polish or strip?

[vfchris]

I intend to do a polish and wax but unsure if this is old product from the car wash that needs to be removed first or if the polish will be fine at this stage. Video taken after a wash and dry. Hard to see but the paint on the right has smears. Im unsure if they are old product or towel marks? Thanks

 

[Voodoo_SV6]

Hard to tell from a video of that quality, but it looks like swirl marks to be and really can only be removed with paint correction. Depending on what you're trying to achieve, I would suggest the following. Strip the paint with a strong truck wash/heavy duty wash. Clay half the bonnet and then lpply a durable sealant to that half of the bonnet.Then compare to the other half of the binnet and see if the finish is better than original. I find this is about 60/70% as good in about 10% of the time with swirl marks, and maybe good enough for what you want to achieve.

I find NXT sealant fills swirl marks pretty well and masks over the bad reflections fairly well vs the work involved.

If that doesn't do the job, paint correction with a machine and someone knowing what they're doing and patience. I spent 4 days on one of my black cars once. Looked great but never again.

 

[losh1971]

Adding to the above if it's swirl marks you can buy a special pad that removes them. But like Voodoo said need to have some skill on the buffer or you can damage the paint.

 

[vfchris]

thanks guys.. being impatient i went ahead with a clay and polish.. and pretty happy with the results.. swirls still there but reduced and harder to notice. i started to wax and found that the polish mixing with the wax? kinda left a residue that took a lot to buff off.. having washed the wifes car before i started and getting to 10pm (I) was pretty done so just waxed the bonnet. i have ordered some swirl x and plan to have another go with that then wax next time. notes from a first time clayer.. keep that thing super lubricated! it marks if rubbed dry.

 

[Voodoo_SV6]

...notes from a first time clayer.. keep that thing super lubricated! it marks if rubbed dry.

I mix one part Johnsons baby shampoo to 10 parts water in a misting spray bottle and it does the job. Cheap as and I typically use a 250ml bottle per car when I clay them. You can't have too much lube - well when you're claying that's true.