hey guys,

recently got my z second hand and it's running great.

however, a couple of weeks ago, i was reversing out of a friend's narrow driveway and had some tree branch scratching down the side of the door.

although it's not very deep, it can be seen on close inspection under the sunlight. also, it's about half a metre in length.

i understand that professional cut and polish will do the trick but i also understand that it removes a layer of paint.

my questions are:
1) how many cut and polishes before it's too much?
2) is there anyway to determine the residual number (of layers) of paint on the car?
3) after washing the car and drying, i see slightly 'off white bubble marks' on the car. is this from a previous wax gone wrong?

my z is super-black in colour. all help will be appreciated, thanks!

 

1) That's hard to say. It depends on how much you work the product. The longer you polish it and the more force you use will wear off more clearcoat quicker. Like any other abrasive treatment, you want to use it a little as possible and only as a last resort.

2) Yes, professionals use a paint thickness gauge. I believe it's an ultrasonic device that can determine the thickness down to the metal.

3) Those may be water spots. If so you can get rid of them with white vinegar or use a claybar.

 

Yup, can also be tree sap, or some other crud on the paint. I would see what you can do to remove it using vinegar, cleaner wax, and/or clay bar, as DavesZ#3 suggests. If none of those methods work, it is possible your clear coat is starting to fail. I had that effect on an old Sentra SE-R on an area I had body work done. After a little while the cc just started to flake away where it had been blistering. If it is the CC coming up, you need to figure it out now so you can go ***** to however you bought from for resolution.

 

thanks for the really useful advice, i'll update and post pics in the future on what happens!

 

My First step would be to Clay Bar the Car. It is really easy and takes less than 2 hours. There are several companies that makes kits for less than $20 US.

 

thanks for that. but what's the best way to deal with the tree branch scratches? is a cut and polish the only solution? or is there diy? please recommend!

 

There's a lot involved in scratch removal, more than one of us can explain in a simple post.

Check out this site:
http://site.bettercarcare.com/articles.php?articleId=27

That article is part of a collection of detailing how-tos. The originator is David Bynon, the guy behind Autopia.org which is the #1 website related to detailing and car care.

Another articel you might want to check out is this one:
http://site.bettercarcare.com/articles.php?articleId=17

If you're going to try to fix it yourself, I would recommend signing up at http://autopia.org and download the free eBook "The Autopis Guide to Detailing". It has several sections on evaluating paint problems (scratches, swirls, etc.) and what steps to take to fix them.