Clean my Camry

You will need to be able to apply and remove an automotive polish for cars with a dull finish. Dont buy a polish designed for cars which have been polished regularly, you need the next step polish. Not real abrasive stuff for heavily weathered paint, just the next step up from regular polish.

Its important to clean the car with an automotive detergent and water, otherwise small pieces of grit will be trapped under the silicone layer left on the car.

There are many brands of polish, some very expensive such Mequairs (sp). I would go for a moderately priced product, not something which costs $18 a bottle.

Once you have applied the polish, you need to let it dry (about 30 mins) and then remove it with a cheese-cloth. Then if you have a buffer (powered from the mains or the car's cig-lighter), you can buff it to a good shine. Doing this by hand is very labor intensive, and is optional anyway.

Jason

Not without a lot of elbow grease, or a good buffer. If you likve near a Home Depot, they sell a Ryobi 6" for about $30. I used to use it when I was a detailer and it is a very nice unit for the money!

The other thing you want to look into is Meguire's. The have an entire product line that is excellent for any kind of paint. The absolute BEST thing is 3M Fill 'n Glaze Pink...if you can find it. Call around to REAL auto parts stores and see if any of them have any left. I found some last year, but it was tough. If you have a CarQuest in your area, call them. That's where I got mine. The number is -05977. It's *almost* goof proof. If the paint's not *too* bad, you can rub it by hand; if it's really chalky and oxidized get the buffer. Put some on a damp rag and work it into the finish, or lay a small stream and work it with the buffer. (If you're inexperienced do the damp rag thing...). This stuff dries quickly, keep it out of the sun and work it with the buffer. The drier it gets, the more it cuts, so if you're getting results wet put some more on and buff.

For the Meguiar's, there's two lines: The professional line and the Deep Crystal line. The Deep Crystal is for people who want good looking cars and spend a moderate amount of time, the Pro line (Mirror Glaze) again usually requires a buffer and an even touch. AutoZone carries some of the Meguire's products in both lines, but again a real parts store will have more.

You're looking for the Mirror Glaze line. These are more agressive than the Deep Crystal line, but are very easy to use. I start with either Machine Glaze #1 (for *really* bad paint),2 or 3 or Professional Hand Glaze. Either can be machined, but the Hand Glaze may be better if you're afraid of a buffer. Follow with New Car Glaze by hand or *LIGHT* buffing, and top off with #6 Cleaner Wax or #26 Hi-Tech Wax. I have recommended #26 to a lot of people in the groups and they always tell me how much they like it. Or, instead follow with Gold Class.

I have been using all of these products for 20 years and always have people telling me how great my cars look. I first picked up on it in Toronto at an Indy car race. The PPG guys were there with their 'pace cars', a collection of some of the best sports cars in the world. Obviously with PPG paint they were going to look good, but I asked them what they used (They had a yellow Renault Alpine that *really* stood out) and they told me Meguiar's, and all I have used since is either that or Zymol (when I can find it

On Turtle Wax's web site, under "Help Me Choose" --> "Waxing"

Select "Vehicle is over 5 years old, washed occasionally, rarely waxed, finish is getting dull. The hood, roof, and trunk areas have a white film deposit or is rough to the touch. Finish has stains or hard to remove spots."

And you get the following answer. Also check other web sites, like:

Answer:

When a car finish is not regularly cared for, oxidation, scratches, stains, bugs ,tar, pollution, and a variety of traffic films can greatly increase the time requirement to restore finish to an acceptable condition. In many cases a wash and a wax is not enough to restore the finish. Turtle Wax recommends a four step process to restore a finish in poor condition. Following the steps outlined below will minimize time investment. Plan to spend at least two hours in the garage restoring the finish.

1) Car Wash: Purchase a high quality car wash; Zip Wax Car Wash, Platinum Car Wash or Ice car Wash. Start by washing the car thoroughly, taking time to clean, all exterior surfaces in including cracks, crevices, and grained vinyl and plastic. Use a soft brush if applicable to scrub textured surfaces. Dry finish completely with terry towels

2) Stain removal: Use either Turtle Wax Bug and Tar liquid or spray T-520 , T-525, or T-526. These products are strongly recommended for removing bugs, tar, and surface stains that are not removed with washing.

3) Finish Prep: Check the finish for smoothness, color and for surface scratches. Gently rub your hand over the finish to feel how rough the finish is. An extremely rough finish will usually be dull and have heavy surface scratches as well. This condition requires compounding with a rubbing or polishing compound. A finish with light roughness may require a scratch and swirl remover. Apply one of the following: (The list is ranked lightest cleaning to most aggressive): Ice Liquid Clay Bar, T-466, Turtle Wax Scratch and Swirl Remover T-237, Turtle Wax Premium Polishing Compound T-417, Turtle Wax Premium Rubbing compound T-415, Turtle Wax White Polishing Compound T-241, or Turtle Wax Rubbing Compound T-230. Always test the strength of a cleaner on a small area of the finish to make sure the cleaning strength is right for the vehicle's finish. Follow product label instructions. After using a rubbing compound it is best to follow with an application of Scratch and Swirl remover: T-237 or Premium Polishing Compound,T-417.

4) Apply car wax or car polish. After compounding or pre-cleaning the finish, apply a wax or polish. Use Ice synthetic liquid T-468 or Ice Synthetic Paste Polish, T-465 if the vehicle has a lot of plastic trim and for the longest lasting shine and protection. Use Platinum liquid T-412 or Platinum paste T-411 Carnauba wax if a traditional carnauba wax is desired.

Zymol is only a wax/finish polish, best used on good paint to keep it good.

You need something MUCH more agressive. You're going to have to remove oxidized paint and 'refinish' the top coat.

See my post about the 3M/Meguiar's products. You've got at least and afternoon of work ahead of you, perhaps even an entire weekend, depending on the level of paint degredation.

Either that or find a detailer or an auto body shop that will buff it for you. An AB shop is going to suggest new paint (at the tune of $2-2,500 or more) but insist they buff it first. And if they insist on paint, go elsewhere, 'cause they're going to 'buff' it improperly so it still looks like you need new paint.

If you want to do it yourself, here's some materials to round up:

Paint Oxidize cleaner (Meguiar's or the 3M stuff) Lots of soft rags or towels. Don't use shop towels. If there is a Family Dollar near you, they sell "microfiber" cloths for $2 for three of them. get a bunch.

Buffer. Ryobi at Home Depot for ~$30, and then get some 5" wool pads for heavy oxide removal, and some terry pads for wax application and removal. These can be found at Wal*Mart for $3-4 for two of the terry and one wool. Get a few of these, too.

A Finishing Polish. Again, Meguiar's New Car Glaze is excellent. Apply and remove after the cleaner and before the wax. Apply by hand and buff.

Wax. Any good wax will do. After all the work you just did, you don't need a cleaner wax. Get a paste wax, or a liquid wax but not cleaner wax. The Zymol may work at this point, but I would use a different wax first, and then polish it with the Zymol after that.

Note: You *MAY* get by with a Clear-Coat safe cleaner wax like Meguiars's, Turtle Wax or Mother's. I would lay it on fairly thick and then remove it with a buffer. Follow with the Zymol if you're pleased with the finish. But I'm beeting from your description that the finish is too far gone for a cleaner wax. You can give it a shot and see what happens. If it works, then Good For You! If not, follow the steps above and unless your paint is

*REALLY* shot, you should be OK.

Here's a general rule of thumb I use: Start with the least agressive course and see what happens. In this case, I mean to start with something like the cleaner wax and see what happens. Then, move to the New Car Glaze and see what happens. If that still doesn't do it, get more aggressive and go to the Oxide cleaners or the 3M product. The good thing is, it may take less work than you think. The bad thing is, you'll be duplicating efforts, since if you have to go all the way back to the Oxide remover, you'll have to repeat all the steps you just did.

But, you should be happy with the end result.

Good Luck!

Mequiar's Mirror Glaze #1 or #2 cleaner. I can't remember which one's lighter. Like I mentioned, I would start with a cleaner wax and work backwards. You might get lucky...The other stuff is 3M Fill 'n Glaze, hard to find. The replacement is MicroFinish. You can get that at lots of parts stores.

And, don't worry too much about the buffer: it's Orbital, not rotary, and that makes it a LOT harder to burn the paint with. Just go easy when you're using more aggressive stuff like the #1 or #2 cleaner or the 3M stuff. As it dries it cuts deeper. That's why I mentioned the Ryobi buffer...a LOT easier for someone to begin with. Won't do as good a job, but won't burn the paint off the car, either! (Believe me, I did it with a rotary buffer once!!)