I thought I'd do a thurough(sp?) cleaning and wax on the Xterra this weekend so I'd be ready for winter.
I wanted to make sure there was a good layer of wax to keep the road salts off the paint.

Anyway as I was waxing using an orbital buffer the pad broke off the buffer!
All that was left was the spinning metal nub with the bolt at the end.
And since I wasn't quick enough to pull the buffer away from the X I got a nice gouge in the paint!

Looks like I'm going to get a bottle of touch-up paint tomorrow.

Moral of the story:
Don't waste time with cheap Target buffers.
Go to a local auto body store and shell out the extra bucks for quality.

Better yet, wax by hand. Better results and builds muscle

Touch up paint still looks like ass. And yes, do it by hand.....job satisfaction and muscles to boot!

Remember the paper match trick for the touch-up paint. Use the torn end of the match to dab it on.

Brent

Holy cow! I've used orbitals for years and that's the first time I've even heard of that happening. I've always used either a craftsman, or a Makita. Both have seen years of use and work fine. Good luck with the fix.

Machinery to do a wax job is just asking for trouble to begin with.

Unless you're a body shop and do this kinda thing all the time, do it by hand. You'll get better results anyway.

Sorry to hear about your mishap, though - that really, really sucks!

I read about the Meguiar's 3-Step process on these boards and I decided to try it out. My friend, who owns a show quality '67 Mustang, says that's the only stuff he uses, so I bought 3 bottle and 3 towels at Kragen for ~$30.

After a few hours, the X looked magnificent! It looked virtually new and a lot of the topical scratches disappeared.

This definately does the trick in removing those hairlines you get brushing up against trees and branches.

1/2 Hr. wax Job. use a mixture of 50% maguires liquid, 50% maguires detailer in the spray bottle. mix together. Apply with damp face cloth. Use the spray bottle to apply. Windows and all.(except the wind shield)You wont believe the ease to apply and remove. Stay away from the door handles and the black plastic by the wipers.

alphakyu2 wrote:



Wait, I thought Meguires 3-step was for clearcoat sratches (not for ones that show metal)...

I plan on Waxing my X tomorrow...

I used to always wax by hand only, but these days I wax by buffer and by hand
Why? it's so I can put on more than one layer of wax on the paint (longer lasting/better protection) and not have it take forever

This was a first for me, hearing about the broken buffer, but I've never had a problem with the ones I've had in the past...

Just a question for Kerensky97, where is the scratch located?
Don't forget to use glass cleaner to remove the wax on/around the scratch before you use the touch up paint as well (otherwise it won't adhere correctly)

The scratch is on the front passenger fender, I haven't got any touch-up paint yet (Mid-Terms keep me busy) but using the glass cleaner is a good idea I'll have to remember that.

Not to mention teaches you Karate.

Wax on! Wax Off!



[ 11-12-2001: Message edited by: Xrugger ]