wpaskar

Hey guys, I am looking to do some minor paint repairs on my Bullitt GT. There are some rock chips on front and scratches at different places on the body, as well as swirl marks I want to take care of to unleash a brilliant shine. I am somewhat concerned about the chip marks on the hood since I don't how deep they are. Anyways, I was just looking for some suggestion from people who know or have experience. Is wet sanding the clearcoat neccessary to get the swirls out? Thanks

Dan04COBRA

Unless you are experienced, using an orbital buffer can be a bit tricky and you can quickly hurt your car. A lot of swirl marks are actually in the wax, some of the bigger swirls are usually in your clear coat, this is where having a buffer will make a huge difference.

Are you looking to wet sand by hand?

dsl1

Without a doubt wetsand by hand.


Check this article for chip repair help.

http://www.guidetodetailing.com/arti...p?articleId=27


Swirls can be removed by hand with an fairly aggressive hand polish.

Swirls can be removed using the Porter Cable 7336/7242 random orbital polisher + the right pads and polish. A full kit will run you about 200-250$

It will be quite hard to do any damage to your paint with the porter cable and you can remove most defects with the right pad and polish. It is very easy to use and within the first few minutes you should feel quite comfortable with it. It can also apply waxes and sealants much thinner and faster then you can by hand.


I would wait to wetsand or use a rotary on your paint until you try the first two.

wpaskar

I will wet sand if it will end up looking amazing, which I have seen work out very well...but only if there isn't a easier way to get it looking good, shinier than stock even. Thanks for the responses so far. Can anyone tell me if there is a danger of rust forming from the chips on certain panels? Chips that should be fix immediately pretty much is what I am curious about. The chips aren't anything huge..likely just stones and gravel hitting it from the highway, but I am aiming for perfection and I want the body to last!

dsl1

After you wetsand you will need to polish it with a machine anyway + you run the risk of burning through your clear coat or even just thinning it to the point that it begins to fail within the next year.

I would not wetsand to remove swirls. Wetsand to remove nasty big scratches and such. It is not worth the risk and time to do a whole car.


You need to use touchup paint on the rock chips.


Go to Autopia.org and check out the Click and Brag section of the forums. You will see posts of cars with before and after pictures with the process used.


Cheers