Vandalized Z, suggestions for scratches ?

Zeetah

i made this thread so i can have it saved for personal reference rather than looking every where for the answer. sorry if a thread like this is already up.

so ive got scratches on my new z, around the front bumper, hood and fenders. im hoping these scratches can be removed by detailer, rather than an expensive paint job, if the detailer removes the scratches, how will they do so, polish or buffing? and i know if they buff or polish it, it pretty much is like sanding the clear coat and scratch away, right?

1. do you only buff or w.e the scratch or the entire body panel?
2. if you dont wax it after, im guessing it will look hazy as hell?
3. i heard once i polish or buff, my car will never look the same again, and it will be less shiny as the clear coat will be thinner?
4. will i have to get a body shop to do another clear coat over everything?
5. if its buffed or w.e technique used, will this mean ill have to use wax on my car forever for it to be shiny? and when the wax washes off, my car panel or the part that was buffed will look dull ?

vividracing

Do you have any pictures of the scratches? If you run your finger over them, can you feel a groove in the paint, or is the scratch just in the clear coat? Also, what color is your car? Depending on what color it is, i would be careful with which way you went about removing the scratches. With a very dark vehicle, black more specifically, if you dont have someone thats awesome with a buffer do it for you, they will leave very noticeable swirl marks in your paint. The process would be to use a rubbing compound to cut through the clear coat so your scratch (that hopefully hasnt gone into the actual paint) is removed. Then a buffing agent would be the second step, to bring back the shine. Here's my advise to you... DONT call a "mobile detailer" and have him come do it. Take it to a shop, so IF they do happen to mess up your paint, they will be liable for the mistake, and have to fix it. Even if that means repainting the vehicle. Hope this was helpful

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kenchan

this thread belongs in the detailing section.

jaedub

1.) You only buff the scratch, not the entire panel. May need to resort to sanding if the scratch is deep. But if your paint is damaged, you're going to need a fresh paint job
2.) Wax does NOT remove hazing. You need to polish the haze
3.) Polishing/buffing will only make your paint look cleaner & newer if done properly. However, you're right about clear coat getting thinner.
4.) Depends on the condition of your clear coat/paint
5.) Wax does NOT make the paint look shiny. Sole purpose of wax is to protect the paint. Buffing/polishing makes the car shiny.

Zeetah

Z is black

i have another thread relating to this, my backyard is literally a skating rink, no lights in the garage either, my phone sux, cant get a shot of the scratches even with flash on...

if they buff or polish out the scratch, does that mean i have to constantly wax that whole panel, well whole car would make more sense. and id have to always have on wax otherwise the spot that used to have the scratch that got buffed or polished will look flat and dull compared to the rest of the panel?

would anyone be able to see where the scratch used to be after it gets polished and buffed since it will have a thinner layer of clear coat?

Zeetah

im hoping it wont have to be repainted, bought it new, has less then 10,000 kms, will be 2 years.

isnt there wax that adds shine? i rather not use wax bc im afraid of getting more scratches or swirl marks by accident.
i wonder if i should get another layer of clear coat after the scratch gets fixed?

jaedub

You dont have to constantly wax it to make it look shiny. Polishing your car will fix that. If polishing buffs out the scratch, your paint will look good as new. No need to keep waxing it. And like I stated earlier, wax protects the paint. There are some wax that add little bit of shine but it's mainly for protection. And you dont always have to apply wax. You can do it every other months. There are some good wax that can even last up to 6 months. But remember, polishing your car is the BEST way to have your car looking like new. Wax will protect that polished surface.

And you can't just simply spray a clear coat on a damaged paint. You need to properly sand everything down and paint the whole panel. If only clear coat is damaged, you can just buff that out with polishing.

Zeetah

cool man, thanks