Car paint with buffer marks

[swampydrill]

I bought a fairly new car from a dealer. After it was cleaned on a sunny day, i noticed it had blurry marks on it, it looked to me like someone was not very good with a mechanical polisher. I asked a friend of mine who works at a car repair garage and he agreed with me. The dealer did go and give the car a complete polish but as the day was overcast, it doesn't seem to show the issue up like a sunny day does. The car is Metallic jet black. What would a normal course of action be to remove some blurring caused by a polisher. I used some ultimate compound to remove some bird poo marks and it worked a treat. I could take it to the dealer and tell them to just fix it but it is a fair way away and in my eyes, if they messed it up in the first place, they could do again.

[The Guz]

Re: Car paint with buffer marks

It sounds like you got DISO (Dealer Installed Swirl Option). I would not take it back to the dealer as it sounds like they did not do a good job in the first place.

If you want to take care of this on your own, I would recommend you consider machine polishing with a dual action polisher. One can only do so much by hand. Especially if the defects are sever.

[Selectchoice]

Re: Car paint with buffer marks

Do you have any experience with paint polishing previously? If so, was that by hand or machine?

[swampydrill]

Re: Car paint with buffer marks

Thanks for the replies, i have very little experience in paint polishing and would not consider starting by doing this 18 month old car, not with a polisher anyway. If there was a certain process by hand then i would consider that.

[swampydrill]

Re: Car paint with buffer marks

One thing i don't want to do is use something too aggressive on a 18 month old car, is a polisher quite and aggressive way forward or less aggressive than using a T cut on it followed by a polish. I don't know if it makes a difference but the car is a Porsche Panamera in jet black. I want to get the car right without in some way damaging the paint work

[exploreco]

Re: Car paint with buffer marks

I agree with Guz, I wouldn't take it back to the dealer. They obviously don't know what they are doing. Don't be afraid of starting with a dual action polisher. They are very safe and I would start with a section just using polish. A good polish and the right pad and you may be able to remove those defects without having to use compound. Without seeing how bad it is, its hard to say, but start the least aggressive way and move up. I came here a couple of years ago knowing nothing about polishers and the great members her educated me on the dual action polisher and I have never looked back. Its a work smarter not harder type of thing. You will never get the results by hand that you can from the DA. They are really easy to learn, lots of videos out there. I have since used it on my aunts Mercedes and Porsche. That is how comfortable I am with it. Hey, if you want I am sure you have some friends that have some cars you could practice on, lol. There is a guy on you tube called Junkman. He has alot of good videos on polishing, and he his fun to watch. If you are going to maintain a black car yourself, I seriously consider you look into this.

Or you will probably need to find a reputable detailer and pay some decent money to have it corrected.

Let us know which way you go. Good luck and post up some picks.

[swampydrill]

Re: Car paint with buffer marks

I stuck a couple of video links on here to show the buffering.

[The Guz]

Re: Car paint with buffer marks

To me those defects look like they will require more work than what one can do by hand. You can try by hand to see if that does anything. I would start with ultimate compound on a foam applicator and see if that does anything to those defects. If it works then you can follow up with ultimate polish and then your wax or sealant of choice.

[Top Gear]

Re: Car paint with buffer marks

I agree. That's a combination of swirls, spiderwebs and buffer trails, and you cannot fix them by hand, unless you're very patient and skilled with sanding techniques. Even then, sanding needs to be followed by machine work. I would also not take it back to the dealer, because the "monkeys" there won't know what you're talking about. They're not detailers, but just slap some basics on a car to make it shine for a few days. You can totally transform the paint into a durable, beautiful deep black yourself with a DA machine and some Meg's compound, polish and wax, no matter what product line you choose. It won't be easy, and yes, it's a bit aggressive, compared to just washing and waxing.

[swampydrill]

Re: Car paint with buffer marks

But this is an 18 month old car, what will the ultra compound do ?, does it remove a layer of lacquer, does it remove any paint ?, i get what the upside is, what's the downside ?

[The Guz]

Re: Car paint with buffer marks

There are quite a few people who get a car brand new off the lot looking like this and the only real fix is machine polishing because the defects are so severe.

Machine polishing and hand polishing with either an abrasive compound or polish will remove clear coat. It's not like machine polishing will remove all the clear at one time. An 18 month old car can be polished without any real issue with the proper tools and product.

You can always find a professional detailer as well.

[swampydrill]

Re: Car paint with buffer marks

Thanks. I spoke with Porsche and they told me it is their duty to put it right and they will do it on the first service. I have told them what you guys have said so we will see. I will post some pictures once done. Thanks for all the advice, i have had a few opinions and they are basically all the same, use a polisher.

[Top Gear]

Re: Car paint with buffer marks

Oh yes, you can easily build up defects like that over 18 months. A single month of over-washing (or washing poorly) will produce most or all of what you're seeing, especially if/when there's no wax/sealant protection left. Those holographic buffer trails are from the dealer, based on what you've said, but the rest is by your own hand. Be careful in trusting the dealer's promises, unless they're using a real outside detailer who does this stuff for a living (not the dealer's guy who washes cars with a brush and then says he knows how to use a high-speed buffer).

Proper machine work may "level" the surface and "polish" it super-finely, as well as coating it with glassy oils and then waxes, but the amount of clear taken off is insignificant, and yet necessary. There is no true fixing of defects in paint without this leveling (other than coating defects with oils and waxes to hide them), but nevertheless, you can (depending on aggression), do full corrections once or twice a year or more and never even put a dent, so to speak, in your clear after many years. You'll more likely be selling the car or thinking about re-painting for other reasons before you run out of "correction room". It's unlikely you will, or even can, do any damage with a DA machine, particularly with foam pads. That's the point - we're using a fairly mild polishing technology to refine and coat defects. That's all we need to have a perfect finish.

[swampydrill]

Re: Car paint with buffer marks

Thanks for that advice, that reassures me that corrective work is insignificant to the coating. I probably need to educate myself in cleaning a car properly once this work has been done, probably more important on a black car. Can the basic swirls come out without using a polisher.

[Top Gear]

Re: Car paint with buffer marks

No, those swirls and spiderwebs will only multiply without machine work (or very careful wet-sanding followed by hand-polishing, if you have a couple of weeks of free time). You can mostly hide them temporarily with a cleaner-polish or a cleaner-wax, but that still requires a machine to pull off properly, and after a few days of weather or washing the defects will start to show through again. There's really no way around getting a good correction (or paying for one), then you'll maintain it with strategic cleaning techniques.

There's a lot of info on this site about the various tricks we use, namely "dusting", "waterless" washing when the car is not very dirty most of the time, regular "re-waxing" with the correction wax or a cleaner wax, "quick waxing" to boost/extend the base wax, and "two-bucket washing" for those times when you just need a good old-fashioned suds bath. A good correction can last a year or more this way.

With those approaches, you'll really not see spiderwebs like that again. You won't see buffer trails, either, because you won't be letting anyone put a buffer to it unless it's a professional re-painting. The black paint will be deep and reflective every day, rather than grey-ish and scratchy.

However, you have to be comfortable with something a bit short of absolute perfection. Driving in the rain will trash the car, forcing bucket washes and more frequent re-waxing. There will be some minor spiderweb lines you'll get from driving and upkeep even in the best of weather, because sand grains and other things will scratch the finish at speed, and you'll be dusting, wiping and washing the finish. But, with a well-waxed finish, these minor lines will disappear when you quick wax or re-wax, because they aren't generally formed in the clear coat, but in your wax and polish.