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Weathered Scirocco

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Dick Sobielo

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I recently inherited a 1988 VW Scirocco that has been sitting out in the weather for about five years. What would be a good product to use to restore the finish of the paint? It's clearcoated so most polishing compounds are out of the question. I've tried regular cleaner waxes but they just don't do the trick.
Also, any ideas on how to restore the rear spoiler? It seems to be made from something softer and more porous than the material used on the front of the rubber bumper MGB's ( it's more like REAL rubber ).
Thanks for the help.
 
Can't help you on the paint. My experience is that clearcoat is pretty hard to revive. I had an 80 GTI with a similar spoiler. It's skinned foam, and I used vinyl top cleaner on it. You can buy black tinted cleaner/restorer for vinyl tops (or convertible tops). How effective this will be will depend on how weathered the spoiler is.

If that doesn't work, you might consider the flexible vinyl paint for bumpers.
 
First, wash it with Dawn or something similarly harsh to get the wax off. Of course, normally you wouldn't do this, but this is a one time thing.

Then try a good clay bar, followed by the cleaner wax and see what happenes.
 
To decide what to do you'll need to evaluate the condition of the finish. You can think of paint is a thin film of plastic polymer stretched over the car. A clearcoated finish has multiple distinct layers, primer, colored basecoat and clear topcoat.

Weather has probably converted the chemical composition of the outside surface of the topcoat from its original smooth polymer form to a crusty oxide. To rejuvenate a finish in this state you must remove the oxide, expose the remaining polymer and smooth out the surface of the polymer. This is done by a combination of chemical and mechanical ablation of the surface – buffing. If the damage is severe in may require wet sanding to remove it.

Use only products that are specifically intended for clearcoats. Since they are thinner (usually around 0.002") and softer than traditional single stage coatings and because of the optical transmission characteristics of clear bulk solids, clearcoats require finer, more precise abrasives.

If the oxide penetration is only a small percentage of the total thickness of the topcoat you should be able to bring it back fairly easily. If the damage goes too deep you risk buffing through to the basecoat or leaving such a thin coating that it quickly oxidizes through. If the damage goes all the way through the topcoat you're out of luck, you'll need to re-spray.

I tend to use Meguiar's products. Which specific products are appropriate depends on the extent of the damage.


PC.

hammer.gif
 
A 1988 Scirocco 16V was my first brand new car. I really really liked it. I would like another, but all the ones I see are thrashed.

Its easire to find a nice Cortina!

At least the body rubber on those is fairly decent and seals to the body.
 
You're right about the rubber seals. This car is really tight and has no rust at all. Absolutely no dampness or mold in the interior. Even after sitting outside in the Connecticut dampness for several years.
However, it does need a new engine. A minor incovienience for a nice car like this.
Can't wait to drive it!
Thanks everyone for your helpful replies.
 
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