Swirl marks, hellcat

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jarabian52

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My destroyer grey 2019 Hellcat has a lot of scratches throughout the paint. When I rub my nail across them I can't feel it so it definitely is removable. Could I get away with just polishing? Or do I need compound then polish? Very new to this. Thanks.
 
Welcome to AGO.

You will get the infamous answer in doing a test spot and go from there.

Will you be working by hand or machine is another question you will receive. Machine giving better results.
 
I would like to do machine, I don't have one. I can also post some pics to get some more feedback.
 
Step one is always do a test spot.

Pick a pad and a product, do a test spot and review the results.

If you don't get what you want then change the pad first to a more aggressive pad before changing product.

I personally usually start with an orange LC flat pad.

But if I'm using my Griot's pads I start with a white pad.

I change pads before I change product aggressiveness.

If I change products I go back to my original pad choice and repeat the process.

This helps takes out the guess work.
 
This is a Lexus RC I recently did.

I one stepped this with FG400, G21 with 5 inch pads. It was a mess. The first picture was my test spot.

The pad comparison shows what came out of the paint before and after and why you need to have plenty of pads on hand and need to change them out frequently. I personally am not a fan of cleaning pads on the fly. It's what's touching the paint and being used to correct the paint so a clean pad can never be over emphasized. If I recall I think I used 6 white Griots Boss pads on this job.

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Sent from my SM-G975U using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
so you recommend I pick up some abrasive pads? and some less abraive ones as well right? Do you mind if I send you a DM?
 
jarabian52 said:
My destroyer grey 2019 Hellcat has a lot of scratches throughout the paint. When I rub my nail across them I can't feel it so it definitely is removable.

Could I get away with just polishing? Or do I need compound then polish? Very new to this.

Thanks.
Click to expand...


I'd recommend either getting the Griot's G9 or the Porter Cable. Both are enthusiast level tools and both can get the job done.

Griot's has more power but still very safe.


Griot's Garage G9 Random Orbital Polisher

Porter cable 7424xp, 7424xp, Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polisher, Porter Cable polisher, car polisher, buffer, sander-polisher



:)
 
jarabian52 said:
so you recommend I pick up some abrasive pads? and some less abrasive ones as well right?
Click to expand...


Let's start with what you want to use to "seal"the paint?

Car Wax
Synthetic Paint Sealant
Ceramic Paint Coating


Makes a difference when choosing compounds, polishes and thus pads.

The easiest route to go would be to get one of the tools I shared the links to, then a one-step AIO and then some pads. You can get phenomenal results and maintaining the finish will be easy in the future.

If you want to use a ceramic paint coating then you cannot use an AIO and must a polish and/or a compound followed by a polish.

Both of these scenarios will use different pads.


:)
 
So what would the exact process be if I used an AIO? wash, clay, compound, polish, and AIO?
 
I want make this a s simple as possible for my first attempt at doing this haha. I was thinking clay, compound, polish and I don't know what to go with after. What pads do you recommend I should get for everything I need to do. And what products. Thank you so much.
 
Im gonna go take some pics of the car and attach them here. I was thinking about getting it professionally done, just pretty expensive and I don't mind doing it.
 
One important question is do you know how the scratches presently on the car showed up? Because let's say you bought the car and took it through the tunnel wash. That's where they came from. And if you fix the scratches but go back to the tunnel wash, they will come back.

So from now on, are you willing to carefully hand wash the car and never let others wash it? Do you already own the products that will be needed for that and know the proper technique?

Once you know you'll be able to keep the paint looking good, then it's time to make it look good. All suggestions above are great. If your paint is on the soft side it won't be too much trouble but it could end up being more than you expect and since you need a handful pads of each color, you could find yourself ordering a dozen pads, perhaps more to get started. That's fine if you plan on using them again and taking care of your current/future cars. But if you're not going to use them again, the investment might not be worth and it could be better to just pay a pro to detail the car for you and be done with it. A machine and pads and products will easily set you back a few hundred dollars.

If you want to learn this is the right place, the crowd here is nice and will help you.
 
jarabian52 said:
So what would the exact process be if I used an AIO? wash, clay, compound, polish, and AIO?
Click to expand...


AIO is, as the name indicates, all in one. So you'd wash, clay, then use AIO and that's it, nothing else. It's not capable of fixing heavy defects but if it's not too bad it might just clean them all up. And AIOs leave some protection behind so you don't need to do anything else for at least a few weeks/months. Then you can maintain the finish with a wax or sealant.
 
jarabian52 said:
So what would the exact process be if I used an AIO? wash, clay, compound, polish, and AIO?
Click to expand...

No.

An AIO takes the place of a compound, polish and wax. But because an AIO uses a wax or sealant in it - you cannot apply a ceramic coating over it.


For your first time - I'd go with an AIO and I'd get a quart of the BLACKFIRE One Step. It's $40.00 but it will last you 2, 3, 4 details easy. Works great and just as important - wipes off super easy.


:)
 
Griot's G9 polisher, half a dozen Lake Country Flat orange pads, and half a dozen white. And the Blackfire One-Step.

You cannot get a better start than with these 3 products.


Oh, and what an Awesome car!!
 
Im pulling the trigger on these items now. And I love the car. What do you recommend for cleaning the pads?
 
Get a stiff pad cleaning brush, a dedicated pad cleaner, and some MF cleaner.

Spray the pad when you are done with it, agitate with the brush, then plop into a bucket with the MF cleaner until you are done with the car.

After that, you can wash them in your machine, or hand wash in the sink.
 
Love destroyer gray, we’re interested in a SRT Durango. My brother in law has a Scat Pack Charger in that color. I coated it and have to say it has to be the softest paint I ever worked on and the color shows every swirl. I used Optimum Hyper Polish with the Meguiars polishing discs, it took care of all the defects. I would definitely start off on the least aggressive combo you get and make sure to get enough mf towels
 
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