Can I save the car?

[mnaines]

I got a 1991 Accord EX with the Flat White single-stage paint, but over the 4 years I have had the car it has sat outside in the harsh midwestern US weather and lost all of its original shine. I want to restore it to either its original shine or to a show-car shine, if that is possible. I ordered the NXT Generation System and I have a 10" orbital buffer with both a cotton terrycloth cutting pad and a foam polishing pad. The car hasn't had a wax job or a thorough paint cleaning during the four years I have had it. Is there hope and can I save the car?

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Can I save the car?

It is hard to tell without some pictures. Post some pics and we can go from there.

[mnaines]

Re: Can I save the car?


This is the only pic I have for now...As you can see, there's no shine to it, and I want to restore that lost shine. More pictures will come later.

[mnaines]

Re: Can I save the car?







Here are the pics of the car. There's no shine to the car at all, and all this dirt, road grime, and engine grease is making it hard for ordinary cleaners to work.

[Paul S]

Re: Can I save the car?

Look in some of the previous threads under extreme make-overs. A lot of cars similar to yours have been saved and brought back to life.Your cotton terry cloth pad would be better off being replaced with a few different foam pads at the very least . Some 105 Ultra-Cut Compound will be a good start. This works best with a rotary but many have found its effective with a G110 or even by hand . I have used 105 with my porter-cable on CC paint with fantastic results.

[Daniel Kinder]

Re: Can I save the car?

hey mnaines

First you can't get a deep dark reflection out of white paint but you can get a lot of gloss.to do this you first need to create the smoothest surface possible and claying is the first step, followed by spending alot of your time on the cleaning step, (single stage white paint is some of the hardest paint, Titanium Dioxide is used as the pigmentaion which is a very hard material.) so there for the more time you spend on the cleaning step the better the shine. Then apply some polishing oils,which will help you create a nice wet shine and add to the gloss, and last lock in all the hard work in with nxt tech wax 2.0.

Go get the smooth surface clay kit to start, and start by removing any and all above surface contaminants.

Next get the new version of scratchX (for use by machine) and apply with your 10'' orbital buffer using the foam bonnet.(you should also get a couple more foam bonnets for the cleaning step) apply 2 maybe 3 applications. On this step apply as much pressure as you can before your bonnet stops rotating (working the product in the paint to help remove the blemishes or defects)and remember since your using a 10"orbital to work no bigger section then 24"X24"or so and overlap each pass by 50% and focus on that area and when you move on to the next area overlap your previous 24"X24" area by a couple inches.And work the scratchX in until it becomes somewhat clear but still wet not dry.

Then go to your auto parts store (auto zone if you have one near) and pick up a bottle of #7 show car glaze ( is really for single stage paint)Which will bring out the richness and clarity of color, apply by hand and work it in as you would if you was applying lotion to your skin so work in really well, about 3 passes over each area and remove with a micro-fiber towel, remember when removing #7 don't try to remove in one wipe (because it wont)instead wipe over to more or less just skim over and when finished go back and wipe a second time to remove the rest of the polish,( that's how you remove this product, some times you may have to go back over the suface 2 to 3 times skiming the top off each time before removal) but when you get down with this step you will fantastic gloss and shine. Also remember that you don't need to let a cleaner or polish dry so as soon as you get applied remove.

And for your lsp apply 2 coats of nxt 2.0 for an even coverage, you can use your terry bonnet for this step or a micro-fiber bonnet. Use the terry for working in your wax and then your micro-fiber for removing. And you can also go over the finish with a light mist of some ultimate quick detail for some more protection and greater shine! Then stand back and enjoy your new white single stage paint.

Also after you've washed and completely dried your car tape off all rubber and trim surfaces(with some good green or blue painters tape) because it's easyer and faster to apply and remove the tape then trying to remove all the cleaner and waxes that you've got all over the surfaces that don't need it. And one more thing, remove all the cheesey stickers so that your not taken away from the nice finish and away from what you want people to notice. YOUR NICE PAINT!!!!!!

Hope I've helped answer what you needed to know if not let me know and I will get back to you or one of the other members.

LATER

[retrofinisher]

Re: Can I save the car?

I'd avoid a terry cloth polishing pad or applicator.

The fender places with grease stains should be cleaned with a cleaner first. Simple Green wipe with Meguiars wash.

Apply a cleaner polish. Maybe do a smaller test srea

To avoid polish residue on the rubber and semigloss trim black it is best to mask the areas.

Do small areas like about 18x18 or so.

Use a #7 or # 2 compound.

The bottom will need claying, washing and tar cleaner before you do anything.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Can I save the car?

Looks like this car has a single stage paint, if that's so, then it's likely you can bring back a pretty good shine... Just follow the basics,

Wash
Clay if and where needed


Now clean the paint and this is where you work at this step will determine your end-results. Doing a stellar job of removing the oxidized paint and cleaning and polishing till the paint is super smooth will give you a high gloss white finish.

Do you have a DA Polisher?

As for cleaning the oil stains from the fender you can easily clean most of this off with either a car wash or some detergent dish soap, then get what's left over out of the paint using a paint cleaner like Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner, ScratchX or M80 Speed Glaze. Part of the grimy oil is topical and part of it is embedded into the paint.

A lot of times you'll read a post by someone on another forum that will dis the idea that paint is porous but as you'll find when you clean the greasey grime off the front fenders, some of the grime is on the top and some of the grim is in the paint.

Let us know if you have a DA Polisher, regardless, you can rub this paint out with a product like M80 Speed Glaze by hand if you want to keep it simple and limit the number of product you use. If how many products you use isn't an issue then get a quart of M105 for the cleaning step and follow this with the M80, again, either by hand or machine.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Can I save the car?

Moved to Detailing 101

Please don't post threads in any of the forums groups in the Information Station, if you're unsure where to post a question, please post it to our Detailing 101 forum.

Thank you!

[mnaines]

Re: Can I save the car?

Mike, I ordered the NXT Generation system, and I am wondering if the NXT Generation 2.0 Wash will get all the dirt and grime off as well as remove the oxidation and stuff. I also ordered some ScratchX and ColorX in case I need a more aggressive paint cleaner, but I'm wondering if that whole kit is too aggressive for single-stage paint.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Can I save the car?

Mike, I ordered the NXT Generation system, and I am wondering if the NXT Generation 2.0 Wash will get all the dirt and grime off as well as remove the oxidation and stuff.

The car wash will remove the surface dirt and grime. To remove oxidation and dirt and grime embedded into the paint you'll need a paint cleaner like ScratchX at a minimum.

I also ordered some ScratchX and ColorX in case I need a more aggressive paint cleaner, but I'm wondering if that whole kit is too aggressive for single-stage paint.

Nope... ScratchX and ColorX are the minimum in aggressiveness you'll need to tackle this project.

Here's a recipe...

Wash
Clean - Rub out all the paint using the ScratchX and a terry cloth covered wax applicator pad, you can find these at any auto parts store. When you apply ScratchX, you want to work small sections at a time, about a foot squared or so and really work this product into and over the paint. After you're done working the product go ahead and wipe off the excess and paint cleaners should not dry. Repeat this until you've gone all the way around the car.

After removing the dead, oxidized paint, now use your clay to clay the horizontal surfaces. If you clay before cleaning you will load your clay up with dead oxidized paint.

Cleaning with a paint cleaner will remove most of the above surface bonded contaminants but it usually will not remove all above surface bonded contaminants, thus you should clay after cleaning and after claying the hood, turn your clay over and look at it, check to see if you did remove some above surface bonded contaminants; in all likelihood you will see something that the paint cleaner missed.

Next apply and work in the ColorX. Allow this product to completely dry and then wipe it off.

[mnaines]

Re: Can I save the car?

Mike, I just have a random-orbit 10" buffer with a foam applicator bonnet...I have a choice between foam, terry, and wool. I think the terry would be best suited for the cleaning phase to help get the contaminants and stuff out as well as for removing the dead oxidized paint, then switch to the foam one for applying polish and wax, then move to the wool one to buff out the polish and wax for the final shine. Is that a good idea?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Can I save the car?

Is that a good idea?

Yes, that would be great approach. You'll find using the orbital on the sides a little more difficult, especially for small panels so you still might want to rub these harder to buff areas by hand.

Sometimes it's just faster to do it the old fashioned way if the electric buffer isn't doing the job well enough or fast enough...

Good luck, hope to see some pictures of a clean, shiny car brought back from the dead...

[mnaines]

Re: Can I save the car?

Good luck, hope to see some pictures of a clean, shiny car brought back from the dead...

I have one last question...Can I get a show-car gloss out of single-stage white paint using the NXT Generation system?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Can I save the car?

I have one last question...Can I get a show-car gloss out of single-stage white paint using the NXT Generation system?

Yes and no.

Yes you can if you do a good job during the claying and paint cleaning steps, it's these steps that determine paint smoothness and clarity.

The NXT Generation System doesn't offer any paint cleaning products so by themselves they won't restore, oxidized, neglected paint.

If you do a good job of removing the oxidation and working the paint until it's as smooth as possible, then you will get a high gloss finish when you apply NXT Tech Wax or any wax for that matter.

The key to a great looking finish is always in the paint preparation steps.

If you haven't already, read through this article...

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle