Hey man, I am new to Auto Geek, but have been detailing for a while, and have owned a Black 1998 Camaro Z28, just like yours! I had a lot of trouble keeping that thing clean, and I worked in the detail bay at a Cadillac dealership!
My headlights were dulled too, but I would use one of those headlight restoration kits from the auto parts store. 3M sells a good one ($20), and comes with everything needed to do the job I think, and you can use a high speed drill instead of a buffer. The drill works just the same, if not easier because of the small surface area, as long as you keep it flat and use light pressure and make multiple passes. If you don't have a drill, I am sure you can borrow one from a neighbor!
As far as paint chips, I have found that taking a small bottle of color matched touch-up paint (the little tube with the fingernail polish type brush attached to the lid) from a GM dealership works the easiest. You first should try this process on something besides your f-body to make sure you get it right the first time!
Starting with a clean car before you wax it, take the touch-up paint and dab it on the chip, making sure you get it down in there real well. Put enough on there to bubble up just a tad-bit over your existing paint. Then use some 1000 grit sandpaper (It takes a while but saves more of your finish) to level it out, then repeat with 2000 grit. Next take a high speed rotary buffer, a wool pad, and some mildly abrasive compound and buff out the scratches you just made. Then step down to a medium compound, a light compound, and a machine glaze/polish. Put on a coat of good paint sealant after that and your good to go. Takes me about and hour to do a chipped up nose, cost about $10 or less in supplies/materials. Either way it looks as good as new and saves a ton of cash at the body shop.
And for polishing the beast, black can be tricky. Unlike lighter colored cars, it will show swirls a lot easier. I like to use a polish that I get from CAR BRITE called SLEEK. Its soooooooo awesome! Its made for dark colored vehicles, especially black. Its gray in color and you can use a buffer or apply it by hand. Either way it works great on those black F-bodies!
Hit me up for some more tips. My maro also had the tan interior, and the tan carpets were like stain magnets.
I did a bit of work to it when I had it, still have some pics too I think... ??
Heres the URL for the SLEEK from CAR BRITE:
Car Brite - Sleek
The only products I would suggest from CAR BRITE are:
SLEEK (obviously)
PURPLE DRESSING (for tire shine... it smells awesome and last a while too!)
SEE SPOT GO (Awesome stain remover literally blast stains away, you just spray the stain gone and dab it with a towel to dry)
10,10,10 DEGREASER (Its cool because it goes on clearish, but turns blue so you know when you got it all rinsed off!)
They can be pricey though, but I would definitely suggest the SLEEK for your maro.
Anywho, hope I helped. Everyone else covered it though I think. These guys seem to konw what there doing on here! Been on here a day and am loving it!
~MikeGibson
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