Paint restoration

Forum for Infiniti M37, M56 M35h Hybrid and Q70 owners.
ArmedAviator
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Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2016 5:28 pm
Car: 2012 M37x
Location: SW Ohio

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I have never done any exterior detailing outside of the usual wash and wax. My black car looks sharp when clean except when up close. There's tons of swirl marks and paint chips from road debris. Primarily, the hood, front fenders, and a scratch I made on the rear bumper need touched up with new paint.

If I can find a place to do this reasonably priced (not even sure what that figure is yet), I want to then get the Aero bumper and rear spoiler so scratches on the front bumper don't bother me.

Who or what should I look up to perform something like this? I'm hoping for more touch-up paint and clear coat and then polish, not a whole panel repaint if anyone offers such a service.


satown210
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Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2014 2:10 am
Car: 2012 Infiniti M37
2005 Nissan Xterra Off Road

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Any reputable detailer can do this. However, finding a true detailer is hard. So many people offer washing and waxing and buffing and call themselves a detailer. A true paint restoration is several steps, not just a wash and wax. Usually it is a wash, followed by a fallout remover (iron remover.) Then a clay bar, then another wash. Then buffing, waxing and sealing. For a true blue no holds barred detail you can be looking at $600-$800 or more. If you just want them to focus on the paint and not do every step you can get it done in the $400-$600 or more. If you find someone offering a full detail for $200 just know it's going to be a detailed wash and buff. The car will look better than it did but it won't look as good as it could.

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pedsemdoc
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satown210 wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 8:05 pm
For a true blue no holds barred detail you can be looking at $600-$800 or more. If you just want them to focus on the paint and not do every step you can get it done in the $400-$600 or more. If you find someone offering a full detail for $200 just know it's going to be a detailed wash and buff. The car will look better than it did but it won't look as good as it could.
You will definitely have to pay for a true assessment of your paint/panel status, real embedded paint contaminant removal, swirl marks/scratch removal, polishing, and sealing. Just look up black car paint correction and you'll get an idea of the number of steps/significant time it takes to "properly" detail a car.

If your're a DIYer and have the time, you could spend some of the cash on a decent dual action polisher, quality backing plate, decent compounding/polishing pads, and the appropriate cutting, buffing, and polishing compounds/liquid. You're also gonna need touch up paint for the chips, I've used Dr. Colorchip with fairly decent results - so that's an option too if you don't want to spend extra time wet sanding with 2000-3000 grit sandpaper, compounding, polishing, etc.
Will it look as good as a professional detailing? - No, but you could get more experience over time and should get better at it. Plus, now you've got the equipment to properly care for your car's paint.

satown210
Posts: 212
Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2014 2:10 am
Car: 2012 Infiniti M37
2005 Nissan Xterra Off Road

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Also if you don't know what you are doing, you can swirl or burn the paint, get compound everywhere, and generally make a mess of things. Not to discourage you. It's not rocket science but it is slow and tedious work that does require some knowledge.

mrnix
Posts: 234
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2016 2:18 pm
Car: Currently 2012 M37X, Malbec Black
Formerly 2004 Infiniti G35 Sedan
Location: St. Louis, MO

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Can you tell me more about this "Dr. Colorchip"? My '12 is Malbec Black. I regularly clay/seal/wax it myself, but it has a few chips and scratches that need further attention but I'm far from skilled at painting.
pedsemdoc wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 9:11 pm
satown210 wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 8:05 pm
For a true blue no holds barred detail you can be looking at $600-$800 or more. If you just want them to focus on the paint and not do every step you can get it done in the $400-$600 or more. If you find someone offering a full detail for $200 just know it's going to be a detailed wash and buff. The car will look better than it did but it won't look as good as it could.
You will definitely have to pay for a true assessment of your paint/panel status, real embedded paint contaminant removal, swirl marks/scratch removal, polishing, and sealing. Just look up black car paint correction and you'll get an idea of the number of steps/significant time it takes to "properly" detail a car.

If your're a DIYer and have the time, you could spend some of the cash on a decent dual action polisher, quality backing plate, decent compounding/polishing pads, and the appropriate cutting, buffing, and polishing compounds/liquid. You're also gonna need touch up paint for the chips, I've used Dr. Colorchip with fairly decent results - so that's an option too if you don't want to spend extra time wet sanding with 2000-3000 grit sandpaper, compounding, polishing, etc.
Will it look as good as a professional detailing? - No, but you could get more experience over time and should get better at it. Plus, now you've got the equipment to properly care for your car's paint.

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pedsemdoc
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Location: Southlake, Texas

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mrnix wrote:
Wed Jun 05, 2019 11:24 am
Can you tell me more about this "Dr. Colorchip"? My '12 is Malbec Black. I regularly clay/seal/wax it myself, but it has a few chips and scratches that need further attention but I'm far from skilled at painting.

https://www.drcolorchip.com/

They've got several YouTube videos. Reviews are somewhat mixed, some shouting that it is amazing stuff, to some complaining about the right color match with some paints - although their website states that they will work with you if you don't think the paint is the right match (have to send them a sample of the paint they sent you and fill out a form, etc).

Basically it's a kit with a "special" paint that is glossy enough that you don't have to put a clear coat on top of it. You dab the paint over your chips and smear it so that the chip is covered with a thin layer of paint - just a little higher than the surrounding paint. You let that paint smear dry a little and then use their "SealAct" blending solution to gently remove the thin extra paint above the surface of the surrounding paint, leaving remaining paint in the chip.

I think it is a lot easier to fill chips then finding manufacturer matched touch up paint, filling the chips then lightly wet sanding the paint dab down with 2000-3000 grit sandpaper, then compounding/polishing to get the surrounding sanding marks out. If the color match is decent, Dr. Colorchip certainly passes the 3 foot test. If the color match is spot on, then it should pass the 1 foot test.

Should make a lot more sense once you see a few videos. I've a got a few chips I need to fill - I'll try to take some before and after pics once I get around to fixing them.
As long as the chip isn't too large, Malbec Black should look pretty good unless you're putting an oblique or super bright light on the panel in question

Craig

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I learned how to fix paint chips from watching detailers. First, you need to prep the area with alcohol cleansing to remove any oils / waxes. Look on your info sticker to see the paint code and buy that color. I but OEM paint on Ebay. It comes in different containers. They make a pen-like container, but I use the inside of a bottle cap and deposit a dollop of paint into the cap. Then I use the very tip of a toothpick to apply the tiniest amount of paint to the chip. Apply just enough, a smidge at a time, until the new paint is at the same level as surrounding areas. If you go slowly enough, you won't end up with an obvious raised area. After it cures, I apply rubbing compound and then wax.
I've read that Dr Colorchip is a great kit, but I haven't used it so I can't say.

mrnix
Posts: 234
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2016 2:18 pm
Car: Currently 2012 M37X, Malbec Black
Formerly 2004 Infiniti G35 Sedan
Location: St. Louis, MO

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pedsemdoc wrote:
Wed Jun 05, 2019 7:26 pm
mrnix wrote:
Wed Jun 05, 2019 11:24 am
Can you tell me more about this "Dr. Colorchip"? My '12 is Malbec Black. I regularly clay/seal/wax it myself, but it has a few chips and scratches that need further attention but I'm far from skilled at painting.

https://www.drcolorchip.com/

They've got several YouTube videos. Reviews are somewhat mixed, some shouting that it is amazing stuff, to some complaining about the right color match with some paints - although their website states that they will work with you if you don't think the paint is the right match (have to send them a sample of the paint they sent you and fill out a form, etc).

Basically it's a kit with a "special" paint that is glossy enough that you don't have to put a clear coat on top of it. You dab the paint over your chips and smear it so that the chip is covered with a thin layer of paint - just a little higher than the surrounding paint. You let that paint smear dry a little and then use their "SealAct" blending solution to gently remove the thin extra paint above the surface of the surrounding paint, leaving remaining paint in the chip.

I think it is a lot easier to fill chips then finding manufacturer matched touch up paint, filling the chips then lightly wet sanding the paint dab down with 2000-3000 grit sandpaper, then compounding/polishing to get the surrounding sanding marks out. If the color match is decent, Dr. Colorchip certainly passes the 3 foot test. If the color match is spot on, then it should pass the 1 foot test.

Should make a lot more sense once you see a few videos. I've a got a few chips I need to fill - I'll try to take some before and after pics once I get around to fixing them.
As long as the chip isn't too large, Malbec Black should look pretty good unless you're putting an oblique or super bright light on the panel in question

Craig
thanks for the info!


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