Davids65

Since I bought my 09 I have been a little unhappy with the paint job. I spent a lot of time detailing the car but I have been unable to remove a few of the swirl marks left but either the former owner or the dealer that prepped the car to be sold. There are not a ton of swirl marks but enough to annoy me I called a shop that was highly recommended and I was quoted $1000 sight unseen. This sounds like a lot of money to me but I figured I would see what the general consensus was maybe this is a great price I just don't know.

R&L's C6

That nuts IMO. Go to AutoGeek and get yourself a polisher such as a Porter Cable 7424 XP Dual Action. For a couple of hundred dollar investment and an afternoon of your time, your car will look great and you'll have the tools to keep it that way.

http://www.autogeek.net/dual-action-polishers.html

10thumper

Or Griots on Amazon. No offense, but this should be something easy to take care of without a ton of guidance. I invested $175 total, spent time researching and learning online and spent 7 hours total and it came out perfect. No reason you can't do the same or pay the $1k to get it done.

Personally, I enjoyed doing it. Perhaps you should research a bit before jumping into things.

wayback

1000 is crazy. When I had the gloss black parts painted I wanted to have the rest of the paint corrected. They charged me 3 hrs labor at 75 per hr. Polished and waxed all the AW but only polished the gloss black. Came out looking better than when I bought it new.

It was at a small shop near my house that my insurance agent highly recommended. When I picked it up every person working there came over to tell me how much they loved the look of my car.

Davids65

I already went this route I spend a ton of time last Winter I bought a porter cable I clayed the entire car I got the car to shine but no matter what I do I can't get the swirl marks out of the paint. I have polished many a car and boat and been happy with the results but I just can't get this one right yes I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I even brought the car to my body shop and they told me to bring it to a good detail shop this one came highly recommended.

I spent many hours, at this point I'm afraid I will create more damage by buffing thru the clear coat.

dryadsdad

Uhmm, try a different detail shop for a competitive bid? Ask why the first shop quoted $1k? If someone quoted me that, I'd ask for an expansion to hear what they thought was involved.

wayback

That might be your problem....worried about burning through the clear coat. Our clear coat is very hard and you might not be using the right products. There is a detailing section here. Might find some good info, or call autogeek.

Davids65

I watched every video both on this forum as well as the autogeek sight I ordered every product from autogeek my friends think I have a detail shop in my garage whenever they see all the crap I have but there are certain things best left for professionals.

The shop I spoke to said he does plenty of Vetts with similar issue again this was a sight unseen quote he claims it is a 35 hour job to do it right. Considering I probably put at least that into the car over the Winter the time doesn't really surprise me.

spdkilz911

What products are you using? The PC is a great machine but it does have it's limits. About the only way to damage the paint with the PC is to drop it on the car. I have used the PC for years with great results. I also have the Flex buffer. It works a little faster.

_05C6_

The best shop around here charges about $600 for a full paint correction, wheels off detail. Price is relative.... shop around some.

mxw128

Where are you located? I've been using a local detailer (who is around this forum too) who is very good. Basically it depends what you want and how bad it is to start. Sure you can pay somebody a grand to spend days on your car but at what point do you get diminishing returns? And yes you can do it yourself, just depends if you enjoy that part of corvette ownership. I'm more of a wrench turner, so I take mine over to the detailer once a year or 18 months or so for a good once over then I'll do the little focussed stuff myself in between.

Cauhauna

Out here in Phoenix there is a guy from the BMW crowd that does it for $250 per car.

MH663

Sounds like you are afraid to hurt the clear. As mentioned, the clear on Corvettes are very hard. You are not going to hurt it with a PC DA polisher, proper compounds and polishing bonnets. Stay at it and work in small sections until you see it working (needs to flash). Once you get that section the way you want it, move to the next small section until the whole car is done. Call Auto Geek or Adams for guidance. There is a lot of info on the web as you can imagine...look for vids to help you along. You will get it!

Mr.Nubain

Did you buy the car knowing the paint was in this poor condition?

Doubt It

Bump up the pad and product. You're mostikely not using the right combination. The clear on our cars are very hard. Bump it up to a cutting pad and a stronger compound, speed as well.

10thumper

I agree the clear coat is hard on the Vettes but still, not hard. It must be your products or technique. Probably best for you to get a few bids and decide who you want to do this for you. It's really not too hard on a Vette IMO.

jrose7004

I paid $500.00 for a full paint correction here in OKC.

Mr.Nubain

When you get the paint correction, is that something that has to be done every year to cover up the damaged CC? I love polishing and waxing my car, but only by hand. Way too much error with a machine.

Z06pete

If you never heard of Chadwick's Triple Play you need to check this out. My car needed some paint correction until Neal Chadwick showed me his Triple Play all I can say is WOW! You won't be disappointed.
http://chadwickstripleplay.com/

extrapilot

http://www.detailedimage.com/Surbuf-...P485/2x-55-S2/

This is the setup I've been using lately on the vett, using the Porter Cable DA. Like all of the posters here say, the clear is very hard and even using my setup here, it takes about 3 passes to get things right. Just not a afternoon job though.