, really can't wait to do it. At the moment the headlights will let it down, but will be rectified.


P1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000 Wet and Dry papers.
Megs PlastRX
Machine polisher
Will look like new :thumb:

Start with the 2000 and see if it removes all the marks, then go down to 1500 or 1000 only if necessary.

Only recently done my Clio 182 headlights and they looked brand new when done


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Some good points in here from cheekymonkey on the Megs #7.

I've done a 'pink' Polo and a 'pink' Mitsubishi L200 and I glazed after polishing and gave a wipe down with Zaino Z6 (UV inhibitors in it) before sealing and waxing


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## SilentJB (Jun 1, 2015)

James_R said:


> Some good points in here from cheekymonkey on the Megs #7.
> 
> I've done a 'pink' Polo and a 'pink' Mitsubishi L200 and I glazed after polishing and gave a wipe down with Zaino Z6 (UV inhibitors in it) before sealing and waxing


Yeah, it was a good call, some pinking on the sides of the car so used it all over and buffed off and they're slightly redder again, so going to try #205 first and see how things turn out.


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