Hello,

First time posting on the board, I just recently got an '06 Monte Carlo LT and would like to start fixing it up a bit. This is all new to me so this will all probably be very basic, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

And sorry if this is in the wrong section!

I have three things that I would like to accomplish with the body of my MC,

1. Get it nice and shiny like most if not all the ones on here are, Is it just waxing? At the moment mine is pretty dull looking. If so is there any preferred wax for the Blue 7th gen. Montes?

2. My head lights are very cloudy. I was wondering what you guys do to keep them nice and clear? And any preferred cleaning products too if any.

3. I have always been baffled as how to get windows streak free and nice and shiny. Any tips/products?


Those are all probably extremely basic questions, so hopefully I will be able to get it taken care of.

Thanks in advance! I will be sure to post pictures once I get everything done and looking nice.

 

If you are comfortable purchaseing a 20-30$ kit for a local parts store, you can restore your headlights with that to a like new condition. This past weekend I restored mine by taking the headlights off the car, and sanding them down with first 180 grit sand paper and then a wet-dry 1000 grit paper. Using water with the 1000 grit. I then painted my housings and even put a Chevy bowtie on my headlight lens. finished the whole project up with a can of clear coat from auto zone. This method will cost about 10-15. 6-7 for the paint and 7-8 for the sand paper. Either way you go you should have them restored nicely!

 

Thanks for the response, I just looked up headlight cleaning kits and found one by 3M that people seem to say really works -

3M Headlight Restoration Kit - Walmart.com

Looks like there's two pads that attach to a power drill and you just buff it and wipe it clean. It's only $16 too so if it doesn't work it won't be that big a deal and I'll go the way you did yours.

I also saw some nice looking flame headlight decals I might pick up sometimes in the future

 

since it is an 06 and you are talking about those problems, I am going to assume this car was not washed much in its life.

You are going to need to purchase microfiber cloths, a claybar kit, meguiar's ultimate compound, meguiar's scratch-x (It makes a great polish), a good wax (I like NXT 2.0 liquid), and I would get Plasti-X for the headlights/tail-lights.

You will need a very nice day (preferably overcast) and a good amount of cleaning time.

Wash the car twice, then clay-bar it. That should clean everything that the original owner let get on the clear coat and paint. (clay your windows too)

Then for the trouble spots use the compound, then polish, then wax. For the not so trouble spots you can just polish, then wax.

Use different cloths for each item. Color-code them, mark them, something.

For the windows, you just have to be careful with what products you are using and whether or not the glass is hot or cold. You need "warm" glass, not anything sitting in the sun. Little bit of product goes a long way, and always wipe with a clean microfiber cloth when you are done to get the streaks. I like Castle Glass Cleaner (Amazon.com: Castle® C2003 Streak Proof Glass Cleaner: Automotive) or Invisible Glass (Amazon.com: INVISIBLE GLASS CLEANER -- 19 OZ. AEROSOL: Automotive)

Good luck!!!

 

Hey,

Thanks! I will definitely try out the products you listed. I will probably wait a month or so for nice spring weather. I was going to do it sooner but now all of a sudden we get snow today, I thought we were done!

I am also actually having a local shop do some touch ups soon so I would have to wait until that's done. There are scuffs on three corners and the clear coat on the hood has all but peeled away and the paint is starting to as well. (The car was in an accident a few years ago I take it, and they replaced the hood but didn't do a good job.)

It will probably take a while but when it's done I will post some pictures Also going to be ordering a windshield decal and polish the rims when it gets nicer out. No sense doing it now with the snow.

 

Oh and ChibiBlackSheep, would you suggest spraying the aerosol onto the glass and wiping off or applying it to a cloth then wiping it on?

 

I spray on the window when I do the exterior, I spray on the cloth when I do the interior.

Turn the cloth frequently and wipe a lot.