not really a newbee question, BUT....

9

91boost

New member
I'm new to the board, but not really new to detailing. I have a 91 MR2 Turbo, and it has been spending some "downtime" in the destructive FL sun. Basically, its really faded. I need some recommendations on what to use to bring the paint back to life. I need something thats not too harsh though, because the paint is getting thin- it IS 12 years old you know. ;) I was thinking maybe some 3M Finesse-it. Any and all suggestions are welcome!
 
You're on the right track. FI-II, SMR, #9. All of those will do the job. Save your arm, get a PC if you don't already have one. It's a lot of work to get it off by hand. I recently did a car that hadn't been washed in a year like that, and it took almost 3 hours to get the oxidation off. Then I got a PC, and life had never been the same since!! :up
 
I hate to say this but a 12 year old car with thin paint that has faded may not have much life left in it.



You can try various cleaners and polishes to revive it a little but you need to remove the dead, dried out paint first to bring out the nice paint underneath. Problem is there may not be any nice paint to bring out.



Give it a shot and see what happens. If you are trying to keep the current paint on life support, use mild polishes and lots of care and resign yourself to a so-so shine. If you are planning a repaint you can go for broke since it won't make a diff in the long run.



Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.
 
Yeah, I am trying to hold off on a paint job until I need to pull the motor for a rebuild. That could be 1 day after my turbo swap, or 2 years- you never know. So, for now, I am trying to keep the OEM paint on "life-support" as you called it for as long as possible. I can tell where the paint is really getting thin, basically on the edges of the panels, etc so I know the spots to avoid heavy polishing.



In the past, I have had really good results with 3M products. But things have changed and new products have come out since I last looked into purchasing a polish. Keep the suggestions coming guys!! :xyxthumbs
 
I found a bottle of 3M Perfect-It II in my garage today. I remember using it before with good results. So here is my plan:



1- Dawn wash

2- Mother's Clay Bar

3- Dawn wash

4- 3M Perfect-It II

5- Dawn wash

6- Clean Brite Liquid Ebony

7- Dawn wash

8- Mothers California Gold® Pure Carnauba Wax



Too much Dawn wash? I figured it would be good to remove the excess residue from each step. If you have comments/suggestions, please share them!
 
I personally think that it is too much Dawn wash, but I don't have enought experience with what you are trying to do....seems to me you could cut the last 1 or 2 washes out....

Anybody else?!?!?



:nixweiss





Good Luck!
 
I don't think you need a Dawn wash at all. The clay bar should remove any previous wax, while the Perfect-It 2 would remove any clay residue. Mother's Step 3 is a wax, so it shouldn't have any problems being on top of the 3M residual oils. Waxes don't 'bond' to the paint like a synthetic...



And frequent Dawn usage also removes plasticizers from the paint.



Good luck!

~bw
 
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