clean up my black finish

[bobbio]

I got this car already painted. 4 base coats of black and 3 top coats of clear (maybe vice versa). The guy I bought it from (who also painted it) told me that in the 5 years since he finished the car he never washed it, only california duster and detailing wax for mainteneance and a full waxing anually. Now that I have almost an entire show season under my belt, trying to follow the original owners lead on care, I have noticed very fine scratches in the finish. Very evident in low horizon sun light. Being a novice in the care of a very nice car and finish, I am looking for the best methods to repair or improve my finsh while preserving the not glass smooth yet very reflective finish. any thoughts? PS, Idon't really want to get into wet sanding and the like, hopefully just some good solid advice on the proper use of cleaner waxes, glazes, etc.

 

[gearheadbill]

clean finish

clay bar
3M has some compounds for a buffer
3 stages of compounds
first pad white-most agressive
2nd gray -medium
3rd blue-finasse (blue)

 

[bobbio]

gearhead,
where can I get some info on the proper aplication using a buffer and compounds?

Is the clay bar a spearate effort from the compounds?

 

[gearheadbill]

clean finish

the clay bar is a cleaning step to flaten the paint finish.
there are buffers out there that will not burn the finish,like thur Groits Garage-they are dual orbital,and it is almost impossible to burn your finish.
you may only need to use the blue finasse to remove those fine scratches,if you are not familar with buffing I would go that direction..
The pros use a 6-8 inch buffer with rpms around 1500 but you need to be carefull with these on rounded areas and edges.
I hope this helps
Bill

 

[RGAZ]

Since the clear is in good shape a clay bar treatment will probably do the trick.

I know this sounds dumb, but based on your post, you did wash the car, right? I mean, just dusting it is fine for a while but it will eventually need to be washed if it goes outside.

So I would wash the car to remove any dirt and old detailer wax (multiple rag system, three bucket method, rinse with hard water filter, etc.). Then take a good look again and run your hand across the finish. you may just need a mild polish and wax and be good to go. The clay will do a good job removing contaminants, but washing it is a good start before you kill your arms rubbing the clay across a whole car.

As for what wax and polish to use... I swear by Meguiars but i don't have trailer queens, everyone likes what they like.

Randy

 

[bobbio]

Thanks Randy,
No it's not a trailer queen. Over 400 miles this season. I show it and DRIVE it. One look at the practice holeshots in my driveway and you'll know. Anyway, yes it spends a great deal of time outside and because I am new to having a really nice car and not being a body guy, I needed some guidance on finish care. I thought when the original owner told me about not washing it that that was pretty cool. But I guess when it gets right down to it, probably not so cool huh? Since my water quality at home is absolutely horrible, lots of dissolved solids which really spot things, bucket washing is not an option for me. What about a car wash that that has the spot free rinse (supposed to be DI water) and absolutely do not use the brush, only the wand? I also so far have been using only Meguiars stuff.

Thanks,

 

[RGAZ]

Bobbio,

Sweet, cars are made to be driven.

Anyway, if you have bad water you can buy a series water filter system that takes out the impurities. Griots sells one, but they are pretty pricy. I was working on using a home depot "whole house" filter to pull out the solids, but haven't got around to it. If you want to give it a try I'd like to hear about your results.

Black is the hardest to keep clean and the easiest to screwup, so I totally understand your hesitancy.

true DI would be the ultimate solution, but I haven't seen automatic places that have it. they ususally achieve the spot-free rinse by using an additive in the rinse water (similiar to what you put in your dishwasher (yikes)). That isn't what you want.

Take a took at Griots garage, since you ahve quite an awesome investment, maybe its worth their overpriced cleaning supplies. Good stuff, but expensive.

www.griotsgarage.com

Randy

 

[66_B_Body4ever]

As the boys above said, Clay bar to remove embedded stuff if the surface feels rough after washing. You can test this by lightly dragging a cotton cloth across the surface and noticing if it drags or leaves little cotton balls behind, if it does the clay bar is the trick.
It doesn't sound like the finish is in real bad shape but rather has some very fine scratches that need addressing. This can be done with many manufacturers products but the all have various steps/tools/compounds that must be used/followed. Like Randy said, Meguiars is one of them. I use Farecla and Norton and they both have different steps depending on the condition of the finish, depth of scratch etc. believe it or not, search YouTube for demo video's from some of the aforementioned manufacturers, they all have them out there with comprehensive mini lessons on use of the product.

My wifes car has Chryslers newer PRX brilliant black metallic pearlcoat that looks like crap if not maintained. I am very fussy about washing and maintaining the finish on the car and just like you describe is subject to very fine 'washing' scratches that are noticable when dusk settles in. In between the major rub it gets once a year I use a 'detailer' to hide the micro fine scratches. I have been using Eagle Ones Nano wax spray, its a clear product that literaly wipes on, wipes off with a little elbow grease and takes the eye away from the minor imperfections and helps give the car a wet look. I use this every 2 months and works good. Products like this are used all the time by the show car guys as they don't leave white wax behind.

If that doesn't work, likely a power polish with a super fine cutting polish and a good hand rub. BTW, the best polishing cloth's today are the new Micro Fibre type. Just bought a big package of them from Costco for cheap. They feel rough but leave the nicest shine...