Clueless in Philadelphia
New member
Ok, background, last time I waxed a car myself was my first car when I was 16 or 17. My 81 Cutlass always looked great but I did burn the paint on the body line on the hood.
So now I've got this 76 Mark IV with metallic single stage paint. It was garage kept at least since 78, and although it's mostly in great condition you can tell the paint needs help. When I got it last summer I took it to a local detail shop with great reviews, including pics of classics. I was afraid that I'd burn this paint so wanted a "pro" to handle it. Well the guy basically said there was nothing he could do, he didn't want to burn the paint either. After 9+ months of ownership I'm a little more knowledgeable than I was then. I clayed the car and have used meguiars 7 on it and the bulk of the water marks are gone. There still are some that I can see.
I'm just blown away by the products, every post, every video, someone is using something different. How do I know what to use from here?
Last week I found an old autogeek post of Mike's that discussed a gold metallic Mark IV like mine, and that was what sold me on clay and #7. I killed a bottle of 7 using it heavy, but it was still drying fast and I was afraid to leave it on the car overnight as Mike said to do. I had a hard time removing it after a couple of hours sitting. So, do I go over it again with #7. Should I be cutting it with another product? Should I just move on to some other wax/polish product?
This isn't my profession, last year I would have preferred to pay someone to "fix" it, but now armed with a little more knowledge, plus finding a "pro" who didn't have any knowledge imo scared me that the next guy could burn my paint, I think I'd rather fix my paint myself. I'm just confused and overwhelmed with the selection and methods to handle my paint. I don't have another 41k, 46 year old Mark, so if I screw this one up it's going to be a costly mistake. Help.
BTW, there are some through the paint to primer or metal scratches, very minor, but there, and one eraser sized rust mark under the door belt molding. The rust spot I intend to have fixed before it spreads, it's well beyond a dab of touch up paint. Otherwise, I just really want the paint to pop as close to new as possible.
So now I've got this 76 Mark IV with metallic single stage paint. It was garage kept at least since 78, and although it's mostly in great condition you can tell the paint needs help. When I got it last summer I took it to a local detail shop with great reviews, including pics of classics. I was afraid that I'd burn this paint so wanted a "pro" to handle it. Well the guy basically said there was nothing he could do, he didn't want to burn the paint either. After 9+ months of ownership I'm a little more knowledgeable than I was then. I clayed the car and have used meguiars 7 on it and the bulk of the water marks are gone. There still are some that I can see.
I'm just blown away by the products, every post, every video, someone is using something different. How do I know what to use from here?
Last week I found an old autogeek post of Mike's that discussed a gold metallic Mark IV like mine, and that was what sold me on clay and #7. I killed a bottle of 7 using it heavy, but it was still drying fast and I was afraid to leave it on the car overnight as Mike said to do. I had a hard time removing it after a couple of hours sitting. So, do I go over it again with #7. Should I be cutting it with another product? Should I just move on to some other wax/polish product?
This isn't my profession, last year I would have preferred to pay someone to "fix" it, but now armed with a little more knowledge, plus finding a "pro" who didn't have any knowledge imo scared me that the next guy could burn my paint, I think I'd rather fix my paint myself. I'm just confused and overwhelmed with the selection and methods to handle my paint. I don't have another 41k, 46 year old Mark, so if I screw this one up it's going to be a costly mistake. Help.
BTW, there are some through the paint to primer or metal scratches, very minor, but there, and one eraser sized rust mark under the door belt molding. The rust spot I intend to have fixed before it spreads, it's well beyond a dab of touch up paint. Otherwise, I just really want the paint to pop as close to new as possible.
