GM (ie Buick) Piano-black trim

[Viper1973]

Guys,

I have a 2017 Buick Enclave that through the course of repairing extensive hail damage received the body-shop induced swirl option.

I've got everything I think I need to fix the regular paint. However, I just discovered that two pieces of glossy piano-black style trim on the c-pillars (just behind the rear passenger doors that has the Buick crest) got some very light swirl action.

I've been looking at these over the last couple of days trying to figure out if they're glossy plastic or paint. Today, due to how the sun was hitting them, I'm pretty well convinced that they're actually paint but my guess is that it's probably super-thin crappy paint :doh:

What would you guys recommend to address these? I'm thinking that whatever I use needs to be extremely mild and by hand or I will create bigger problems. (I don't want to have to pay out $300+ for new ones)

Would something like Sonax Easy Shine work? I also have Wolfgang TSW and their finishing polish as well as Sonax EX 04-06 and Meguiar's ScratchX. If something else is a better option I'm all ears!

Thoughts? I know this type of trim is pretty common on GM vehicles so I'm hoping someone who does this for a living can actually tell me how to deal with it :help:

I'm also wondering if these can be safely clayed.

[RaskyR1]

Pretty sure I polished that piece on this one. I treated it like most gloss black trim piece, which is usually the same or similar combo I use on the paint.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i288/Raskyr1/Enclave/20160508-DSC_5247.jpg (http://s75.photobucket.com/user/Raskyr1/media/Enclave/20160508-DSC_5247.jpg.html)

[Viper1973]

Pretty sure I polished that piece on this one. I treated it like most gloss black trim piece, which is usually the same or similar combo I use on the paint.



Yep... you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Might I ask which polish you used and if you did them by hand or machine? I so don't want to screw these up

[RaskyR1]

Definitely by machine. It's been a while but I believe it was Griots Fast Correct Cream with MF pads followed by Hyper Polish and a foam polishing pad.

[Viper1973]

Definitely by machine. It's been a while but I believe it was Griots Fast Correct Cream with MF pads followed by Hyper Polish and a foam polishing pad.

That combo isn't too aggressive for these panels??? They sure don't look like they have very much paint or durability to work with.

[LEDetailing]

My Lexus piano black trim cleared up well with Menzerna SF3500 on a 2in black Flex finishing pad via rotary.

[RaskyR1]

That combo isn't too aggressive for these panels??? They sure don't look like they have very much paint or durability to work with.

It's been about a year since I did the one above but I don't recall being concerned over polishing them and I didn't have any issues, plus they were pretty trashed. Every car that comes in my shop has those pieces polished if they are gloss, these seemed no different. (some of odd anodized ones don't get polished)

[Viper1973]

It's been about a year since I did the one above but I don't recall being concerned over polishing them and I didn't have any issues, plus they were pretty trashed. Every car that comes in my shop has those pieces polished if they are gloss, these seemed no different. (some of odd anodized ones don't get polished)

Thank you for the advice.

Based on the products I have which would be the most suitable:

Wolfgang TSR
Wolfgang Finishing Glaze
Wolfgang AIO

Sonax Easy Shine
Sonax EX 04-06

Meguires ScratchX 2.0

Or... Would something else be more appropriate?

The rest of the vehicle is going to get either the Wolfgang Twins or EX 04-06 when the weather clears to undo what the 'butcher' shop did. I need to test to see for sure but i'm HOPING EX 04-06 on either orange or white CCS will get me to where I want to be.

Given all the crazy trim they use these days - and GM's knack for using the cheapest crap they can import - the only part that really concerns me are these two panels. Mainly because they don't seem to have much there to work with.


In the interest of full disclosure - I'm an IT person by trade so I'm far out of my element. Figuring the closest thing to a professional where I live screwed it up I figure I'm better off figuring out how to do it myself rather than let them make it worse.