GoLowDrew

I'm returning my leased Accord. I like to shine it up. More so, to remove any minor scratches as much as possible. Evn tho it may not count against me, but appearance and presentation is everything (I think).

All I have is regular wax and a pre-wax cleaner.

Do I need something stronger?

Any advise or product recommendations?

TIA

builthatch

the wax and cleaner wax will do very little for you, especially by hand IF you are trying to address swirls and scratches.

if you were trying to maintain a corrected finish or something, then your products could potentially help you.

honestly...what i'd do if i didn't have a background in detailing...find a respectable local detailer and have them give it a whirl. they will spot address major scratches and then apply a glaze and wax. the glaze will make the car look great, although it won't correct alot of the major issues. it will hide, but, what do you care.

this is the most cost effective option that will actually make the car look better.

you can even venture on to autogeek forum or autopia and try to recruit one of their users who have a good reputation to get an estimate.

if you are looking to get into detailing, then it might be beneficial to use this car as your guinea pig, but that takes time and alot more cash than the 'wham bam' detail would take, and i don't know what kind of budget, time or effort constraints you are up against.

i can't necessarily relate here because i keep my cars pristine no matter what BUT i have am heavy into detailing. if i DIDN'T love detailing, i'd probably just take the thing to a local volume detailer and pay the 120 bucks to get the thing done to a respectable level before turning it in.

BTW, re: these shops, i'd look for a shop that has one or two guys working...possibly, the owner and one other employee. those are the types that TYPICALLY will give you the best results. there are a ton of high volume shops that employ less than favorable help that care little about cars and the results can be pretty shaky.

the last thing i have to ask is...does it really matter? i mean, is it something that a good wash and dress won't offset? i mean, the lease agreement surely allows for normal wear and tear, and the fact you are a car guy would indicate to me that you probably are turning something in that is a bunch better than what they usually see come through...women and stuff, ouch : )

rnacion

builthatch gave up some really good suggestions.

If you are still wanting to do this yourself you have a few options.

You can go all out if you plan on getting into detailing and pick up Rotary or a Random Orbit polisher grab a couple of products and have at it. With that being said going this route will easily run you a couple hundred bucks.

You can also take it to a shop and have them detail it for you.

Another option though that I would suggest is to do it yourself with a two step polish system involving an All-In-One product and a sealant/glaze. An example of this would be the Klasse system which involves their All-In-On and sealant glaze. They are very good products and have been around for years. The nice thing about them is that they can easily be applied by hand to produce some very nice results. The All-In-One will clean the surface as well as remove some light imperfections, and hide some of the more noticable ones. This means that some of the more serious swirls and scratches will be less visible but not permanently erased, which I'm sure isn't a huge problem with you considering you will be returning the vehicle.

I know exactly what you mean about presentation, I would not want to return a vehicle in any shape less than that of a car I would own. Do some searching around for some other products similar to the Klasse ones there are a few others out there.

GoLowDrew

Very true. I'm sure the inspector will see past that "shine." No matter how well I dress up the tires and polish the wheels, tires will not pass if it's less than 4/32.

You are also right, as a car guy, you always like to present your best. Even if it won't be yours anymore in 2 months.