Until I purchased my car, it lived its life in Vermont. Apparently, it wasnt taken very good care of because the paint has endless swirl marks, small lines EVERYWHERE, and very few actual scratches. I know the difference between an actual scratch and minor inperfections that can be helped. So, I just got back from the store and came back with the following:

Meguairs wash
Meguairs 3-step process including a swirl/scratch remover, a polish, and a caranuba wax
Meguairs Scratch-X
Meguairs Quik Detailer
Meguairs Quik Wax
Meguairs Gold Class application pads
Meguairs Gold Class detailer waxing pads
Some other odds and ends for other areas of the car.

I plan on doing a complete paint restoration today or tomorrow. Anything else that you guys could recommend that might help me achieve that "look"? Thanks, Darroch Malone

 

good luck......great photo !

 

Clay bar..........

 

If you are planning to do it by hand, good luck. Put aside about a week. You'll be rubbing until the cows come home. I have a 2001 black vert that had a lot a clearcoat scratches, swirls, etc. I tried to get out a few using the 3-M Perfect-IT products which are highly recommended by this forum. A tried hand buffing but had no luck getting anywhere. I was afraid to use a buffer (even the 'safe' Porter orbital buffer everyone seems to like) since I am a novice and would probably end up making a mess. I ended up bringing the vette to a local auto restoration shop that specializes in vette restoration and body work. They did a full 'buff out' and the car looks absolutely amazing! It was worth the $750 I paid! I am thrilled with the results. No swirls, every clearcoat scratch is gone and they also did a good job hiding the few scratches that went thru the clearcoat.

Good luck. Maybe you'll have better luck doing it yourself than I had.

 

I also have a black coupe and have tried about everything to get the swirls and scratches out. Took it to a detail shop and they used Megquiers products but it didn't work very well.
I am now on the Zaino path to see if their product will improve the look.
Good luck and let us know how it comes out.

 

Dave,

If you find the right shop, they can do wonders. I was not exaggerating in my prior post! I had major clearcoat scratches all over the top of the rear facia and all over the top of the rear qtr panels. The previous owner must have dragged out everything damn thing he ever put in the trunk. Find a good body shop and you'll be in hog heaven. I also tried waxing the sh*t out of it to improve the look before the 'buff out'. Of course it looked shinier and had more depth of color...but...the scratches were still visible. Now, my car looks brand new except for a few minor rock chips. Also, the buffing toned down the orange peel a WHOLE LOT.

Ed

 

Key words, "If you find the right shop..." I had similar problems when I bought a five month old 03 Black Coupe. Body shops didin't want to be bothered in my area. They recommended Detailers. First detailer made more of a mess and added buffer scuff marks on the raised hood sections. Found another detailer who did a great job, but have since learned that this can be an ongoing problem. Apparently, this car requires bubbly oil baths, because even my extraordinary care results in some new fine clearcoat scratches. Recently, I did the entire car with a Porter Cable Orbital, Griots Garage Machine Polish (roughest to finest), followed by Meguiars NXT. After curing a day, reapplied NXT, then Griots Best in Show Carnuba (two coats). Lastly, applied Blackfire Sealant for a topcoat with wet look gloss. For all the effort I probably could have used Zaino's multiple steps, but already owned these products, and it looks pretty spectacular. Oh, and I'm retired, so I can waste my time lovin my baby... Just need to learn to work smarter and not harder.

 

I steered away from detailers for the exact reasons you mentioned above. I was lucky to have a top notch vette restoration shop in town who was willing to buff out the car.
When the guy got done with the car, he swore he'll never do a black vette again. As far as future scratches, I agree that black is a b*tch. I look at it this way, the guy removed over 50 scratches (easy). If I put a few minor clearcoat scratches in the car in the course of a year of washing/waxing, I'm still way ahead of the game. PS: Wholly Crap! You really put a lot of time into your vette ! I'm sure it looks fantastic!!!

 

The foam compounding pads and polishing pads made by 3M are the tools that make it possible for the D.I.Y. to get great results buffing out painted finishes.
3M part #'s: 05723--Foam compounding Pad--use with Finesse It III Extra cut and then follow with rubbing compound.
3M part #: 05725-- Foam Polishing Pad-- use with Trizact Machine Glaze
3M part #: 05729--Foam DA glazing pad-- use with Hand Glaze

The pads are made from the foam that is cut into the peaks and valleys, where the two foam pieces interlock. These pads polish with the peaks and valleys side of the foam and this cuts down on the amount of heat the polishing pad generates. They are much more forgiving than the flat foam pads and light years ahead of the wool bonnets. Trying to remove scratches takes forever with an orbital buffer, orbital is used with the Hand Glaze. Deep scratches have to be removed with 2000 to 2500 grit wet or dry paper (I always use it wet) then buff the shine back into the clearcoat.

 

Well, I finally got a chance to try some of the products out that I bought. Its been raining here. So anyways, I washed the car with Meguairs soft gel. By the time I was done, it started to mist again. So I had to pull the car in the garage. Not much room to clean and polish in there. So just to see what kind of results I was going to get, I did the hood and headlights. I also borrowed a buffing machine from a friend. It is made by Craftsmen and the buffing area "wobbles" so that it cant catch edges and burn paint. So anyways, I started with the Meguairs Scratch X, then went to Meguairs paint cleaner, then to their polish, and then to the caranuba wax. I am decently impressed with the results that I got. Due to being inexperienced with buffing and doing any kind of clearcoat scratch removal, I believe that I will leave any further buffing to an expert. This process did yield the removal or at least the covering of a good bit of the white lines and scratches the car had. It also brought that deep, wet, glossy look back to the paint even though there is still a few lines. The areas on the car are actually so inconspicuous that you have to look at them at an angle in the right light to see them. But, I know they are there. I am still going to try some other products like the 3M products listed above and a clay bar treatment. But, at least I'm happy with it for now. Thanks, Darroch Malone

 

Thanks Ed,
I am stopping by a high quality detail shop in our area this afternoon to see if they will take a stab at bringing the car back to something other than a 20/20 car ( looks good at 20 feet away or going by at 20 mph ). Body shops in this area don't want to be bothered - even the ones who advertise that they work on vettes.

Dave

 

A good claybar will do wonders for the paint. You can also consider having a body shop buff out the paint for you. Good luck - nothing like a nice, shiny, swirl free car.