Buffing, clay bar, and clear coat longevity

[Nayov]

I had a guy buff my hood after he did a two stage paint job on my car because there were a few minor defects.
It looks like to me that he buffed it too hard and left deep marks, almost like he was angry that he had to do it (best way I can describe it). I've waxed and it does look better, but the buff marks still are evident.

Also, why doesn't a clay bar cut through the clear coat? Isn't there a limited amount of times that buffing (or clay bar) can be used on a painted surface?

 

[Rolla07]

I dont think a claybar is aggressive enough to cut through a clearcoat..it takes the embedded dirt off of the clearcoat. I think you can use a claybar as often as you want without affecting the clearcoat. I have used clay at least 2 times a year for past 3 and paint still looks good..

I would bring the car back and ask for a refund on the work and have another shop get it right for you.

 

[qwertydude]

Mild clay when properly lubed doesn't actually touch the paint it merely shears off contaminants that are sticking out above the paint. So you can clay lots of times without affecting your paint thickness.

Now polishing is a different issue. You do remove paint when polishing. So polish as minimally as necessary and do what you can to prevent further damage.

With that said after market clearcoats tend to be pretty thick. If this was a reputable body shop there should be plenty of clear left to polish out the damage.

If waxing has improved the looks you can likely correct it yourself. If you have a machine polish it and you'll be able to remove it. I'm guessing you don't have a machine. So if you want to do it by hand, get Meguiars Ultimate Compound, apply it with a cotton terry cloth, work it in really well. That ought to be able to get rid of the buffer trails. Follow this with Meguiars Ultimate Polish applied with a foam applicator, again work it in well, to refine the finish. Follow with your wax. You'll be surprised what this combo can do by hand.

Really you can't expect too much from a body shop in terms of a perfect finish. Sure there are some that do output show quality work perfectly finished, but I'm guessing you picked yours based on price. Generally the buffing is done by the least experienced person there, I know because that's where I started as an apprentice before realizing I could make better money doing detailing on my own.

 

[Cujet]

I prefer to wet sand the clear coat using 2000 grit paper. Then buff using a small, (3") high speed buffer, using 3m fine wool pads and 3m compounds. I find that I can control the results more carefully this way. I'm good enough to do helicopter windows to optical quality using this method.

Clearcoat comes out wonderfully.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Rolla07


I would bring the car back and ask for a refund on the work and have another shop get it right for you.


+1 There's no point in asking them do it over, especially if you think they had an attitude correcting the problem the first time.

 

[RTexasF]

He likely used a rotary buffer which leaves trails and holograms unless he is an expert, which I doubt. It will likely (haven't seen it) need to be re-polished with a dual action machine and a polish. It may take one or more efforts to make it right.