simple detail?

[E30_(1st Musk)_]

i bought my bronzite e30 a week ago. ive been driving my dads up until now..

BUT my paint has scratches. there not scratches from keys/other cars/tools etc.

there scratches that seems as if the car was brushed with an abrassive material. its only on the fenders/hood/top/and trunk...The scratches are un-even though. There are spots were there are no scratches but many around that spot...

could this be fixed with a clay bar and proper polishes.... or is this burned paint from a previouse owners mistake???

[rabbitude]

A clay bar will not help remove scratches but may help remove spots, I would start with the clay bar then you need to do some polishing. Its hard to say how heavy of polish you need to use with out seeing the car but I would say start with a medium cutting compound. I would recommend investing in a Porter Cable 7424 random orbit buffer. These are very easy to use and safe and will give great results. Basically from what you described the top layer of paint is scratched and oxidized, by removing that top layer and exposing the layer underneath you should get a good gloss out of it.

[red325]

It sounds like you're talking about swirls. Almost all cars have them, usually from improper washing. Yeah this could be cleared up with some polishing

[E30_(1st Musk)_]

A clay bar will not help remove scratches but may help remove spots, I would start with the clay bar then you need to do some polishing. Its hard to say how heavy of polish you need to use with out seeing the car but I would say start with a medium cutting compound. I would recommend investing in a Porter Cable 7424 random orbit buffer. These are very easy to use and safe and will give great results. Basically from what you described the top layer of paint is scratched and oxidized, by removing that top layer and exposing the layer underneath you should get a good gloss out of it.

ill try and get a picture of what i am talking about tomorrow..
my only problem is to not cut the paint.

can i do the cutting by hand? even though i know it will take me hours of work...

and what would be the next step? polish? or is there a deep scratch polish compound?

[E30_(1st Musk)_]

It sounds like you're talking about swirls. Almost all cars have them, usually from improper washing. Yeah this could be cleared up with some polishing

i know what you mean. but there not swirls...there not in a swirl motion. there kinda in lines as if made by hands

[rabbitude]

When I say cutting compound I mean polish. All polishes have some type of cutting material in them. The heavier the polish the more it will cut through the top layer of paint. Scratch removers are generaly very heavy and designed for one scrathc at a time. I would recomend Meguirs medium cutting compund, you can find it at most auto part stores. You can do this by hand but it is a TON of work. Once you finish the car you should just be able to throw a coat of wax on and call it a day.

[E30_(1st Musk)_]

When I say cutting compound I mean polish. All polishes have some type of cutting material in them. The heavier the polish the more it will cut through the top layer of paint. Scratch removers are generaly very heavy and designed for one scrathc at a time. I would recomend Meguirs medium cutting compund, you can find it at most auto part stores. You can do this by hand but it is a TON of work. Once you finish the car you should just be able to throw a coat of wax on and call it a day.

okay deffinitely sounds like my best option...as far as doing it with a machine. is there less of a risk of burn with a medium compound. because if its not to hard i will most likely do it with a machine

[rabbitude]

check this link out, this is the same machine I sugested with a different name on it. Its not the polish that will burn the paint its the pad, with one of these machines theres almost no risk of burning the paint, watch the videos at the bottom and They will explain

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/car+care/car+polishing/orbitals+and+car+polishing+tools/griot%27s+garage+random+orbital.do

[E30_(1st Musk)_]

great! but it looks like for now ill be doing this by hand. i cant afford 120 for a buffer, and im not to sure about harbor freights buffers that run for 60 unless that would be decent enough?

[rabbitude]

I would stay away from the one from harbor freight, you can have good results with those but you need a lot of experience to avoid burning the paint. Just do it by hand, just make sure you switch hands or you may end up having one arm bigger than the other.

[e30vert]

Add a picture so we can see the detail of the swirls or scratches that you speak of. Also run your finger along the clear coat and does your nail hang up or drop into the scratches?

[structure]

I'm going to try GlossHaus in the next 2-3 months:
http://www.glosshaus-home.com/

My car has swirls and light scratches all over the car. Similar results can probably be done with other products but, I figured since one e30 owner used them and got good results why not another.

Photos: http://r3vlimited.com/board/showthre...ight=glosshaus

[iXBeater]

I'm going to try GlossHaus in the next 2-3 months:

http://www.glosshaus-home.com/

My car has swirls and light scratches all over the car. Similar results can probably be done with other products but, I figured since one e30 owner used them and got good results why not another.

Photos: http://r3vlimited.com/board/showthre...ight=glosshaus

Bronzit is a clear-coated paint, but the transformation and products is the same. Here's some GlossHaus results on a 2002 that had clearcoat and huge swirls...

[red325]

My paint is zinnoberrot which I think is a stage 1 paint. So can I still polish my car even though I don't have a clearcoat?

[M5wanaB]

My paint is zinnoberrot which I think is a stage 1 paint. So can I still polish my car even though I don't have a clearcoat?

Hell yeah you can. I have polished a zinno car and it turned all my pads red but came out looking like it had a clear coat on it. You may want to check it with a paint thickness guage to make sure that you have enough to work with before going too nuts.