Rep Power: 607

I have lots of swirl marks on my car and light scratches and the only way to remove them is by buffing it. Now in case you don't know, the real way to buff your car is to wet sand it with about 2000 grit sand paper. Then use a compound on a buffing wheel and then wax it.

I am gonna take it to my body shop and have him do it.....i am thinking that it would cost around $300.

 
Rep Power: 607

bump


I hear that our honda paint is shitty and that the clear coat is thin and a buffing will damage the clear coat.

 
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You should only have to sand if your paint is in REALLY bad shape. I'm talking deep
scratches, bad oxidation, etc.

For swirl marks and light scratches, you should be able to get rid of them with some
light compounding and polishing.

Here's some links to refer to:
http://www.properautocare.com/removingswirls.html

Check out the BMW detailing forums and search for "swirls" :
http://forums.roadfly.org/forums/detailing/

Read the FAQ there too. There's a ton of information on different techniques, and products.
I love that forum, if what they are doing is good enough for their Porsches and Bimmers,
it's good enough for me! The products that they use are a step above what's available at
your local Napa/Pep Boys/Kragen's.

For $300 you can buy yourself a PC7424, a lot of polishing pads, rubbing compounds,
polish, wax, etc.

You can probably get away with removing the light scratches with this process:
1) Wash
2) Clay (Cleaning step)
3) Meguiar's #2 Fine Cut Cleaner (Compounding step, cutting pad)
4) 3M's Swirl Mark Remover (Polishing step, cutting pad)
5) Wax/Protectant. (Protection step, polishing pad)

I just detailed my friend's 8yr old Civic with the above process. I used the Porter Cable 7428
for #3, and the Porter Cable 7424 for #4 and #5. The Dual-Action 7424 should do fine for
step #3, the Circular 7424 just does it faster. For step #5, Klasse All-In-One. It's an
acrylic based "wax". It lasts a lot longer than carnauba based stuff (especially on a black car).

 
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couldnt be said any better, look at it like this. pay 300 now and maybe get it repaired properly what happens next time. do it yourself. personally i would substitue #3 with megiuars DACP(dual action cleaner polish and step 4) with either #82 or #83, but this is an excellent writeup

 
Rep Power: 607

thanx for the info guys. Well i way overestimated the price......it is around $125. I have used Mequiars Paint cleaner and 3M's swirl mark remover and i still have swirl marks and oxidation that is just too deep in my clear. I plan on painting my car next year with HOK Kandy paint. So i thought i could buff it for this summer and paint her next year.

 
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Yeah, to say that "the real way to buff it is to wetsand" is bull crap. You can get so much out with the right tools and products without wetsanding. Check out our gallery at www.Danase.com and you will see. No wet sanding on anything.

 
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Wet sanding is good if the scratches are really bad. But unless you are experienced with a buffer don't attempt to do it yourself, you can burn into the paint easily.

I usually buff 2-3 cars a day at work. The rubber trim is extremely easy to eat into with the wheel, and with a cutting pad if you aren't paying close attention or staying in one spot to long the paint can get too hot and you can do some serious damage to a cars paint job. Then you have more than scratches to worry about.

 
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good point grey ghost.....ive seen a car that was buffed wrong...not pretty!

 
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here are some tips and then some.... ----> http://www.meguiars.com/clinics/clinics_template.cfm

 
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Circular Polishers can be risky if you don't know what you are doing.

Random Orbital Polishers, like the Porter Cable 7424/7336 are pretty safe. They don't generate the heat that circulars do. Meguiar's RO polisher is a rebadged PC.

I would recommend a PC 7424 to anyone who is serious about detailing their car.

You can compound, polish, glaze and apply waxes/sealants. It makes life a lot
easier.

Here's some info:

http://www.properautocare.com/porcabpolac.html
http://www.roadfly.org/magazine/7/po..._buffer.1.html

 
Rep Power: 607

thanx for the help guys, but like i said in my first post, i am taking it to my bodyman to do it. And i have tried many things and the scratches and oxidation is to deep in the clear.

The only way to get rid of them is to wetsand it or re-paint the whole car.

 
Rep Power: 0

I still don't believe this....you have heavy oxidation and scrathes that deep on a 7th gen already? Sounds like your body guy is in need of work. I am willing to bet the body shop leaves their owns swirls in as well.

I have been detailing long enough to know that 99% of all scratches will come out with the right machine and product without needing a wet sanding.

Look at these:
Before polish http://www.danase.com/gallery/album03/Picture_007
After http://www.danase.com/gallery/album03/Picture_034

Before http://www.danase.com/gallery/album03/Picture_001
After http://www.danase.com/gallery/album03/Picture_041

I am not trying to be an idiot it is just a lot of these people think they need their whole car wet sanded and they really don't at all, all they need is a good compounding / polishing. You will end up getting it wet sanded and then your clear coat will be thin all over the whole car.

Post some pics of it first and let us look at it.

 
Rep Power: 607

Ok, i am not a idiot.......i can paint and i can detail. I have never taken my car to my bodyman for work or buffing. I bought the car used and the person that had it before must have kept it parked under a tree, cuz there are tons of stains in the clear and i can not rub out with a paint cleaner. I tried swirl removers and it sill looks shitty. I never tried a machine, maybe the bodyman can buff it out with a machine.....maybe he won't have to wetsand it, i will leave that up to him. And my bodyman is good, he has been doing it for 30 yrs and he is one of the best i have seen with a gun. He isn't cheap either, but u get what you pay for.