Which way to go with this car??

[CumminsCrazed]

Hey guys, heres a few pics of one of my cars with a VERY old, dull, nasty paint job. Im not sure where to start, what products to use, what machine to use, if any, and if paint type on vehicle would make a diff. Im thinking its possibly a laquer paint or maybe a lead paint? No clue how to tell.

On to the pics! If you have a good trained eye, youll notice the dullness, spots in finish, rusty water runoff stains, etc etc.

[CumminsCrazed]

Re: Which way to go with this car??

anyone?

[Murr1525]

Re: Which way to go with this car??

Its going to take some test spots really. Esp since you dont know much about the paint age, thickness, etc.

I forget what products you had laying around s ofar... just taking a pad and some SwirlX by hand on a couple test spots would be a good idea.

[dvtldav]

Re: Which way to go with this car??

I don't know which way to go, but that is a sweet project car to have. I am sure Mike Phillips will have a suggestion for you. Or bring it to the Midwest get together and sure someone there will help you out.

Dave

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Which way to go with this car??

If you're sure it's paint and not primer, (looks kind of like primer), then like Matt said, do a few test spots and test a few products out to see how the paint reacts?

Even if you take a few products and rub them over the paint by hand you should find out real quick if you can restore some shine or not.

You won't get a lot of depth out of light gray paint but if you remove the oxidation and then do a little polishing you might be able to restore a real nice glossy finish to the paint.


What do you have for compounds and/or paint cleaners?

Do you have any M105 or Ultimate Compound?

How about some M80 or #7

[CumminsCrazed]

Re: Which way to go with this car??

im not driving that car 600 miles and 9 to 10 hrs away!!!!

nor am i towing it on a trailer that for, if it was closer id seriously consider it!!!

[CumminsCrazed]

Re: Which way to go with this car??

mike, i dont have any of that stuff quite yet, im waiting to start and finish school first (3 wks) then get settled in a job, and get an income since im unemployed right now.

This is a project i plan to tackle throughout the summer and will be picking up a DA, M105, M205, M80, M83, #7 Glaze, etc etc.

Right now im just getting a good idea of where to start with it. It is also def. a white paint, not a gray or primer. Heres another pic from a few years back before the paint really started to go to heck in a handbag, and FAST!











I know the paint can be brought back nicely, assuming its still reasonably thick, im just at a loss of what to use on it and what technique to go with.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Which way to go with this car??

I know the paint can be brought back nicely, assuming its still reasonably thick, im just at a loss of what to use on it and what technique to go with.

Meguiar's always teaches,

"Use the least aggressive product to get the job done"


At the same time you're going to want to choose a product that has enough bite to chew off the dead oxidized paint to expose a fresh base.

Either M105 or UC depending upon which machine you're using or do it Old School and rub it out by hand.

Then for a second step, probably SwirlX or M80 or #3 or #7 or even #9, this will act to increase the richness of the color, (whatever you can get out of light gray).

Then after this you should be able to seal it up with you're favorite wax or paint sealant.

The key is to do a TEST SPOT and dial-in a recipe for success to one small area before going over the entire car.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Which way to go with this car??

TEST SPOT

Doing A Test-Spot

Before going over the entire car, see if you can make just one small section look good, that is apply the product you're planning on using over the entire car to just one small section about a foot squared or so. Work it in and then wipe it off, then apply the polish, work it in but not as much as the compound because now you're not trying to remove paint, just spread the product out, then immediately wipe it off, then apply the wax and let it fully dry and then wipe it off.

Now inspect our results. Make sure you can make one small section look GREAT before going over then entire car. If you can't make one small section look GREAT you won't be able to make the entire car look GREAT.

Make sense?

It should look like this,




And if you're having any problems, the post back here after the test section and we'll help you tweak your technique to insure you get it right.

[CumminsCrazed]

Re: Which way to go with this car??

thanks a TON mike....you are THE MAN!!!!

so your say to use 105/UC, SwirlX/M80/3/7/9, LSP......any reason you didnt say 205 for step 2?

[CumminsCrazed]

Re: Which way to go with this car??

anyone else, maybe have experiance with paint like this?

[CumminsCrazed]

Re: Which way to go with this car??

well ive been thinking more and more, got a show coming up end of May.....would def. like to get my hands on SOMETHING to spruce it up....still unsure on machine but im somewhat thinking a process like this to make sure its clean and everything is off it

wash 2x with dawn
clay
wash with GC
105/205????????
#7 Glaze
2 thin coats NXT 2.0

[Murr1525]

Re: Which way to go with this car??

#105 can be used by hand as well... just clean and play with a test spot by hand, see what you got.

[CumminsCrazed]

Re: Which way to go with this car??

how long and hard would i be working to get a similar result on paint as a DA

[Murr1525]

Re: Which way to go with this car??



Thats the fun of it. You wont hurt anything starting off mildly by hand, and maybe you'll have some fun. Esp if yo uwill be purchasing the product later on anyway.

I think this might be one of those cars you want to use a paint cleaner on before you clay.