Got some swirls in my paint that really show up in the sun. Will using a clay bar help with this and is it really worth the time spent. Thanks for your input in advance.

 

no expert but in my brief experience with clay it makes it smoother using it and is not that much bother. However, it did not remove any swirls. It may have prevented more by removing atmospheric contaminants that were present embedded in the surface layer of the paint but that's all I got out of it with my relatively inexperienced sample of using it.

lance

 

Clay bar won't help for your swirls. There are some different brands in the wax area that are specifically designed to remove the swirl marks. There was a thread about this recently with some recommendations on products. Do a search and you can have them gone this weekend. The clay bar is just to remove things that are in the paint. Probably wouldn't hurt to use a clay bar and clean that paint up.

 

I am no expert either, but I did spend an entire day (or two) claying my entire car myself one panel at a time.....

Without regard to swirls, it made a significant difference in the contaminants clogging the surface clearcoat. But once it was clayed, I ensured it was polished then waxed right away and it was baby smooth. I don't think the swirls were removed, but then again, I did not use a waxer/polisher like some use. There are other methods of reducing swirls and if you have any questions, please contact Paul Dalton direct.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkmZveqyU5E

 

Clay bars are for removing dirt and contaminants from the surface of your finish. Your swirl marks are actually fine scratches left behind by an orbital buffer. If you use a clay bar on them you'll have really clean scratch marks, but scratches just the same. Finishing a paint job (or as some call it, rubbing out) is a progression of moving to finer and finer grits until the scratches are so small that they don't reflect light and aren't visible to the naked eye. When taken to the n'th degree, this gives you the deep wet shine you see on show cars. Most cars are wet sanded with 1500 to 3000 grit paper to start with and then polished with an orbital buffer and then finally with a polishing compound. This yields a very nice looking finish for the amount of work that has been put into it at this point and it sounds like this is the stage your car was left in. The scratches left by the orbital polishing stage are almost imperceptible at first but as the finish ages they become more obvious. At this stage you have some choices; 1) have it polished again (relatively inexpenseive but you will be at the same point in the future again) and wax and it will look good again for a few years. 2) find a wax product that fills in and hides the scratches. This may work well (or it may not, depends on the swirls). The advantage of this is that you are not further thinning the paint like you would with a new polish job. Or 3) find out how to REALLY finish the polishing process to remove the swirl marks and bring the car to a more show like finish and then NEVER let anyone with a buffer near it again. Be prepared though, this step can be a lot of long hours. I'm afraid that I can't tell you that much about option 3 though as I have never taken any of my cars very far into this stage. Your best bet is to find someone who does show car quality finishes that can help you.

As a side note, new cars do not come from the factory with swirl marks. That is why I will never let a dealer put a buffer on a new car that I take delivery of and 95% of dealers do use one unless you are adament that you don't want it. Its far easier to remove any imperfections, adhesives, or dirt/stains that come on a new car than it is to remove the buffer marks the dealers added in their haste to prep it for delivery. Just something to remember.

Good luck with your finish.

 

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT will make your paint smooth after waxing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do it!!!!!!!!!!

 

Clay bar is worth the money, I've used them for years and a firm believer in them. For the fine scratches my secret is a yellow bottle of scratch out by KIT. Its $5 for a big bottle and worth 10 times that. I wet sanded my car over the winter then buffed it with 3M compound then used the scratch out on it then waxed it. I've also used this same method on a black 71 show car and I'll give you $100 if you can find one tiny scratch in that black paint!

 

This was my result. Works even better if you have metal flake in your paint


http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...hine-pics.html

 

???? I think you mean before waxing. I've used a clay bar for years and love it. It cleans all the crap put of the paint and then you can add a layer of wax to protect it.

 

There was just a recent thread on this topic. Can't remember what it was called, but they do tell of a few swirl away products. Try to use the search bar. Try searching "swirl away".

 

Google "paint swirl removal" and check out the listing "how to remove paint swirls by hand". That should take care of your problem.

 

TECH SHINE will get rid of swirls. It basically covers them up. Clay bar, wash, add TECH SHINE to wet car, rinse, dry done. Should look showroom. I would try it before going the traditional route which is to polish and remove some clear/paint material in the process.

Mequiars Ultimate Compound will work nice and not remove much material but WAY more labor intensive.