Need help on where to begin

[Weber Dude]

So, I need to get the swirls and light scratches (caused by a clay bar) out of my new 2016 Summit White Yukon XL.

 

Here's the wash history:

-delivered to the delearship and they ran it through their car wash.

-when I picked it up from the dealership a couple days later, I noticed it was covered in some crazy rail dust.

-a couple days later I did a 2 bucket wash and couldn't figure out to get the rail dust off.

-back at the dealership to have my wheels swapped and they ran it through their car wash again without asking.

-Contacted a detailer to remove the rail dust and seal. A few days later this was completed. It was an overcast day. The "detailer" washed, blew dried, clayed, then sealed. It took all day and was dark out when he finished. It all looked perfect.

- 2 days later when the sun came out I saw all the swirls. Later that night when I pulled it in the garage, sun was setting, I saw areas of light scratches. It looks like those were caused by the clay bar.

 

Sorry for the long history.

 

Anyways, my question is how I should start the paint correction process. Do I need to strip the sealer before beginning? Since the swirls and scratches are so light, where should I start.

 

I just received Adam's paint correction Cyclo kit so you know what I have to start with.

 

Thanks.

[NG13]

You should strip wash before starting. Just a few ounces of APC in your wash bucket will do the trick.

 

In a test area, 2'x2', you should use the least aggressive method first and see if that does what you want. If not step up to the next aggressive step and go over your test section again until you get it where you want.

 

FYI, least to most aggressive would be.

 

Revive

White foam pad and white PFP

Orange foam and PCP

Orange microfiber pad and PCP

 

And as always, go check out the videos, they really are a great tool and go into good detail on the steps and process.

[Thorsager]

Is the rail dust gone? With a white car spotting rail dust is easy. I'm assuming they used a sealer and not a coating. What I would do is:

 

1. Wash your Yukon

2. Go over the Yukon again with Adam's Clay Bar (This will help remove some of whatever they put on as a sealer).

3. Do a 2 x 2 test area to see what would work best to remove the scratches. Paint Correcting Polish first then the Finishing Polish.

4. After polishing the whole Yukon you could use waterless/rinseless  wash as a wipe down or wash the car again to remove any polish residue.

5. Seal using the Liquid Paint Sealant.

 

The key to preventing further scratches is a SOLID wash/dry technique and high quality microfibers. The cyclo is a pretty easy tool to use. Ask more questions if needed.

[Ricky Bobby]

- 2 days later when the sun came out I saw all the swirls. Later that night when I pulled it in the garage, sun was setting, I saw areas of light scratches. It looks like those were caused by the clay bar.

 

 

 

 

If the detailer just did a wash, clay and seal, I am very against the theory that the light scratches were caused by his process or the clay bar.  I have never marred a vehicle using a clay bar unless it was a soft black, using aggressive clay on a vehicle that is over 5 years old and never was decontaminated.  All the damage was likely dealer installed, with the new car prep that the dealer performed including their 2 auto washes at the dealership - don't blame your detailer -

 

Now if the detailer sold you on a one step polish for new car prep and left defects that would be a different story.

[red94chev]

I'd bet that the shipping process/dealer put the swirls on the truck.  Either way, I would do the following if it were mine.

 

1. Watch Adams Cyclo/paint correction videos

2. Watch Adams Shine Doc removing rail dust with Deep Wheel Cleaner video (for future reference if it was all taken care of by your detailer)

3. Strip wash the entire truck

4. Paint correction

5. Paint sealant and maintain properly and not let dealer touch it

6. Watch all Adams videos since they are great to learn from

[Weber Dude]

Thanks all for the guidance. The swirls are from the dealer but these random scratches in spots that go every direction like someone was scrubbing on it, I feel, is from the clay bar being used. But whatever. I'm going to fix it to my liking. Because of the color, it's very hard to see any of this with out the proper lighting. Now I just need it to stop raining so I can start the process.