So here's the deal with my car. At some point in its life the hood, driver's side front fender, and driver's side door were repainted, and they did a sh*tty job. The rest of the factory painted panels look completely perfect, but the above panels are faded and have oxidation spots all over them. My hood was looking so bad it looked like a dalmatian. I got sick of it and decided to hit it with some heavy duty rubbing compound and rubbed the crap out of it. After a polish and wax it looks way better. No more spots and the color is much deeper. But its a bit duller than I would like. To get the sheen back, what should I do? Wet sand? should I get an machine buffer?
Update: So I decided to skip wet-sanding, mostly because none of the auto parts stores around here stock 2000 grit sandpaper, but I thought I would see what I could do with a machine buffer. The last time I had polished and waxed by hand, but this time I hit it with a machine buffer and started out with paint cleaner, then machine polished, then machine waxed.
The results are pretty good. The hood is almost as shiny as the rest of the car now and to the point where I can only tell the difference because I know its been worked on. I think wet sanding would have probably taken me the rest of the way, but I think that's too much work considering I plan to paint it once-and-for-all next summer.
Note: I've done the 3 step process before (paint cleaner, polish, wax) and it would improve the color and oxidation for a little while, but as soon as it was out in the sun for a little bit, it looked just as bad again. This time, however, by really cutting into the paint, I think I have reached a stronger layer since the oxidation has yet to return. I've also deduced that the spots were from soap. I think the paint's condition was such that it was porous and the soap was leaving spots (even the windshield soap from the sprayers on the hood). I only use auto soap and I only wash in the shade, but that's how bad the paint is.
So in summary: I was able to take a completely oxidized hood and return it to (almost) like new again by
1. Rubbing the paint with heavy duty Rubbing Compound. This stuff is gritty. It will cut through the paint. I went over my entire hood probably 20-30 times to cut through the oxidation spots. I did it by hand, but I recommend getting a machine to do it. The key is to keep using it until you really cut through the oxidation but be careful not to go too far and cut down to the primer.
2. At this point your paint will be dull with light scratches from the rubbing compound. For a perfect finish wet-sanding may be the best step here. I skipped to thoroughly buffing with a machine using paint cleaner or buffing compound. The buffing compound will remove and/or reduce the depth and dulling effect of the light scratches.
3. Next go over it thoroughly with with a machine polisher. This will bring the shine back.
4. Now wax it for protection.
5. Now enjoy it, because if you paint is like mine, its got issues and will probably look bad again in a few months
Topic: Best way to get shine back? (Read 3824 times)