Whats the best way to restore dull flat paint?

275hptbirdsc

Registered User
When I picked my white tbird up 2 months ago it was really dirty and looked like there was no hope for the paint. Well I washed it and got it fairly clean and nice but I noticed that on some of the body panels the paint (white) is very flat looking no shine at all and the paint isnt rough it just has no shine to it.. I see no signs of clear coat peeling at all. On the other hand other parts of my car that ended up being shiny and nice when I cleaned it looks almost show quality! Would a simple wax bring the other parts back to life? Maybe some buffing? Im willing to pretty much buy anything to bring the dull paint back cause I hate having half my car nice looking and the next having a flat white look.
 
When I picked my white tbird up 2 months ago it was really dirty and looked like there was no hope for the paint. Well I washed it and got it fairly clean and nice but I noticed that on some of the body panels the paint (white) is very flat looking no shine at all and the paint isnt rough it just has no shine to it.. I see no signs of clear coat peeling at all. On the other hand other parts of my car that ended up being shiny and nice when I cleaned it looks almost show quality! Would a simple wax bring the other parts back to life? Maybe some buffing? Im willing to pretty much buy anything to bring the dull paint back cause I hate having half my car nice looking and the next having a flat white look.

I would try waxin but would think once the wax wears out it would look dull again
 
if your paint is in good shape use a cutting compound and buffer and then a nice glaze clean entire car to remove any excess compound and glaze then a good wax i like to use maguiers wax with a damp applicator let sit for a hour or to before using micro fiber rags to remove. worked for me my black car was white when i first got it and now look good enough to fool you while standing in the sun. good luck and take your time especialy around edges you can easily go to primer or deeper if your not carefull and if you use a foam pad on your buffer keep it wet the pad with lite water for lubrication
 
I had the exact same problem.

This is what I did.

Wash car with a very good car wash soap. Not dish soap!

Go buy a meguiars claybar package.

Clay bar the entire car, take your time and get everywhere.

Then buy Meguairs Deep Crystal System Paint Cleaner.

Take your time and use lots of elbow grease, I did not use any power tools just wanted to make sure I didn't destroy the finish.

After you finish with the paint cleaner rewash the car.

Then use a high quality wax.

I stayed with the meguairs and used their NXT tech wax paste.

It took a long time, about two weeks total, but the results were fantastic.

Here are some after picks. This car has over 320,000 kms on it and has never been repainted. With little patience and a lot of work you will be very happy with the results.

Regards

Sean
 

Attachments

  • 000_1603.jpg
    000_1603.jpg
    330 KB · Views: 1,984
  • 000_1605.jpg
    000_1605.jpg
    324.3 KB · Views: 1,987
  • 000_1622.jpg
    000_1622.jpg
    427 KB · Views: 2,008
I had the exact same problem.

This is what I did.

Wash car with a very good car wash soap. Not dish soap!

Go buy a meguiars claybar package.

Clay bar the entire car, take your time and get everywhere.

Then buy Meguairs Deep Crystal System Paint Cleaner.

Take your time and use lots of elbow grease, I did not use any power tools just wanted to make sure I didn't destroy the finish.

After you finish with the paint cleaner rewash the car.

Then use a high quality wax.

I stayed with the meguairs and used their NXT tech wax paste.

It took a long time, about two weeks total, but the results were fantastic.

Here are some after picks. This car has over 320,000 kms on it and has never been repainted. With little patience and a lot of work you will be very happy with the results.

Regards

Sean

have any before pics??

that looks good!
 
I thought I had some more pics but could only find this one. You can see the difference between the quarterpanel and the bumper. The whole car was bumper coloured.

In this picture the bumper had been washed and Clay Barred. (Still couldn't get those black spots off. :( )

It does give you an idea of what is possible however.

I did find the meguiars forums pretty helpful when deciding what to do so they may be worth a visit.

Regards

Sean
 

Attachments

  • rear_quarter_paint_comparo.jpg
    rear_quarter_paint_comparo.jpg
    235.7 KB · Views: 1,974
I went and bought the claybar package and the nxt wax but no one had the paint cleaner so i had to special order it. It will be worth it though!
 
>Still couldn't get those black spots off

I just got done removing the black spots off the gfx around my wheelwells using Goo Gone and elbow grease....much better now.
 
Glad you went the claybar way first...buffing can be very dangerous if you aren't experienced with the buffer, and you can go right thru the clear, into the base which requires all new paint.

Hope the clay bar and wax works well, otherwise I would ask a detail shop to buff it for you :)
 
Clay barring will just remove the embedded bits washing won't.

It's the paint cleaner that will bring back the paint from dingy death. And since it is applied by hand you don't have to worry about burning through the top coat. :)

Regards

Sean
 
I have done nearly the same to my old Tbird to bring back the deep shine. I have Mother's clay bar kit and the Mothers 3 step process that I hope to get done on the SC by the shootout. I also use a random orbital buffer to help save my arm from all the waxing. It works rather well if you get the right bonnets for it, no need to worry about burning thru the paint like an actual buffer.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CMB-20-0001/
 
I also used my cheap buffer for the final wax. You couldn't burn through the paint with that if you lit it on fire.

It is the heavy duty, angle random orbitals that kind of scare me. One of the guys here in the SCCoWC was taking out a scratch on his hood with one and now has a very nice shiny spot of primer.

Regards

Sean
 
Got a call today to go pick my paint cleaner up.....To bad the wrong thing came in and the book they used had the wrong part #:mad: And to to it off they are backordered for two weeks so now I have to find an alternative to the paint cleaner.:(
 
Back
Top