2008 Corvette Scratch Removal

[cousineau18]

So I am new to this whole detailing hobby. I have a 2008 Corvette that over the past 6 years of driving it, has accumulated some swirl marks and water marks and small scratches that have NOT penetrated the clear coat (my fingernail does not catch the scratch just my eye sight does).

I purchased the following products to fix the issue. It might have been a bit of an overkill but I just wanted to make sure I was able to fix the issue.

Porter Cable 7424XP
Clay
M105
M205
Hex Logic 5.5" Orange and White pads
Rejex for the sealant

So after claying the entire car I started the process of applying M105 with the orange pad. For each 2' X 2' section on speed 5 I would complete 6 section passes. I started to get some great results except for some small scratches every now and then, that no matter how many section passes over that particular area to see if doing extra passes would help but it's not. I even tried bumping up the speed to speed 6 but some of the areas on the corvette are fiberglass and bend too easily and I was not able to apply enough pressure to the pad to make it where the pad isn’t spinning too fast so I stopped that.

I know I could possibly buy the teal Heavy Cutting pad and try that or maybe some light wet sanding, but would like to see if someone could give me some insight. Over the entire car I would estimate there are about 15 to 20 of these tiny scratches that I want to remove.

[The Guz]

Corvettes typically have hard clear coat. You may want to look into the Meguiar's microfiber cutting disks and their D300 compound. Works great on hard clear coats.

[parttimer]

Unless you are doing a show car baby, don't fret the RIDS. Getting a perfect finish means you won't be driving the vehicle much! So get it 90% and be happy :)

[cousineau18]

Unless you are doing a show car baby, don't fret the RIDS. Getting a perfect finish means you won't be driving the vehicle much! So get it 90% and be happy :)

That is some great advice. I figured there might be a easy fix to this problem. If not, I will just have to ignore the small imperfections and roll with it.

[cartman1]

I agree with getting it there 90% and being happy. You probably made it look amazon already it.

[Billy Baldone]

If you live near the Chicagoland area, you are welcome to come over and I can help you out. If not I'm sure someone else near you would be happy to assist you.

[FUNX650]

I read where you used M105;
but I don't see where you've used the M205.

If the Meguiar's "twins" ain't cutting it for you...
You could try:
-Meguiar's Ultimate Compound (even by hand, if need be)
on the small, isolated scratches; Or:
-A couple of polishes from the Menzerna line-up:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/image947.jpg (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/89812)

I've used the following with excellent results:
• Menzerna IS 1500...Super Intensive Polish (formerly: PO 83)
• Menzerna SF-4000...Super Finish (formerly: PO 106 FA)


Bob

[HateSwirls]

When using M105 to remove a scratch I use an orange pad along with my GG6 or my Flex 3401
If after making a few passes without good results I then pul out a 3M 3k polishing sanding disk.
Works for me 80% of the time.
As said, the clear on Vettes is hard and can be difficult to correct but not impossible.

I normally keep 50 disk on hand just in case.

[cousineau18]

So I slept on what everyone had to say and I am going to be that guy who wants to get his car show. I am not only driving my car about 1,500 miles a year and would like to see if i can get it show quality for now. So I have a couple of more questions that hopefully some experts can answer.

A couple of you mentioned something about a sanding disc. So I am not throwing money out the window and buying this disc, could I just use some 3M sand paper? I have a sanding block that I could wrap the paper around and wet sand the scratch followed by M105 and M205. Do you think that would work?

One last question, is I have a paint chip around the 1/8” on my left mirror. I am thinking of getting some touch up paint and fixing it. But the question I have after is what should I do after I apply the touch up. Here is my thought process behind it.

Apply
Wetsand from 20000, then to 2500 and onto 3000 to where the paint is level.
Next grab a piece of an orange cutting pad and apply the M105 by hand (taking approx. 1 hour of massage that into the paint) to get it somewhat smooth

Am I on track and do you think the Dr. Colorchip is worth the price?

[FUNX650]

It's your vehicle to do with what ever you desire...
But:
Please count me as one person that did not,
and does not, recommend "sanding discs" to be used on the very, very, thin paint systems...that are applied at the OEMs' paint kitchens.

However:
I still recommend following Mike Phillips':
scratch-removal-by-hand-process...using Meguiar's Ultimate Compound...for the random scratches you had described earlier.

As to Dr. Colorchip:
It is one fine paint repair system, IMO.

Good Luck!

Bob

[cousineau18]

After getting some personal messages and doing some more research, I am going to purchase Meguiars M101 Foam Cut a 5.5" Xtra Cut Microfiber Disc.

I will be finishing up the rear of the car with M105 and then using this for the 15-20 scratches that I can't get out with M105 and send a quick follow-up email around the 10th of February.

[tuscarora dave]

Have a read through this Corvette Paint correction thread.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/wet-sanding-cutting-buffing/56926-first-shot-fixing-black-vette.html

This newbie to paint correction Impressed a lot of us here at AGO in his unwavering commitment to producing the results he was looking for. He also got a ton of support from the community here at AGO.

There are tons of great info on products, pads, techniques, sanding, hard Corvette paint, compounding, finishing etc. in this thread.

Quite the inspiring thread that I believe any Corvette owner should read through.

Hope it helps.

[builthatch]

imo colorchip is good for massive road wash cleanup.

for isolated chips, esp. on a car that you are trying to maintain to such a high level, get a fine modeling paint brush (i think mine is an 18/0 spotter style) and ez-dabbers. between those two things you will be able to touch up anything.

for paint, i use paintscratch.com. i used to use my local body shop. they would mix up a tiny amount and i'd put it in a half ounce Model Master paint bottle. using the shop was cheaper and they could match it better if there was a variation in the code...as paintscratch matches the main paint chip (you know, the paint sample card) and that's it...however, we are talking about chip damage, not respraying parts or panels. so, i use paintscratch now - i don't even have to leave the house. i've used them twice for two different metallics and once they shipped a vial that didn't match at all. their dispute process is easy and they sent me a new vial without issue...and it matched fine.

the one thing i like about them is they have clear in a bottle and it's JUST the right viscosity. i used to bottle my own clear in model paint bottles but it would always thicken up after a year or more and trying to reduce/thin it worked if i happened to have the right thinner around but it would just happen again. the paintscratch clear doesn't seem to do that and they said if it does, i can just use their included thinner.

so, you clean the area with prep solvent or IPA solution, take an ez-dabber or fine paint brush (or toothpick, whatever is appropriate) and place the paint in the chip. let it dry, decide if you want to put more in there to bring it level, let that dry...then top with clear again using the appropriate tool.

[The Guz]

After getting some personal messages and doing some more research, I am going to purchase Meguiars M101 Foam Cut a 5.5" Xtra Cut Microfiber Disc.

This is a pretty aggressive combo. You may want to give D300 and the regular microfiber pads a shot first. You could pick up a couple xtra cut MF disks just in case. M101/M100 and M105 will dust and haze with microfiber pads.

Head over to meguiar's online and post photos there as well.

[allenk4]

Take lots of Before pictures....looking forward to the pictures After you sand