Bringing back badly oxidized paint

[drooartz]

Okay, this isn't on a LBC (LJT actually -- '76 Land Cruiser) but I need to try and see what I can do to resurrect some badly oxidized paint. It's pretty chalky and faded over most of the exterior. I'm pretty sure it's the original paint. I've never dealt with paint work before, but I'd like to try what I can to bring some shine back -- and make it look a bit less pink.

Ideas?

 

[leecreek]

I used some Car-Skin on a old Dodge Dart. Worked pretty good.

 

[JPSmit]

I remember reading in Practical Classics years ago that the person (who had an old faded Anglia) got it professionally detailed and swore by the results.

 

[KSIS]

try using Color Magic wax that matches the vehicle color or Nu Finish. Both have work for me in the past with very faded cars. Good enough for resell red.

 

[apbos]

Drew
It depends on how much paint is still left. On a small test area, use a clay bar to remove the surface contaminates (after a good washing). Then you will need to polish (this removes paint) to get rid of oxidized paint and scratches. Wet sanding with some 2000 grit or finer paper might be required to get to a good surface. Then polishing with finer grits of polish and pads (Poorboys has a good system). Then a good waxing. Lots of work, you can do it by hand. A polisher (Porter Cable makes a good one) will cost about $125. So maybe a good detailer might be worth the money. Plus you could burn through the paint while learning.
Paul

 

[Bayless]

Depending on how deep the oxidation goes (how long it has been neglected) you could well burn through the paint anyway.

 

[DNK]

don't think that bumper's gonna buff out

 

[Bayless]

Here's a beauty that showed up at the Sept. Coffee and Cars in OKC. Hope yours comes out as nice.

 

[drooartz]

Depending on how deep the oxidation goes (how long it has been neglected) you could well burn through the paint anyway.

I'm sure it's been neglected for some time. I'll give it a go anyways and see if I can make at least a bit of improvement. It's a truck after all, so it doesn't need to look that pretty.

don't think that bumper's gonna buff out

That gets replaced.

Here's a beauty that showed up at the Sept. Coffee and Cars in OKC. Hope yours comes out as nice.

That's a nice looking truck. Don' think mine will ever look that clean, though I do have a set of those original style wheels being powder coated right now. Love the stock look with the hubcaps

 

[PAUL161]

Drew, Just look at it as patina! :laugh: Patina gives it class!

Incidentally, (This will probably start something),I owned a New 55 MPH Land Rover once and should have bought a Land Cruiser! <span style="text-decoration: underline">Much better vehicle!</span> Good luck with yours. PJ

 

[drooartz]

Drew, Just look at it as patina! :laugh: Patina gives it class!

I'm coming to even like the very 1970s white stripe on it. Makes it the sports model.

I'll at least try an wax and buff it out a bit just to keep it from getting worse.

 

[Brosky]

I'm a firm believer in the Griot product line and their buffers.

 

[DNK]

Paul's been wanting a reason to go to Colorado.
If you ask nice enough he might flight out with his toys

 

[drooartz]

Thanks for the tip, Paul. I'll have to look into the Griot's stuff.

 

[AngliaGT]

Drew,

I've used Turtle Wax Polishing Compound,
followed by a couple of coats of cleaner/wax,followed
by a few coats of really good wax.

- Doug

 

[aerog]

I might have put some hints in this thread. The first picture makes the paint look like it was pretty good, but it was really pretty cruddy looking (not chalky though).

I don't think I've posted these here before - this is a very old paint job on an early 1960s Twin Cessna airplane. The paint on <span style="font-style: italic">it</span> is probably more substantial than typical car paint, but it was in rough shape.

Here's how the wing looked before I started on the project:

I used a combination of <span style="font-style: italic">Nu-Finish</span> and Mother's "Cleaner-Wax" (wax with light abrasive polishing agents in it) with a Porter Cable 7424 dual-actual polisher. I used a mild cut pad with it that wasn't supposed to be really aggressive but did lend some polishing action to the process.

The experiment was to see if Nu-Finish would restore the paint by itself. According to my notes, it didn't - but doing the polishing in two steps with Nu-Finish <span style="font-style: italic">and</span> Cleaner-Wax did do a pretty good job.

Here's the same wing panel after polishing:

The fuselage wasn't quite as bad as the wing and I used just Nu-Finish on it with pretty decent results, using the same polisher and pad.

Before:

After:

Here's half done, half not:

Again though, the paint wasn't that totally shot chalky mess that wipes off with white residue when you touch it - but it was pretty flat looking when I started.

Bayless' comment is right on though: if your paint is really thin and shot you might just cut right through it, so be careful. If there seems to be a decent depth of paint to start with though, you might even be able to wet-sand it followed by machine polishing. I've seen one Corvette done that way that you'd swear was a fresh paint job. He cut the paint in one small spot on the hood, otherwise it was a miraculous transformation.

 

[Brosky]

The important part is getting that chalky mess off BEFORE you start polishing or you just grind it in and make the job harder. Using a pre-wax cleaner/remover with plenty of rags to wash it off, can do wonders before using the clay bar and then the polish with a random orbital and the right pads. Then that will make for a really nice job, especially on the darker or red colors.

 

[drooartz]

Thanks, guys. This is a spring project for me and I think it's worth putting some effort into saving the paint. I'm pretty sure it's the original paint -- those stripes (dealer add-on) are certainly a very 1970s sort of thing.

 

[PC]

Well, that gives you a little time to save up for a buffer.

Let us know when you're getting ready to dive in.

 

[Brosky]

I also should have added that after the paint cleaning, start with a clay bar to get rid of any leftovers and then start your polishing. Use the mildest polish that you can get first, so as to not remove too much paint up front.