Want to get into paint correction. What to get?

I hope this is the proper place to put this, but here goes. Trying to get into paint correction and wondering what to get. I have an 01 maxima in super black and living in the northeast US means my paint takes a beating. I have put a lot of time into washing and waxing by hand to attempt to keep the paint pretty decent, but shit happens. It has the normal chips in the hood and front bumper and a few scratches here and there. The question remains on what to get. I have read rotaries can get the most done, but can burn through the paint. I get that. I still would like to be able to do some serious correction and from what I have read on here DA can only go so far. I realize i probably cant correct all the paint chips on the hood and bumper, but i would like to try my hand at using the toothpick touchup paint/ wet sanding/ polishing method on the scratches. Is it absolutely necessary to get a depth meter in a situation like this? I also have to use a relatives garage to do this so if you could recommend a good light to pick up as she doesnt have much in there. Sorry for the novel just wanted to give you the whole picture. Not looking to spend a fortune, but money is not tight.

 

Ok first off. No you don't need a paint meter. I been detailng cars for 5 years n never used one. But I'm sure they do come in handy. If you never used a DA or rotary before. I would start out with the da( orbital). You can do a majority of correction with that. Phil has a deal with a griots orbital right now.

 

If you are doing correction work/sanding to remove scratches, a paint meter is not necessary if you don't mind repainting the odd panel. I have seen paint readings on cars as low as 68 and not one Infiniti G35 we have done has had readings over 70 on the roof. Pretty sure Nissan makes Infiniti. If money is not tight, get a PTG. you can find them reasonable. I have a Defelsko DFT Combo but Highline makes one that is very reasonable - as in half of what it would cost to paint ONE panel. If you get a Griots DA you will easily be able to remove 2000 and even 1500# sanding scratches given the proper pad/polish combination. As for lighting, a set of halogens AND either a good LED flashlight like a Fenix TK11 or Brinkmann Dual Xenon. Get the marine version as its brighter.

 

For some1 starting out for his own car he doesn't need a paint meter. Expensive. It would take a while to hand wetsand through the clear..

 

It all depends on how thick the clear is to begin with. Without a PTG, you don't know. We've seen new Porsches dipping well below 100 on some panels. Even lightly sanding areas that thin could result in going through. You can get a new Highline for $199.

 

Don't PTGs only give you "peace of mind" when you KNOW you're working on original factory paint? Unless you're doing new car preps or exotic cars that rarely get driven or abused to the point of needing resprays, alot of "daily driven" type vehicles have been repainted or had spot repairs done at some point in time. Just go out on a typical used car lot, I bet 8 or 9/10 cars will have had some type of paint work done and a PTG reading can give you false security.

I believe I saw one ptg that breaks down the different layers of paint in its reading but that thing cost more than your Maxima is worth on a good day.

 

im in the same boat as you, just trying to do one car (not my daily driver though) I have a camaro that needs some correcting. As a first timer I bought a PC 7424, whatever the number is. and i got some adams polishes and pads. I will be adding a few more pad/polish options but what I have should get the job done. I will not be using a paint meter and will also be doing some very minor sanding. I worked out scratches and such before, just never done the buffing as my buddy is better at it than me. but since this is my car, I wont to do everything for it haha. So, my advice for sanding is, dont worry about a paint meter, just go very lightly. a little at a time, you wont remove a scratch right away, maybe not even after a bit of polishing, but you're better off going little by little rather than having to repaint a whole panel as 911Fanatic said. His reassurance of a pint meter is a good idea, but for us Do-It-Yourselfers or One timers, the cost just doesn't add up...

just my 2 cents :chips:

 

Without the PTG, how do you KNOW you are working on factory paint? A respray does in fact give you more clear to play with. The equipment used in bodyshops is not capable of laying clear down as thin as they do at the factory. All I'm saying is that sanding without a PTG is playing with fire and if $199 is too expensive, then you're gonna cry if you go through the clear and have to paint a panel. Good luck.

 

I must be a pyromaniac then! I've been playing with fire for a long time and never had a problem.