Hello,
I've got a 1983 300D. It is quite oxidized.
I polished it about 3 weeks ago with Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze.
I tried best I can, and noticed all the paint coming off.
I found out it's best to put polish on with one rag and polish with another,
The round polishing pads work great.
It has a little shine, Not much. But it looks good. On the bottle it said
for real shine, etc, to follow up with Meguiar's Hi-Tech Yellow Wax #26,
So, I just received that.
My car is a bit dusty/dirty now...so....can I wash it and still retain
the polish from 3 weeks ago?...Then polish with theYellow wax#26,
In General, how long does a wax last, and how many washings before
you have to polish again.
Also, I feel If i polish too much...the paint is coming off with the dirt.
So In General, I have These two Products from Maguires, the show
glaze #7, and the hi-tech#26, and want to try at this point, to keep
my car up as much as possible. I don't have an electric buffer, and
I would be scared it would take All the paint off....
My car is parked on the street, in the sun, Is there a product that
Really protects it, that I put on top of these two polishes, or are
they sufficient to protect the paint?
Any Advice appreciated!....Thank you
(ps. My car was hit over a month ago, and still waiting on insurance,
Triple AAA used to be great, I dealt with them locally, now I'm dealing
with some agent in Colorado, I'm in Oakland, terrible customer service,
and she is just rude. Like the computer guy from saturday night live,
if I don't hear back soon I'm just going over her head)

Wash the car well before trying any sort of polishing and work in the shade. Sun will burn the wax and make it extremely difficult to work with. If the paint is rough, start with rubbing compound and an electric buffer to knock it down and get to a reasonably smooth state. Follow up with a polishing compound, then finish off with a good paste wax. Depending on your climate and how often you wash it, the paste wax will last 3-6 months. Wash well and reapply wax when you notice water no longer beading.

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Thanks, maybe I can't avoid them, but trying to avoid compound wax types.
I am not strong enough to apply decently, and would have to rent a buffer.
The liquid Meguiar's is not strong enough to protect?.
I may have to get a compound, and do a little at a time, The last time
I tried, there were alot of streaks on the car after.
I may be looking for the easier way to keep her looking nice, but I
may have to go the compound route.

Give the "Turtlewax Ice" a try. It's not super shiny but it applies easily and offers pretty decent protection.

The problem is your clear coat is gone and the base/color coat was never intended to be "shiny". The base/color paint is what is coming off on the cloth. Indiscriminate use of a compound will make the problem worse.

The only way to renew the glossy appearance is re-painting.

Wax will slow the paint loss down but the base coat will continue to deteriorate with exposure to UV rays.

https://www.turtlewax.com/our-products/ice/turtle-wax-ice-liquid-wax

Use this very sparingly as a little goes a loong way. Most of the bad reviews given for this product are from clods who seem to think you pour it on and buff it off.

__________________
“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

Thanks...
Is there something I can apply to protect the paint that is there,
Just something shiny to put on top, like a clear cover, that does
not have to be rubbed on with the paint coming off,
Do they make a spray on protectant for older paint, etc?

There is no magic elixir. All you can do is add a layer of wax to slow down the deterioration of the paint.

The wax you have will do as good as anything else. No matter what you do the "shine" wont last long as the waxes/polishes will be absorbed by the exposed base coat. After a few applications you will improve the shine and reduce the paint transfer but it will never be glossy.

Take Diseasel300's advice regarding washing and shade. I imagine your paint is too far gone for buffing to have much benefit.

__________________
“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

I did not know that MB used multi-stage paint in 1983. My 1981 300SD has single stage paint (original) which means that I can just use polish to remove the oxidized paint and it shines again.

If you really have clear coat over a color, there is nothing you can do to help the color now. If you compound it you will just remove the color and you cannot just spot paint the clear coat again (as far as I know).

The products are this: 1) compound is very gritty and really removes the tar, sap, and the oxidized paint; after compounding you wax (not polish) the car. Compound does not have any wax in it; that is why you must wax afterwards.

2)Polish, on the other hand, is less abrasive than compound and has wax in it. No need to wax after polishing.

3) Wax, like Turtle Wax, has just a bit of grit. It is basically wax.

Compounding and polishing should be done by hand and very carefully unless you have a random orbital polisher. Read the directions but you compound by hand in a back and forth motion, not in circles (read the label). The random orbital polisher is different from an electric buffer because it will not damage the surface if you leave it in one place too long. The electric polisher generally has a long handle and it will damage the paint if not careful; the random orbital is generally just round and will not damage the paint.

If you really have multi-stage paint, however compounding or polishing will not help. You need a paint job.

Sounds complicated...I took it to a detailing place once,
and the guy said he didn't want to do it since it was oxidized
and he did not think he could get a shine.
I did get a little shine with the meguires. I don't need a real
high shine, just want my paint to last.
Is there a damage in applying polish too often?....
To not polish it looks bad, but to polish a bit of paint comes off, so
that sounds like it is bad to polish...a little confusing.
If I applied this polish every 3 months, say, and when I apply,
a little paint seems to come off, Is that ok?...

Waxing won't hurt your paint, if anything it's a protection. I know nothing good about your paint is coming off and I don't think there is anything you can do to stop it. I doubt waxing will help.

I also doubt waxing is the reason the paint is coming off. I'd suggest that whoever put the paint on the car didn't properly prepare the substrate for paint. It probably wasn't sanded. There are several national brands of automobile painters who will paint a car for less than 800 bucks. I consider them all vandals and terrorist. If the paint is coming off around the window trim and other penetrations in the body it's likely that a cheap paintjob is to blame.

The better quality auto painters charge twice to four times that much to paint a car.

__________________
84 300SD
85 380SE
83 528e
95 318ic

It's the original paint, I think it's just old and oxidized...
I'm surprised it's lasted this long. I can't afford a paint job at this
time. Taking care of her mechanically is pricey here on the west coast.
Time to move...

Based on photos of your car I saw in the thread you started about the damage to your vehicle, I think you have single-stage paint, which means you’re not dealing with clearcoat issues. Your paint is just oxidized and needs a good buffing. My ‘79 Cadillac has the same type of paint and, even though it mostly sits in a garage, still has to be buffed out yearly. It’s also normal for a bit of the paint to show up on the polishing cloth. An orbital polisher really does make the process easier and the finished product look better. The previous comments about working out of the sun on a cool surface are spot-on.

__________________
Christopher
'06 Mercedes E350 station wagon (silver/black)
'85 Mercedes 300D (black pearl/palomino)
'85 Mercedes 300SD (smoke silver/burgundy)
'79 Cadillac Sedan DeVille

'05 Toyota Camry (because always running is nice)

'85 Mercedes 300D sold back to orig. owner 8-1-06
'84 Volvo 264GL Diesel, owned 2000-2013

Without a buffer and using compound, you're never going to knock the paint down to get it cleaned up. You'd be shocked and amazed how well the paint will clean up with a couple afternoons with a buffer and some compound. If you're above renting or buying a buffer you can forget about having nice paint unless you pay someone else to do it (and paying someone else to do it will cost you more than a decent buffer will!)

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

OK....I may have to get a buffer, maybe I can rent one, that's not too heavy.
Although I've seen them fairly decently priced at Home Depot.
When I apply compound, Do I have to press really hard and rub it in, or can I
apply with medium pressure, and the buffer will do the rest?
And Do I use the compound, on top of the light polishing I did 3 weeks ago?
So I use a compound, then aftewards a polish?....would I use a buffer for that?
Is there a Compound that is a combination Cleaner/Polish. So I would not have
to put a polish after?
And After Using a compound/buffer. Do I do anything to keep it nice looking, besides
washing....I assume I'd do this yearly?...as you can tell. I don't have alot of knowledge
on the polishing front.
Any solid recommendations for a compound and/or polish are appreciated?

Harbor Freight has a sale Aug 16th-18th featuring a dual action buffer for 50 bucks. I bought one and buffed out some clear urethane on the wood trim on my project car. I have never buffed a car but from my limited experience using this buffer it will be very forgiving when buffing a car.

Here's a picture of one I mounted on the table to buff my wood finish. The pads are $7 each and I bought two. The blue one is medium cut and I also used a finer pad for the same price which is black. HF also has Meguire's medium cut compound 16oz for sale at 15 bucks a bottle.

I suggest you watch more than one Youtube video to see if you feel confident in using a buffer on your car. It is fairly heavy but a dual action is the only thing a rookie should use. That's why I bought it. I suspect one who uses this buffer will have to hold it up and off the car to keep the pad moving. It stops rotating with very little pressure. I doubt it will harm paint except on the sharp edges. Some people put masking tape on edges around the trunk, hood, doors and other sharp breaks to prevent accidents to them.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
84 300SD
85 380SE
83 528e
95 318ic

LindaJane - it looks like you are not reading the responses carefully; most of your questions are specifically answered in my earlier response. First - you are confusing the terms polishing with the term waxing. When you say polish that means using polish which is just a step down from compound in grit; you are actually asking about re-waxing. You should rewax maybe twice a year. Wax has very little grit and therefore is not too abrasive on your paint. Polish and wax are two completely different products and you can find both at an auto store in the wax section.

Next - I would recommend that you do not buy the type buffer shown above which has a long handle; it will burn your paint if you are not careful. Instead buy a random orbital polisher as shown below. Harbor Fgt has it at about $25 which means it is probably not very good; I bought mine at Sears about 30 years ago for $75 and it still works like new. The electric polisher just goes around and around like an electric drill; the random orbital buffer does not - it goes in many different directions and will not burn your paint.

Find out for sure if you have single stage paint. If so, then compound out your car. Go talk to a paint shop and ask them what you have. If you have clear coat, you will just have to repaint.

Here is the Harbor Fgt random orbital buffer; note it does not have that long handle. Peak Performance 10in. Random Orbital Waxer Polisher
Item# 53510
4.1 / 5
Open Ratings Snapshot 7 Reviews
3 Answered Questions
Peak Performance 10in. Random Orbital Waxer Polisher

This will probably be OK for you.

Edit - to be clear you do NOT use a medium or any other grit pad. You place a round elastic bound terry cloth cover on the buffer and spread compound, polish, or wax on the terry cloth. Please do not put a grit pad on your car. However if you decide that you have single stage paint and decide to compound, I recommend you do it by hand. Just read the instructions on the can of compound; we cannot give enough specific instructions here. Instructions on the can are adequate.