Help with new car's Paint

[155///MPH]

When I waxed my car with Meguire's Cleaner Wax, ALOT of red paint came off onto the buffer pad (wax applied by hand) The paint now looks extraordinarily glossy, but I'm not sure if I am hurting it or not.

Question:

Is it paint that is rubbing off? Is there any reason paint is rubbing off? If so, is it just normal for a non clearcoat car?

What should I do to protect the paint?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

JP

[Dios]

what car is it? i know some lexus cars do not have clear coats on them

[155///MPH]

1988 E30 M3

Cinnabar Red

<------- Look in Gallery for pics

[Dios]

Im guessing the car doesnt have a clear coat... u r just going to be very careful if u use and compound on the car... also look into getting a sealant klasse makes a good one. a coat of sealant and a coat of wax will protect it very well. I personally dont use the cleaner wax that maybe be taking some more of the paint off.. try s100 (found at any harley dealer) probably one of the best waxes out there. for more information try www.autopia.org there are many professional detailers there willing to help u out

[Greg]

I sent him this PM, but thought it might be advantageous to post it here as well.

What's up. I saw your post of your new M3 and what an amazing car with an even more amazing number of miles. Like you said, the car doesn't have a clearcoat which means when you take something with abrasives (polish) or cleaners such as Megs. cleaner wax, paint is going to be taken off. You don't need to worry at all, this is completely normal. However if you were to give it a good polishing you would be removing quite a bit of "dead" paint and rejuvenating a brighter layer underneath which would simply mean you would need to be careful about over polishing. What I would suggest, although I don't know what type of condition the paint is in is to wash it, use a claybar on it. If you haven't used a claybar before, its very simply and available at Autozone. Basically your collects rail dust, overspray, tree sap, etc that get into the surface causing a gritty feel, the claybar removes these and gives you a glass like finish. Next I would get some Megs. #9 swirl mark remover and polish the paint. Undoubtebly you will be removing some paint, but it is necessary for the next step. The next step is a synthetic sealant layer. If you want to find it locally- Megs. #20 Polymer Sealant is the way to go. This will give you far superior protection than a traditional wax. I would recommend 2-3 layers, then you can top it off with a wax to make it really shine. Again if you want something locally- I would take a quick trip to your local Harley Davidson bike shop and ask for S100 Carnauba wax. This was has no cleaners and will not remove the #20 like the Cleaner wax would. It is about $15 and typically regarded as the best wax for your money. Put this wax on to top off the #20 and then reapply about every 3 weeks depending on conditions. If you want to get into higher end detailing, the sky is the limit and if you want to check it out- www.autopia.com is like the DTM of detailing, www.properautocare.com or www.autogeek.net have great lines of higher end products.

[155///MPH]

Thanks for the info.