Badly oxidized paint

[colonel]

I just bought a new playtoy- a 86 Fiero. It has been outside for many years and the paint is badly faded/oxidized. The car has been repainted so not factory clear coat. The previous owner told me it was painted with single stage paint. I would just like to get a shine to it, will never get back the original color.

Any recommendations for me to start with? Planning on rubbing compound (coarse) then go to fine cut and then a polish. I tried to take some pics but they don't show the fading/dullness. Running my fingers over the paint, it feels like 80 grit sandpaper. All but one fender.

Or should I try to sand it and repaint? I have never painted a car before but have the equipment. Again it would be a single stage, same color Gold metallic.

I know that without pics it is hard to say anything but use your imagination please. 10 years of sitting in the sun under a pine tree.

 

[Lumadar]

I think you will be more than pleasantly surprised to see the possibilities of rejuvenation on single stage paint.



I would start by pickin up a couple clay bar kits and after a THOROUGH wash clay the crap out of the car. If you do not know how to clay, do a little searching and I am sure you will be fine (It's very easy).



After than I would suggest the use of a DA polisher such as thw Meguiar's G110 as it is both user friendly, and powerful enough to do correction work on single stage paint.



Personally, I would start with a cutting pad like the new Meguiar's maroon pad with some Meg's #83. That is often as aggressive as you will need to go for single stage paint correction.



If that doesn't do the trick, try some Meg's #95, followed by #83, and a final step of Meg's #80. That 3 step process will bring a heck of a lot of life back to any single stage paint.



Also, those products are all very cheap compared to most, and are fairly user friendly for beginners as well.



I highly suggest shopping at Auto Detailing Supplies for your Meguiar's products...the prices and shipping is unbeatable- and Rick (owner) is a VERY honest guy. You can always call him and get his suggestions too.

 

[colonel]

Thanks for the input. The only polisher I have right now is a cheap orbital. I am bidding on a couple of them on E-Bay. My neighbor stole my PC 7424. I checked the link you gave and his prices do look good. I will order some of that after the first of the month.

THANKS!

 

[qwertydude]

M105 on a wool bonnet on a cheap orbital will work wonders. I prime the bonnet with just distilled water and when it all flashes away I then spray the panel with the distilled water and it brings back the broken down polish and the compound ends up finishing much finer.

 

[colonel]

Thanks for the info but I am not familiar with M105. Is that a Meguir's product? Sorry but I am not familiar with that product. All I have used is Megs 80 and 83.

I also just got a used PC 7424 on EBay so may be able to do something on this soon.

 

[qwertydude]

If you need heavy correction, M105 is the new heavy hitter in their lineup. I like to use it for swirl elimination and overall polishing, they're not autopians and M105 alone when I use my technique is pretty much lsp ready; maybe not autopian perfection but way better than anyone expects especially considering most cars I do don't get polished ever, a wash is about the only care the paint gets. Especially if I'm gonna do a friends car that's never been polished before, M105 and wax is enough to wow them.



When I say I can make the paint flawless with another polishing step and show them what it does on a small panel they can't spot the difference and probably only a discerning autopian would be able to tell it needs more. For my own finishes I am one of the few here that actually like megs #2.

 

[Lumadar]

Thanks for the info but I am not familiar with M105. Is that a Meguir's product? Sorry but I am not familiar with that product. All I have used is Megs 80 and 83.

I also just got a used PC 7424 on EBay so may be able to do something on this soon.

Great to hear!



Yes, M105 is a cutting edge compound/polish by Meguiar's that offers absolutely stunning results. You can get VERY similar results from their much cheaper #95, and I would actually probably suggest that for the PC 7424.



The advantage of #105 vs #95 from my understanding is essentially in the fact that #105 finishes down better, ie provides a very glossy and almost defect free finish compared to #95 which has a more noticeable need for a follow-up lighter polish. considering you should be following up with a finer polish like #83, and/or #80 that shouldn't matter.



PS, if you can try and post up some pics before hand so we can be sure to properly diagnose your situation and solution. :hifive:

 

[JasonS]

I just bought a new playtoy- a 86 Fiero. It has been outside for many years and the paint is badly faded/oxidized. The car has been repainted so not factory clear coat. The previous owner told me it was painted with single stage paint. I would just like to get a shine to it, will never get back the original color.

Any recommendations for me to start with? Planning on rubbing compound (coarse) then go to fine cut and then a polish. I tried to take some pics but they don't show the fading/dullness. Running my fingers over the paint, it feels like 80 grit sandpaper. All but one fender.

Or should I try to sand it and repaint? I have never painted a car before but have the equipment. Again it would be a single stage, same color Gold metallic.

I know that without pics it is hard to say anything but use your imagination please. 10 years of sitting in the sun under a pine tree.

You will definitely go through some clay but it will be worth it for removing most of the roughness. For single stage paints that are badly oxidized, Klasse All In One is an amazing chemical cleaner and makes quick work of oxidation.

 

[colonel]

Status report. I did get a 7424 and some pads. Also ordered some Megs: 105, 83 and 80. I hit the hood with 105, then 83 on a new pad and then to 80, again with a new pad. Also I clayed the area before using the Megs.

Results: ?? The roughness is gone. It now feels very smooth. But still no shine. I did get a little over zealous in one spot and exposed the original color. It can be polished and has a nice lustre to it. But I do not want to strip a layer off this car.

What did I do wrong? I will try to get pictures tomorrow.

 

[the other pc]

The reason you can’t get the shine you want is because gloss comes from surface smoothness. The oxidized, faded layer of dead paint isn’t smooth. It’s “chalky� and porous.



You won’t get gloss until you’re past the dead layer and into clean paint that can be buffed smooth. That means you need to be into the zone that still has color too.



Once into the clean paint you still won’t get super gloss unless you buff out the remaining unevenness that’s left after removing the oxidized layer but you will have substantial gloss.



Here’s an example where the paint was very old and thin so we just took off the oxidation and shined it up pretty nicely but we didn’t go for extreme gloss. This was mostly done with Meg’s M80.

PC.

 

[colonel]

This is first day of arrival

Difference in hood and fender

hood and door same shade of dull, one fender did get a little gloss.

 

[colonel]

Have to be very careful as I have gone thru to original paint in a few places.

So am I putting too much pressure? Not enough? Wrong pads? :bawling:

 

[Eliot Ness]

......Have to be very careful as I have gone thru to original paint in a few places.

So am I putting too much pressure? Not enough? Wrong pads? :bawling:[/quote]What pads are you using? I think I would start out with Klasse AIO (chemical cleaner) or the M80 as other members have suggested. It is possible that you have a very cheap paint job and the paint is pretty much thin and dead all the way through. If that is the case your only option is if you get it half-way acceptable put some heavy wax on it and hope it lasts for a short while. If not then you'll need to start shopping for a paint gun and some paint/supplies.

 

[colonel]

I am using the yellow pads that came with this PC. That is all I have to work with. No place in this town sells backing plates or pads for a Porter Cable.

I am suspecting that this paint job is a very poor one. A DIY first timer maybe? Where they painted the black ground effects, you can see the masking tape lines between the black and gold. They did it with a strip of 2 inch tape. So a nice gold area for 2 inches away from the black and then black overspray everywhere else.

 

[colonel]

A little experimenting has opened another question here. After many hours of buffing I started to get some gloss into this paint but an hour later it was back to the same dull nothing. I hit an area with 2000 grit wet, then Meg 83 and then 80. Wiped it down with some prepall and shot a coat of clear on a small area. Now that area has some depth, nice gloss and the metallic is showing. I would be very happy to have that all over. Is it possible this car does not have single stage? but has just a color base with no clear? How could I find out?