Scratches, Scuffs, Other Car`s Paint and Swirls. What To Do?

[2000TL]

Hi, I`m new here.



I couldn`t help but notice the feature on the Porter Orbital buffer here at this site and it gave me some hope that I could help out my finish without taking it to a body shop. My original plan was to take my dark blue 2000 Acura TL to a body shop for a wet sanding, but I read on here that it could be a really radical procedure, and the Acuras are know to have soft paint, so I looked for other alternatives.



My main question is, I have a long white paint mark on my car where another car apparently slided against mine. I wasn`t sure what to do, and am not sure if it is scratched underneath, though I can see the painting peeking through. It`s not dented, but the whole car is covered in swirls and light, white colored scratches that aren`t quite big enough for my fingernail to fit in, but are noticible even from 4 feet away. So, should I take it to the professionals, or should I invest in the Porter Orbital buffer and some abrasive pads and polishes and try it myself. How effective is this approach on a car with these types of blemishes? And what would I need for the process? Or should I just give in and leave it to the body shop?



Thanks,

Joe



PS: I`d hate to buy the buffer to try it and not at least have a good hunch that its gonna work, and then it not work. I really would rather not invest all the money in those materials and then have to take it to a body shop anyway.

[GoodnClean]

It depends. Do you want to get into detailing and take care of the car on an ongoing basis? If so then you should invest in a PC. Even if you still have to take it to a professional you`ll have the PC to use for future details. I wouldn`t buy the PC and then expect it to be a magic wand and make all the swirls dissapear. You still have to master the skills and learn which products work best on your paint, and even then the damage might be too extensive for a PC to fix at all...



Can you post pics?

[2000TL]

I think on Friday I will be able to post picture. I hope that either this thread will be active still, or I can renew interest on it at that time!

[Accumulator]

2000TL- Welcome to Autopia!



The PC is a good machine, but it doesn`t work miracles. Much better than doing things by hand though.



I wouldn`t take it to a shop, too many don`t do good work and wetsanding is usually a bad idea (takes off too much clearcoat).



Do a little research...I`d say the PC, some pads, and the three 1Z polishes (Ultra, Paint Polish, Metallic Polish) and some kind of Last Step Product ("LSP") should make for a radical improvement. Probably not perfection, but an improvement nonetheless.



You might also look into a Cyclo if the cost isn`t prohibitive. I greatly prefer it over the PC for most jobs. Either machine is easily mastered and safe to use.



For the white paint transfer, I get good results with clay. Use the clay before you polish, that way it`ll at least do some of the work without all the abrading that the polish will do.