DetroitG37Joe

iTrader: (2)

I was a dumb@ss and used paper napkin to wipe bird doodoo on my OB G37 and now I have like 3 Spots of light scuffs/scratches in the clear coat!! I was just lazy to get my microfiber towel and now I am paying for it. It wont happen again thats for sure. It's nothing major. Nearby body shop says they can buff em' out and ue the whole wet sand/wheel buffer/etc combo and then wax my whole hood for about $40. Is there anything I can do first to try and help it guys or should I just let that auto body shop work their magic for $40????

gan78mao

iTrader: (1)

save ur own trouble and let them do it!
u dont want to mess it up even more!lol!

DetroitG37Joe

iTrader: (2)

damn thats what i was thinkin....OB is such a tender paint to maintain...Maybe I should do one of those full car sealant applications after this.

gan78mao

iTrader: (1)

yea i feel ur pain!
i try to care less!! LOL!!
try that it may help alot!

erasat

Well, I feel your pain I did the same last week in two spots, in the hood and the front bumper, damn birds. But in my case I used the Sponge I used to wash the car I didn't thought that it would cause that, silly me...

Garnet Canuck

Yikes, you used a napkin???

IMO, wet sanding seems a little excessive for what sounds like only minor marring. Just MHO, but I would sink that $40 into a PC and some polish and do it yourself. You have a BO G37, so you'll need these tools in your arsenal down the road anyways if you want to properly care for your paint. There is no better investment you will make than having the tools to do this stuff yourself.

ObsidianGT

iTrader: (1)

I would agree with Garnet; wet sanding seems excessive. If those guys do just one section it won't do anything for the other sections!

Claybar and then polish it with a Porter Cable 7424 yourself. The PC is optional, but very helpful. You could do it by hand, though. You'll need to wash/dry, clay, polish, glaze (to fill in whatever the polish doesn't cut enough into), then probably use a sealant or wax.

You could also pay a good detailer to do the work for you. Just let them know about that area and they could probably use a compounding polish to make it good as new. Just make sure you get a couple of references so you know they're not idiots. Make up a story about how you don't want to end up with "rotary ghosting" and want someone who knows what they're doing. Plus, you'll have the added benefit of a beautiful, and even, (mostly) swirl-free paint.

DetroitG37Joe

iTrader: (2)

Does Meguiar's ScratchX product help?

ObsidianGT

iTrader: (1)

Anything like that will simply be a filler. And if the filler isn't sealed or waxed then it will eventually wear down. And if it's bad, the filler probably won't work well. It's worth a shot, but you may end up back at square one.

Polish will actually remove the imperfection, or a majority of it, not just hide it.

DetroitG37Joe

iTrader: (2)

polishing by hand is a bitch though right? What kind of polish should I use? Im assuming I need to invest in that PC 7424 asap....also what are the primary compounds/waxes products that us OB swirl mark warriors should invest in along with the PC? I actually PM'ed you about this too...When I apply polish are you saying that lights scuffs in the clearcoat can actually be repaired?

So....how does this sound...

1. Clean affected area
2. Rub in some Meguiar's Scratch X interesting head to head review
3. Polish area with black Meguiar's Car Polish?


Do you have AIM, can you perhaps AIM me at my screenname (under my post count)

ObsidianGT

iTrader: (1)

I'm not really an expert on this subject, but I have done a lot of research during the past 6 weeks. I have a black car, too. I'll pass on the advice that was given to me by George of Detailed Image if you're REALLY interested in taking over the detailing of your car then (meaning, it's going to be an investment in both money and time but the payoffs are tenfold).

• Washing and Drying - the most overlooked part of the detailing process which should be done right to maintain your car swirl-free. I got the starter kit, since I already had a few of the items from the Ultimate kit. The "two bucket" system is KEY to doing this right.
  
  
• Clay Bar - leaves your paint "bare" of any chemicals AND crap.
  
  
• Polish - if you have pretty bad swirl marks, start with a yellow pad and heavy or medium polish, then finish off with a white pad and light polish (Menzerna's PO106FF is highly recommended). This is the part where the imperfections are actually removed. This process removes a small amount of your clearcoat to even it out (don't worry, you could polish 2 times a year for 20 years and still be OK with clearcoat). Doing this by hand usually leaves you with uneven results which is why a PC is recommended. You could also get an Ultimate Detailing Machine (UDM). It's a little more powerful than a PC. You should be using 2+ pads for each job to maintain good results, even with a PC.
  
  
• Glaze - is a filler. It gives you great results but is usually very weak. It needs to be protected with a sealant or wax. It should be applied with a PC and a black pad.
  
  
• Sealant - is a new style of synthetic wax that lasts from 4 to 6 months. It doesn't give you very much shine like carnauba wax, but it provides great protection. Leave it for 24 hours so it can bond to the car. Apply with a PC and a blue (softest) pad.
  
  
• Wax - Wax gives you 4-6 weeks of protection and beautiful shine. You can apply it over the sealant after the sealant has cured, or you can apply it after the polish directly, or even after polish and glaze. Basically, it's the last step. It doesn't last as long as a sealant, but at least if you forget to wax each month your sealant will keep you protected. I keep hearing that Natty's Blue Paste Wax is just amazing for dark colored cars. I'm going to try it out myself this weekend. Apply it by hand with a soft microfiber applicator pad. Don't use the PC -- I don't know WHY! But that's what I keep hearing.

If you choose to get your stuff somewhere else, just make sure you research the product. There seems to be a LOT of companies that market things as polishes when they aren't, or sealants when they are polishes, or glazes when they're just light polishes with a glaze filler. It's a mess. Even the famous Zaino calls things polishes when they really aren't.

Now that you know WHAT, here is HOW: http://www.detailedimage.com/guides.php

Make sure you get lots of microfiber towels, like 10+ AT LEAST. If you run out, go to Autozone and grab one of their 6packs for 8 bucks to use as a polish remover or something. Save the nice microfiber for the important stuff.

Take your time doing it all the first time.

ObsidianGT

iTrader: (1)

Interesting review. This sort of underscores what I mentioned in my previous post about how companies confusingly name their products.

ScratchX is a filler (like a glaze, but probably more viscous or dense), no doubt in my mind about that now that I've seen the review in the link.

Meguiar's Car Polish is likely a sealant, otherwise, you'd be using it before ScratchX.

Again, it's just going to hide the imperfections. It's worth a shot! But, you should see some of the pictures people have posted here of how great their car's look after proper detailing. For example, Garnet Canuck showed us one of his recent jobs:

http://g35driver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=220443
Check page 1 for the "before," and middle of page 2 for the "after."

speedracer g37

iTrader: (4)

joe, you do not need to wetsand. a random orbital with a fine foam pad and a liquid POLISH will completely fix what you've done.

Garnet Canuck

Yes, polishing by hand is a bitch. Not only is it cumbersome, but the results are very unsatisfactory IMO. I won't reiterate too much as ObsidianGT has given you some good info already, but I will say that there are MANY different polishes/sealants/waxes to choose from. If you are looking for a very effective and easy to use polish, I would highly recommend Menzerna 0106ff. This is my go to polish for the majority of my customers. With regards to sealants and waxes, my personal recommendation is Menzerna's FMJ sealant and Poorboys Natty's Blue Paste Wax.

Btw it's BO, not OB.

ObsidianGT

iTrader: (1)

Hi Garnet,

Is there any masking that needs to be done prior to polishing? For example around the lights or emblems? Someone mentioned applying a small thin mask between a clearbra and the paint--that got me wondering.

I saw on autopia that you can use a horse/boar's hair detail brush to get the chemicals out of the fine areas, is that right? I don't have one of those... would twisting the edge of a microfiber cloth into a point be a suitable alternate? I can't find those detail brushes at any autostore.

Thanks!