Restoring paint quesitons

[blakevan]

Hello,

So I have been reading a lot on how to restore older paint but still have some questions about how. Here are some pictures to help show how the paint looks now. I have purchased a random orbit polishing tool and Meguiars products. I started to use the clay bar to smooth out the paint prior to polishing but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Here are some the questions I have now.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38159687@N ... 007975917/

How much liquid should I used with the clay bar? (seems too much and it doesn't do a lot, too little and I worry about damaging the paint)

How long should I use the clay bar on any one section? (it didn't seem to make much difference but a sunset, low light, I could actually see where I worked on the paint)

Should I just leave the paint alone and enjoy the patina?

[wikkid]

Is that silver the original paint? The answer to some of your questions would depend on that.

As to clay, use plenty of lube. Can be quick detailer, or even a few drops of Megs or other good car wash mixed in water in a spray bottle. You will feel the resistance of the clay on the surface as it picks up contaminants, and then it will slide easily once the surface is cleaned up. Horizontal surfaces will be a lot worse than the verticals.

If the paint is original, then you should read this article by Mike Philips on Autogeek, on using Meguiars #7 to restore old oxidized single stage paint.
It deals with how to work restorative oils back into dried-out old paint, and to get rid of oxidation. A lot of the dullness you will see in an old metallic paint is the blackened oxidation of the aluminum flecks that make it a metallic finish. These coat the entire fleck of aluminum, so it's not just a surface issue. Anyway, Mike Phillips does a much better job explaining it in the article.

[azruss]

the big issue with old metallics is the paint shrinks around the metallic leaving it exposed. when you clay, compound, or polish, you are just working the metallic down to the paint surface again. it will look nice for about a month and will quickly return to its old look. May want to look at polishing it down and then coating with a clear polymer for durability.

[blakevan]

Thanks guys. I will read that article and I bet that is why the car is still a little dull. The previous owner took good care of the car but doubtful he polished it every month to keep it shinny. I like it any way even if the paint isn't perfect.

[mgbgtn]

The clay bar is to clean the paint not restore it. You need to use polishing or cutting compounds to polish.

[4uall]

clay bar makes a huge difference (see right side)

[blakevan]

I read your thread before posting mine. I started with the bar clay and couldn't notice a lot of difference and so I thought I was doing something wrong. thanks for the post.

Does anyone know the official color of this car? Looks green but I just read a post that made me think it is a smoke gray metallic.