Best product for nearly shot clear coat?

[mini1]

Sometimes I get older cars (15-20 years) sent to me and they can often times have heavily oxidized nearly shot clear coats. If the clear coat is really gone, then I turn them down and set them up with a body shop. Normally the cars aren't worth much and the owner pleads with me to 'give it soooooome gloss.... whatever you can do will be great!'. I use D151 on them, but often times that doesn't quite cut it. The stuff just isn't thick enough and quickly absorbs into the paintwork, creating a time consuming mess of blotchiness and swirls.

Any ideas on thick products that work well with thin/nearly shot clear coats?

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Usually a heavy paste wax will make it look better--for a couple of days.

 

[Envious Eric]

105 and 205...buzz through it all with 105 and an orange pad, then switch to 205 on a polishing pad. If may not be as bad as you think. You can give it one last go and tell them next step is a repaint or a lot of glazing!



I just did that to a mercedes and the results were amazing!



"dude, you turned him into a believer" (regarding what detailing could do)

 

[mini1]

Its got to be a one-step product solution. This type of customer can't afford 2 step.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Then just use 105. I kind of read your first post that the clear was already shot, and polishing would make it worse, while toyotaguy read it that you needed something more aggressive to cut through the oxidation (and that the oxidation was soaking up your product). Kind of hard to tell without seeing what you are seeing.

 

[Envious Eric]

or sand it all off and remove the clear altogether!



basically saying, there is no simple ONE step here...its going to take some effort to remove the oxidation, then cut the wool marks, then polish to restore luster...



is it worth it??? (monetarily-wise)

 

[JimmyCutlass]

ColorX. Anytime I've done a one-step on a faded, dull clear coat I and used ColorX (by hand!) I've been extremely happy. Maybe try something with more polishing oils like M80?

 

[mini1]

Then just use 105. I kind of read your first post that the clear was already shot, and polishing would make it worse, while toyotaguy read it that you needed something more aggressive to cut through the oxidation (and that the oxidation was soaking up your product). Kind of hard to tell without seeing what you are seeing.

M105 is the exact opposite of what I'm looking for. It dries into the clear coat even on good vehicles within a couple seconds. Plus, even it did work, it is too expensive to use on a $100 exterior only.

 

[mini1]

ColorX. Anytime I've done a one-step on a faded, dull clear coat I and used ColorX (by hand!) I've been extremely happy. Maybe try something with more polishing oils like M80?

Does ColorX really work that well? I have never used it. Does it 'soak' into the surface real fast?

 

[Envious Eric]

you mis-judged this paint and this work. There is no way you are going to COVER it up with M80 or colorX.



If you want to restore the luster from this car, you need to remove the oxidation. If it is in fact clearcoat failure, you are wasting your time altogether because it needs a repaint, not a one step detail!



105, 205, glaze, wax and you are done!

colorX or 151 and you are just putting a bandaid on it!

 

[602rwtq]

M105 is the exact opposite of what I'm looking for. It dries into the clear coat even on good vehicles within a couple seconds. Plus, even it did work, it is too expensive to use on a $100 exterior only.

If a customer wants a miracle (dull paint to shiny) for $100, turn the job away.



One of the most important skills of going pro is learning what jobs to decline.

 

[Accumulator]

M105 is the exact opposite of what I'm looking for. It dries into the clear coat even on good vehicles within a couple seconds. Plus, even it did work, it is too expensive to use on a $100 exterior only.

And it might be aggressive enough to kill off the remaining clearcoat.



The Color-X might not be a bad idea. IMO you need a lot of chemical cleaning to remove the oxidation while not taking off a lot of clear. Wonder how Color-X on a somewhat aggressive pad (green Cyclo 4", Tangerine LC HydroTech, something like that) would work :think:



And yeah, either paste wax or Collinite 845. I've had some near-dead paintjobs that were just too pitted/cracked/etc. for paste wax to be a good idea (my '93 Audi is a huge PIA to use paste on for that reason).

 

[jaynick808]

ehh idk about 845 i had a hell of a time buffing it off a couple times.

id just glaze it up and top with a wowa sealant or something if you dont wanna spend time or products on it. chemical cleaners can help it look less chalky too.

 

[Accumulator]

ehh idk about 845 i had a hell of a time buffing it off a couple times..

Yeah, some other people have posted that too :think: Odd that the stuff's always Accumulator-proof for me... maybe I'd better watch it lest I somehow jinx things for myself!

 

[mini1]

you mis-judged this paint and this work. There is no way you are going to COVER it up with M80 or colorX.



If you want to restore the luster from this car, you need to remove the oxidation. If it is in fact clearcoat failure, you are wasting your time altogether because it needs a repaint, not a one step detail!



105, 205, glaze, wax and you are done!

colorX or 151 and you are just putting a bandaid on it!

Often times these are customers with connections to other cars (that are in good shape) and I'm not in a position to turn them down. I do just need a band aid in this case, because often times we are talking about cars that are only worth a couple $1000. A paint job would exceed the value of the car, and so would an extensive detail job.

 

[Accumulator]

... I do just need a band aid in this case, because often times we are talking about cars that are only worth a couple $1000. A paint job would exceed the value of the car, and so would an extensive detail job.

Don't underestimate the value of those "band aids"



My '93 Audi is exactly the kind of (way deteriorated) vehicle we're talking about here, and after I gave it a good detail a) people were astounded how nice it looked, woulda been a good thing for a pro to have put out there as it woulda showcased what's possible, b) the damage was retarded to such an extent that only I can tell it's still gradually deteriorating (over a year later), and c) only an "Autopian" would look at that car today and say it's a winter rat that needs a full repaint; "normal" people see it and think "gee, can you make *my* car look that good?!?". The previous owner still marvels at well it came back from the dead, even though *I* think I oughta put a $10K paintjob on a $2K car

 

[JimmyCutlass]

IMO ColorX is most effective by hand. I've tried it via finishing and polishing pads on G110. It is definitely an extremely effective chemical cleaner that cut through oxidation well. It may not completely repair the paint, but if all you want is some gloss and reflections, ColorX may be your go-to product.

 

[Envious Eric]

megs 66 then with an orange pad - it has a good amount of cleaners that will last a little longer than a glaze, but danase wet glaze might be your ticket as well!



I fall into the category of "trying to make everything perfected, even when not being paid for it" Its my OCD, so I would have taken that $100 bucks on a crappy weather day and done a two step process, but thats just me! BUT, it would be dropped off at my place, left for me to detail whenever I wanted. Have to minimize the overhead somehow (travel time, gas, etc)