Will my paint last? Spot polishing frequency?

[barrettward]

On the trunk of my black car, my wife likes to install scratches / marring. Weather by closing it by grabbing the top of the dirty trunk or setting her bag on top of it (I`m trying to break her of this habit.) Also she tends to park under light poles and has a bird bomb magnet permanently installed.



The best way I have found to bring the appearance back to perfection is 3M Finesse It II with a yellow pad on PC speed 5.



I have tried ZPC and PB SSR`s and neither finish down to perfection like the 3M. I have tried all products with orange pad as well. Yellow and 3M are by far the most perfect looking finish.



I have found that to keep the car looking perfect, I am having to do this in spots once every two or three weeks. Generally a 6" x 6" area. I finish with ZAIO, and Z5 + ZFX x2. Then LSP.



Am I running the risk of eating through the clear in the future if I do this 12+ times a year. Or should I just give up and live with the marring for a few more weeks before I correct them. In the past 3 months, I have corrected these defects at least 7 times.



Signed,

Worried About Clear In Germantown

aka Barrett

[imported_themightytimmah]

In a short answer - yes. You might want to consider using a glaze like Meg`s #7 or RMG and polishing 2-3x per year.

[mikebai1990]

What car do you have? Obviously it partially depends on the paint hardness, but I would definitely try to cut down on the monthly polishing. If you have marring and such, you need to change your washing process, try to get your wife to be more careful, and park away from potentially paint damaging places. Polishing every two/three weeks is WAY too frequent and I would be pretty worried about eventually cutting through the clearcoat.

[barrettward]

It`s a 2007 BMW. The clear seems to be a PITA.

All of the parking spots that are available to my wife are under the bloody light poles.



I think she has stopped setting her briefcase on the trunk. However she may be telling a fib. I would guess that my best course of action would be to get the stick out of my a$$.



I`m making a trip to Carquest and O`Rileys tomorrow and will pick up some megs #7 and whatever CG I can get my hands on.



Thanks for the replies, I`ll lay off the "clean crack."

Barrett

[LastDetail]

Do you guys share the car or is she the only driver? Some people just don`t really seem to care about their cars finish.

[barrettward]

The funny thing is - she cares how her car looks. She just can`t picture how her bag on black paint will destroy the finish. I explain till I`m red in the face -"Black Paint is a Different Animal"



She says: "I set my briefcase on the white Honda all day and never noticed any scratches. " Me:- Bang head into car.



She actually came to me and said - "This other guy in my office; he has swirls on his paint so badly you need to help him fix them." To imagine she is actually aware of swirls, makes me think that I`m a bad teacher insomuch as I`m not properly relaying what causes them.



Sometimes I wish I wish..........

[NSXTASY]

The funny thing is - she cares how her car looks. She just can`t picture how her bag on black paint will destroy the finish. I explain till I`m red in the face -"Black Paint is a Different Animal"



She says: "I set my briefcase on the white Honda all day and never noticed any scratches. " Me:- Bang head into car.



She actually came to me and said - "This other guy in my office; he has swirls on his paint so badly you need to help him fix them." To imagine she is actually aware of swirls, makes me think that I`m a bad teacher insomuch as I`m not properly relaying what causes them.



Sometimes I wish I wish..........



Just a thought, but I guess you could get some 3M clear film on the area (?) I would think the film would still scratch and the area would look a little different but, meh.:nixweiss

[Accumulator]

barrettward- heh heh, sounds like your wife has a little, uhm...contradictory thinking/cognitive dissonance going on since she appreciates the car, dislikes the effects of abrasion on other cars, yet continues to mar her trunk lid ;)



Maybe she could close the trunk by gently touching the license plate. Scratching that isn`t as big a deal IMO as scratching the lid. Sounds easier than the weird methods my wife has to use on her A8 where you can`t apply pressure to the plate.



Is your Germantown the one just outside of Memphis TN?

[barrettward]

barrettward- heh heh, sounds like your wife has a little, uhm...contradictory thinking/cognitive dissonance going on since she appreciates the car, dislikes the effects of abrasion on other cars, yet continues to mar her trunk lid ;)



Maybe she could close the trunk by gently touching the license plate. Scratching that isn`t as big a deal IMO as scratching the lid. Sounds easier than the weird methods my wife has to use on her A8 where you can`t apply pressure to the plate.



Is your Germantown the one just outside of Memphis TN?



contradictory thinking/cognitive dissonance- Did I mention she`s a lawyer; that is the best explanation of her ever.



To close the trunk you have to grab the plastic locking mech then press down on the plate. I only think she does this when I`m looking.



And yeah just outside of Memphis.



The clearbra sounds interesting. I wonder if anyone has done their trunk?

[Accumulator]

[quote name=`barrettward`].. Did I mention she`s a lawyer.. I only think she only [closes the trunk properly] when I`m looking.



And yeah just outside of Memphis.

[QUOTE]





Heh heh, sounds like you might have a little of a challenge there, convincing her to change her ways..



My wife`s from Memphis and went to/taught at Germantown High (back when it was Mable C. Williams), that`s why I wondered about your locale. She visits down there a few times a year.

[Macruz19]

Some people use clear bra on their trunks and bumpers. The guy who installed mine said he gets request mostly from golfers who would scratch their bumpers from the bags and clubs.