Many issues with a black Z-28, please help!

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imported_Marksman

New member
I'm just getting started on the finish on my black 2000 Z-28 and my biggest problem is the swirl marks. There are tons of them and they are quite obvious. It's horrid to be honest. The paint is also in dire need of being claybarred and here are the issues:



I got keyed on the drivers door(as mentioned in an earlier post) and it's down to the paint. It's going to need to be painted.



The hood has a lot of rock chips and old touch-ups. Kind of looks bad, but I can live with that.



The swirls and small scratches are the worst, but here is something else that baffled me. I clayed a section of my hood this afternoon after a wash, and noticed MORE scratches and scuff marks where I clayed! How could this be? I was using a Clay Magic grey colored bar(brand new) with plenty of lube. The surface feels smooth, however the scratches are horrible.



I'm planning on doing the Zaino process as it's what I used on my grand am before, but obviously the paint is in no shape to be Zainoed yet. Would I be able to correct any of this stuff myself or would I be better off taking it to a local detailer to be prepped? What would I have to do to reduce the swirls and get the paint ready to be Zainoed?
 
This is the spot I clayed, you can see how badly it's scratched:

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Swirl marks (under camera flash and handheld Fl. light):

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I appolgize for the layer of saw dust on the car. My dad was apparently working on a project after I parked the car...
 
It may be more cost effective to take to a professional detailer to buff surface (prep) for Zaino if you are not experiences with compounding with a rotary. I have a black 95 Z28 that has been a garage queen since birth, it has not met the real world ravages of a black daily driver.

The surface marring depicted in your pictures is repairable without hurting the depth of your clearcoat if done by a skilled professional. Be care who you allow to do the work. All so-called professional are not equal and will do more harm than good.

Tell them not to use a glazing product (i.e. Meg #80). This will hide defects rather than eliminate them and the oily surface will not accept Zaino sealants without a defect revealing wash. :shocked Do a IPA wipe down of a portion of the vehicle prior to accepting the work (this will remove any oil hiding fillers).

Also state that you are hologram sensitive and will not accept or expect to see such when the work is completed. Tell them only result acceptable is a "show car" appearance. If they do excellent work they will accept these terms. If not, ask them who would and jump in your car and head there.



Clay marring was probably caused by a very contaminated surface being clayed by a "not" frequently kneaded clay bar. If your surface has never been clayed and is a daily driver you must be very careful about exposing the surface to a clean surface of the clay by kneading frequently. What you pulled from the paint with the clay was marring the paint.
 
Mine looks like that too right now, except the defects are better hidden with a ton of glaze. I plan on polishing it out with Mezerna Powergloss -> IP - >PO85RD -> LTG, and hopefully I'll be able post pics soon. Don't despair though, your finish looks like its definetly repairable.
 
Well, good news! I decided to save some money and tackle it myself. My only reservations before were because paint work(compounding/polishing) was all new to me.

I picked up some Meguiars #2, #9, and ScratchX and went to work BY HAND with foam pads.



I started out by claybarring, and boy oh boy did it need it. I about completely used up one entire clay bar just doing my Camaro once, that's how much crap was on the paint. After that, I moved along to the #2 getting great results, all the oxidation was removed, along with a nice layer of the swirls and scratches. There were still a bunch of swirls left but the damage was noticably reduced. At the time (and for the hours I was putting into it) I was willing to live with some of the swirls, knowing full well it's nearly impossible to keep a black car fully swirl free. I did the whole car with that, then switched to a few trouble spots with the scratchX when lone behold, it not only reduced the scratches I was working on, but it also removed ALL, I say again, ALL swirls! The paint was almost perfect under a Fl. light! I couldnt believe it! So then I ended up doing most of the car with ScratchX, which went on and came off a lot easier I might add... and the car turned out awesome. I did a quick wash with Dawn and went on to the Zaino!



Three coats of Z-2 with Z-6 after each coat and she looks amazing! I'll get the pictures up later tonight for everyone. I'm just stunned that I was able to do so well on this little restoration project. It's a good feeling :)



Worth mentioning: The Sonus Der Wunder buffing towles kind of suck for removing ScratchX and Zaino. I've found that my Concours buffing towl works the best.
 
Wow, I really had no idea my camera was such a POS. I'm sorry about the picture quality, it really does not show the finish and shine like it should. I also know, however, that I need a few more coats of Z-2 to really sink in that deep/wet look. But here are the only three pics that are worth even posting(thank you very much pile of *&$* Kodak camera..) :p

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Thanks for looking, and if anyone has any more detailing advice, whether it be Zaino related or not, let me know!
 
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