Paint correction not perfect

[DetailGk]

I did a paint correction on my black truck yesterday. Paint is going on 14 years old and been through its share of car washes, daily driven, occasional light off-roading on country back roads.
I used my DAPS with ULC and a purple pad. The difference is night and day, however I could only correct to a certain degree. I still have light swirls in the paint, despite trying to make extra passes over each section. Am I expecting too much for this old paint? I'm sure if the truck was silver or white, I wouldn't be concerned bc black shows every little imperfection. Again, the corrected areas are way better than the non corrected.

Thanks

[Top Gear]

Re: Paint correction not perfect

It probably looks better than you think right now. I'd finish the job and use some QD/QW on a regular basis to help hide some imperfections. My guess is it will look detailed but "lived in"

[DetailGk]

Re: Paint correction not perfect

Thanks. I'm opti coating it. I realize I just have to accept that it's a DD and looks damn good for its age. I am considering getting a PC and maybe trying it on the panels I have yet to do (I only did the hood, front bumper, front fenders and front doors) to see of I obtain more correction than the DAPS. Funny thing is that I'll be applying opticoat to my wife's car next, and since it's silver, I will have minimal correction to do and it'll look amazing.

[davey g-force]

Re: Paint correction not perfect

Yeah, you'll get better correction if you get a PC.

You don't have to give up if you're still not happy with it. If/when you get a PC, you have the option of using other pad/product combos that will almost certainly help you achieve your goal.

[The Guz]

Yeah, you'll get better correction if you get a PC.

You don't have to give up if you're still not happy with it. If/when you get a PC, you have the option of using other pad/product combos that will almost certainly help you achieve your goal.

Agreed. I would correct it with a PC and get it to your liking before you opti-coat it. For now you can use any wax until you have everything.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Paint correction not perfect

While you will get better correction with a full sized DA buffer, it sounds as though this vehicle hasn't really been pampered for the past 14 years and that can be a problem. There is an enormous difference between maintaining a vehicle to a high level for many years and trying to bring one back from the brink. Sometimes things can't be fixed, some defects can't be polished out, and overall the paint can age and degrade if it's not kept up. Trying to reverse years of neglect isn't always as successful as we might like unless you start getting into some very specialized tools and skill sets. But not every finish needs to be a show car finish, either. If you really want to step up your game with a full sized DA buffer, get the DA Microfiber Correction System and use that with the new tool. We often see that this system, especially on older neglected paint, will not only correct defects faster than foam pads but it also imparts a lot more clarity to paint in this condition.