black350

iTrader: (5)

I've noticed my car has developed pretty decent swirlies... what do i do?? i recently waxed it (coat one), then had it clayed and waxed (coat two) -the next day- and my car is still the same... I was suggested having it worked on by those buffer things (its a hand held wiper (the top part spins, lol im not to sure what the name was)) but then a good friend of mine down in nissan said that doing that for a black z (or any black car in general) would leave super swirls. She then said to have it color sanded or something like that... but that it would take a bit of money. I don't know about you guys, but the sound of sanding sounds horrible! so then, what can a sb 350z owner do?

UsafaRice

You could try Meguiar's ScratchX first. Or any light-cut hand polish, so you don't risk damaging it 3M makes a fine-cut product and so does Meguiar's.

I think the general consensus around here is that color sanding is too much of a risk of cutting through the clear. Also, how are you washing it/ what kind of wax are you using?

ares

iTrader: (2)

first, when you clayed after the first coat of wax, you removed your first coat, dont clay again.

next, use zaino Z5 only, others can use their Z2 for better shine, black has no room for error, you need swirl remover every time.

if its really bad, you can have it wetsanded, it will remove some of the orange peel, and will leave it crystal clear. gonna run upwords of a grand.

black350

iTrader: (5)

wow a grand... anyways, i usually wash my car outside under a tent. I use either Meguiar's, or rain-x's car wash compound. Once i finish washing (with a soft cotton like sponge thing) i will use a micro fiber (used to use terry cloths) cloth to dry. Usually i get sun spots, or some sort of miniral residue, so i then use Meguiar's gold class wax. I think I'm going to attempt (in about a week) a dual layer attempt. First the Scratch X (thanks UsafaRice) and then (if i can find it) I'll try some of that zaino (thanks ares). Btw, is zaino only sold online??

KShep

iTrader: (4)

Zaino sold only online at zainostore.com

black350

iTrader: (5)

alright, thanks.

SQUILL

be careful everybody!!!!! i have a 2004 liquid aluminum 350z which i proceeded to back into a chain link fence.....ugh...

anyway so it has tons of deep scratches into the plastic so as its ugly as hell i decide to get the old wetsanding paper out to try and smooth out the rough scratches so i can put tuchup paint on for a quick fix until i get the body kit i ordered.

Anyway I am no rookie when it comes to wetsanding so i throw a few sheets of 1000 grit into a bucket of water and let them soak for 15 min and then go to work.

I start on one of the scratches with really light pressure and after 10 seconds not much is happening ... i can see that the deep scratches which went down into the urethane bumper were slightl raised on the edges so wet sanding wouldnt help much any way since i was replacing the rear bumper anyway i contunied and about after 20 sec more im at bare plastic!!!!!!

So i start examining the thickness of the paint and i would have to say its the thinnest layer of paint ive ever seen!!!!!

its laid on as thin as rice paper!!! so be carefull buffing or wetsanding as there is not much room for error!! Somebody that has the equipment should measure the paints thickness and compare it to some other common cars out there.

I really think we got screwed with the paint on these 350s!!!

by the way liquid aluminum is a $1100 option!

pinnacleliquid

It's all we use here. If you want a wet look with no residual cloudiness and minimal removal of the ever so thin clear, use it with a gray foam buffing wheel. Then use whatever protector you want. We have used every product out there and 5996 is the easiest, fastest and safest way for us to achieve our wet looking dash parts.

black350

iTrader: (5)

thats what im saying, i mean, my moms 1996 chevy blazer has gone threw hell and still has 0 major scratches or swirlies. maybe its the fact that the car is a light gold/sand color, but still!!! Even our black (2000) 7 series has better paint than my car (and same goes for this car, its been beaten), honestly i do think we were gyped paint wise...i treat this car with a ton of care and still...gah!!

ares

iTrader: (2)

paint might suck, but swirls are a fact of life, and I am not aware of any paint resisting swirls if you scratch something, it scratches, if they have paint that doesnt scratch, Ill be amazed.

1000grit seems a bit harsh... not suprised it went through the paint rather quickly. for wetsanding isnt most swirl remover 2000grit? and liquid of course.

SQUILL

well yea for swirl removing i use 2000 grit if the swirls are so bad buffing cant get rid of them but i wasnt trying to remove swirls i was trying to even out nasty gashes that went through the paint and into the urethane bumper.

All im saying is the paint and clear is very thin if the swirls are so bad that wet sanding is the only way to get the clear back to a smooth un swirled surface just be carefull as the layer of clear over the base coat is the thinist ive ever seen!!!!! there is only so much thickness of clear untill you sand through and get into the base coat. keep in mind ive wetsanded quite a few cars and i was shocked how easy it was to sand through the clear and base coat all the way to the raw urethane. I mean like 30 seconds of light pressure in a concentrated area of about 1 inch was all it took. I did this as i was going to replace the bumper anyway so i wanted to see how thick the paint was. with 1000 grit paper pressing as hard as you can i dont think you could get through two coats of paint on most other cars in 30 seconds !!!!

KrazY-2K

I agree... Nissan paint isn't the best. My mom's 1995 Camry has been through 80k miles of hell and the paint still doesn't have a single rock chip on the front compared to my Z! Not to mention the swirls. I've got about 10 coats of Z5 Zaino polish (accelerated) on my car and swirl marks are still there, although about 70% gone. Maybe one day I'll just have the whole car re-painted...

black350

iTrader: (5)

i was thinking of doing the same thing...

350 PILOT

I have been told that all of the darker colors will show the swirls you are talking about (spider web). Throw in a cheap Nissan paint job and, well, good luck. I have a Redline and use Ziano 5 with pretty good results. My spider webs were there when they first delivered the car to me. After 3 trips to the dealership I gave up and gave in to Ziano. When doing the process treat it like any good painter would. 95% of a good paint job goes into prep. Get the cotton cloths, dawn, clay bar, Ziano 2, 5, 6 and go to work. Eleven hours later you will be a much happier man.

willpower

Of course you guys know you dont polish your car's in a circular motion right???? well If you do DONT polish from side to side straight lines, cuts out the swirls.

drarncruz

GET A WHITE CAR

black350

iTrader: (5)

but i was told white and black are equal when it comes to bitchy paint...