Blackout

Ok, so ill give everyone the story and you all can tell me whats the next best thing i can do.
Last year i bought myself a rotary buffer with an adj RPM throttle, the buffing kit from autogeek which includes the buffing smartpads that work really well. I also picked up some meguires chemicals(fine cut cleaner, and swirl mark remover). I washed the vette really well to get all the loose dirt and what not off it and then dried it all off. I then went over the entire car with the buffer using 2 different pads and the 2 different chemicals. The whole process took me about a month to complete. End result was the car came out remarkable. All the small light scratches on the clear were gone and it shined like it never did before. After this i wanted to put a really good wax and sealer on so the paint would continue to look as good, so, i picked up the wolfgang kit, and pinncacle wax. Once the kit came in i dusted the car off with a microfiber and then proceeded to apply the sealer following the directions. Now, heres where my problem begins.
As soon as i took the sealer off it then brought every small scratch, nick, light buff mark...anything of a blemish on the clear coat at all and brought it right to the surface, and now it will not come off. I have tried using a chemical called "autoprep" which is a wax remover and a paint prep solvent and it will not harm the clearcoat and that did nothing as well the scratches still remain. I have tried using the rotary buffer with the meguires chemicals and that does nothing...its almost as if nothing will penetrate whatever is left on the paint. I tried looking on the net for a paint sealer remover but i could not find anything. Ive tried 5 different waxes and none of them touch the scratches. The scratches are not deep at all. If you run your finger over them your fingernail doesnt even feel a bump at all...so im thinking that its the clear that is scratched. I tried a wax called "Permaseal" and that did nothing at all. If anyone can help that would be awesome. Thanks guys!!

TraceZ

You need to use an abrasive polish to remove scratches. Not a wax.

Try looking into 3M's "Perfect-It" line of products. This is what the professionals use. You'll need the 3 foam pads and the 3 compounds. They are color matched, gray compound with gray pad, white with white and blue with blue for the final removal of swirl marks.


Once you get done with these products the paint will be naked and you can then apply whatever wax or sealer you want.

Bronto

Did you clay the car first??? thats a must

Blackout

Nah, i didnt clay the car first. Thats the thing that is weird...when i was done buffing it...the car came out awesome...the paint was remarkable....soon as the sealer hit it thats when my problem happened.

vettespur

Repost this in the car care section and most likely a user called the junkman (AJ) will be able to offer you some sound advise.

He is the sratch remover specialist.

robsc501

Hi There,
I,am betting you bought the flex polisher & the menzerna polish kit from auto geek like I did.If your car is garage kept & you keep it well waxed & polished. I would say no claying is required unless you have the sand paper feel or feel bumps in the paint. Do this by running your finger tips over the paint. It should feel smooth as glass. If not clay it. Wash the car with dawn its a grease cutter & car wax remover.(clay it if needed) 1st Apply your menzerna super intensive polish( med cut polish) with the light cutting orange pad. Do a 2'x2' area at a time.Let the buffer do the work & take your time.
2nd use the menzerna super finish polish(light cut polish) with a new or different orange cutting pad. Do a 2x2 area at a time.let the buffer do the work & take your time.
3rd apply the menzerna finishing glaze po 115c with the red or blue pad.
4th apply your wax with the black or a different red pad or by hand.
If you have some super fine c/c scratches after you are all finished.The use of perfect-it 3m rubbing compound # 05973 will remove grade 1200 or finer sand scratches,swirl marks or water spots.Its what the pros use. It also does a great job on paint over spray. If you still have a few fine scratches like I did after all this work. I left them alone. I did not want to wet sand them out.I,am the only one who can see them & the conditons & angle have to be just right. You could ask in the car care section.
I hope this helped.
robsc501

Mikvi

Try using 3M fiberglass restorer. It's sold at boat stores like west marine. It's a very fine abrasive with wax added. I've used it to take care of light scratches.

dougbfresh

Bull-you think even the highend body shops do this before a buff? You want the best shine, wetsand with 2000 or higher grit and buff-do this CORRECTLY and you will have a mirror shine better than factory new.

krzytrain

To the OP do not attempt to wetsand your car unless you have experience. While Mr.Fresh may be correct it is not advice to give someone that doesnt have experience.

Like stated above check to see if the car needs to be clayed then wash with dawn to get the old wax off and clay the car if needed. Start with a fine scratch remover on a 2'x2' area to see what it is going to take to get it the way you want it.

Im going to guess and say when you did the original application all you did was fill the swirls and cover them up, when you started the 2nd application it brought them back out.

Use the products that works best for you..... i like the Adams line, other people like Megs or Zaino or 3M..... use what works for you.

What kind of towels are you using for drying and taking the wax off?? i would recommend a high quality microfiber (not the ones you buy at Cosco or autozone)

Just my .02

Steve

dougbfresh

All these elixers do is hide the problems as the OP has discovered. If you don't want to do the wetsand and buff, take it to a pro.

All a claybar will do is get out imbedded junk so the buffer doesn't pull them out and cause more scratches. The wetsanding process wil do the same.

Shirl

Wetsand (1500) carefully then buff. Pefect it then hand glaze by 3M.

dougbfresh

Except I'd use 2000 grit.

blackmachdown

that's your problem. Fine cut cleaner is more of a paint cleaner that can handle light swirls on a normal clear coat, which our cars are not...they are very hard . Swirl mark remover is essentially a glaze (thats why it looked good...it covered everything)

Don't listen to the wetsand guy that is too extreme for what your trying to do by getting rid of the marks.

your pads are ok and so is the buffer, its your compounds that need to be changed I recommend Menzerna Super Intense Polish and Menzerna Nano Finish 106fa. These two polishes were designed for the rock hard clear coats found in vettes and mercedes so itll work perfect. You'll use the SIP with the orange pad, and the 106fa with a white pad, and to get just that much more out of the paint use the 106fa again but with a blue or black pad to jewel the finish, then use the wolfgang and pinnacle kit to seal and wax the car


hope that helps

99 vett babycar

wet sanding is a great way to go if you have experience. I really don't think your Corvette is a good car to experiment on. Use the 3M products and always start with the LEAST abrasive product and work your way up.

RockJustBelow

Give the guys at Autogeek a call and explain your problem. I'm sure they can help.

I bought a PC xp kit from them and used the wrong polish for my vette, see post #6...

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/car-...-autogeek.html

Anyway, they were real helpful and got me straightened out.

Blackout

awesome advise guys. Im gonna do some reading on the 3M product line, and the menzerna and see what i dig up. Thanks again!!

steve8

What model polisher do you have?

Blackout

Its from northern tool equip. Its just a rotary buffer with an adj Rpm dial on it. Ive never taken it off 1 so it operates at a low speed.

Jet-Jock

Can you post a few pictures?

3M Perfect It-II is a light scratch and swirl mark remover. Works well with a medium cut pad.

3M Finesse It-II is a much more aggressive product, it resembles a 2000 grit liquid sand paper. Finesse It is found at most retail auto paint supply stores. Comes in a fairly large jug. You can use Finesse It with a Dual Action buffer then follow with a less aggressive product, like Perfect It or similar, then add your polish.

I prefer to use Zaino ZPC as opposed to Perfect It because you see the results immediately (helps if you need a few more passes), it contains no fillers (Perfect It does, you need to wipe with alcohol to remove the filler to see if you need more passes.), and you don't need to re-wash the vehicle afterwards before you apply your polish. With ZPC you wipe with a damp towel, and begin applying your polish.

Since you obviously like doing your own work, I would suggest you invest in a Porter Cable Dual Action Random Orbital buffer with the 6" pad adapter. Order some quality 6" pads.

blackmachdown

he has a rotary, a PC is like a step down...especially if he is going with 6 inch pads, on a pc for paint correction id go with 5 inches Max!