Soft white paint or ?

[RJ Thoms]

I'm trying to bring back the paint on my wifes 1990 Toyota MR2 and I just can't seem to get crystal clear clarity in the paint. It is single stage white and from what I've read they tend to be the hardest of single stage paints. Even hand polishing and wiping off with a micro fiber towel leaves what seems like residue behind.

I've tried all sorts of combinations of 105, 205, Ultimate Compound, Ultimate Polish, Swirl X. Even Swirl X at times leaves behind what seems like residue. The best results I get so far are 105 on the DA followed by Swirl X or 105 by hand with micro fiber cloth followed by a re-po cream polish on a megs foam applicator.

Tomorrow I will try 105 on the DA followed by re-po cream polish as I think the DA gave a slightly more uniform finish as opposed to hand.

A bit of background is my wife is pretty pedantic about and looks after her cars. Unfortunately she has never really waxed it but used to cream polish it every so often and it has always looked pretty good. She's like me and always prefers to hand wash.

The one time she decides to go through an auto car wash it sprays a pink chemical all over and then the carwash malfunctions. I can only assume the pink chemical was a semi caustic truck wash sort of solution and eventually turned into white streaks that wouldn't wash off. The car wash offered to hand cut/polish which was ok afterward but not great. The car pretty much sat in our garage for a year and is looking pretty dull and neglected.

This white paint is giving me a hard time, seems soft to me but I could be wrong, why don't the compounds wipe off cleanly without a residue? I did her other single white car by hand and it came up magic and looked better than a new car. My metallic blue car comes up like glass after a polish and it looks like the paint is dripping wet after a wax, so why wont this one, lol

[Old Bear]

Re: Soft white paint or ?

Good Day RJ
"Tomorrow I will try 105 on the DA followed by re-po cream polish as I think the DA gave a slightly more uniform finish as opposed to hand."

RJ, are you wiping the M105 off after completing each section with the DA?
Sections are Usually about 2 feet by 2 feet. You're Aussie, so maybe adding that 2 feet is about 2/3 meter or the width of a large adult male's shoulders. I am guessing that the MR2 would have at least 4 and more likely 6 sections.
If you are doing the whole hood, or the whole car before wiping, the product residue will dry and be more difficult to remove.
Doing the compounding/polishing in sections should keep the product from drying out.
I believe if you combine too much 105 product and work it too long, that too can cause residue to be harder to remove.

[Old Bear]

Re: Soft white paint or ?

RJ, This image is from MOL Member HkdUp87 recent efforts to "Polish the Pumpkin".
Pumpkin had at least a 10 year old single stage paint. The previous owner experienced engine hydrolock and the car was left in the driveway for ten years. It was occasionally rinsed.

We expect to post more images in the next 7-10 days.

This image shows the driver side roof washed and clayed.
The passenger side roof has M105 with a DA.
The hood has M105 and then M205 with DA.

http://www.elcaminocentral.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=90482&d=1514904248

[RJ Thoms]

Re: Soft white paint or ?

Good Day RJ
"Tomorrow I will try 105 on the DA followed by re-po cream polish as I think the DA gave a slightly more uniform finish as opposed to hand."

RJ, are you wiping the M105 off after completing each section with the DA?
Sections are Usually about 2 feet by 2 feet. You're Aussie, so maybe adding that 2 feet is about 2/3 meter or the width of a large adult male's shoulders. I am guessing that the MR2 would have at least 4 and more likely 6 sections.
If you are doing the whole hood, or the whole car before wiping, the product residue will dry and be more difficult to remove.
Doing the compounding/polishing in sections should keep the product from drying out.
I believe if you combine too much 105 product and work it too long, that too can cause residue to be harder to remove.

Hello old bear,
Yes I wipe the 105 off before it dries, same with all the compounds. 105, 205, Ultimate Compound, Ultimate polish, none of them seem to wipe off clean. I've tried working smaller areas like 1' x 1' by hand. I've tried half a pea size on a clean microfiber towel to try and buff it out but it still leaves the finish hazy and swirly. The only one that seems to come off the cleanest is the Swirl X.

I've begun to think that maybe my Meguiars products have started to go off but I can't imagine it would happen to all of them. Anyways, I finished off the hood with 105 and Re-po cream polish as the paint responds really well to that combo. Now that I have a full panel where the paint is free of oxidation, smooth and in pretty good shape (reflections aren't too bad) I'll try a few things again.

I didn't get to try much experimenting today as it turns out the radior is leaking so I spent most of the afternoon pulling it out. I guess that's what happens when you let it sit neglected for a year.

Even if I can't get more shine out of it before waxing I think it's good enough for my wife and she'll be happy. I'm sure out in the sun it will look a lot better than in the garage.