Oxidized Paint - Polishing

[GaryDG]

'83 911 here.

The car is Guards Red, or at least it was, and it needs to have its color restored. It has never had the paint cleaned before so whatever layer of paint came with the car is still there.

I see in a couple old posts suggested products to use concerning abrasive paint cleaning products.

So, which products are best, should I be using a polishing wheel/buffer, and once I get the luster improved follow up with UV protecting canuba wax?

Any suggestions on cleaners, polishing wheels/buffer, wax?

I guess I'll go out to YouTube to see polishing techniques, unless you might have another suggestion.

Thanks all!

[GorillaFoot]

We have covered this pretty extensively in previous posts. Personally, I would just be repeating myself. Also check out the forum for Autopia- detailing is all they discuss.

Just don't overthink this. It's not difficult and especially with a random orbital (Porter Cable, Meguiars or Griots), it's damn near impossible to damage your paint. Get the right pads, some compound and polish and go at it.

I wouldn't suggest carnuba. Doesn't last more than a few weeks and virtually no UV protection. There are a lot of great synthetic products out there now that will blow you away.

[GaryDG]

Thanks GorillaFoot.

I was looking under Oxidation > looking under polishing revealed lots of posts. I'll pursue that.

Txs again!

[GaryDG]

Following Gorilla's advice I do see multiple posts about paint compounds and polishes. Many of those seem to deal with new paint and trying to get rid of circular scratches. Some however, deal with my type of problem: oxidized paint, no clear coat.

There seem to be a whole array of products out there that deal with paint cleaners and polishers and it's tough for a newbie to sort through which product to get as many seem to be personal favorites of individual Pelicans or Autopians.

Also the nuance of recognizing the stage of oxidation seems to be a problem too - how aggressive should the cleaner/polisher be? On that issue I hear start underaggressive and move up on aggressiveness if one does not achieve the desired outcome.

So I've studied some YouTube and vendor vids on application and technique so I feel reasonably comfortable with that - recognizing it'll be more difficult that I think. So I'm good to ge there.

So an Orbital Sander (Porter Cable, yes, no need to consider a Flex XC 3401 VG HD, right)?

Then, for cleaning and polishing: Presta: Ultra Cutting Creme, Chroma Polish?

Then, I am unsure about what's next after the above. I have asked Presta for their recommendation but have not received it yet. When I do I'll post it.

What do you think about the above? Alternatives? Thanks!

[962porsche]

when the finish if that bad you could buff right thru it .
another problem is once you do get a shin back the car could be deferent shades of red .
the cars finish will also fade back again in no time so you will be polishing the finish all the time to the point were you will end up buffing the paint right off the car .
once the finish is dead it's dead ! and it's time to start thinking about a repaint .
what you will want to do is pick a polishing system and stay with that system .
in my shops we use the presta system but any system will work just stay with in the system you pick .
the detail guys in my shop do now use random orbit buffers untill they get to the polishing state .
to remove the oxidation that car has you will want a cutting compound and you will go thru buff pads like crazy . you can wash them and let them dry for days before you reuse them .
in my shop my detail guys don't like petrol based products because they will give a falts shine . we use water based products like presta just for that reasons . the other reason we like water based products is clean up . it's nice to just wash the jams with water and have the compound just wash away .
but like i said just pick a system and stay with that system .

[Kemo]

any updates here? id love to see how it turned out. Thanks for posting...

[GaryDG]

Update.

Actually I haven't moved on that much.

I did buy a set of tools and chemicals from Autopia: PC 7424XP, backing plate, pads, clay, M105/M205, and associated cleaning agents.

Figuring out what to get was difficult for me as there a lot of products and biases out there.

I did try it on the area that wasn't oxidized much immediately around the sunroof (I am rebuilding that mechanism and didn't want the new seals affected by the buffing) and it turned out to be like new.

But GorillaFoot's recommendation to go to www.Autopia-carcare.com's forums was the right ticket. Extensive knowlege-base, lots of helpful people and wiki's there, just like here!

I'm working on other car issues now so it'll be a couple weeks for pics.

[Jcslocum]

I use mostly Griots so can only speak to them. The process is pretty simple as has been mentioned by Gorilla. I would do:

Clay Bar
Polish with orbital. Griots has different levels of polish.
Wash thoroughly before waxing.
Use a very good wax with the orbital.
Enjoy the shine.

Don't over-think this and whatever good shine you get is a gift when the paint is toasted like that.

Jon

[GorillaFoot]

I was thinking about the clay bar part and don't see a real use for it as a first step. I'd compound first, getting the dead paint off. The compound will eliminate a good bit of surface crap along with the dead paint. Otherwise, the clay is going to just get gummed up with a ton of dead paint. Clay ain't cheap! How about compound, clay, spot compound (going to have to do this anyway) for the spots needing more correction, then polish and seal...

[sky1jord]

My Opinion:
You've got all the right tools, go to http://www.meguiars.com/en/videos/
for inspiration and instruction, and follow their advice of :
Wash
Clay
Clean
Polish
Wax
Good Luck

[GaryDG]

Thanks again for the additional advice and the vid link.

Now I need to get to work on that.

[Kemo]

seems like you would want to clay bar first so you dont rub in anything that might be embedded in the paint. This is from my very limited knowledge. this is something I havent ever done. Im looking forward to the final results. Ive seen some miatas come out pretty nice after a "correction" and I think at one point they used single stage paint

[NoYouRelax]

Interesting thread regardless of whether you were supposed to do more research here first. Many have viewed this thread and I appreciate finding a new or fresh postings like this. Thanks for asking on behalf of us who were just as curious and browsing.