Buffing Out & Protecting The Clear Coat

[sleddriver]

I did quite a bit of research a few years back on this topic and reported it here: White Car Care. My goal was to buff out the clear coat to remove scratches & swirls as it had never been done properly. I'd used clay + clean wash solution to remove all the little bumps, then would apply liquid Nu Finish.

Problem is that a white wagon has no paint depth and resembles a floor freezer. I wanted some gloss-on-white to shine her up a bit. NuFinish doesn't shine that much. Further, it stains all dark trim of which there is plenty all over the sled.

Mequirers Ultimate compound + some HF pads + a borrowed FLEX polisher did the trick of removing all of the swirls, halos, and fine scratches from the clear coat. I learned why my prior results left much to be desired: You have to use a dedicated machine with a driven head (DA vs. RO). Hand compounding pales in comparison.

When you polish the clear coat on a white car, it'll shine!

Now the next task is to find a product that won't stain black trim, is easy to apply & remove, lasts a long time in the Texas sun, beads up like crazy when it rains and is reasonably priced. My solution to all of these was found in Dura Gloss #111 Clear Coat Polish. It contains absolutely no grit, so it isn't a polish. DG describes it thus: "Duragloss CCP (Clear Coat Polish) is a non-abrasive synthetic formula, which gives a "wet look" shine and durable protective coating." The shine was rather amazing compared to NuFinish.

The first time it rained after application, I noticed the tiny rain drops were literally 'standing vertically'. I'd never seen that before with NuFinish. When I'd pull to a stop, the rain on the hood would just slide off the front! Over time, I noticed that the clear coat would remain cleaner than before. I also noticed that dirt was easily just hosed off with water. That's all it took.

DG #111 is very durable and lasted more than a year, still beading up like crazy. I've since reapplied one additional coat last year I think. After washing, I use a squeege to remove most of the water, then apply a light spray of DG's Aqua Wax by hand, then buff it off by hand. These two products work very well together.

Finally DG #111 is less than $10/bottle. Only one place carries it locally though. However, they carry most of DG's line. You can easily order it off the 'net.

Highly Recommended!