91 Legend, Old Grainy Paint, need help!

J

JadeRaven

New member
Hey all, you've prob heard this problem before. . .



I got my car about 2 months ago and I don't think the old lady who had it before me did much waxing. . . lol



Well my car is a 91 so the paint is pretty old. It looks okay, but it feels very grainy and it's not very smooth at all. I tried waxing my hood, no smoother. Then I clayed a portion and the difference was very very minimal.



I was thinking a polish would do the trick to make it smoother and cleaner, am I right? What would y'all recommend? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.



Thanks!!
 
How did you use the clay? If used properly the clay should make the finish very smooth. I'm also thinking the finish is oxidized. Before i give you a list of products to buy and use, you need to learn when and how to use them. Here is a link to some good tips that will help you get started.http://autopia.ws/index.php



BTW try using the search function, just enter some keywords, like oxidation.
 
It was Griot's (i think) clay and i used Griot's speed shine as a lubricant. I did use the clay after waxing though, is that bad?



I did search, but everything turns up either 0 or about 300 results. But i'll try out oxidation. Thanks man!
 
Ha yeah that one word "oxidation" in the search helped narrow down the search results a lot.



I think I might've found my answer, but if anyone else would like to comment it's still appreciated.



Thanks again!
 
Well the car is "charcoal granite metallic", but there is a shine when it's clean. It's pretty until you really look at the paint closely. It's by no means flat, thankfully.



First I washed the car of course. Well after waxing with a turtle wax paste, I realized it was still not smooth. Then my dad suggested using the clay bar. After wiping over an area of the hood a few times with speed shine as a lubricant, we dried the surface and felt it. The paint still felt rough and grainy, although I did notice it was a slight bit smoother.



After researching some more I'm thinking I should try claying again, perhaps giving it a few more passes than normal as it's feeling pretty rough. Or maybe I should invest in some sort of polish.
 
I would try claying again, this time use short back fourth strokes, in a 12x12 section until the clay glides smoothly over the finish. Remember to periodically check the clay for ccontaminates and fold it as needed.
 
Can you post a picture or two? It might give us more to go on.



If the car has paint overspray on it, you may need to order the Clay Magic red bar. It is more aggressive than the blue bar and more suited to paint overspray.
 
Mothers Clay Bar Kits is also held in high regard by the folks here and is available at just about any AutoZone or Pep Boys. Just remember to cut the chunk of clay you get into 1/3's, so if you drop a piece on the ground, you'll have a backup or two. NEVER put clay to paint if it has been on the ground, even if it looks clean.



If a thorough claying doesn't do the trick, then I think you'll be looking at having to buff out the paint. Something you could do yourself with a PC. It is very safe and there are dozens of posts about it here. There is even a turtorial.
 
Welcome to Autopia



As you will see it’s a ‘very user friendly’ place, the people on this forum are very knowledgeable, and one thing that seems to stand out here compared to other special interest forums is a spirit of "open mindedness�.



Suggest you start at David’s guide (Learn icon – Car Care Topics) and/or (Forum – University) you could also research FAQ (go to Interact-Features-FAQ) or Interact (Search) and then ask your questions on (Forums - University) there are also tips on products under Shop (How-To). The Autopia “Guide to detailing eBook� covers most facets of detailing; every car-detailing enthusiast should own this book. If the Autopia forum solves just one of your detailing problems it’s worth the price of admission





The ultimate shine: 90% Preparation, 4% Product and the balance, in the ‘guy’ of the beholder.





~Hope this is of some help~





Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/





justadumbarchitect
 
I detailed a 14 year old Legend that had never been worked on. It was a mess! It took 2 days. 1 full day for the outside and 1/2 day for the interior.



I washed the car, then I clayed the car while wet with the car wash soap.



I used Meguiars Dual Action Cleaner Polish (DACP) with a PC and a cutting pad on the highest setting.



I followed with Meguiars Speed Glaze and an Orange pad with a PC on speed 5.



I followed with Vanilla Moose and a white pad with a PC on speed 5.



I followed with my wax.



All in all, 90% of the scratches and swirls came out and the car went from what I thought was blue to the original dark green color. If I had my rotary, I could have done better in shorter time.



It sounds like you need to invest in a PC and the proper pads and products. It's simple to learn and the results are great.



Just read the eBook here and do some searches on the PC. There will be a ton of info about products and pads that will come up in that search. For @ $200 you can get your PC, pads and a couple products. You just need a few key products and you'll be set.



With the holidays coming up, I think I see a great gift for you!
 
Thanks everyone. I washed the car two days ago, but it's not clean enough to see the paint well. . . I'll be washing again Saturday, and I'll post a pic.



I'm gonna try claying first, and if that doesn't seem to work I might invest in a PC myself or strongly incourage the father to. . . heh heh.
 
While claying, I can hear the bar kinda grab the paint while there are contaminance. Once they are gone, the bar glides really smoothly over the paint.



This probably will go against the grain of what people say here, but you might want to try washing an area [fender, part of hood, ect...] with a dish soap to strip the wax and then try claying. In my experience, attempting to clay over recently waxed paint either picks up wax and makes the clay less effective or makes the bar "skip" over the contaminance due to the wax that had built up around it.



Just a thought...
 
CRXSi90-good point. I don't know if you'd have to use dish soap, but something like Meguiars Swirl Free or #9 can strip the wax and leave the surface more squeaky clean than slick clean.



I've also noticed that a clay bar doesn't seem to be quite as effective on well waxed surfaces.
 
Initially, claying sounds to me more like sandpaper on paint. When the sound disappears I fold the clay and move on to the next section
 
I clayed my trunk yesterday, which turned out quite well. . .went from nasty to smoooooottthhhh :D I'll prob clay the rest of it tomorrow or whenever I have some time.



Anyway here are some pictures up close of the paint. Even after claying stuff like this is still there. I'm thinking a polish would do the trick.



legendpaint4sm.jpg


legendpaint2sm.jpg




Thanks again for your help :)
 
It's nice to hear the result! That's interesting that it still looks more-or-less like that. Either you captured the metallic qualities of your paint very well, or your paint has been sandblasted. Well, that's what it looks like to me. :) I'm glad I don't live in an area with sandstorms, but I do hate it when they are removing the painted lines from the road by sandblasting and the only way around is to drive by...you'd think they'd at least put up a shield or something!



Anyway, I think you're right that a good polishing would do the job, but you might have to start out pretty agressivly to get down past all the pits, then work your way down to less agressive polishes to bring the gloss back up.



I'm gonna try claying first, and if that doesn't seem to work I might invest in a PC myself or strongly incourage the father to. . . heh heh.
Click to expand...



I think you're at the point where a PC is the minimum of what you need to get the job done. It wouldn't hurt to try correcting it by hand, though. I don't have enough experience to tell, but correction like this might be better suit for a more agressive circular polisher like this $25 [sale, regularly $50] one at harbor freight...http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=46507

Going this route, you'd probably want to get some different pads and a velcro backing plate for easy attachment/detachment of the pads. Top Of The Line seems to be one prefered place that sells stuff like you need. You might want to go with 6" stuff because it is reportedly easier to handle as well as will fit the Porter Cable 7427 polisher. TOL doesn't seem to have a 6" velcro backing plate on their site, but I'm going to call monday.



That is assuming that some pitting thing is going on. I remember Ron Ketcham and his magnifying glass...you might want to try looking at the paint through one.



Here are a few links on the polisher that might be of interest to you...

where you can buy the polisher:

`http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=46507

read a review of what appears to be exactly the same, just different color:

`http://www.properautocare.com/veprcipo.html

someone's independent review of the polisher:

`http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31013

my thread proposing buying the polisher and backing plate

`http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30978

post in "good deals" section of autopia about the polisher

`http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30305



That's saying you're on a budget....just giving options. :) good luck,

Kevin
 
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