I used menz powerlock and collonite 845 last fall for paint protection on my silver metallic 2010 malibu.

Now two washes into this spring and there little rust-like spots around the wheel wells and trunk area. Along with numerous other areas.

Could this be a result of bad application or could it be something coming up through the paint?

If it is something I can take care of how?

Thanks in advance.

Most likely it is just fallout from industrial areas or other dirt from the air and road. It ends up sticking to the paint and looks like rust spots. White is horrible for being able to see this, it drove me nuts on my truck being in a large steel mill area.

Easiest thing to do is claybar the whole vehicle to get rid of these spots, and any other dirt stuck on the vehicle that normal washes won't get rid of. After clay barring you will need to re-wax the whole car since it will be stripped off with the claybar.

So you can get an idea of what else may be stuck to the wax put your hand in a plastic bag and run it over the paint. You will be able to feel every piece of dirt through it better than you can with your hand. I only claybar once a year to get rid of these spots, I am just happy it isn't as noticeable on silver.

My wife's Mazda 6 had those spots but, only on the rear spoiler. I took it to Mazda and the service guy said they were from rail dust. Apparently if the car is shipped by rail they can be affected by this. The detail guy had it for about a half hour and they were gone, I am not sure what they used to get rid of them.

My wife's Mazda 6 had those spots but, only on the rear spoiler. I took it to Mazda and the service guy said they were from rail dust. Apparently if the car is shipped by rail they can be affected by this. The detail guy had it for about a half hour and they were gone, I am not sure what they used to get rid of them.

Rail dust is pretty much just a term for metal speck and bits, whether or not it travelled by rail. It's basically metal flecks that come from train brakes, but also other sources in our polluted world. Fallout and soot from smokestacks is another major thing claybarrnig gets off. thats the discoloration you get on the bar that is brown rather than black.

One thing I cant stress enough is to be sure you've washed the car at least twice before you clay bar. Otherwise you're going to fill the clay bar up with dirt that you could have gotten off with towels and soap, instead of a $6 hunk of clay :-X.

If you are going to clay bar and wax, consider throwing a glaze step inbetween. This is a very mild type of polish that will help with all the gaps and nastiness that using the clay bar just uncovered. After polishing is the best time to touchup nicks, as well.

When you say glazing in between clay and wax, do you mean scratch remover and/or swirl remover, or is that something totally different?

I'm a noob on finishes. I clay barred my '09 last year by hand. This year on my '11 I got a random orbital polisher. Should keep my arms from falling off as bad as last year! ;)

Glaze is essentially a very light polish IMO. I use it as such for newer cars where the finish is in pretty good shape. Swirl Remover is much more aggressive than a glaze, in fact glaze isn't even considered "polish" to some. It's like one step below the lowest polish. I'll save the polish --> swirl remover --> for down the road on the malibu if the paint gets worse.
It looked good to me after the glaze so I was pleased. I like to work my way up frmo a lighter polish to a more aggressive one. Usually I start at a polish, but its my car and I knew it was in pretty good shape to start (aside from the rock chips! grrr)
If you've been through auto washes or DO have bad swirls though, then use one.

If you have a Meguiar's DAP, use setting 3 with the swirl remover and take your time... assuming it's your first. If not, what did you buy?

I've never used one so any tips are truly appreciated.

My buffer is from Auto Zone. It's a Wells Stanton 10-inch orbital. It comes with 3 pads, 1 terry cloth and the other 2 MF. It's a single-speed motor at 3200 rpm.

Should I return it for a better model?

It really depends how much you want to spend... sure the $150 models will be "better" but they also cost $150. Just keep it moving and don't sit still on the paint.

One downside to a 10" is going to be all the contours we have on the malibu. It's not something you'd think about just shopping for the first time, but if you try to get all the paint you'll have more "overspray" so to speak -- else you'll need to leave behind alot of sections to do by hand.

Also, make sure that the foam is decent quality else buy different brand pads. Does this brand have extra pads? You won't be using it a ton so unless you want to just have high quality stuff, this should do. Just use some care, in detailing it really is the time and care more than the equipment that gets the job done. Though the quality and such is important, even more is the care which is why its so nice to detail your own car. You know you want to make it look good and won't cut corners unless you make an educated decision to for yourself haha.

At a car wash or most detailing shops, they will still reuse stuff, dropped towels, etc... because although overtime it might mess something up, it wont on the TRIP. IMO not the way to do the job and make the car look it's BEST. Still acceptable, even nice, but the goal of detailing is to have fun, take care of the car, show it off and have it look as good as you can afford (in both time and money)

Just some thoughts!

Great tips! Thanks for the counsel, too. I'll definitely use it to make what I do turn out as good as it can. (For a noob, that is!)

Does anyone know where i can buy touch up paint for my bowties?? No autoparts store has my color and neither does Sherwin-Williams. 2010 LT Galaxy Gray/Dark Labyrinth Gray