Ok, so I want my car to sparkle this summer. This is the first really decent looking car I have owned in a LONG time

I have used the the meguiars(sp?) 3 step process, but I have never been overly impressed with the results.

So I want my car to look good this summer, without breaking the bank. So if you could recommend some decently priced products that would be great. I have have no qualms with using a little elbow grease, and I am will to take the time to make it look right.

And I have no dedication to any company. So I am open to any products, but I would like to keep the total cost under $50 at most $75

thanks in advance!

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Fault lies with the man low enough to lay blame.

Reality is that unless you want to drop about $200 - $250 on a professional machine polisher and some good polishes, you really won't get much better then what you were using before. You could try some Meguiar's Swirl X and / or Meguiar's Scratch X, but even then likely the most you will be able to achieve is just breaking the oxidation on the surface of the clear coat. I did scratch x on a two door neon once... my arms were absolutely dead when I was done and the results just were not worth all the work.

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Ryan

2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD!
2002 Bonneville SE - The Mutt Complete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD
2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH
1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one

100% correct. You cant get correction by hand.

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02 SSEi-Turning money into tire smoke, very efficiently.

x2. An Orbital polisher will blow your mind when you're done, but it's a decent investement. I have around $250 in my setup.

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Bye Bye:

RIP sandrock

What those knuckleheads said is 100% true. I have the same set up as Ed and have done several cars with awesome results after spending around 250 for my setup.

If you want to just stick with hand products Maguires is probably my favorite for the price.

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2000 SE: 17" Chrome Grand Prix GTP wheels, Pirelli P-Zero Nero Rubber.
180,000 miles and running smooth

What brand orbitals do you all have? And what are specs on them for comparison?

Thanks for the responses

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Fault lies with the man low enough to lay blame.

Id find a very reputable body shop/detailer and just have them do the polishing.

Clay barring does wonders also.

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Now out of curiosity what type of setups do you all have? I have been looking at orbitals and I cant find one more than $75 let alone $250

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Fault lies with the man low enough to lay blame.

Have you ever ran a polisher? Biggest concerns are burning through the clear.

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No worries about burning through the paint with an orbital. About the most trusted out there is the porter cable 7424 xp.

I use and highly recommend Menzerna polishes, you can find everything you need from http://www.autogeek.net they also have a great forum if you would like to check it out.

As far as having a body shop do the work for you.... if you are into keeping your car clean yourself don't pay someone else to do it. You will pay the same money, only have it done once, and if it don't live up to your expectations too bad. If you buy the stuff you will have enough polish and pads to last several years and dozens of details.

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Ryan

2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD!
2002 Bonneville SE - The Mutt Complete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD
2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH
1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one

Not with an orbital, that's a rotary buffer that you run that risk. Your biggest risk with an orbital is dropping it and denting or scratching the panel.

I run the Porter Cable 7424XP with Lake Country 5.5" pads: http://www.autogeek.net/dual-action-polishers.html

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Bye Bye:

RIP sandrock