Wsalam, bro. I saw your thread i believe its possible to restore the dull paint on your car.
You will need to compound/polish it to remove stains, hard water spots, light scratches, faded paint and possibly stubborn contaminants stuck on the surface of paint. But first things first; you need to put aside cheap cloths and cosmic and invest in quality stuff which will guarantee the revival of your cars paint and will keep it shining for years to come. Your paint looks metallic....any idea if its clearcoated? And please tell how much money you want to spend i.e your budget.
Please read all the nonsense i wrote
; its long but you need this info to restore the lost glamour of your car.
The steps you should be following are:
1. Wash and use detail brushes to address nooks and crannies
2. Clay bar
3. Wash again and dry completely
4. Compound/polish paint by either machine(rotary) or by hand (i will talk about this below)
5. Protect with sealant/wax
I'll explain all these steps so you know the basics of detailing.
1. Wash tires first with normal soap and brush and use cheap cloth for wheel arches and rims. Rinse well.
Gone were the days you used (if you did) cloth and water to wash car and waxed over it. For washing you need two new, clean buckets, car wash concentrate, wash mitt and a drying towel. The best way to wash car is the two bucket method. In this method you take two new buckets, rinse/wash them before use is a must as you want super clean buckets for a swirl free car wash. In the first bucket add the directed amount of car wash concentrate in the recommended amount of water( both usually written on back of bottle) and mix well together. In the second bucket add only water as this will be your rinse bucket. Always wash in cool shade AWAY from sunlight. Wet the car with water and remove heavy dirt with some pressure with water before washing. Use a detail brush(not the cheap nylon brushes!!) with diluted All Purpose Cleaner(a detergent) in spray bottle and spray on nooks(trim, under door handles, grill etc) and use brush to remove dirt. This dirt is not usually removed from washing as its stuck in hard to reach areas. Dip wash mitt in bucket containing car wash, squeeze a little to remove excess wash and start washing from roof. After doing a few panels dip wash mitt and shake it in rinse bucket to remove accumulated dirt. Squeeze most of the water out. Dip wash mitt in wash solution continue washing in the same way. ALWAYS wash from the top to down as dirt flows down.
Rinse the car with water to remove all car wash and dry the car. Put your hand in a plastic ziploc bag or a new shopping bag and feel the paint.............does it feel bumpy? If yes your car needs claying.
2 & 3. Claying is a step which will remove the dirt, water spots and contaminants that washing will not remove. In a clay kit you will get a detailer spray / clay lubricant which is sprayed on car panels and clay bar is rubbed gently on paint to remove contaminants. Its a good thing to cut the clay bar into a few pieces because incase you drop the clay........ just throw it away! Why? Because clay will trap dirt from the ground and this dirt will be dragged on your cars delicate skin which will scratch up in no time. So BE CAREFUL with clay. During the claying process, spray enough detailer to have good lube; if you feel your clay is 'grabbing' the paint then use a little more detailer. Frequently check the clay for stuck contaminants. If its too dirty then knead it and stretch a little to expose a new, fresh side of clay; otherwise the dirt on it may scratch paint. Continue claying and checking until you feel that the panel you're doing it on is clean i.e clay isnt getting dirty any more. Then move on to other panels and repeat the same process. When your clay is too dirty i.e kneading does not expose a clean surface take a new piece of clay(remember to cut the clay!) and keep claying. Claying is primarily for paint but can be used on glass, lights and rims. After you're done claying, there will be detailer spray left on car as well as clay residue so another complete wash using the two bucket method is strongly advised to remove all this.
4. Now this is the crucial point. You have to restore your paint by compounding it and there's two ways of doing it; by hand or by machine. Do it by hand and you'll have a gym workout by doing only one panel; do it by machine and you'll have speed, control and better results. But you can mess up more on machine compunding than by hand. Why? Because of the incredibly fast speeds of rotaries which create enough heat on paint to expose BARE METAL ! But don't get scared; even noobs can learn how to use it without giving themselves a heart attack :D. The method of using rotaries is to use the right pad and product combo with right speed. Its simple only if you are willing to learn and progress. For advice on this i will request ustaad jee @vague_one to spare some time and advise you on rotaries. The trick is to keep the rotary moving at a constant speed on the panel and IMMEDIATELY wiping off the compound/polish residue as soon as you're done.
5. After you're done with polsihing you'll be left with smooth, shiny, vibrant paint desperately in need of protection. In waxes you have two options; synthetic sealants(long life with silvery shine) and carnauba waxes (shorter life but give a deep wet look to paint) like the Cosmic but you wont be using that :). Also both type of waxes come in liquid and paste form. Paste carnauba waxes will have a greater life than liquids due to more carnauba content which greatly enhances life of wax. When you talk about synthetic waxes pastes will definitely last longer but you will see that there are sealants which come in liquid only and give protection as long as other paste waxes!
When using paste waxes its always important to keep a thin layer with a foam pad i.e use enough wax to allow it to spread but don't use too much or you'll be rubbing the paint with a lot of force to remove wax with a microfiber cloth. And this will lead to swirls which you don't want on your freshly polished car. Wipe off the car wax after it has hazed with a microfiber cloth(always use this cloth; its waaay better than the cheap 30 rupees cloths which only drag around the wax residue). After doing the whole car stand back and see the improvement..........give yourself a pat on the back and call it a day.
Product suggestions:
Detail brushes - @vague_one has 'em
All Purpose Cleaner - 3m OR Meguiars
Car wash - Any from Mothers, Meguiars, 3m, Turtle wax etc
Wash mitt - Turtle wax OR Meguiars both microfiber wash mitts
Drying towel - Turtle wax ICE drying towel OR Meguiars water magnet
Clay bar - Mothers Clay kit OR Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay Kit
Compounds/ Polishes - Meguiars Ultimate Compound & Ultimate Polish (great combo)
Sealants - Turtle wax ICE paste wax OR Mothers FX Synwax OR Meguiars Ultimate paste wax OR 3m perfomance finish.
Never dry dust car, always use two bucket method for wash and microfiber towels for removing wax/polish residue and detailer sprays. If you have any questions or confusions, please ask. I will be more than happy to help you out. And don't worry too much about costs; an investment is necessary to revive the paint and then you'll be washing and waxing for a long time without the need to polish provided you did everything properly. 