im new to this

[new2this]

ok so here is the deal, i drove a piece of shit van for like two years before i just got my new car.
i no everyone here has cooler cars but i reallllly like my car as it is all i could afford and it still looks pretty cool

i got a black 2004 chevy cavalier ls sport coupe and i got it pretty cheap (3000)
so i need to know
a great wax product to really chine it up and also how to get some of the lesser scratches even less noticable.

thankyou for your help.

[Kitzy]

Everyone is here because we like the vehicles we drive and we enjoy trying to make/keep it looking it's best.  I'm sure everyone here probably has a car they would trade theirs for in a heart beat. 

That said, wax is only a small part of the equation.  The key is in the prep work.  It can also get pretty expensive.  It's not too bad though until you get addicted.  Heh.  If you could provide some pictures of your paint in direct sunlight, where you can see the reflection of the sun in the paint, and possibly give a budget on what you would like to spend, that would be a great way for everyone here to jump in and help you out.

[Rockpick]

First and foremost, welcome to the site, new2this.  We're glad to have you aboard.

From what you've described, it's a tough call without seeing the paint to really prescribe a remedy.  As you may guess, lots of us here are beyond perfectionists when it comes to keeping an automotive finish in top notch shape and different problems require different levels of attack.

Lots of the time though, the person who posts a question may have a certain outcome in mind.  If perfection is demanded, we'd probably need to see a photo (as requested in the last post) and we could go from there.  If you're looking to simply minimze the appearance of the problems in your paint, we may be able to help there too but, be aware that it's probably not going to get it back to that showroom condition that everyone loves.

That said, what are you looking to achieve?   How much time do you really want to put into this?  Is there a budget?  Lastly, what kind of access to products do you have in your immediate area (professional paint and body shop supply house or a place like Auto Zone/WalMart)?

We'll look forward to hearing back from you... hopefully, we'll get you to the point that you'll love your paint again!  :)

Again, welcome!

-Rockpick-

[05supercrew]

Be very careful once you pick up a PC its like picking up a crack pipe it will be almost impossible to put it down. Welcome to the crack house. All kidding aside there are a lot of very talented people to learn from in here. Welcome

[new2this]

thanks for such a warm welcome guys!
ok
budget, i work near minimum wage and pay for college...... soo pretty low

i could throw a rock and hit an autozone i live so close to one.

i will try to get a couple pictures of the troubled spots
one of the worst spots is my back bumper where it looks like the previous owner hit somthing because its all scratched up.
oh and when i was washing my car at work today i realized that my hood has tiny tiny yelllow and blue flecks of paint on it. cant tell you how pissed i was.

i tried some products i found at work and i took some wax from my boss. Is Muguires wax good?

oh and someone told me that turtle wax makes a line of products especially for black cars that repells water off of it so dust and water marks wont show up after the rain dries. is this true?

i ll try and get a camera to see if i can take a picture or two.

thanks guys!!
ps what the hell is a pc?

[Olamon21]

welcome, first off, read the handbook from the autodetail 101 forum.  Then most of your questions will be answered.  Then pics of the paint.

[Rockpick]

thanks for such a warm welcome guys!
ok
budget, i work near minimum wage and pay for college...... soo pretty low

i could throw a rock and hit an autozone i live so close to one.

i will try to get a couple pictures of the troubled spots
one of the worst spots is my back bumper where it looks like the previous owner hit somthing because its all scratched up.
oh and when i was washing my car at work today i realized that my hood has tiny tiny yelllow and blue flecks of paint on it. cant tell you how pissed i was.

i tried some products i found at work and i took some wax from my boss. Is Muguires wax good?

oh and someone told me that turtle wax makes a line of products especially for black cars that repells water off of it so dust and water marks wont show up after the rain dries. is this true?

i ll try and get a camera to see if i can take a picture or two.

thanks guys!!
ps what the hell is a pc?

There are lots of great products out there... some are more readily available than others.  You've mentioned Meguiar's.  Generally speaking, many of the products that they make are pretty good but, like any type of product line out there -- be it cooking oil or motor oil - some products are better than others even within the same 'name brand' line of products.

While you're snagging pictures, see if you can get some of the paint flecks that are on your hood.  We may be able to deal with those too.

As for the Turtle Wax products, I'm not familiar with anything that they make that you've described.  Quite frankly, I - personally - have not had much luck with any of their products and much better products can be had for only a marginal amount more than what you'd pay for their stuff.

Thinking a bit more, maybe you're talking about the 'colored' waxes that TW makes?  If so, I'd steer clear.  It's a very gimmicky product that will do nothing more than allow the wax to dry to the surface of the vehicle and make it difficult to remove it because you won't be able to see it as well.  Plus, from a durability standpoint, I've just not found a TW product that can hold its own.  Generally speaking, they're lower end products - and that's based upon my experience with several of them.

The suggestion to read the Detailing 101 sticky is a good one.  It's a very broad stroke of a brush when it comes to the detailing realm that may get you on the right track.  From there, we can help you hone in on certain problem areas (like that paint on your hood) and bring your vehicle to another level. 

Detailing isn't rocket science... it's mainly patience with a little bit of extra patience... sprinkled with some patience.  :)

Once you've had an opportunity to read the Detailing 101 post, jump back over here with more questions and we'll keep honing you in...

-RP-

Oh yes, the "PC" that you've seen is a 'Porter Cable'.  You'll often hear this referred to as a Dual Action Polisher or 7424 or G110 or G100 (and a few other less frequent acronyms).  This is a machine - similar to a rotary that you're probably familiar with - that many of us will use to apply polish and last step products.  It won't eliminate utilizing elbow grease but, it can certainly cut down on the time it takes to properly utilize some products so that they work to the maximum ability.