Special Consideration for 1992 Buick Roadmaster with Nice Original Paint

[David Henry]

Hello Everyone,

I am not only new to Meguiar's, but I'm generally a novice at body work. I have done a little in the past, but I have a new experience. I have pretty thoroughly gone over this website, but don't have an exact answer to my question.

I purchased a 1992 Buick Roadmaster in Michigan, which means it was exposed to all of those Michigan elements for at least 15 years. I recently moved to North Carolina, and now I want to really spruce it up. It has original paint and is in very good condition for 19 years old.

I am using Ultimate Compound with mixed results. I am fairly happy with most of the areas, except those areas that take the most abuse: hood, front of hood, and trunk. I am using UC by hand and am fairly strong, so I don't think a buffer will solve this problem. That problem is water marks and slight swirl scratches being left in the clear coat. I have rubbed 4 pass overs in spots of one square foot for about one minute for each pass over. A lot of marks are removed but many remain. The clear coat is now smooth to the touch.

Does a car this old require special consideration? Can these water marks and contaminants actually work their way down over the years or is this chemically impossible? Is wet sanding the next step to go down a few more micrometers?

Thanks in advance for any help.



PS

I made this post in my introduction, but maybe it is better suited here.


Edit: I see I'm not as diligent as I claimed in my thread! I now see an Ultra compound that appears to less of a consumer product. I also see chart indicating that a rotary buffer might yield better results than by hand. I suppose that better result might come in the rotary action and not necessarily the pressure, but still not sure how to measure that.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Special Consideration for 1992 Buick Roadmaster with Nice Original Paint

Since it is new to you, the previous owner could have neglected them. They could be type 2. Which are deeply etched. I doubt you will be able to remove them at all. much less by hand.

[Murr1525]

Re: Special Consideration for 1992 Buick Roadmaster with Nice Original Paint

Pics would help a lot.

Water marks could get down pretty deep, may not be safely removable. I would not be planning on wet-sanding to remove marks, a factory clear is not very thick. A rotary can get strong fast as well.

But anything you can show off, distance, close up, etc will help get a better plan going.

[David Henry]

Re: Special Consideration for 1992 Buick Roadmaster with Nice Original Paint

Thanks for the quick replies so far.

They are type two marks. I would guess that the previous owner did not do much except for car washing and maybe the occasional wax. I would guess that manufacturer's skimp on material with each passing decade, so that is why I asked if anyone had experience with this particular year.

I started with Scratch and moved up to UC. I could move up to the ultra compound, but also don't want to just throw away too much money with experimentation.

I will post some pictures, but will have to figure out my wife's camera (you're corresponding with a Luddite here). I think there's a sticky around here about how to take the best pictures, with consideration of lighting, angles, etc. I'll try to find that thread and get back.

Thanks again, so far!

[David Henry]

Re: Special Consideration for 1992 Buick Roadmaster with Nice Original Paint

And one more question. Does anyone know if some contaminants can gradually (over months, or even years) penetrate through a clear coat, down to the base coat and beyond? I am guessing the answer is yes because that is how rust works. I'm no chemist, but I'd guess that the molecules of the penetrating liquid would need to smaller than the molecules of the more stable solid. I'm thinking of things like rain, tree sap, etc.