Newer paint,swirls & which products?

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Intercooled

New member
I have a fairly new paint job( 2 years old) the body shop did a great job except for the final buffing. Many swirls! I have successfully hidden them over the past two years with many filler products. The car isn't driven very much so these products have adhered well and worked. But now with my new found knowledge that I have acquired here I am ready to tackle the swirls properly and remove them. The 1Z line looks great as well as Menzerna. The car is a black repaint, soft german clear coat. The swirls aren't horrible but they are clearly there in certain light. I've read many posts here about Ultra paint polish and IP.

When I read the product descpriction it says " This is not for a new car finish, this is a restoration product which will remove swirls and minor scratches". Now that kind of scares me! In The posts that I have been reading, you guys seem to be using these products successfully on newer paint, not the so called "restoration" job. Would you say that the IP and UPP is too agressive?

I have 1zPP and FPII. But I want to order what I might need to tackle some heavier swirls before I get started. Should I have those products on hand or just stay away from them on this car?
 
Are you using a PC?



1Z PP and FPII should work for you. Try PP with a polishing pad (if using a PC) and if that isn't working, move up to a cutting pad. When you have the swirls removed, finish up with the FPII with a polishing pad. You should be very pleased after that.



UPP is pretty strong. IP is a great product, but if you already have PP, it should get the job done.
 
Intercooled said:
Will PP with a cutting pad be equivilant to UPP witha polishing pad?
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Nah, not really. Ultra is just a whole 'nother animal, due to its abrasives (different from PP) it's pretty aggressive no matter *how* you use it while PP is a general-purpose type of polish that isn't all *that* aggressive. The PP will cut a bit more with the cutting pad, and you'll probably have to follow up with a milder pad/product combo, but it won't approach the cutting power of Ultra, IMO. Ultra really *abrades* the surface, even when you try to use it gently. PP just doesn't do that kind of cutting.



If the PP won't get the job done, I'd try the Ultra. Just take it easy and you should be fine. But note that it leaves some pretty significant micromarring. See if you can do the job with just the PP (it might take several passes). Work the PP long enough to fully break down its abrasives. Follow with the FP if needed. But if the PP doesn't do it, get the Ultra.



Having the Ultra on hand for those rare times when you *do* need it is just being prepared, IMO. I've used the Ultra on all sorts of paints (new old, ss/bc, etc.) and it's not like it sands off your clear in no time or anything like that.



Heh heh, if the paint's all marred up, then it needs "restored" to like-new condition :D Just watch that you don't mar it again or you *will* eventually run out of clear ;)



Oh, and you'll find out when you're working it whether your paint is really all that soft or not. IMO the "soft german paint" thing gets exaggerated quite a bit.
 
Thanks for the excellent info guys! I'll try the least abrasive first then change to a cutting pad if needed, and finally to a more agressive polish if thats required!:up
 
I don't know about by hand or rotary, but UPP using your PC is as foolproof as things can be. I used some on my wife’s 99 Grand AM, it took as many as 4 applications on some of the scratches to remove 80-90%, it slow but it does work. I thought the surface was in pretty good shape after UPP, but applied PP to ensure a clear clean finish. Took me a little over 2 hrs just to UPP, PP & LSP the hood and two front fenders. Great stuff, hate the paste containers though. Try looking for some plastic squeeze bottles for applying, the tins are a mess and wasteful.

:xyxthumbs
 
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