Making paint look better

[rjkoop]

So I've got about a week waiting for my AAR to arrive so I was thinking about doing a bit of work to spruce up the paint on my white '81. Looks kind of dull (even after a waxing) and I've got orange peel.

From other posts I'm thinking about...
- good wash
- clay bar
- 1500 (or 2000?) grit wet sanding being very careful
- buffing - what do I use for this? Compound and pad - I've got a Simonize orbital random buffer/sander
- waxing - I've got a Simonize orbital buffer/sander

Any advice on how I should proceed? I just want to make it look better. Don't expect too much because the paint job isn't great (6 out of 10 maybe) and I don't know the history of the car (ie. type of paint, 1 or 2 stage, clear coat, etc...).

Here's a few pictures in case it helps to determine how to proceed.

[Ptoneill]

I personally like Griot Garage products, they have several stages of polish and wax that does a great job. You want to use a high quality random buffer with your polish (abrasive) and wax (finishing). Be aware that some polishes are rated as professional use only, these can produce outstanding results rapidly however for the amateur you can also destroy your paint by burning thru it.

I do know that some detail supply places will demonstrate to you on the proper way to use their product, Griots is in Tacoma and they offer demos on a walk-in basis.

Good luck!

[81SPIDERMATT]

http://forum.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtop ... 29&t=23145

[narfire]

To get rid of the orange peel on the 72, I used 2000 then 2500 , then I used a cut wax with a Makita polisher at a low speed setting. The fellow that painted the car said to keep the foam pad wet/damp so it does not get too hot and burn through the paint. Once that took the 2000 grit marks out, I waxed with the Makita and again kept the pad damp.
I had a spritzer bottle bought at the local jobber store for the water.
Chris

[Broadsword]

There is a great company in Australia that sells professional car care products, that also carries out workshop lessons.
I did a class late last year and thought it was brilliant.
If you refer to this link it gives a good guide on how tu carry out paint correction.
http://howto.carcareproducts.com.au/200 ... correction
You will also find useful links to YouTube "how to" videos.
I hope this helps

[rjkoop]

Thanks for the replies. I'll checkout the links this weekend. Are there any tricks to determining if it's a single stage paint, if there is clear coat, etc...? Can I tell just by looking at it? Someone mentioned in the past that if I start to do 1500 grit wet sanding I can tell by the look of what comes off.

[Ptoneill]

I would say take it to a reputable body shop or paint supplier and ask an expert, the car may have been re painted with a different paint than original.

[Broadsword]

If you follow the guide on the website link, they clay bar the paint to remove contaminants.
If the paint is poor they use Menzerna 2500 with a medium pad, followed by Menzerna 4000 on a fine pad.
That produces a fantastic shine, after which a seal coat needs to be added with the option of a wax after.
The results are spectacular, and the amount of actual paint removed is minimal.
Certainly a lot less than sanding back first.
It is a lot of work, but worth the effort.

[rjkoop]

I may give the wet sanding with a sanding block and 1500 then 2000 wet/dry sandpaper a try this weekend. The orange peel is almost 3D in some spots (ie. really pronounced) so I'm thinking rubbing compound would take forever. I'll take it slow, maybe focus on one panel and see what I can do. Then I'll look at getting a dual action polisher with the right polish and pad.

I've also seen these paint thickness gauges. Not sure I want to spend the money on this though.

[4uall]

For what's it's worth I did mine in the garage by hand with just some polishing compound and elbow grease and got great results

[rjkoop]

Thanks Jay. Your paint looks much better than mine does in the before pictures though. My orange peel is really bad. I think I have to bring that down 1st and then polish it up.

Do you have a DA polisher? If so, where did you get it? I only have the Simoniz orbital polisher and not sure it's good enough. No adjustable speed.

[AriK]

RJ,
Don't use the Simoniz orbital if you need to do paint correction. It's just a wax spreader, you wont get far with it. See my post on Spidermatt's link.

[4uall]

Thanks Jay. Your paint looks much better than mine does in the before pictures though. My orange peel is really bad. I think I have to bring that down 1st and then polish it up.

Do you have a DA polisher? If so, where did you get it? I only have the Simoniz orbital polisher and not sure it's good enough. No adjustable speed.

Nothing, literally elbow grease is all I used. Now afetr getting Fiona painted I would be nervous using anything mechanical

[AriK]

Jay, like i told you before you just need to practise good washing techniques. No reason to use anything mechanical. RJ however needs to get rid of orange peel. He can rub by hand until his arms fall off, he won't correct heavy orange peel. If it shows through his photo, there's alot of it.
RJ, just make sure the PO didn't thin out Rustoleum or Tremclad and spray as such. As crazy as it sounds, some people get some pretty good results with a cost $75 of paint/mineral spirits cocktail sprayed through a gun. I'm not sure if you can perform paint correction on that afterward.

[rjkoop]

So I'm focusing on the hood only for now and it's going well. The orange peel is disappearing and no primer showing through. Here's what I'm doing...
- washed thoroughly
- used 1500 grit sandpaper wrapped around a 3M sanding pad (seems to give good even pressure)
- filled spray bottle with warm water
- spray liberally as I go
- sand in 1 direction towards car front, towards car rear, etc...
- careful around edges and body contours (ie. hood bumps)
- pad seems to curve well for hood bumps so it sands fairly evenly even on curves
- clear surface with wet water and dry (I should use a squeegee but don't have one yet)
- check after about 10 mins of sanding
- use bright light held above hood about 6' to see orange peel remaining (or use overhead light)
- look for clearness of light/light fixture in reflection
- orange peel 100% gone in some areas
- orange peel about 60% gone in most areas
- orange peel about 40% gone in some areas

This is after about 30 mins of sanding. So I'm happy with the progress and I think I'm on the right track. You can actually feel where the heavy orange peel is still there by putting pressure on your fingers and running along the surface. And it's much smoother where the orange peel is gone.

That's it for tonight. Just an experiment. So tomorrow...
- remove rest of orange peel with 1500 grit sandpaper
- use 2000 grit sandpaper and repeat process to remove scratches from 1500 grit

Then it's onto buffing. I'll try to take pictures as I go. And I'll only do the hood from beginning to end to ensure this works well. I think it will definitely be better than before. The hood was really bad for orange peel.