Can it be saved?

R

Ralliart16

New member
2001 Ford Focus. HEAVY oxidation ("chalky") on the roof and most of the hood. Rest of the car is okay (undamaged, slight gloss).



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Before I hear something like "you should've waxed it before", its not my car lol. Going to try and help someone out. Its going to need some heavy compounding for sure, but I want to see if you guys think its even possible to restore it. I don't want to cut it too much and eat through the clear coat.



For the record, I have almost anything I should need. Makita rotary w/ 8" EDGE wool and foam pads, UDM w/ foam pads. My polishes right now are SONUS 1/2/3, and Meguiars 85, 84, 83 and 80.



I was thinking about starting with a medium wool pad and some aggressive polish and go from there. I'm think I'll have to break out the black wool and meg's diamond cut compound :buffing:
 
should come out, make sure to seal after, start in the middle of your aggresiveness just to see what your process will need to be. I always start in the front part of the hood, usually the worst spot. Just see what happens, you cant do much to hurt it at this point
 
Its the factory ford paint (base and clear).



The clear coat has NOT failed, ie there are no parts where it is peeling or such. Just REALLY oxidized.
 
WHOA! Severe oxidation indeed... So it's an all original hood?



Don't go too aggressive. Start easy, and work up the aggressiveness. Definitely use the rotary, it'll make the job quicker.
 
Ive never seen CC oxidize, this is a first for me



Careful with the wool choices, the yellow and black are pretty aggresive even with a light polish. The higher cut you go with edge wool the more steps your gonna have to remove what they leave behind, it can be pretty bad. Being ford paint i would go with the blue first with like #80 and see what that does for you.
 
Ralliart16 said:
Its the factory ford paint (base and clear).



The clear coat has NOT failed, ie there are no parts where it is peeling or such. Just REALLY oxidized.
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How sure are you? Are you the original owner? I did work for 5 Ford dealerships and never saw a focus that oxidized. Dull from scratches, Yes. Oxidixed, No. IT could be possible. It looks like it had hail damage and the tops were painted.
 
Ah, a fellow UCF student :welcome .



Yeah that is some pretty bad oxidation on the focus. It reminds me of the situation that mitsubishi had with their 00-05 eclipse, oxidation all over the roof, trunk, and hood. Maybe this is associated with our crazy Florida weather pattern or just an isolated case. I would follow the advices given here and does he still have a warranty? (Doubt it) If so, send it to a ford dealership and let them take care of that!
 
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