Problem paint areas - engine & exterior

[imported_Slik560]

Being a white car, the engine area on my Benz has a lot of white sheet metal. The car never really saw any attention under the hood appearance-wise until I got it. [Somewhere along the line they cut off the air intake nozzle from the air cleaner ? I got the last one from Stuttgart for $375 ] I?ve been slowly working on the engine area, but the painted areas (see pics) have proven to be a problem. The cracked paint had already happened and I know there is no fixing that ? it?s not worth re-spraying the engine area. The stained areas are from 20 years of dust, grease, etc., but nothing I?ve tried so far has worked: detailing spray, APC (about 4:1), clay; all have had little effect on the worst areas. I have one of those slick 3? random orbital polishers from Griot?s, but I?ve hesitated to try to polish an area that looks?well?dirty.

engine area:

A similar issue is on the rear of the car, by the exhaust outlet. Again, the area looks dirty and I?ve tried claying it with some success. Due to the textured surface of the rear under-panel, I?ve held off on any kind of mechanical polishing. [note to the pro detailers: I?ve left the exhaust alone as I intend to replace it with a stainless steel system. ]

I recently bought some Adam?s clay bar ?Grey Professional Grade?, which I expect is more aggressive than the Griot?s clay that I use on the car body. [GREAT stuff, but not on these stained areas]

So my options at this point seem to be:

1. Keep scrubbing with APC and a soft brush.
2. Use the Adams clay and cross my fingers.
3. Use the 3? orbital with some Meguiar?s #83 or the milder Griot?s #3 (what I have at the moment).

Any feedback is appreciated. I?ve got a brand new air cleaner and I?m working on all the hoses, fluid bottles, etc., but the dingy painted areas ?under the bonnet? ruin the effect.

Thanks very much ? any feedback is appreciated.

 

[imported_gewb]

Looks like it was repainted quite some time ago (see your first image). "Cracking" paint in the engine bay is not all that unusual, especially after a quick repaint. Short of sanding and repainting, not much I can think of to help the situation. You could try some 2000 grit sanding in an out of the way spot to see what happens.

Regards,
Gary

 

[imported_Slik560]

parts of the car have definitely been repainted - just not sure how much. The engine bay may be one of those "leave well enough alone" areas, but the rear panel still needs some TLC. Maybe hand polishing.

Thanks for the reply

 

[imported_Luster]

parts of the car have definitely been repainted - just not sure how much. The engine bay may be one of those "leave well enough alone" areas, but the rear panel still needs some TLC. Maybe hand polishing.

Thanks for the reply

Yes, I would try hand polishing for sure.

 

[Todd@RUPES]

For the 'staining' I would consider a little polish, either the Meguiar's or the Adam's and apply it by hand using a terry cloth towel. The abrasives in the polish will lift the staining, and applying it by hand will allow give you ultimate control over how much you polish. Sure you may not create that machine polished, super swirl free finish, but you should be able to restore the pure white color.

 

[imported_Slik560]

Great advice. All I really need is the color back, as this back under panel is textured and not at all the same as the fenders, etc. I will give this a try as soon as I am able. Going into the hospital for surgery on Tuesday - maybe I can spend some of my recovery time lying down...in the garage...hand polishing lower panels.

 

[imported_Luster]

Going into the hospital for surgery on Tuesday - maybe I can spend some of my recovery time lying down...in the garage...hand polishing lower panels.

I can't think of any better Physical Therapy for your recovery than that!!!! Good luck with your GBP surgery!

 

[imported_Slik560]

Follow up - good results

Yesterday I decided to quit fooling with hand polishing the aforementioned problem areas and got out my new Griot's Garage 3" orbital. I started on the most visible area; the rear underpanel. I started with their little orange pad and used the mildest polish I had, some Mequiars Deep Crystal System Paint Cleaner, which is supposed to be non-abrasive. I kept the #83 in reserve.

Using the little Griot's unit on speed 2 - 3, it cut through the grime and road gunk that the liquid cleaners and clay would not get. I was really pleased with the way the 3" polisher worked - this is going to be a real go-to tool for me, now that Griots makes the 3" pads for paint, metal, glass and other surfaces.

I don't have any in-progress photos, since it was 90+ and I was lying on the driveway getting baked to a crisp. At least the panel I was working on was shaded! I followed up the polishing with Meg's #7 glaze, some NXT2.0 and a final coat of #26 for protection. (I don't want to have to get under there again for a while.

Any remaining black specs/spots are apparently undercoating overspray. The stuff has been there 22 years and only a sanding/repaint will remove it. The whole process brought the paint on these panels back from the dead. Next on the list is the area around the license plate - my regular 6" orbital won't get in there very well, so the 3" Griots unit will be perfect. Although I'm going to do that area in the garage!