Clear Coat?

[Ruxis]

Hey guys,

So I have a 2000 model gtt imported from japan in 06 I think it was.

The paint is in bad shape.

It looks fine to my eye but when you run your hand over the roof it feels close to fine sand paper (even after a polish). Not good at all! The doors and bonnet arent as bad but still aren't as good as I'd like.

It also has a few spots of imperfections, as in scratches and smudge things that auto gylm polish wont get it out .

So it needs a cut!

I'm not confident on doing it myself, because ive never done it and don't want to experiment on my skyline.

So I figure next time I want it polished I'll take it to a detailer.

Just wondering if I'd be better off getting one of those clear coats, and wondering what that involves, would it get cut the sprayed or just sprayed over the old paint??

Do you guys think this would be the best way to go??

[dantheman88]

I would take it to a paint place and see what they say. Its hard without seeing it, but you could get a buff and that would bring it up like new. If your clear coat is peeling (which by the sounds of it it isnt as you would be able to see it) then you could look at getting it lightly rubbed back and getting it clear coated again.

[Ruxis]

Ahk, hmm I may have to do that then Thanks

[Hadouken]

How about attacking you're car with a clay bar? That should remove all contaminants stuck to you're car. Then cutting and polishing don't have any affects if it's just by hand. Only when you get a machine buffer then you can score or burn the paint.

I'm going to clay and cut my car and have done previously on other cars with no damage caused because I did it by hand. I would rate it at 3/10 for skill level required.

[Juz]

I think your talking about "fallout" basically shit thats in the paint, A Clay bar, cut n polish should fix this.

[Ruxis]

Hmm righteo fellas thanks for the tip.

I think I'll get a quote and see how much they charge me.

If it's not to much I'll hand it to them If its to much I'll do it myself for sure.

[GoHard]

+1 for clay.

Polishing fallout is like plolishing a turd. You get shiny looking shit.

Wash, clay, wash, polish, wax.

If it doesn't come up a million bucks after those steps THEN I would take it in, but I have a feeling this is another case of underestimating the holy clay bar. Its magic stuff, and only needs to be done 1-2 times a year.

[Hadouken]

^^^ this man knows te power of the glorious clay bar.

Mines being attacked this weekend .

I'll give you a quote now. 200 for a proper detail, and they'll be claying you're car as well.

But if you want to throw money at other people then that's cool.

[Antonio_Waxit]

Hi,

a general rule to work out if your car is clear over base or has a clearcoat is to see if it has metallic paint.

From what you are describing in the rough surface of the paint, this would be surface contamination, made up of iron, tar, inorganic contaminants. You can remove all of these easily yourself with a few products.

1. Wash you car to remove all the dirt from the surface. Then dry the car

2. Spray CarPro Iron X - Iron Fallour Remover pH Neutral on your paint and wait for 5-10 minutes. Be sure to do this in the shade. You will notice any iron particles in the paint turning purple.

3. Hi Pressure wash the car and dry it.

4. Use a tar remover like CarPro TarX, Wax & Grease Remover or Tarminator as per direction on the vehicles sides.

5. Wash again.

6. Using a clay bar and lubricant spray, spray the paint surface with the lubricant and gently rub the clay over a section until you can feel the surface perfectly smooth. Move to another section and repeat.

Your car is now decontaminated and ready for Paint Correction and Enhancement to remove any swirls, marring and scratches and increase gloss and colour.

Then you can move on the protecting what you have just done with a wax or synthetic protection.

[Ruxis]

thanks for the advice guys, so whats a good brand of clay bar???

then should i just use some auto glym polish?? reading up on the clay bar not sure it itll need a cut now.

also, whats the difference between polish and wax???

can someone point me to some good products that i could get from super cheap or auto barn or something??? i live in the illawarra, hard to buy anything good around here

[Hadouken]

Haha this is like car detailing 101 stuff.

Polish is an abrasive rub that helps remove scratches swirls. A wax is a Protestant that seals your cars paint from the vicious mother nature.

I've used a lot of products and for my dark car I find that meguiars dose the best job. Look at my thread what happens when you clay bar?

You don't need to cut/polish you're paint afterwards. Just wax to seal the paint.

The result is undeniably good .

[Ruxis]

lol all i know is wash it then polish it every now and then.

i looked in super cheap and they dont have the megiers clay bar, only mother clay bar. ill hunt around tomorrow

alright thanks alot

[Ruxis]

and why dont you need to polish???

[Hadouken]

A polish gets rid of fine scratches and swirl marks. Makes a slight difference but doesnt always get rid off all blemishes. Does make a worthwile difference though.

Just use mothers or mequiars. Ive used all mothers stuff when I had a red car. Now I have a dark car and I find meguiars products works best with my paint colour.

Its trial and error bro. Find what works for you.

[GoHard]

You will find auto barn is the place to go for meguiars.

Pretty much all my products are meguiars, dont own any mothers but I have heard their clay bars are good.

My car is sonic silver, so i dont need to worry about 'polish' then wax. I use nextgen 2.0 wax, and thats a wrap. Darker colours need the 2 steps done independently for best results.

[Hadouken]

That next gen wax. How would you rate it.

Easy to apply?

Remove?

Shine?

Does it have filling qualities? eg cover up swirl and scratches?

I would really like to try it. I wonder how nice it would be for a dark car. hmmm...

[GoHard]

That next gen wax. How would you rate it.

Easy to apply?

Remove?

Shine?

Does it have filling qualities? eg cover up swirl and scratches?

I would really like to try it. I wonder how nice it would be for a dark car. hmmm...

Easy to apply?

As easy as it gets I suppose. Easier than carnauba, thats for sure.

Remove?

MAGIC! Can be left on overnight and will just wipe off with terry/microfibre cloth. 15mins is all you need, but.

Shine?

I don't have a camera, but I took these with my phone after a wash about 1 month after waxing. The droplet photo was after a rainy night when the garage was blocked. You can see it does what its supposed to. Touch one of those drops in the center and then watch the avalanche!

Does it have filling qualities? eg cover up swirl and scratches?

Sure does, Thats why its good for lighter colours imo. Darker, I think you will find best results polishing and waxing seperatly. You could give it a go, it wont be a waste if it doesn't get rid of your swirls, just use it as your sealant?

edit: I am no computer wizz. Those photos don't do any justice im sorry. But I can guarantee, no swirl marks on my car. But I have silver... Its a piece of piss.

Edited October 3, 2011 by GoHard

[Ruxis]

alright so,

clay bared and waxed the car on the weekend.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!

paint feels so good now! it rained the day after and it was practically dry this morning!

thanks to everyone that talked me out of paying someone to do this simple procedure.

i have some pretty bad water marks on my roof though and smudge marks on the bonnet, i used a repco swirl remover but that did absolutely nothing.

any ideas on what i could do? a better brand swirl remover or possibly a... cut >.<?

[Hadouken]

@ GoHard. Wicked, I think Ill give that a shot next. I just used Meguiars gold class wax. Its sooooo good. But Ill try the next gen next .

@Ruxis. The problem is that you might need paint correction, a pro job. Or, yes you can try a proper cut and then a good wax to seal it up. Id recommend a proper cut first .

Good luck, and told you so hahah

[Ruxis]

How much do you think it'd cost if I put it in?