Regaining the shine

Pay a visit to

. You don't need touse their products. ------------ Alex

Besides that and other car-detailing sites, let's calibrate the expectations, here. A 12-year-old driver, even garage kept in a benign climate, isn't going to look quite like a showroom model, which may have premium paint to begin with and almost certainly has been lovingly hand detailed. Even the new cars on the lot aren't going to look like that. They pick cars that maybe have premium paint jobs to begin with, then keep 'em hand detailed.

A car that's been in the real world since Clinton's inauguration probably has a little contamination, some oxidation, a few swirl marks, the odd stone chip...

The general advice I'd give is to start with the least harsh compounds, used with the least force that the instructions suggest. When abrasives such as polishing compounds are mixed with too much elbow grease, you can go right through your clearcoat in the attempt to get the swirls and micro-pits out of it...

I might add that although Toyota may have improved 'em by '93, in the

80s and very early 90s these otherwise quite impressive cars didn't necessarily have the best paint jobs ever sprayed by mortal man.

I'm sure that by looking at websites from Meguiar's or EagleOne or other vendors, the original poster will get some ideas. It's hard to offer better guidance without being there -- a lot of this is "knowledge in the hands" (and eyes) rather than "knowledge in the head."

Just go about it with a sort of automotive physician's oath: "First, do no harm..." And keep in mind that the better you become at automotive detailing, the keener and more critical your eye will become, and the MORE flaws you'll see! Hopefully you'll also become suitably sanguine about the difference between a nicely kept real-world daily driver and a showroom example or trailered show car.

Best of luck,

--Joe

Thanks guys, I'm very grateful

John