^^^ THAT'S IT!!! Screw the clay br...you are taking a buffer to it with swirl remover (aka paste with fine sand in it)

Here is what you do:
1. Wash
2. Get your buffer out (one from pic) and get a flexible rubber mount.
3. Put a wool pad on it (also called a cutting pad)
4. Buff it with swirl remover or rubbing compound.
5. Elbow grease the cleaner wax.

You are done.

Here is a vid for help:
Scratches:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5kNF...eature=channel
final polish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMcgy...eature=related

 

ok, im going to get this done this weekend.

i need to get a shoping list together.

so i need a: wool(cutting pad) to go on my dual action sander or in this case buffer. where can i find this? will it be in the automotive section or do i need to go to lowes or something?

rubbing compound. just the stuff that is in the can at the store that says(rubbing compound)? how fine of stuff do i want for that?

then a good cleaning wax. Meguiars cleaning wax is what was recomended, any other that would work good if i can not find that?

Just to make sure i got the order down:

wash
clay bar
using rubbing compound and use the buffer with the cutting pad together to work it in. then when its all cleaned off.

use the meguiars cleaning wax. and do i just aply this like any other wax? just put it on and then let it dry and whip it off?

then is that it? sould it darken it up a little and take out some of the light scratches?

or do i finish it up with a normal old turtle wax hard shell or something?


here is a pic of the truck: it does not normally look this bad, the light must be just right or something. but you can tell the bed is darker.

http://

 

From when I was doing autobody, I learned that even at the factory it was nearly impossible to match colors perfectly. Even doing your own clearcoat over factory paint makes it look different. There is the oxidation aspect everyone is looking at. I always used Perfect It III brand machine compound, followed by their hand compound. Wax, buff, and your old paint will be back to how it was at the FACTORY. Unfortunately, trying to match paint isn't that easy. A seasoned professional has to do the above mentioned process, then test a match of paint, and know what shades and tints are necessary to match. It's probably cheaper to get your whole truck painted the exact same color it already is (but at the same time) than try to match a few panels with the rest of it.

Now, what I always did was blend. If you look at the truck as a whole, light hits it differently. Your eyes naturally know it's going to look different. So, If you paint the new panel, blend it with the adjoining panel, and clear coat the whole thing, the human eye can't tell the difference between the new panel and the old. Of course, this is way before you're at now, so I guess I really didn't help much.

 

of course a guy who has an autobody background has a white vehicle

Randy johnson can pitch a handfull of gravel at the rocker panel and you would not notice anything from 20 feet.

 

well its not the factory paint. It had napa paint on it. It was repainted about 5 years ago. Then i had just the bed repainted about a mounth ago with napa paint

 

im going to the store tommorrow to get the stuff. any recomendations for rubbing compound? or should i just get swirl remover?

 

Youi will want to get the mid rubbing compound. Do not get a clay bar. YOu will be taking a pad to the paint and getting everything the play bar will get out anyway. Why do the extra work?

Go to lowes and get someone to help you. I would get a medium fine rubbing compound. They should have the wool pads there.

If you are using a DA buffer with rubbing compound, be ready to watch your paint fly off the car.

--Dan

 

ok wait, paint fly off the car? what do you mean by that? im going to screw it up and make it look worse?

and ok ya i got the cleaner wax, and the rubbing compound i got is turtle wax rubbing compound in a bottle that says for scratch and swirl mark removel and for light to medium oxicidation removal.

will that stuff work?

also i did not go to lowes yet but at auto zone the only "6 inch wool pads" they had are to go on a drill. would that work? or should i get one for the dual auction sander?

thanks for your help!!