Buffin' out the hood

[08FrontDude]

hmmmmm....I'll see what I can do...Honestly, I should just try to buff/polish it out..It's only on the hood and would probably only take me about 20 minutes or so....Then if it doesn't come out I could take recourse. It is very very hard to see unless the lighting is just right...I tried capturing it with a camera, but no luck!!

[NISM0]

Originally Posted by 08FrontDude

hmmmmm....I'll see what I can do...Honestly, I should just try to buff/polish it out..It's only on the hood and would probably only take me about 20 minutes or so....Then if it doesn't come out I could take recourse. It is very very hard to see unless the lighting is just right...I tried capturing it with a camera, but no luck!!

h


The point I'm trying to make is that your new 2008 hood should be flawless with no glaze or polish applied. Your dealer will temporarily hide the flaw in your hood, but I know months from now, it will be back.
It would be a good idea to talk to an autobody shop.

A buffer and polish is used to take fine scratches and swirl marks out of clearcoat which is the top layer over your paint. It won't change the shade or color of the paint in your flawed area. If you plan on buffing your hood, have the dealer do it. You will probably create more problems making the hood look worse.

[08FrontDude]

Thanks for the advice NISMO...I'm going to try and get it over to a local bodyshop soon so I can get their take on it.

[silentsamurai]

As a fellow weekend detailer. Just so you know. Dealers and buffing / cleaning of cars = Big NO NO! they like to do the sand paper treatment on cars. you should see some of the forums i get. Cars go in for service and come back with 100's of swirls and spiderwebs. Just be careful. If the dealer covers it, I would goto a shop like you said. have them do it and let the dealer pay for it.

[jjski78]

Originally Posted by silentsamurai

As a fellow weekend detailer. Just so you know. Dealers and buffing / cleaning of cars = Big NO NO! they like to do the sand paper treatment on cars. you should see some of the forums i get. Cars go in for service and come back with 100's of swirls and spiderwebs. Just be careful. If the dealer covers it, I would goto a shop like you said. have them do it and let the dealer pay for it.

x2! Dealership "detailers", more often than not, have absolutely ZERO clue how to properly buff a vehicle. The worst part about it is most of them use rotary polishers which, in an unskilled hand, will DESTROY your paint. If you have access to a Porter Cable random orbit polisher, you would probably be better off doing it yourself. Since it's just the hood, it shouldn't take more than 1/2 hour to do.

Originally Posted by NISM0

h


The point I'm trying to make is that your new 2008 hood should be flawless with no glaze or polish applied. Your dealer will temporarily hide the flaw in your hood, but I know months from now, it will be back.
It would be a good idea to talk to an autobody shop.

A buffer and polish is used to take fine scratches and swirl marks out of clearcoat which is the top layer over your paint. It won't change the shade or color of the paint in your flawed area. If you plan on buffing your hood, have the dealer do it. You will probably create more problems making the hood look worse.

Yes and no. The manufacturer does do, for the most part, a great job at applying finishes. BUT, a lot of times you will have slight variations in the thickness of the clear that will detract from the overall appearance in certain lighting conditions. Some of the uber-expensive detailers use a thickness gauge to take measurements of the clear coat so they know what spots need to be knocked down when polishing to even out the clear coat. The difference is actually pretty impressive when it's done properly. Most of your defects in finish from the factory are in the clear. But, I did have a friend who couldn't figure out what was wrong with his green F150. I went to polish it out for him and instantly figured out what was wrong...the factory forgot the clear coat!! How did I know this?? Kinda obvious when your white polishing pad turns green!!

[silentsamurai]

Originally Posted by jjski78

x2! Dealership "detailers", more often than not, have absolutely ZERO clue how to properly buff a vehicle. The worst part about it is most of them use rotary polishers which, in an unskilled hand, will DESTROY your paint. If you have access to a Porter Cable random orbit polisher, you would probably be better off doing it yourself. Since it's just the hood, it shouldn't take more than 1/2 hour to do.

I use nothin but a PC, but rotary's will mess up your paint and eat / burn right through it. Yes. But if you know how to use one, its the only way to get 100% correction on paint. PC's can only do so much.

[jjski78]

Originally Posted by silentsamurai

I use nothin but a PC, but rotary's will mess up your paint and eat / burn right through it. Yes. But if you know how to use one, its the only way to get 100% correction on paint. PC's can only do so much.

Truth, the problem is the major majority of dealership "detailers" don't know how to properly use a rotary.

[cctmobiledetail]

I've high speed buffed vehicles for over 15 yrs and 4400+ cars. Knowing the correct speed , pressure and action is key. depending on the severity of your scratches, you can polish, glaze, compound, colorsand, etc... Make sure you look for pictures of the detailers work , before you trust them !!!

Some of my clients machine buffed cars:

Range Rover


2004 carrera type II



2006 Lamborghini Murcielago Spyder



2007 Ferrari 430



Here's a before and after shot


1990 Vector W8 ( 504 keith Black Hemi )



2005 Ferrari 360



'55 Chevy



H2 on 25's



2005 Porsche GT