My black vert is covered with light scratches. It is very noticeable in direct sunlight or under white light indoors. Today, I took it to a body shop and they told me that they could wet sand it with 1100 grit to get the scratches out ($325). He also told me that I would probably need to repeat the process yearly. What do you think? How long will my clear coat survive this process? Is it difficult to re-shoot the clear coat? How much should all of this cost? Thanks for the help.

 

You could probably get away with one, maybe two at the most sandings...depending on your scratch depths. If you have any skill or friends that could help you, you could get what you need and maybe do a buff job yourself. A good buff job probably at least $100 if you took it to someone. Wetsanding is kinda dramatic usually (not seeing your car) and re-clearing is really dramatic...that could run well over $1000 my guess. I would try the Car Care Section...some good advice in there, vendor help, and tools, products, pads good luck with it. BTW, if you get it back to nice...invest in the good towels and cloths

 

Thanks for the feedback. I've got the good towerls but, I sometimes break down and go to the local hand car wash (Bubbles) where they use cheaper towels. The car is a daily driver and I have to park it outdoors so, its tough to keep the finish in pristine condition.

 

Honestly - One sanding with 1100 grit sand paper will take off most if not all of the clear coat. If you don't feel that you possess the equipment and skills to work on the problems - I would choose the least agressive course of action first..... and that is seek a professional detailer, that has a good reputation. You might consider calling a high-end car dealer locally (Mercedes, BMW, Ferrari?) and ask for a detailer that they would recommend.

With the right products and someone that knows what they're doing, a fair amount of the scratches could at the very least be minimized.

Scratch's advice to go over to the Car Care Products Forum is a good idea - there's a guy who hangs out there called the Detailing Dude that might be able to give you some advice, or direction. Good luck!

 

Assuming your scratches are visible but can't can't catch a fingernail on any of them, try the following:

Pick up 3M polishing compound and polish out the scratches by hand. Follow that with a swirl remover (and even a glaze if you want to be ****) and then apply a good wax or Zaino. Make sure your car is clean and if you work small areas at a time, you can do it in the sun to see what effect it's having on your scratches.

Good luck.

 

If you are going to buff the car... 1100 is WAY overkill.

When I bought my Black Typhoon back a few years ago there were some stains the hood from bird droppings.. wet sanded them 2500 emory cloth.. then buffed with a wheel.. good as new.

For getting rid of the swirl marks... you can use a clay bar.. with someone who knows how to use a good wheel. The one we have is about 7500 rpm I think, you can burn the paint with it, so you have to know what you are doing and stay away from the edged.

My dad and are going to hit the Z06 that I just bought (Red) and my H2, which is Black. He is VERY good with it.

Just my 0.02

 

On my black '89 I used the Griots Garage random orbital with polish and Best of show wax. Can't burn the paint and takes out the swirls plus gives a deep brilliant shine. See www.griotsgarage.com.

 

Some good info and links in this thread
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=896889

 

Black shows swirls like nothing else. I have been suffering with mine for 10 mos. now. I have used Griots Machine Polish and Best of Show Wax on my other cars with very good results, however, on my 03 Black coupe, I made a mess. Probably because there was some fine grit in the foam pad which was not visible to the naked eye. I found a good detailer, after using one that was awful and left buff marks all over, who used 3M swirl remover and Meguiars Glaze. Most all of the scratches and swirls disappeared. However, my black Vette seems to scratch itself in the garage. Detail Mist, micro fiber, and washing away road grit all seem to cause spidery scratches. This is probably the result of very soft clearcoat, and I was not the original owner so as Evil Twin points out, maybe it never cured properly. I would not do a wet sand without exhausting the professional detail route. It is amazing what can be removed with chemicals and buffing. In any event I have resolved myself to the following regimine. Polish with Porter Cable orbital and Griots Machine Polish. Use either Meguiars Scratch X or 3M Swirl remover. Apply NXT, let it cure a day, then apply another coat. This has provided very good results. Most recently, I have applyed the Griots Best in Show Carnuba after the base of NXT. It is spectacular. It seems that the buildup of a good sealant base such as NXT is the best protection against the propensity to scratch and swirl. The carnuba adds protection, depth, and wet look. For what I'm doing I probably should have just done the multiple step Zaino products, but I am using what I already owned. It is a special kind of Hell having black, but worth it when you get the ooohs and ahhhhs. Best Wishes.

 

I just finished the detailing. I started out with a clay bar then I applied 3M Perfect-It Fine Cut Rubbing Compound with my Porter Cable Orbital. After that I applied 3M Swirl Remover with the buffer. Finally, I applied Butter Wax by hand. I was able to get rid of most of the scratches except for a few stubborn ones. I didn't want to risk burning the paint, since I'm not exactly an expert with the buffer.

This is the first time that I've used Butter Wax. I realize that Butter Wax won't last more than 6 - 8 weeks but, it looks great. I normally use Zaino but, I thought that I would try something different. What do you guys think?

 

Seth at 21st Cent MC in Dallas is fantastic at detailing. $100 for exterior, might be worht the drive from Houston.

 

Black is beautiful, but black is a bitch - - if it passes the fingernail test as mentioned above, the clay bar and other processes above work well. One other piece of advise - - use polish that doesn't leave a white powdery residue. Zymol has a wax especially formulated for black cars. Doesn't leave residue - - In my opinion, doesn't last long however.
EEL

 

I would not take my Vette to any shop that intends to scratch up my clear coat with 1100 grit sand paper. I have used 2000 and 2500 grit to smooth out the orange peel on the sides of the car. This is aggressive enough to sand out any scratches in the clear that can be removed that way. Then the 3M Perfect-It III compounds, Extra Cut, Rubbing, then Trizact Machine glaze. Using the correct polishing pad for each product. Any scratch that is not removed will get polished up enough that they disappear in the wax. If the scratch goes beyond the clear coat then that is one that buffing won't help. Finally with factory applied C.C. there is no way to measure how much is left (due to the fiberglass substrate) and the C.C. is where the U.V. protection for the paint job is so if it gets thinned out too much the paint job will decay in the sun fast. If the orange peel from the factory is gone then that is about as far down as I will take it.

 

My problem isn't with scratches but the front looks like it was sandblasted. Very fine pits all over the facia and part way up the hood. I work with a gal whose husband is a detailer. He does cars for the Pebble Beach show and a number of BMW dealers. He said about 75% would come out with a wet sand (2500 grit). My point is I don't believe I'd trust anyone that wants to use 1000 grit.
Good Luck!

 

here is a couple detailing site with a lot of info - http://www.properautocare.com/index.html or http://www.autopia.org/index.php

Joe C - 04 black/mod red z

btw, NO to the 1100 grit paper!!!

 

Scratch---very good suggestions!!!!

 

1100 sandpaper...I would not call them light . Maybe 1500 or 2000 grit.
Anyway if they are light they should buff out. Best thing to do is to lightly run your fingernail acrossed them. If your nail hangs up yu willnot be able to buff them out.
Take to a good shop and ask to see the work before allowing anyone to use a rotary on the car....this can burn the paint very easy if they are not good with it. Or buy a orbital take some time and do it yourself.
I can give you some direction of what to get and where to get it if you want to go the route of doing it yourself