Dull paint

Post Mon Dec 21, 2009 7:49 pm

This is a problem on the boot, roof and bonnet. Is this caused by continuous exposure to the sun?

As you can see compared with the sides of the car it looks swirled and faded.

How can the paint be brought up? The clear coat looks fine and I can still see the metallic sparkle.

Post Mon Dec 21, 2009 7:50 pm

Sorry wrong section, supposed to be in car/detailing

Post Mon Dec 21, 2009 8:01 pm

If it was me I would tcut and then use a color polish which should remove the 'swirls' and then mer polish or wax. However Im sure their other guys (those that wash with 2 buckets) will scream that this is wrong and give you proper advice - either way hope ive helped

Post Tue Dec 22, 2009 9:11 am

i will move it for you....

i recently had a go at a clay bar polish and i must say it brought the paint up nicely and removed swirl marks. the clay bar is nothing more then this it is a piece of clay that you use to rub the paint with (in addition to a lubricant such as water or even better spray polish).

Paint become dull for several reasons.
1. the top clear coat has been worn off from years of cleaning and the odd "dry wipe to remove the dust"- thus not much you can do about this other than respray - this looks like your first pictures of the boot
2. the top clear coat has become so scratched that relfections are blurred and thus it appears dull - this is more like what i see from your bonnet photos
3. layers of pollution have settled onto your top coat and thus mask the finish making it appear dull. - i hope this is the case for you!!!

the clay bar pethod wil solve the last two only!! As suggested above T-cut is also an option as all Tsut is is very fine polishing paste and it pefrom the same function as the clay bar - i.e. you remove a very thin layer of the oxidisation (pollution) or the very top layer of the clear coat, this smooths the finish, removes small scratches (swirl marks) and bring the finish back.

The clay bar method takes about two hours for a full car but then you will need to reclean the car and then polish it thus looking at 4-6 hours for a full car - failing that take it to a professional polisher who will use polishing paste and a polishing wheel and do the job in half the time but obviously charge you for it!!! (although essentially they are doing the same thing - removing the top layer)

mrlee

Post Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:32 am

mrLEE30 wrote:i will move it for you....

i recently had a go at a clay bar polish and i must say it brought the paint up nicely and removed swirl marks. the clay bar is nothing more then this it is a piece of clay that you use to rub the paint with (in addition to a lubricant such as water or even better spray polish).

Paint become dull for several reasons.
1. the top clear coat has been worn off from years of cleaning and the odd "dry wipe to remove the dust"- thus not much you can do about this other than respray - this looks like your first pictures of the boot
2. the top clear coat has become so scratched that relfections are blurred and thus it appears dull - this is more like what i see from your bonnet photos
3. layers of pollution have settled onto your top coat and thus mask the finish making it appear dull. - i hope this is the case for you!!!

the clay bar pethod wil solve the last two only!! As suggested above T-cut is also an option as all Tsut is is very fine polishing paste and it pefrom the same function as the clay bar - i.e. you remove a very thin layer of the oxidisation (pollution) or the very top layer of the clear coat, this smooths the finish, removes small scratches (swirl marks) and bring the finish back.

The clay bar method takes about two hours for a full car but then you will need to reclean the car and then polish it thus looking at 4-6 hours for a full car - failing that take it to a professional polisher who will use polishing paste and a polishing wheel and do the job in half the time but obviously charge you for it!!! (although essentially they are doing the same thing - removing the top layer)

mrlee

Clay bar cannot remove swirl marks, it is pureley for removing bonded contamination from paintwork, some aggresive clay, such as Sonus grey will infact leave marring behind, what it will do is make your paint look brighter as the contamination that was there previously will now have been removed, T cut is a polish but a particularly sh1t one, it might brighten the paint a little but it'll still be covered in swirls, coloured polishes are rubbish aswell, all they do is mask the problem for a very short time, you are better off using Autoglym super resin polish which is very filler heavy, top this up with a decent wax for some durability.
By the looks of it your car has just been a victim of poor washing it's whole life, probably some of it in an automatic car wash. The only way forward for your paint is a multi stage correction with the aid of a Paint depth guage to monitor how much clear coat is safe to remove, this is what I do for a living and it's not a quick process, typically, full correction can take 2 days or more and uses various grades of polish and pad combination, in some cases refinished panels won't respond the same as OE paint either so you may need to swap and change pad/polish combo, sometimes from different manufacturers.
Let me know if you need any help.

Post Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:51 am

interesting stuff there!!!!

whats your take on Maguires polish? i recently bought a 3 part polish which was a first stage oxidation removal, then a glaze then a top polish - it seemed to come up quite good, but i had also attempted my first clay bar effort before applying the Maguires stuff.

I did know the bar removed the grime but i actually thought it would rub out swirls too...

Oh well!!

Post Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:54 am

Meguiars 3 step is good, not aggresive enough for serious defect removal though, for that you need a rotary or at a push a DA polisher.

Post Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:10 pm

cheers my paint is fortuntely in very good nick, bummer was it took me almost 8 hours to do the whole car, and it was gleeming, then it rained!!! Now the car is a muddy mess.

It last rained here in Feburary!

Post Tue Dec 22, 2009 1:49 pm

Megs 3 Step has no abrasives in it whatsoever. Step 1 is a (very good) chemical paint cleanser. Step 2 is a polish in the oldest use of the word, and is rather misleading - it is actually a very oily 'glaze', almost identical to the trade version known as Megs #7 Show Car Glaze. It will temporarily mask light swirls and marks, and add a bit of gloss. Step 3 is one is the most useless, least durable finishing products known to exist in this universe.

Regarding the dull silver panels, I'd say it's probably fooked. Too many attempts with (very abrasive) T-cut, general abuse and UV exposure has most likely damaged the clearcoat beyond repair. At this point, trying a machine polish can't really make it any worse, a repaint is the only option.

T-Cut original is savage, nasty stuff. The abrasives in it are very aggressive, and are non-demisihing. This means the polish doesn't properly break down as you work it, as more modern stuff does, so it just scrubs away at the clearcoat. It also used to contain amonia which would actually cause the paint to dull with excessive use. T-Cut metallic is a more modern forumla, and a lot more gentle.

Post Tue Dec 22, 2009 2:30 pm

Thanks guys.

Post Thu Dec 31, 2009 4:26 pm

I would aim for a paint cleaner like Dodo Lime Prime after the clay myself, then follow with something like fk1000p.

If you dont want 100% correction (pointless in my view for a daily driver) and just to remove the light swirls and freshen up the gloss then an abrasive paint cleaner like the above is ideal for the job.

I would only go to compounds if you want to remove ALL the swirls and light to medium RDS. Of course I wouldnt use a compound without checking the paint depth first.

End of day its upto you and what you can live with.

Good results can be achieved by hand using AG SRP followed with EGP. This not only removes some of the swirls but will also hide them, and the EGP with protect for a few months as well.