Guys my paint sucks

[Nexus6]

Originally Posted by Chobbs11

DO NOT WASH THE TOWELS WITH SOFTENER. it will destroy them.

Not only that,but it will leave residue from the softener on the towel,and that will end up as streaks on the paint.

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by khabboub

I have had my car for a year now and all I can think is that yeah I have a gorgeous car, but my paint looks so bad. I mean there are scratches and swirls and a spot where the paint almost looks cloudy (I have a black camaro).

I wash my car like twice a month and wax it once a month and clay it once every 3 months. I use all proper methods but I know my paint can look better. The wax I use is the black box by turtle wax.

But I need help. I have to make my car look show room ready next week and I know that you guys know more about paint care than I do. Is there a cheap-ish (like maximum $120) kit that can make all my paint problems disappear. I have seen a few Adams videos on YouTube where he took a ferrari that had a bunch of scratches and made it look 100% new again. I want something like that.

Thanks in advance guys.

Hey OP, we can give you a hundred pages worth of advice but how would you like it if you could see the answer to your question with your own eyes?

[khabboub]

Originally Posted by Junkman2008

Hey OP, we can give you a hundred pages worth of advice but how would you like it if you could see the answer to your question with your own eyes?

mate i already watched all your videos. and i already placed my order from some stuff. thanks.

[bwpaint]

Originally Posted by Chobbs11

Btw, and correct me if I am wrong, claying will not shine up the car. It is used in conjunction with polishes for a better finish

Claying is to remove all the fine particles that can accumulate from road grime, air pollution, etc. After you wash your car, go get a sandwich baggie and put your hand in it and slide it over your car. You will be amazed at what you feel. Grit and Grime....after you clay your car, if you did it right, it will be smooth as glass.

Claying removes the small particles from the Clear Coat. Never polish or wax a car without first claying it. If you do you will only grind the particles into the clear-coat and paint. This is where most swirls are created.

the process:
Wash your car with a clean cotton or terry cloth cloth. Always and I mean always use a high end car shampoo.

Next Clay your car and make sure you use a good lubricant like Mothers or Meg. Ultimate Detailer and if you drop the clay on the ground, throw it away.

Next use a good cleaner/compound on the whole thing....breakout the Porter Cable at this point.

then use a polish.....polish is what gives your paint a shine, not wax.

third give it a good wax and if you want to go the next step, use a great Glaze...that will give a black car a great deep rich look...if you are going to a show, always Glaze the car.

All my autos are black....and they are a bitch to detail, but if you do it correctly each and everytime you will not have issues with swirls. If you don't you will have a hurricane of swirls on that black beast.

Nothing looks better than a black CamaroSS....

my 2 sense

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by khabboub

mate i already watched all your videos. and i already placed my order from some stuff. thanks.

Originally Posted by bwpaint

... Claying removes the small particles from the Clear Coat. Never polish or wax a car without first claying it. If you do you will only grind the particles into the clear-coat and paint. This is where most swirls are created.

Not exactly, but I understand why you think this way.

Claying does remove all of the impurities from the paint as you stated but the majority or those impurities don't move around if you polish over top of them (especially when we're talking about using a PC-7424). You will not create swirls by buffing unclayed paint (dirty paint is another story). As a matter of fact, those impurities can act as a barrier that will keep you from getting down to the clear coat. Thus, you are basically buffing or waxing the barrier instead of the clear coat itself. That will drastically affect the look of depth in your shine.

The only time you need to clay is when the baggie test tells you to do so. If your paint passes the baggie test, there is absolutely no advantage to claying.

[jdenotter]

Originally Posted by Russell James

Once you get all the scratches out with the PC and the right pads/compounds... then - stop claying it. Get some better towels. Don't wax it so often. Use a leaf blower to dry it. Use two buckets to keep the wash mit clean.... a couple tips I can think of.

The less you touch it the better. Clay will drag scratches all through it. And use 100% soft cotton towels only when needed for waxing, wash them with some softner... Same with the wash mit. Get a good one, and machine wash and dry it everytime, using softner.

Long term fix. Never buy a black car.

Cotton towels and no claying. Dude that is some bad advice for detailing a car.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by Russell James

Once you get all the scratches out with the PC and the right pads/compounds... then - stop claying it. Get some better towels. Don't wax it so often. Use a leaf blower to dry it. Use two buckets to keep the wash mit clean.... a couple tips I can think of.

The less you touch it the better. Clay will drag scratches all through it. And use 100% soft cotton towels only when needed for waxing, wash them with some softner... Same with the wash mit. Get a good one, and machine wash and dry it everytime, using softner.

Long term fix. Never buy a black car.

Claying does not create scratches unless you use some dirty clay or clay a dirty car. Other than that, it is perfectly safe and should only be done when necessary.

Here's the deal with cotton towels (I learned this from Sal Zaino). All 100% cotton towels are not 100% cotton. Those 100% cotton towels made in China are not on par with the same 100% cotton towels made in the USA. The problem is, US facilities cannot compete with the manufacturing cost when compared to China and thus, finding a totally USA made towel is next to impossible today. Sal searched high and low for them and finally went to microfiber. I should add that he picked a very high quality microfiber towel at that.

[Moose]

Black is a very unforgiving color, but one of the best looking when clean.

My .02; stay away from the 'Turtle Wax' and invest in a product like 'Adam's', 'Zaino', or an "over the counter" product from 'Mothers' or 'Meguires'.

Also, invest in high quality wash mitt's and towel's.

I'm sure if you do a SEARCH on this topic, you'll find alot of useful information.

Ed

[motorhead]

My advice would be to trade it on yellow or white. Problem solved.

[600hp-lpe]

Originally Posted by motorhead

My advice would be to trade it on yellow or white. Problem solved.

Not very cost effective, though. Especially if there are MODS on the car...

I have my local auto body shop detail my car. For $100.00 it looks perfect! They know how to use the compounds to make it look like spectacular!

In other words.. Hire a pro! I have them do it at least once a year.

[Junkman2008]

For a hundred bucks, they're glazing your finish and not fixing anything. You can cover up scratches and swirls all day long if you want to. I'd rather fix them.

[bwpaint]

Originally Posted by Junkman2008

Not exactly, but I understand why you think this way.

Claying does remove all of the impurities from the paint as you stated but the majority or those impurities don't move around if you polish over top of them (especially when we're talking about using a PC-7424). You will not create swirls by buffing unclayed paint (dirty paint is another story). As a matter of fact, those impurities can act as a barrier that will keep you from getting down to the clear coat. Thus, you are basically buffing or waxing the barrier instead of the clear coat itself. That will drastically affect the look of depth in your shine.

The only time you need to clay is when the baggie test tells you to do so. If your paint passes the baggie test, there is absolutely no advantage to claying.

yes I agree, but it is rare that the car cannot use a brief claying especially on top areas. Here in Houston, it does not take but a few trips around town to get road grime and air pollution particles laid on your car, especially during summer. A good wash will get the loose stuff off....But if you wash it and still feel grit with a baggie, it is best to give it a good sweep with clay....it only takes a few minutes. Better safe than sorry. I have to disagree somewhat about polishing not moving around particles. Polish is an abrasive and can loosen particles. And if it can't, it means you have something embedded in your paint that you need to get out either way.....Just my 2 cents.

[Junkman2008]

You basically repeated my last sentence. I can't speak for where you live but I haven't had to clay my paint in over two years. Of course, my car stays in the garage and is not driven part of the year but if you stay on top of the dirt, it won't have time to embed itself.