Rubbing compound questions... someone hit my car

[Hoganator]

I buffed the leftover paint off my car from another car running against it last night. Of course it was a hit and run situation so i'm on my own with this one. The rubbing compound i used was Turtle Wax applied with an Autozone application pad. To be honest its too dark outside right now to see if i did the job alright. I was just wondering if i can apply this stuff on my entire car to get rid of swirls and to hide other flaws? Any tips for fixing this crack it left on the fender as well? Any tips for taking care of this damaged spot on the paint over time? Thanks guys!

[Mark 97 Cutlass Coupe]

I would suggest a trip to an automotive paint store and get some professional products. Your car looks really nice, and black is a bitch to keep looking nice. 3M makes 2 excellent products-Perfect it rubbing compound and Perfect it foam polishing glaze, made specifically for dark colors. This is what I use, and it is what you will find in many body shops. It isn't cheap, as both bottles will set you back about $50-60. Get yourself a variable speed buffer and a foam pad (for the glaze) and a wool pad for the more coarse compound. Check out youtube for technique, and practice on something other than your own car until you get the hang of it. If your car is as nice as it looks, a really good polish job with the proper products will amaze you. There used to be a big body shop supply place on Brookpark and about west 150th, and I know there is one on the west 50's and Clark. I used to live in Cleveland, but haven't for many years, and used to go to both of those places. Good luck, and be patient when you learn to buff.

[alec_b]

You can use rubbing compound on the whole car, but keep in mind that it is just one of several steps for paint restoration.

 

Personally, if you really wanted to bring your paint back start with good wash with basic mild detergent to strip all previous wax residue, then a clay bar treatment of the ENTIRE car, then as Mark stated above getting a buffer (unless you want your arms to fall off) with the proper pads. After all that, go at it with the rubbing compound. Again, as Mark said, maybe try a junker or a spare piece of painted something to practice on. After you use the rubbing compound the paint will be slightly dull. This is when you break out the polishing compound and the PATIENCE. I did this exact process on my GF's truck last year and had over 4 hours into it before my buffer broke.

 

After all that is said and done, you need a good QUALITY wax to protect your hard-earned results. Once that's done a weekly hand washing will keep the shine, and a monthly or bi-monthly waxing should keep it looking like new.

[Mark 97 Cutlass Coupe]

I forgot to mention clay bar as Alec did, and it is a great place to start. It will amaze you how much junk will come off the paint, especially on the hood/roof/decklid, where the sun hits the car directly. Keep in mind that, after the clay bar, just the glaze with the foam pad might be enough to get the car where you want it. Doing the whole car with the more coarse compound first is alot of work, because it will take a long time to get all the swirls out that the more coarse compound will make. If you have an especially grungy area with no shine, try the coarse, then fine compound. You can just use the coarse in spots that really need it. Again, try it on a junk fender or car first before committing to your own car. Just remember to be patient, and don't ever buff in direct sunlight, especially black, because of the heat the process creates.

[mfewtrail]

Is the turtle wax the stuff in the tub style containers or in the squeeze bottles? If you don't have the squeeze bottles, I would NOT use the stuff in the tubs as it's very aggressive. When it comes to paint you want to use the least aggressive product that will get the job done. I suggest you do some research on a forum like autopia.org, meguiarsonline, or another one.

[Euro]

Depending on how bad they hit you and how much transferred...cleaner wax can also take out that kind of stuff. I've used it multiple different times on slight paint transfers from a driveway or parking lot incident.

 

But you might just want to bypass that and go with what they've said. I've used a couple different brands of rubbing compound, Turtle Wax and 3M. I'd recommend the 3M

[The Guz]

Go back and pick up some meguiars ultimate compound. In my opinion it's better than turtle wax or 3M. That will get rid of those swirls. While you are at get ultimate polish and ultimate wax. You will like the end result. You can use them by hand but if you want to save time and get better results then a dual action polisher like the porter cable 7424xp is what you want with the proper foam pads. Another option is to try a cleaner wax like meguiars black wax or white wax. White wax has more cleaning ability and black wax has more polishing ability.

 

FYI you want to use a cly bar first to remove surface contaminants.

[94 olds vert]

That stuff is good.

[virtuetovice]

^Listen to this guy.

[urbex]

Wizards is what I use. Professional stuff that works well! My dad has used it for years when he's painting cars.

[Euro]

Wizards is what I use. Professional stuff that works well! My dad has used it for years when he's painting cars.

 

 

Is that the company that is always set up at the major events/shows? Like World of Wheels/Auto Show, etc?

[urbex]

Is that the company that is always set up at the major events/shows? Like World of Wheels/Auto Show, etc?

 

I don't know, I never go to any shows I would guess it probably is then. Don't know of any other stuff by that name.

[Below Average Joe]

http://www.autogeek.net/

 

Go here for all of your needs.

[George]

I am also a big fan of Meguiars ultimate compound and ultimate polish. It works very well on turn signals, tail lights and other plastic parts as well.

[LumiLTZ]

I am also a big fan of Meguiars ultimate compound and ultimate polish. It works very well on turn signals, tail lights and other plastic parts as well.

 

Love the Meguiars as well. It along with a P-C 7424xp/foam pad works wonders.