best method for oxidized black paint....?

S

slinkygirl78

New member
Well isnt' this a pain, hehe.... i've seen different techniques/products recommended for different colors. I have a yellow car, and a black one! i was hoping to find some things i could use on both, but it looks like other than the car shampoo and clay, i may need different things for both??



anyway i have a 12 year old black prelude, showing some oxidation on the roof (similar to a post i saw in here yesterday, his was red). anyway i was wondering what would be the best treatment for it to get it looking as close to "new" as i can.



i amm totally TOTALLY new to this, and i have been reading the articles for a week... and, uh, i'm still pretty confused.



I have on my "to do list" so far-



* car shampoo (Meg's gold class, or something like that?? it's my b/f's so i am not sure but he said it's a good all purpose car wash)



* clay treatment (i've seen a few different ones recommended, clay magic, etc....)



ummm.......... then i'm lost!!



anyway are there products i can use on both the yellow and the black (such as what i've listed above)? something like zaino, where it seems (from what i've read) to depend on how many coats you put on?



I also got something for the black car called "color restore" (I think). It's also a meguire's product, however, if there is something better out there for helping the oxidation, i can take that back since i haven't used any yet.



sorry this is kind of a broad question but i am hoping there's an easy answer- something like



"Add this to your list for the black:



product

product

product



and you can use x-product and y-product on your yellow, too."



this was long... sorry :(
 
Well first of all you can definatly use the same products on your yellow car and your black car and get outstanding results.



The Meguiars product you heard of was probably colorX, and it is basically a cleaner wax that will remove oxidation by hand. It will take some work so be prepared to spend some time on your car. A better option would be to get a machine to polish, but that can be a lot more expensive then a $6 bottle of colorX.



If you use the colorX followed by a nice wax such as S100 then you car will look very good and I think you will be pleased.



If you want to get a machine and polish with something like DACP and then wax with S100 then your car will look even better and I think you will be surprised at the high quality results you will get.
 
thanks for the response... *newbie warning* what is DACP? I know what PC is, and will look into getting one... because everyone here talks about them. but man is it confusing, there are 6000000000 kinds of pads for it or something crazy!? and then people talk about this pad with this setting and this polish and i go, holy hell.





so anyway speaking of, any kind of polish recommended? if i understand correctly, it actually removes a little of the paint? or did i totally misunderstand something i read....



if what i said above IS true, can you polish too much? and damage the car with it?



and abrasiveness and all these other things... siiiiighhhhh i cannot comprehend!
 
ps yes it is colorX :)



it is really only just the roof.... hehe, 3 years ago, i got into 3 accidents (none my fault). one hit and run, one side swipe, and one rear ending. End result? That year, 3/4 of the body of my car was totally redone (paid for my someone else's insurance!!). so the only problem area i have is the roof, since the other stuff still looks good, and i'm hoping to keep it that way.



therefore hopefully i'll only have to spend a lot of time with this stuff on the roof.



thanks again!
 
Use the ColorX just like you would a wax. Use a foam applicator to apply a thin coat, allow to dry, then remove with a clean dry towel.



As for DACP, it is Meguiar's #83 Dual Action Cleaner/Polish, and this is a product used with a Porter-Cable Random Orbital polisher (PC). The PC is what a lot of people here are using to polish the paint (and sometimes glass) to remove imperfections.



If I were you I would try the ColorX and see how satisfied you are with the results. Just a warning though, ColorX isn't a MIRACLE product, but you will see improvement. The protection it provides will have to be renewed in a few months as well...



If you want a better job than that then go with a PC. The PC with pads and polish will run you upwards of $200.00 and will require you taking the time to polish. If you're willing to do that then you made the right choice coming here to autopia, it is a great starting point.



If not, then you could take it to a pro. It will still cost you $100.00 or more, but you'll save yourself the time and your car will look that much better.



The choice is yours. It all DEPENDS on how involved you want to be with the whole detailing thing. It really can be quite an involved process, which is why there are many people getting paid to do it for a living. As for me, I detail cars for friends and friends of friends to pay for my hobby and to spread the knowledge of proper auto care.



Welcome to the site, I hope to read posts from you in the future!!!
 
haha i live in the middle of nowhere.... i would have to take my car far away to get it all done by someone professionally :)



however i have a friend here with a PC and he volunteered to do my old car for me, and i offered him $100 to do it.... so that makes me feel better, i mean that it's my friend and all :)



i will probably invest in one eventually. Is the Porter Cable a brand? i think it seemed like it was. Just wondering if something cheaper would be just as good, for a novice like me, who doesn't do this professionally or show cars but just wants to keep hers looking nice, and keeping them protected most of all.

i mean of course i want to take care of them as well as i can!! but since i just got a new car, finances are tighter of course!



thanks for all the help guys!!
 
Yes, Porter-Cable is a brand. If you ever watch This Old House or The New Yankee Workshop you'll see that Norm has a ton of Porter-Cable tools. They're very popular with professional toolies.



The particular model that everybody here means when they refer to the PC is a random orbital machine that Porter-Cable manufactures as the 7424 polisher, 7335 sander and 7336 sander. Meguiar's also sells it as their own G-100 polisher. All are the same machine with slightly different configurations.



The PC is actually quite inexpensive as professional tools go. Competitive units from other makers typically cost as much or more. There are other tools out there that cost considerably less but can't come close to its capabilities. Some of those can be useful for "spreading products around" but can't really "work" a product in (as would be needed for removing heavy oxidation, deep swirls, etc.)



To answer your question about Meguiar's Gold Class, yes it's a very good car shampoo. The great thing about Mequiar's products like Gold Class, ColorX and NXT is that they give excellent results and are easily available off the shelf, even "in the middle of nowhere".



DACP is in Meguiar's professional line so you won't see it Target or Wally-Mart. It is normally sold through automotive paint and body supply shops. Sometimes car parts shops might have it as well.



There are plenty of other excellent products out there, Klasse, Zaino, Pinnacle, etc but you may have to order them. (Which is easy because there are some terrific online/mail-order vendors.)





PC.
 
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