First timer debating full paint correction

[Bdubbs]

Hey guys,

I've been putting this off for quite awhile. Now that I was fortunate to buy another car, I'm thinking about doing my 90 coupe before the 03 cobra.

But they both could use some treatment. I've never even done clay bar before, but it looks pretty straight forward.

I'm just not sure how far to take it? Reading some other threads on here I'm now thinking of a more user friendly ceramic spray.

But looking closely both my cars have minor scratches that can be seen.

I plan on doing this in my garage, lighting isn't perfect, and the ceiling isn't finished. So after my car has sat for a couple days it has dust on it.

If I did a full paint correction, it would probably take me a few days. By then dust would be on the car.

Am I overthinking this? Or should I just start with a wash, clay bar, and then a wax or ceramic spray?

I have some products I bought nearly two years ago, lol. And this book I've been reading has a lot of information, but it almost becomes overwhelming.

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[NastyGT500]

What do you want to achieve? Do you want a shiny car? Do you want a swirl free car?

The book can be overwhelming, but has excellent info in it.

I'd definitely clay the car(s). It is as easy/straight forward as you think. Use plenty of lube and decontaminate your paint. It will look and feel better afterwards, however it will not do anything about your swirls/scratches.

You could then go ahead and just wax/seal/etc afterwards and see how it looks and if you are happy with it.

If you are not, you could always try your hand at paint correction. Just take it slow and steady and rely on your book when you need to. You can always ask questions here as well (may not get quick responses).

With your gear you will be 'safe' to attempt it, however, just start with the polish and polish pads first and see what results you get before going to the more aggressive pads/compound. SO DON'T BE AFRAID TO GIVE IT A TRY!

ALWAYS START WITH THE LEAST AGGRESSIVE METHOD FIRST (rule to live by)

What color is your '90? It may be single stage paint. If so you will need many more pads.


Hope this helps!

 

[Bdubbs]

What do you want to achieve? Do you want a shiny car? Do you want a swirl free car?

The book can be overwhelming, but has excellent info in it.

I'd definitely clay the car(s). It is as easy/straight forward as you think. Use plenty of lube and decontaminate your paint. It will look and feel better afterwards, however it will not do anything about your swirls/scratches.

You could then go ahead and just wax/seal/etc afterwards and see how it looks and if you are happy with it.

If you are not, you could always try your hand at paint correction. Just take it slow and steady and rely on your book when you need to. You can always ask questions here as well (may not get quick responses).

With your gear you will be 'safe' to attempt it, however, just start with the polish and polish pads first and see what results you get before going to the more aggressive pads/compound. SO DON'T BE AFRAID TO GIVE IT A TRY!

ALWAYS START WITH THE LEAST AGGRESSIVE METHOD FIRST (rule to live by)

What color is your '90? It may be single stage paint. If so you will need many more pads.


Hope this helps!

Ultimately, I'd like all the swirls/scratches to be gone. But first time I'd like to keep it simple and maybe do a wax/sealant.

I can see how it turns out and go from there. My coupe is painted true blue. The paint is decent, definitely not perfect.

I'm looking for recommendations on other products I should maybe consider using before doing a full paint correction.

And should I start using the DA polisher or do it by hand? How do get all the hard to get areas with a DA polisher?

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[Mjones2017]

Good wash, clay bar, da polish, paint sealant, followed by a good wax 24-48 hrs later and you will be good to go. Depending on products used you may need multiple stages of polishing to remove all imperfections prior to the final 2 steps

 

[Bdubbs]

So will this create good results?

Wash
Clay bar
Carpro eraser (Is this necessary?)
Paint sealant (Like Wolfgang deep gloss paint sealant)
Followed by a quality ceramic coat spray

Or should I use a sealant and not a ceramic coat spray?

Wondering about trying something fairly simple first with good results.

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[BlksvtCobra01]

Not that it helps you Bdubbs I usually polish mine once a year and wax it twice a year. I really want a correction done on my CO. I can see light swirls under light and it bugs me. Although I may pay someone down the road to do that part. I haven’t clayed it in a year and half though.


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[CobraBob]

I understand your nervousness with paint correction. I probably would prefer to pay someone to do it right the first time. If you were within driving distance of Florida, I'd highly recommend Merlin or Scott because they're professionals and do some pretty awesome detailing/paint correction work. But if you want to try it yourself, make your own list of steps based on your research in that book and from folks here. Then be sure it is 100% correct. I'd even find some videos on YouTube done by professionals. Then proceed slowly and carefully with each step. Take your time and you should be pleased with the results.

 

[oldstv]

You are about to open a can of worms. Get some good lighting first, hand held units can be found easy and will show you what you have done or not done in some cases. Getting the paint clean is not that hard just time consuming but keeping it that way is another story. You will see every scratch as they come back and it might drive you crazy if you are ocd about keeping it fresh looking.
Adams makes a very easy to use sealant and it works good for a two or three washes before needing to be done again. Adam's Polishes H2O Guard & Gloss | Water Activated Drying Sealant
Do a good wash, clay bar, and with a light you will see what you have to start with.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

As mentioned with the polishing kits out there it's pretty safe - even what they call "aggressive" in the kit is still pretty damned mild. The first time I ever attempted it I bought the Sonus 3 stage kit and did it over a couple of days (I didnt have the dust issue). I made one part of a panel my test panel to see what it needed and moved on from there.

 

[blue 07]

If you don't have good lights, then that's not a good start. Without good lighting you will miss small areas. Good towels are a must. Not the crap you buy in your local box store, but good quality towels from Ragg Company, Adams, etc. Looking at what you bought and the machine you have, the porter cable will not burn paint, EXCEPT for body lines, corners, etc if on high speed. Keep the machine moving, you can go slow, just keep it moving. If your going to attempt it, do you have something you can play around with first? Here's some pics for you to see the results you can get.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

If you don't have good lights, then that's not a good start. Without good lighting you will miss small areas. Good towels are a must. Not the crap you buy in your local box store, but good quality towels from Ragg Company, Adams, etc. Looking at what you bought and the machine you have, the porter cable will not burn paint, EXCEPT for body lines, corners, etc if on high speed. Keep the machine moving, you can go slow, just keep it moving. If your going to attempt it, do you have something you can play around with first? Here's some pics some for you to see the results you can get.

solid advice. If you've got the down time it's incredibly rewarding when done even if not to the levels of some of the incredible detailers we have here. The first time I polished the car I ended up having to drive it to work before I could wax it - everyone stopped to ask what wax I was using and didn't want to believe me when I said it had no wax on it yet. Metallic paints really go to another level when polished out

 

[Bdubbs]

Some solid advice.

Guys,

If I'm not doing a paint correction right now can I just wash, clay bar, then put on some Wolfgang deep gloss paint sealant?



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[blue 07]

Some solid advice.

Guys,

If I'm not doing a paint correction right now can I just wash, clay bar, then put on some Wolfgang deep gloss paint sealant?



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You can, but your choice on the clay bar. Its not made to remove scratches just removes contamination etc. from your paint (clear coat actually) usually before you do a paint correction. It will make your paint baby soft, BUT, be careful not to drag any dirt etc into the clay bar or you will be doing more than a paint correction. Remember to "pull apart" the clay bar like you would with Silly Puddy ( do you know-remember ??) to get rid of the crap etc that it removes from your paint. The sealant will give you shine and protection, usually will last twice as long as wax, but again your scratches will still be there. Nothing is better than a machine moving at 4k rpm to perfect your paint, but you'll survive unless your anal about scratches

 

[Bdubbs]

You can, but your choice on the clay bar. Its not made to remove scratches just removes contamination etc. from your paint (clear coat actually) usually before you do a paint correction. It will make your paint baby soft, BUT, be careful not to drag any dirt etc into the clay bar or you will be doing more than a paint correction. Remember to "pull apart" the clay bar like you would with Silly Puddy ( do you know-remember ??) to get rid of the crap etc that it removes from your paint. The sealant will give you shine and protection, usually will last twice as long as wax, but again your scratches will still be there. Nothing is better than a machine moving at 4k rpm to perfect your paint, but you'll survive unless your anal about scratches

I think clay bar is a good idea on the cobra. I've never done it on there and I've owned the car for 10 years. I've waxed it with collinite 845 in the past, and still have some of that.

But Ive heard great things about the Wolfgang sealent.

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[Lambeau]

@Bdubbs I think you'll be surprised at how much improvement you can make to your cars finish.

If I can use a DA polisher, do some experimenting, and make it look better, anybody can - lol.

 

[Bdubbs]

@Bdubbs I think you'll be surprised at how much improvement you can make to your cars finish.

If I can use a DA polisher, do some experimenting, and make it look better, anybody can - lol.

Awesome. I plan on doing a buff/polish at some point. Just need to man up and do it.

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[Bdubbs]

Hey guys, I'm considering better lighting in my garage for doing the polishing.

Anybody have suggestions?

Looking at scangrip, it's expensive. But maybe if I get good at this paint correction I'll do it more often and enjoy it. Remember, I don't have the best lighting and a small single stall garage.

Detailing and colour match work lights | SCANGRIP





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[NastyGT500]

They are fantastic lights. However, as you mentioned, they are $$$.

I personally don't see the need for you to spend that much on lighting when you are only going to be using them a few times.

I know plenty of people using other LED work lights (Craftsman/Dewalt/etc) that are getting proper results.

You also only want to correct your paint when it is needed...and attempt to do that as little as possible. Factory clears are thing and fragile. The key to this is proper maintenance!

 

[Bdubbs]

They are fantastic lights. However, as you mentioned, they are $$$.

I personally don't see the need for you to spend that much on lighting when you are only going to be using them a few times.

I know plenty of people using other LED work lights (Craftsman/Dewalt/etc) that are getting proper results.

You also only want to correct your paint when it is needed...and attempt to do that as little as possible. Factory clears are thing and fragile. The key to this is proper maintenance!

Thanks for the help. I recently bought a worx led light, but it's battery powered.

I ordered up the Wolfgang deep gloss paint sealant. Should be here this week.

I'll probably start with clay bar followed by the sealant see how it turns out.

If my car isn't that dirty (dust only) can I use my optimum no-rinse waterless spray to clean, then clay bar?

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[triple-s]

Post up some before and after pics Bdubbs.