Thank you
I read back through the thread and understood better
When I get everything I'd like to do a before and after
I printed out your instructions just to make sure I don't leave anything out

 

The Devil is in the details apparently... I should have read the "fine print"!

 

And before you spritz?

Btw, I like the warm towel idea.

 

The only thing I've heard about the bag is that it drags on a non-Clay barred surface.

 

I only put that there to see if people would read my post...

 

If I made you laugh a little, my job here is finished

 

People will take a very absorbent towel, in the summer, on a humid day and wonder why they are smearing their product in an attempt to remove it.. that humidity encrusted towel only reactivates the flashed off product.. a warm towel is softer and more pliable and is like a magnet to remove flashed off product. I usually put two in the dryer.. run them for a few minutes and let them sit in the dryer.. when I am done a panel, I will put it back in the dryer, when I take the other towel out.

 

You did, but new laughs are always appreciated.

 

I recently bought a 98 C5 for a very low price. The former owner took good car of it but drove it every day in the Florida weather, sun, and BUGS. And where we live the luv bug is the most destructive insect the car will encounter. They come out of the grass twice a day when the temperature is right for their mating flights. The temperature a few feet above asphalt, near the grass medians concentrates them for cars to come along and smear them all over the front of the car. If they are cleaned off immediately, the residue does no harm. Left on even over night the residue turns acidic and will, in time, eat through all layers of paint down to the actual surface of the car's parts. Needless to say, this car had serious damage to the front end paint.

I couldn't complain, the price I paid for the car left room for the numerous repairs it needs and, when the time came, a new paint job. I tackled the repairs one by one and washed and cleaned the finish thoroughly, then applied a coat of my favorite carnauba wax. When finished waxing it, I was dismayed to see that the wax job enhanced the bug damage to the paint, making it more visible.

In reading up on other's methods of taking care of their car's finish I came across the clay bar method and decided to give it a try. I bought the Meguiar's product and started to teach myself to use this stuff. Finding that the clay bar did clean the paint to a beautiful shine but did nothing for the luv bug damage I resigned myself to a future paint job as the only option.

At this point I switched to removing the accumulation of road tar on the front end, around the wheel wells, and on the clear black Targa roof. The Targa roof was cratered, coated with tar and bug residue, and had circular scratches left by someone's try to polish it using a buffing pad chucked into a 1/4 inch drill motor. Its color was an opaque grey that let no sun light through to the inside. If I looked directly at the sun all I could see was a brighter spot coming through the dark panel.

 

I'd like a chance to help you understand.....your bare hand has oils and whatever on it....when you lightly run a fresh plastic bag Free from impurities over a clean surface .....it won't grab......only clay baring will give you this glide with plastic......hope I talked you into apologizing to the fine gentlemen who gave you a 100% accurate description of how it's done....If you own a Corvette......let's try to act as fine as the car you drive when talking to other Corvette enthusiasts here on the forum......Thanks Zappa

 

I had tried some old Meguiars clear plastic cleaner the first day I had the car but stopped when it made a white mess that I couldn't remove. Fortunately, I had only applied it to a tiny spot on the left rear corner of the top. Later, after reading the instructions I decided to try it again so, as I brought the plastic bottle towards the top it slipped and as I tried to get it back under control the bottle spit a considerable amount on the top near the spot where it had first left the white spot. I frantically grabbed a cloth and rubbed furiously trying to get it up before it could dry and do more damage. As I rubbed on it, the polish seemed to liquify the top's surface so I grabbed a clean cloth and scrubbed at it, finally managing to get it off and not leaving a white spot.

I looked closely at the now transparent area about 6 inches across and realized that I had a clear, relatively clean spot in one place and that I could see through into the car's interior. I couldn't leave it like that so I spent the next couple of hours cleaning the whole top. The result was a little shiny, but still pitted and cratered with flakes coming off all over.

At this point I switched to the clay bar and found that the clay worked best using the plastic cleaner as lube. A few more hours of work and the top began to look almost normal from 10 feet away. Up close, especially on the front edge of the top it was still cratered and rough. I got some Meguiar's plastic polish and worked it over for more hours of tedious work. The top's finish began to look shiny and much smoother so I began to use an orbital buffer to speed up the process. Eventually, even the front edge cleaned up nicely, and there didn't seem to be any damage to the original hard coat of the top.

Having some success on the top encouraged me to try a different approach to the bug damaged paint on the front of the car, so I experimented with using tar remover as the lube for the clay bar on the bug damage. Working small areas, I was able to clean the accumulation of bug residue and old wax out of the bug spots, making these spots less visible. In places where the bug damage seemed to disappear when WET, I applied clear touch up paint which, while leaving a paint bump, made the damage nearly invisible. In the spots that had dark bug matter embedded, it was necessary to use colored touch up paint after the dark stuff was removed with the point of the touch up tool.

The result, while far from perfect, has made the car's terminal paint look very good, and the bug damage can only be seen up close if I look at it from an angle. I can live with this while I complete the mechanical repairs to the rest of the car.

Before this cleaning and touch up process began, looking at the front of this car was discouraging, the bug damage stood out, spoiling the looks of an otherwise nice car. Now, I am proud to drive it around for others to see. And using the clay bar was instrumental in restoring the original, almost 20 years old factory finish.

This car was built Sep. 9, 1997 and I can only find one repair of the right door, it having been re-coated over the factory paint with out properly preparing the old finish. I had thought I could sand down the orange peel of the re-coat and polish it to be as smooth as the rest of the car, but when I began working on the worst spot on the door, the paint began to peel right off when it was touched so I stopped. The door will have to be stripped when I get the whole car painted.

In this picture, I have cleaned only the left side of the car with the clay bar and tar remover method. It contrasts with the right side, being much more shiny. There is still visible bug damage but the removal of the remaining bug residue and OLD WAX minimizes the Visibility of the damage. I have since worked on the worst paint damage all over the car, making it almost invisible to the eye. The bug damage goes all the way back to the windshield.

The lesson I have learned is that paint with a lot of damage should not be waxed, the wax will only make the damage more visible. Damaged paint should be kept as clean as possible, minimising the visible damage. If you have a car with a perfect paint finish, waxing protects it and enhances the shine. I will eventually get it repainted after I do some research to find a shop which can do a factory type re-finish.

 

Thanks, Zappa,
I hope my post will encourage any others who have a serious paint problem to try again.

 

maybe you should learn to read.... before you drag me into another miss guided attempt to disrespect me . I told the guy to offer whatever he wants but leave me out of it... your drug me back into it. I would never run a plastic bag across my finish. End of story.

I've been this forum for 16 years. Been doing fine detail work for 55 years. I don't care what anyone runs across their finish. I offered my very professional advice. I only responded because YOUR gentleman drug me into his thread, disrespected me by saying my method was wrong and his method was right.

That where I draw the line... anyone can say what they want here, but disrespect me in the process, and I'll be just as kind . I've given advice on this forum to 60,000 members here over 16 years, most in private, because of people like you, and your gentleman. You can use a plasting bag or a card board box, But don't drag me into your advice.or use me to further you beliefs.

Your sources is an Internet no body . ???? Who posted a blog on a plastic bag???? In deference to my professional experience?

People can judge for themself, I'll take my sensative fingers everytime.

Plastic bag ??? Don't believe everything you read on the Internet.. people will tell you to use regular fuel, and regular Dino oil too.

 

So.......can we eat it or not?

 

Probably not a good Idea...I think the talc might be the culprit.
Bill aka ET

 

I wouldn't. I keep away from eating any frosting, protein powder, candy, chewing gum, and tooth paste that contain titanium oxide or dioxide. I use Hellmann's mayo which doesn't contain it.
I don't eat doughnuts.

 

 

I did a doughnut once.

 

Looks awesome! I just did my Torch Red that I picked up two weeks ago. People think that a wax job is all you need but I'm always amazed at how much crap is on the car when doing the clay bar.

 

Did u use a "bag" or go commando?