Is Ford Paint Tough?

C

ClueByFour

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Is Ford Paint Tough?



Or did I bring a knife to a gun fightâ€Â¦ I am trying to improve the original single stage paint on a 1986 Mustang GT. This paint has water spot etching, acid rain pin holes, and lots of orange peel. Today I took a PC to the top. I went 3 passes with #83 on a yellow pad, and three on an orange pad, and I still have lots of defects to correct. The finish is improving, and the shine is great. The scratches are gone. How many passes will the factory paint take? Can I do three or four more passes with the yellow pad? Should I find someone with a rotary or should I quit before I go through the color? The car seems to have plenty of paint on it, with some from factory runs on the edges of the hood and hatch.



Any advice from Ford paint knowledgeable autopians would really be appreciated. Thanks.
 
PC would be safer than Rotary. Single stage paint is a little harder to get the defects out of than CC. That's because it is harder to make the defects in SS than CC. If it is the original paint I would invest in a paint guage. If it is original orange peel I am not sure I would try to remove it, you would need to wet sand that in most situations. Are you sure it wasn't repainted? Are you original owner? If you got all the swirls out, and the shine is nice, I would call it a day. Your paint is almost twenty years old, how many miles are on it? Is it the red or Black? Is it the Turbo? I had one of those back in the day, the Turbo went and I had only had the car for a few months. It killed me.
 
I am the original owner. It has 50,000 miles and is Bright Red (almost orange). The suspension has been done - eibach springs, hothckis rear control arms (upper / lower), sub frame connectors, strut brace, CC plates, bilsteins, 3.73 gears, poly bushings all around..



The motor is still pretty tame - just a K&N, Flowmasters, and some pullies.



I have really neglected the car for the last 5 years, and it was stored in a barn (under a cover) for 5 years before that.



I used a magnifier to look at some of the etching. The paint at the bottom of the spot looks like paint (not primer). I think I will go back to the yellow pad, and keep cutting. Any advice on PC speed or product quantity? I have been painting an X of # 83 on the pad, and then spotting it on a 2x2 square. I spread it out with the PC on 1, then crank the PC up to 5.5 until the #83 hazes up (3 - 4 minutes). Is this the correct way to cut with a PC?

Thanks for any help -
 
I am a rotary guy. I am going to get a PC because I'm starting to get some older cars that are near death, and I need something gentle on those. But I'm sure a PC guy will answer your question. I know you it takes a while for the PC to break down the polish, I wouldn't be afraid to go slowly and make multiple passes.



Red was the color I had too. It seamed like red and black were the main colors of those. Is it the turbo?
 
No turbo - This is the first year of the EFI 5.0 liter V8. It has plenty of kick though - it can smoke the tires at will. It ran 13.9 at Epping NH years ago.
 
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