Semi Permanent solutions; can you do just one panel?

T

tuffluck

New member
I have a metallic black Camaro that has a replaced bumper from a few years ago after someone backed into me and drove off in a parking lot. I went through my insurance and found what I thought was a reputable body shop, but they used some inferior paint/clear and now my rear bumper has swirls after every few washes. It is very annoying as the rest of the car is just fine after washing with Optimum no-rinse repeatedly.

I was thinking about getting something like Pinnacle or Optimum Gloss to put a semi-permanent coating on this bumper so that I`m not buffing it every other month, but I really know nothing about these products or how difficult they are to install, etc. Can anyone provide some recommendations on the products that may be a good solution for me that are the the most foolproof and easiest to install? Is there anything wrong with putting it on just one bumper?

I guess it`s worth nothing I have a Porter Cable that`s a gazillion years old, so I have some some detailing experience in the past, although these days I like simple and typically just stick with Optimum no-rinse and Opti-Seal. Don`t mind putting in a little time on a semi-perm sealant though if that will look good and I`m likely not to screw anything up during the process. Thanks for the help and recommendations.

Also, I am in DFW. It`s been a while since I posted on this forum, but I remember a long time ago there was a big Dallas crowd. So, if anyone recommends a detail shop that might do this all for me for decent pricing, feel free to let me know.
 
Tuffluck -
Welcome back !
I remember a bunch of really nice guys from DFW a couple of Forums ago, I don`t think they are all here any longer..

Bumpers are painted with a "flex agent" in the paint, so that if the bumper is flexed by someone bumping into it, the paint wont crack and fall off, etc...
A factory painted bumper is done in a manner that makes it always look great and it matches the rest of the paintwork pretty darn good.

When its painted by a body and paint shop, the work is not as good sometimes, but it should never be so soft that it gets scratched up just washing it...
I have never heard of that or seen anything like that before..

Do you get the same wash induced marks when you use a good car wash soap and lots of water ? Or is it just when you use Optimum No Rinse ?
Nothing you can change in the wash process of that rear bumper to quit getting marks in it ??

Was it always doing this from the get-go ? Can you talk that Shop that did the work and ask them why this is happening now and what kind of warranty they have on their work ?

I suppose you could try to put something on it that would be harder and hopefully not have problems, but I like to always get to the source of what needs to be dealt with and work it out so I never have to deal with it again..

If you decide to work on it with your Porter Cable, just remember that plastic does not dissipate heat very good compared to metal, and too much heat in one spot will get that paint soft and could damage it..

There is a really nice guy on here that just helped someone in your area I believe.. He posted on that other thread you posted on about holograms, etc...
I think he is called Dave425 ???

Good luck with this..
Dan F
 
tuffluck- Welcome back!

Seeing this Q on both threads, I couldn`t resist responding even though you probably won`t like my proposed solution...I`m gonna come right out and say what I think Stokdgs was implying- Have it repainted with harder clear.

The coating might help a *little* and sure you can coat (only) one panel, but IMO that`s not the real fix. Easy for me to spend your money though, assuming the shop won`t just freebie it the way they oughta.
 
Accumulator said:
tuffluck- Welcome back!

Seeing this Q on both threads, I couldn`t resist responding even though you probably won`t like my proposed solution...I`m gonna come right out and say what I think Stokdgs was implying- Have it repainted with harder clear.

The coating might help a *little* and sure you can coat (only) one panel, but IMO that`s not the real fix. Easy for me to spend your money though, assuming the shop won`t just freebie it the way they oughta.
Click to expand...

Yeah--I figured this is probably the only real solution. I actually took Stokdgs advice and contacted the shop already. It`s been a few years but he responded and told me to bring it by next week. I`m not sure I`m going to get much out of that conversation since it`s been a while, but at least he`s willing to take a look.

I have only used Optimum no-rinse btw. Actually there is a place in Dallas that does hand wash/dry. It`s not as careful as what I would do myself, but it is well recommended actually and one time I chose to take it there about a year ago. They did a great job, but it completely FUBAR`d the bumper (while the rest of the paint looked just fine), and that`s when I knew the clear was poor quality. Since then I`ve only hand washed, but like I said, after several washes, I can still see swirls appear again.

Is there a possible BETTER way to wash it and keep it swirl free for longer? I`m not expecting a washing end all be all solution, but maybe there is something more delicate I can do to keep the polish work to a minimum? I have a strong feeling the drying process is likely when the swirls occur. I would let it dry naturally, but with a black color it leaves too many water spots...

Thanks for the feedback!
 
tufluck- Heh heh, if you can wash *any* paint on the car with just ONR without marring it you`re doing better than I ever could!

Heh heh#2, you don`t even want to discuss how *I* have to wash to avoid marring, and that`s on hard clear too.

But on a positive note, maybe that shop will pull/refinish/reinstall it either gratis or for a small fee. I myself would probably offer to pay the labor to remove/reinstall it as a goodwill gesture.

I trust you`ve CD-tested all your wash/dry media. If it`s OK, then any drying-induced marring comes from residual dirt on the paint so you just gotta get it cleaner and that oughta solve that. You could blow most of the water off (I use both an AirWand and the compressor) and/or "blot" it dry using a very soft and plush (NOT a WWMF) Drying MF that`s been lightly misted with the ONR or a QD. Try washing and drying with distinctly different motions/direction-of-travel and maybe you can see which process (or both?) is truly causing the issue.
 
I just had my bumper repainted and my body shop has a lifetime warranty on paint. They did an excellent job and the paint matches perfectly. I see no reason why you could not correct your bumper (or have a detailer do it) then apply a coating such as CQUARTZ just to the bumper. CarPro sells a 10ml bottle of CQuartz for $19.99 which would be more than enough to do a bumper.
 
Accumulator said:
You could blow most of the water off (I use both an AirWand and the compressor) and/or "blot" it dry using a very soft and plush (NOT a WWMF) Drying MF that`s been lightly misted with the ONR or a QD. Try washing and drying with distinctly different motions/direction-of-travel and maybe you can see which process (or both?) is truly causing the issue.
Click to expand...

Are you not a fan of waffle weave towels?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Tuffluck --

Glad to hear the Body Shop is going to look at their work ! Great news ! Hope they can find the cause and make the problem go away..

Having had way too many Black vehicles, including BMW Jet Black vehicles and corrected way more Black Paint than the law allows, the best way for me to help avoid making defects is to use a very slippery soap, like Optimum Car Wash and Car Pro Reset, a really thick, chenille mitt, lots of water, and a Metro Master Blaster to remove as much water - before - I ever touch the paint...

Then, when I do touch that Black Paint, it is with the softest microfiber I have and I spray something like Optimum Opti-Seal and wipe very, very, lightly and evenly, just touching the paint to remove whatever water is left...

Good luck at the Body Shop !
Dan F
 
I’m a little confused? Am I understanding that you polish out the “ swirl “marks and after washing one time they re appear? If you are talking about just wash marks then I can buy the soft clear. But if you are seeing real buffer swirls, then you haven’t polished them out, just covered them up. Or is it possible you are seeing sanding marks under the clear? Just curious.
 
tuffluck said:
I have a metallic black Camaro that has a replaced bumper from a few years ago after someone backed into me and drove off in a parking lot. I went through my insurance and found what I thought was a reputable body shop, but they used some inferior paint/clear and now my rear bumper has swirls after every few washes. It is very annoying as the rest of the car is just fine after washing with Optimum no-rinse repeatedly.

I was thinking about getting something like Pinnacle or Optimum Gloss to put a semi-permanent coating on this bumper so that I`m not buffing it every other month, but I really know nothing about these products or how difficult they are to install, etc. Can anyone provide some recommendations on the products that may be a good solution for me that are the the most foolproof and easiest to install? Is there anything wrong with putting it on just one bumper?

I guess it`s worth nothing I have a Porter Cable that`s a gazillion years old, so I have some some detailing experience in the past, although these days I like simple and typically just stick with Optimum no-rinse and Opti-Seal. Don`t mind putting in a little time on a semi-perm sealant though if that will look good and I`m likely not to screw anything up during the process. Thanks for the help and recommendations.

Also, I am in DFW. It`s been a while since I posted on this forum, but I remember a long time ago there was a big Dallas crowd. So, if anyone recommends a detail shop that might do this all for me for decent pricing, feel free to let me know.
Click to expand...

Service King??
 
tuffluck said:
Yeah--I figured this is probably the only real solution. I actually took Stokdgs advice and contacted the shop already. It`s been a few years but he responded and told me to bring it by next week. I`m not sure I`m going to get much out of that conversation since it`s been a while, but at least he`s willing to take a look.

I have only used Optimum no-rinse btw. Actually there is a place in Dallas that does hand wash/dry. It`s not as careful as what I would do myself, but it is well recommended actually and one time I chose to take it there about a year ago. They did a great job, but it completely FUBAR`d the bumper (while the rest of the paint looked just fine), and that`s when I knew the clear was poor quality. Since then I`ve only hand washed, but like I said, after several washes, I can still see swirls appear again.

Is there a possible BETTER way to wash it and keep it swirl free for longer? I`m not expecting a washing end all be all solution, but maybe there is something more delicate I can do to keep the polish work to a minimum? I have a strong feeling the drying process is likely when the swirls occur. I would let it dry naturally, but with a black color it leaves too many water spots...

Thanks for the feedback!
Click to expand...

What part of the metroplex? I`m in Arlington. Since the majority of body shops deliver the cars with swirls in the new paint I doubt they will do anything. I would be more than happy to take a look at it. It is possible the scratches are just getting filled in with polishing oils then the oils are getting washed away in a wash or two. You can coat just one panel and the SPS coating I use is one of the harder on the market so it would give you more scratch resistance than many if the consumer grade coatings. Also I`m sure after doing a coating job I would have enough left to do your bumper cover. Let me know if I can be any help.
 
finick said:
Are you not a fan of waffle weave towels?
Click to expand...

I was...until I tried some Plush MF Drying Towels, which I like *INFINITELY* better. If nothing else, I can dry more gently and any residual dirt has a (somewhat) better chance of getting caught up/surrounded and cushioned by all those tiny strands of MF, rather than just sitting on top of the WW (whether down inside the "waffle divots" or not it`s still just sitting there waiting to mar.

Not hating on WWMFs, I have lots of `em...but I simply *LOVE* the plush ones. Only downside is that the plush ones are more prone to linting so you might have to replace them more often (and buy ones that don`t lint right off the bat).
 
Mike lambert said:
I’m a little confused? Am I understanding that you polish out the “ swirl “marks and after washing one time they re appear? If you are talking about just wash marks then I can buy the soft clear. But if you are seeing real buffer swirls, then you haven’t polished them out, just covered them up. Or is it possible you are seeing sanding marks under the clear? Just curious.
Click to expand...

Gets confusing for those of us who were schooled that "swirlmarks come from buffers" AKA "buffer swirls", huh? As best I can tell "swirls/swirlmarks" is now a generic term for marring that`s not RIDS and/but was probably caused by the wash/dry process.
 
Accumulator said:
I was...until I tried some Plush MF Drying Towels, which I like *INFINITELY* better. If nothing else, I can dry more gently and any residual dirt has a (somewhat) better chance of getting caught up/surrounded and cushioned by all those tiny strands of MF, rather than just sitting on top of the WW (whether down inside the "waffle divots" or not it`s still just sitting there waiting to mar.

Not hating on WWMFs, I have lots of `em...but I simply *LOVE* the plush ones. Only downside is that the plush ones are more prone to linting so you might have to replace them more often (and buy ones that don`t lint right off the bat).
Click to expand...

That’s fair. Considering I do primarily rinselsss washing, I’ve always had the habit of just drying my car with regular 16x16 towels. one wrung out to pull the majority of the solution off the panel and ideally any dirt that could potentially be encapsulated, the other to apply my drying aid and finish the job. This has always worked really well for me.

I find that using waffle weaves leads me to using several towels in the end because they saturate so quickly. I do enjoy using them after a traditional wash, because I can sheet the majority of the water off the surface.. but even then, that just means a regular towel could do the job just as well.

I recently bought a couple Eagle Edgeless towels, and a minx, and using the eagle to do my final buff was really nice. I can definitely see the appeal of those super duper 1100gsm towels.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
finick- I spray the Drying Aid on since the panels are almost dry by that time.

I use pretty many towels period...just seems to go that way. FWIW, I`ve found that I don`t like *really* heavy GSM-weight MFs for many jobs. They`re OK for that final buffing off of the Drying Aid, but that`s about it IMO.

I can`t do the Sheeting Rinse with the water delivery system in my current shop, so I have to blow most of it off with that AirWand. Luckily I like it...I did the Sheeting Rinse at my previous shop where the water pressure/spigots were conducive to it.

The main thing is that we`ve found what works for us :D
 
DaveT435 said:
What part of the metroplex? I`m in Arlington. Since the majority of body shops deliver the cars with swirls in the new paint I doubt they will do anything. I would be more than happy to take a look at it. It is possible the scratches are just getting filled in with polishing oils then the oils are getting washed away in a wash or two. You can coat just one panel and the SPS coating I use is one of the harder on the market so it would give you more scratch resistance than many if the consumer grade coatings. Also I`m sure after doing a coating job I would have enough left to do your bumper cover. Let me know if I can be any help.
Click to expand...

awesome. I don`t mind driving out there, let me know what days/times you are usually free and we can plan something.

to the other questions I buffed out the swirls when I initially got the car back. then I took it to this brushless car wash place and it looked just awful after (only the bumper). I buffed it again and it was fine for a while even after I washed it by myself, but then a few washes later it started looking swirly again. I don`t know, maybe the swirls were never buffed out in the first place, but that seems odd since the severity after the shop washed it was just insane. it was hard to look at. now it can pass for most people won`t see what I see, but like all you guys I am particular about my paint and it bothers me!!

no it wasn`t service king btw. it was a local body shop that state farm recommended (and also had great reviews on yelp). I talked with the guy a lot about what he was going to do before he did it, and I really thought it was going to turn out OK.
 
tuffluck said:
awesome. I don`t mind driving out there, let me know what days/times you are usually free and we can plan something.

to the other questions I buffed out the swirls when I initially got the car back. then I took it to this brushless car wash place and it looked just awful after (only the bumper). I buffed it again and it was fine for a while even after I washed it by myself, but then a few washes later it started looking swirly again. I don`t know, maybe the swirls were never buffed out in the first place, but that seems odd since the severity after the shop washed it was just insane. it was hard to look at. now it can pass for most people won`t see what I see, but like all you guys I am particular about my paint and it bothers me!!

no it wasn`t service king btw. it was a local body shop that state farm recommended (and also had great reviews on yelp). I talked with the guy a lot about what he was going to do before he did it, and I really thought it was going to turn out OK.
Click to expand...


Just curious about Service King. I`ve seen and heard about some pretty poor work coming out of Service King. I`m usually available just about all the time. Dealing with a spinal fluid leak from surgery last week, so it will be a week or so. I`m confident we`ll come up with a solution to the problem and it won`t cost you anything.
 
DaveT435 said:
.. I`m usually available just about all the time. Dealing with a spinal fluid leak from surgery last week, so it will be a week or so..
Click to expand...

Gee, you`ve got other stuff to think about! Nice that you`re still planning to help, hope you get the post-surgery stuff all squared away.
 
Accumulator said:
Gee, you`ve got other stuff to think about! Nice that you`re still planning to help, hope you get the post-surgery stuff all squared away.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I`m confident between the Medtronics rep and the neurosurgeon they`ll get it taken care of. If it doesn`t stop by Monday afternoon they`ll go back in Tuesday morning at 7:15 and stitch it up.
 
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