imported_Astral
New member
I just got a winter car/people hauler. It's a 2002 Mazda Protege5 in a striking Lightning Yellow color, which is a single-stage paint.
Unfortunately, the previous owner did not take very good care of the paint (though he took great care of all things mechanical). The car got its first claying 5 years into existence. Parked in the sun at all times. Regular swirl-o-matic washes.
The state of the affairs is: front and rear bumpers are quite faded, so are the side view mirrors and all the plastic bits (e.g. door handles are less shiny than the doors).
So it seems that anywhere the paint was over plastic has faded. By faded, I mean it's not as shiny. I think it's all oxidation.
GOAL: I want to bring the shine back on the bumpers and everywhere else. From 6 feet, I want people to look at the yellow paint and be amazed at its wetness and brightness. But I don't care to remove all the swirls.
The car has a ton of New England miles and so there are paint chips all over the hood. There are also a couple of spots where the paint is bubbling. So I can't get this car to a perfect state, I just want it to look nice from a distance.
Some pics now. The only recent picture I have now is this at-night in-garage pic, which doesn't show the fading very well:
But I do have pictures from a year ago that should convey what I mean. This pictures shows the hood and bumper dullness well:
Later that year, I did polish the hood with some SSR 2.5 and you can see hood polished on the far side and the unpolished on the close side (and just-polished-but-not-yet-removed middle):
..
So now, how to go about it?
The products I have now are:
However, I'm open to buying new products if they make the job significantly easier/better.
I'm not sure I want to hit the paint straight away with a strong polish like Menzerna PowerGloss or SSR 2.5/3. I read a suggestion to remove as much oxidation chemically first as possible (as opposed to using abrasives first).
I read some suggestions that Meguiar's #80 is good to use for single-stage paint to break up oxidation, followed by one or more applications of Meguiar's #7 to "re-oil" the single-stage paint.
I don't have Meg's #7, is #5 a just-as-good substitute or should I go and pick up #7 for that?
I read that ClearKote Blue Moose Cutting Cream is really good for oxidized paint and is like "AIO x 100%". If I'm ordering ClearKote and using the cream, maybe I should use RMG instead of Meg's #7 as a glaze?
Or should I use Meg's #80 instead of Blue Moose because #80 has more single-stage-beneficial oils?
Is it even worth doing all of this, or should I just use the stuff I have and hit the paint with AJ Prime Strong and/or Four Star Prewax Cleanser once or twice and then go to town with SSR 2.5 or Menzerna PG?
For a final wax, should I use Collinite 845, as it seems kinda "oily" to me, so maybe it has oils that benefit single stage?
Any advice or perspectives are appreciated!
Unfortunately, the previous owner did not take very good care of the paint (though he took great care of all things mechanical). The car got its first claying 5 years into existence. Parked in the sun at all times. Regular swirl-o-matic washes.
The state of the affairs is: front and rear bumpers are quite faded, so are the side view mirrors and all the plastic bits (e.g. door handles are less shiny than the doors).
So it seems that anywhere the paint was over plastic has faded. By faded, I mean it's not as shiny. I think it's all oxidation.
GOAL: I want to bring the shine back on the bumpers and everywhere else. From 6 feet, I want people to look at the yellow paint and be amazed at its wetness and brightness. But I don't care to remove all the swirls.
The car has a ton of New England miles and so there are paint chips all over the hood. There are also a couple of spots where the paint is bubbling. So I can't get this car to a perfect state, I just want it to look nice from a distance.
Some pics now. The only recent picture I have now is this at-night in-garage pic, which doesn't show the fading very well:
But I do have pictures from a year ago that should convey what I mean. This pictures shows the hood and bumper dullness well:
Later that year, I did polish the hood with some SSR 2.5 and you can see hood polished on the far side and the unpolished on the close side (and just-polished-but-not-yet-removed middle):
..
So now, how to go about it?
The products I have now are:
Poorboy's SSR 1, 2.5, 3
Menzerna PowerGloss
Blackfire SRC Finishing Polish
Meguiar's #5 (New Car Glaze, bought for friends' repainted panels)
Collinite 845
DP MaxWax
Zaino Z3 (for single stage, never actually used it though) (+ all other Zaino)
Jeff's Werkstatt Prime Strong
Four Star Ultimate PreWax Cleanser
Zaino collection (Z2/Z5/Z8/Z6)
PC w/ yellow, orange and blue pads
Menzerna PowerGloss
Blackfire SRC Finishing Polish
Meguiar's #5 (New Car Glaze, bought for friends' repainted panels)
Collinite 845
DP MaxWax
Zaino Z3 (for single stage, never actually used it though) (+ all other Zaino)
Jeff's Werkstatt Prime Strong
Four Star Ultimate PreWax Cleanser
Zaino collection (Z2/Z5/Z8/Z6)
PC w/ yellow, orange and blue pads
However, I'm open to buying new products if they make the job significantly easier/better.
I'm not sure I want to hit the paint straight away with a strong polish like Menzerna PowerGloss or SSR 2.5/3. I read a suggestion to remove as much oxidation chemically first as possible (as opposed to using abrasives first).
I read some suggestions that Meguiar's #80 is good to use for single-stage paint to break up oxidation, followed by one or more applications of Meguiar's #7 to "re-oil" the single-stage paint.
I don't have Meg's #7, is #5 a just-as-good substitute or should I go and pick up #7 for that?
I read that ClearKote Blue Moose Cutting Cream is really good for oxidized paint and is like "AIO x 100%". If I'm ordering ClearKote and using the cream, maybe I should use RMG instead of Meg's #7 as a glaze?
Or should I use Meg's #80 instead of Blue Moose because #80 has more single-stage-beneficial oils?
Is it even worth doing all of this, or should I just use the stuff I have and hit the paint with AJ Prime Strong and/or Four Star Prewax Cleanser once or twice and then go to town with SSR 2.5 or Menzerna PG?
For a final wax, should I use Collinite 845, as it seems kinda "oily" to me, so maybe it has oils that benefit single stage?
Any advice or perspectives are appreciated!
