Bringing old paint back to life

[rex_hvn]

Okay well i have been around looking and im going to pain my car but first i need to save up for paint as well as need to wait for some good weather so for now im going to try to bring up the original pint on the car. This isnt something you should do every wash or something that you should do if you have thin paint as it may rub through to metal.

Well i started last night and started in the bonnet. For a start you will need some products that are readily available from most car shops such as Super Sheap Auto or other places.

I Used
1000 Grit Wet & Dry
1400 Grit Wet & Dry
Meguiars Grade 8 Cut
Meguiars Grade 3 Cut
Swirl Remover
Turtle wax

NOTE: There is by no means any reason that you cant use something other than meguiars or products i have listed, i just use it because its what i have

First Step
Firstly you wil have to take the car out and give it a good wash. Just use soapy water, there is no reason to use any fancy products that are meant to give a gloss finnish or something that will protect the paint as well as all were going to do it rub it all down. You dont need to worry about letting the car dry off after washing it as your just going to be using more water with the Wet & Dry.

Second Step
Get the 1000 Grit Wet & Dry as well as a bucket of water and then you can start to rub back the car. The most important thing to remember with polishing cars is that when you're cutting back paint make sure you move in a circular motion. This is because if you move in lines the you can cut in an uneven motion. Meaning that you may get high and low points. You will know when to stop with the 1000 Grit as you will actually be able to feel and hear the difference in the paint your rubbing. If you feel where you have been rubbing compared to what hasn't been rubbed then you will feel the section that hasn't been rubbed feels gritty compared to the section that has been rubbed will be smooth. But make sure you dont get too close to any sharp edges as you will also rub through to metal. Now you can go to the 1400 Grit and d the same it will just give slightly less of a cut and wont show as many swirls.

Third step
This is when i go for the meguiars. You use a deep cut first and then go for a lighter cut. Still going in the circular motion and not getting too close to edges. Make sure that you put a reasonable amount of pressure on the bodywork as you want it to cut properly.

Fourth step
No go back over the car and give it another good wash making sure to take all the cutting compound as well as any water from the Wet Rub and now give it a dry. If you now look at the paint it will look like a satin finnish and you may be able to see swirl marks.

Fifth Step
This is When we start using the Swirl remover. Just apply it once again to the surface and rub it into the body in circular motions. At first apply a reasonable amount of pressure and then slowly take the pressure off and it will then get rid off the swirl marks.

Sixth Step
Wash the car again and make sure that all the swirl remover is off and make sure that the paint is extremely clean and smooth. The make sure you dry it extremely well.

Seventh Step
Last step is to apply the Turtle Wax. I apply it to the body then rub it into the whole body. This i like to do inside the workshop where i know that there wont be an contamination in the wax. I give the whole car a wax and then the longer you can leave the wax on the car the better because it penetrates into the paint and gives it a better shine and last's longer.

Eighth Step
Give the car a wash, stand back and Admire then go for a cruze and show you awsome ride off hahaha.

Feel free to add anything in i have forgotten and i hope that it isn's too long winded but i got one of my mates to have a read and he thought it was good. Just thought of doing a write up and will take some pics over then nxt couple of days when i do the other guards.

[river]

Hi,

Nice write up.

I can't see pics in the forums from where I work, so I am not sure if there is a before/after image comparison. I'd like to know how bad or dull the paint was beforeheand and how iwell it comes up afterwards.

What is this Swirl Remover?

How do you go from satin finish (step 4) to gloss (step 5)? Is this purely from the swiorl remover, or is there some polishing after step 5?

seeyuzz
river

[{Mr Crabs}]

I bought a dull VL back to fresh, Like most 80's cars they had a one step metalic finish.

All i did was rub back with wet and dry around 1200 with the hose to get an even finish(ie orig color).

Let it dry mask all areas clean with prepsol and re clear coat the finish.

Cut and buff and it looks like new.

Cheers Case

[rex_hvn]

No at the moent there arent any pictures. I just did it yesterday and then after thought avout writing something up. So i have some more to do nd will then take some pics and post them.

With regards to the dullness river, Once you wit it wth the wet & dry it will be the most dull and then as you progressively go through all the different cuts it will get some of the shine back but what the Swirl remover actually does is it takes some of the colour pigment and then it will move it around. It will still have some of the duness to it but then the waz will give its new life.

If you want a really glossy finnish you would go through more cutting with the Meguiars. Personally with my show cars i use around 6 Meguiars cuts. I start with a 10 then slowly move to a 1 (10 being most aggressive) and as you move through it takes off less and polishes up abit more.

["Z" UTE]

Rex use 2000 wet and dry, it will take less time than the 2 rubs with 1000,1500. The 2000 will also leave a much flatter surface with less swirls. Some paint shops also sell 3000 wet and dry, using this reduces the time spent on buffing. Buy a $70.00 buffing machine, a soft foam pad, and some quality cutting compound such a JUICE, makes life really easy. Juice cuts the paint back and removes the swirls at the same time, becuase as it breaks down it becomes finer and finer. Pay a visit to your paint supply shop for the best compounds and waxes.

A good quality wax is an absolute necessity, too often I have seen guys spend the weekend cutting and buffing their cars, then 6 months later they have to do it again, as they did not wax the car. The wax seals the paint and reduces the chances of the paint oxidising.

cheers Chuck.

[rex_hvn]

Thanks for your imput Chuck,

Yea i use a 3" air micro buff. If someone out there is looking to buy a buff try to spend some money and get something that is of a high quality as it will help. I have heard alot of good reports about the random orbital electric buffs. I personally use air because if you apply too much pressure it will slow down and stop so try to get an electric buff that has something that will slow down with pressure. If you apply too much pressure it will 'burn' the paint and you could go throught to metal.

I will have a look around for JUICE always willing to try something new. Just used to the Meguiars as we use it on the show cars.

[jb_22]

Hi,
I agree with chuck, 3000 is a good grit. I did some with 1500 but didn't like the finish, so I started again using 2000 then 3000. Especially helps when you're polishing by hand with a rag

Ta, JB