1 Fine 69

Well the wrenching is nearing the end and the cleaning is going to have to start. It has been in hyberbation for about 3 months and the dirt and grime has really built up. I usually wash, then cleaner wax, then use a hard wax to seal. How should i go about bringing the cars paint back to life? i have looked at buffers and clay bars and all the stuff that is offered. Is the buffer worth it? i do have some metallic arcs in the paint abnd have tried scratch x but it did not work to well. If you were bringing it back.....how would you go about it? im willing to use any and all techniques!

Luster

iTrader: (1)

It really depends on how bad the paint is. You only polish when you NEED to polish. Is it base-coat/clear-coat paint?

If it's really oxidized, you will need to clean and polish.

If you're going to buy a polisher, don't buy one of these cheap Auto parts store buffers for 20 bucks. Get a Porter-Cable. They are $109 at Lowes and it is the best labor-saving device on earth for making a car's finish look good...

Follow these steps...

1. Wash car with any car-wash soap.
2. Clay bar with plenty of lube (you can actually clay during step 1)
3. Dry car
4. Apply polish either by hand or by PC. Hand polishing is a lot of effort and a lot of wasted effort. It's the combination of polish compound and the heat of friction that will bring your paint back to life. For this you need a polisher. I wouldn't recommend a rotary. Too easy to burn the paint. Get an orbital, once again... Porter-Cable.
5. Apply your sealant. (I use Zaino Z-2 Pro)
6. Apply another coat of sealant.
7. You're done.

I use sealant, as opposed to wax for a number of reasons. Wax doesn't last. It's 1950's technology, where synthetic polymer sealants can last as long as a year, and give a great glossy shine.

There's a lot of work involved in doing this.

If you are not into detailing, you might just want to invest a couple hundred bucks in having a detail shop do this for you...

Hope this helps.....

P.S.. That is definitely a FINE 69 !!!!!

Luster

iTrader: (1)

After looking at the pictures of your '69 Camaro, I'm not convinced that it needs to be machine polished.

Probably using a light polish product, like Zaino ZPC or Poorboys SSR1 would work fine by hand.....

Then just follow the steps above.... ^^^

'02 SLP#686

iTrader: (1)

I just buffed mine yesterday after alot of major work under the hood. Nedless to say the fenders were scuffed up. Got just about every scratch out and the car looks better than when I bought it. I am no buffer either. Just kept it on the lowest speed and used lots of compound then polish

1 Fine 69

the paint is not oxidized at all its just got lots of caked on dirt! i use meguiars car soap to wash but i did not know if clay baring it would get out all of the micoscopic dirt out better. i dont think i need the porter cable kit because the paint is in great condition its just dirty. its 3 coats of black and 3 coats of clear but there is one thing that bothers me. i dont know how to explain it but on surfaces like tops of the fenders and where roofline goes to meet the rear quarter there are....how should i say....metallic arcs. like thousands of little arced lines and they dont come out. they arent scratches just when its in direct sunlight they show slightly. i think the washing, cleaner wax or clay bar, then sealant will be jsut fine but i was wondering if i can get those "arcs" out. thanks for the comments and your guys paint looks awsome too!

Luster

iTrader: (1)

Possibly what you are talking about are swirl marks... When the sun hits the paint surface it forms hundreds of concentric circles in the paint...

If that's the case, you need paint polish to take the swirls down. 3M Swirl Mark Remover works pretty well, BUT it doesn't really remove the swirls, it just fills them so they don't show as much. Polish will work better. Zaino ZPC, Poorboys SSR-2, Meguiars Fine Cut are all good...

Do you have pictures of the "arcs"?

NightWindDriftr

iTrader: (4)

Exactly how are you applying ScratchX? I've used it on half of my spoiler, over 20 passes, with amazing results. IMO, it's an excellent scratch-remover-by-hand product. I think it's better suited to smaller parts of the car and for very, very minor scratches, but it can get quite a few jobs done with proper application and ungodly amounts of free time.

1 Fine 69

i tried scratch-x all over the car and applied it meticulously by hand. i think whast you said about it being good on small stuff is correct. it does help but its not to be used on the whole car. as for pictures i can try to get some but my dad said they are swirl marks so i will try and get the products u mentioned. thanks for the tips guys

NightWindDriftr

iTrader: (4)

When you apply SX, if you plan to again, be sure to apply it as you would a compound or polish. Keep on buffing it to a haze, then reapply if you feel another coat is necessary. Many people think that WOWO'ing it (wipe on, wipe off) a few times or even letting it dry will do the trick; this is not true! Once again, SX, like any compound or polish, must be worked in.

While I'm with the sealants-over-wax crowd, the wet, deep look of a quality carnauba wax must be given due respect. As a rule, "synthetic details" (Zaino, Jeff Werkstatt, Klasse) lend your car a shinier, "bling" look. In contrast, a detail using carnaubas (Natty's Blue, P2S1) is known especially for bringing out the wet, deep look in darker paints.

A wax can't touch a sealant's durability-for-appearance trade-off, but IMO if my DD was a show car instead, I'd pamper it with the best of the best in waxes. My two pennies.

NightWindDriftr

iTrader: (4)

I'm sorry, I forgot to address the topic of the thread!

For removing the swirlmarks and other marring, I recommend a proven compound and/or polish line mated to a buffer (ROB or orbital). Both, especially an orbital, will generate the heat necessary to break down the compound/polish properly.

There are good things written about Poorboys's products (SSR2.5 + SR1), Optimum's line (Optimum Compound + Optimum Polish), and Jeff Werkstatt's Prime (regular or strong variant). Since you seem interested in removing the only-visible-at-3-inches-in-the-sun swirlmarks, I think you would do well to pick up detailing on the side! Autopia is your best friend. Good luck!

1 Fine 69

great tips and i think i might use wax instead of sealant because of the dark color of my car. i wax it every 2-3 weeks but wash it before every show so its pampered. im not worried about keeping the wax/sealant on for along time but if i did i would consider using sealant more. if the swirls bother me a lot then ill think about the buffer down the road. and the quote in your sig nightwind is absolutely correct. im never going black again! boy when its clean though.......