I've been thinking about posting this or not, decided I would. I have some additional work to do so that the overall finish is where I want it, and I'm seriously considering the idea I threw out when I sprayed the car... to go ahead and clearcoat it. I have an appropriate clear already that I can use.

So, what I'm not happy with is the slight fog/haze the paint seems to have. It just doesnt seem to have the depth to it I was hoping for. Originally this car was black, it was repainted in a single stage enamel, it was wrecked, repaired in one area and they cleared it where they did the repair , later that started peeling up, the front bumper got some damage here and there, I had it touched up yet again and they also cleared what they fixed (at my request this time, was not supposed to be any blend work), but the original repaint never was right nor did any of the repairs last. It always had swirls in it, some level of sand scratching in the primer, and IMO the first repair/repaint that was done with urethane just a month after the repaint with enamel ruined the enamel. Sorry for the lengthy sentences.

So I repainted it with a single stage enamel (the urethane here in SCAQMD land sucks bad). I think it looks pretty decent, except for the finish. Its as swirl free as I've ever gotten a car, but the depth just isnt quite there depending on how you're viewing the car. Is this as good as black gets? I've seen some other cars in my days that looked better, but I was not going for a show car here nor did I clear it so, I dont know. I'm using 3M finesse it, followed with perfect it, Mothers pre-wax cleaner, then glaze, and FX synwax. Thats doing a great job of removing any swirl marks, but not getting good depth. I'm not using a buffer, nor foam pads. Not really looking to buy anything either, unless you really feel its absolutely necessary. Any thoughts?

Some pics:

This kind of shows the lack of depth I was talking about, looks better in the pic than it really is

Another shot same area, different angle

This is on quite an angle, looks really good from this viewpoint

The remaining swirls/scratches. I'm fine with this, unless this is why its lacking depth. Better than this car has ever looked anyway.

 

Single stage enamel will never look as good as a 2 stage base/clear done right. It just dosn't have the shine to it.