Fading Clear Coated Red Paint?

[TheStig]

I have a 1987 928 S4 that was repainted Guards Red and clear coated at least 10 years ago by the previous owner. Since purchasing the car in 2001, I have been fighting trying to bring the depth back into the paint on the roof. There is a section of clearcoat failure that can be masked with M07 Show Car Glaze, but I would like to see if I can bring back the luster and depth of the red as best as I can. The clear is definitely affected and I know that the spot that has failed to the base coat can never be repaired unless the roof is repainted, which I will do eventually.

I just picked up a DA G110v2 and I have M105,M205,M07,and M66 to work with prior to applying my Meguiars Gold Class Wax. Is there any way I can shine it up at least and get rid of that dulling or fading of the red?

[TheStig]

Re: Fading Clear Coated Red Paint

I found a thread on here about a Mercedes 450SL that had its faded paint restored. I would say that the fade is identical to what was on the trunk lid in the picture:

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Fading Clear Coated Red Paint

Hi Andy,

Nice sleuthing work, but I have some bad news.

The reason the Mercedes was salvageable was because that paint was single stage. As such, when you remove the dead paint you reveal new, fresh red paint underneath.

In the case of your car, you are seeing the clear coat wear thin, peel and become yellow. That problem would require removing the entire clear coat, and then you leave the color coat unprotected - where it will fade and oxidize very quickly since it was not formulated to be a single stage paint job.

Clear coats contain the crucial UV protection - so when its gone, its downhill from there.

[hacker-pschorr]

Re: Fading Clear Coated Red Paint

The reason the Mercedes was salvageable was because that paint was single stage.

+1

Do you have any good photos of the failed paint?

I'll be re-spraying the 81 soon:

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23506

Pictures in post #8

I plan on keeping it single stage.

[TheStig]

Re: Fading Clear Coated Red Paint

Go figure. I'm not afraid to repaint my roof and hatch as these are the pieces that are suffering this issue. I figure it would be worth a try and ask. At least #7 keeps it glossy somewhat at 10 feet.

[TheStig]

Re: Fading Clear Coated Red Paint

I will also snap some pictures when the weather gets sunny to give you a good idea as to what I'm talking about. Right now the car is under a tarp keeping dry.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Fading Clear Coated Red Paint

Mark nailed it.

M07 will make it look better, but M07 won't last very long at all by itself - it isn't designed to. Plus, not only did the red on that Mercedes come back very nicely, but the red color coat itself is supposed to shine since it's single stage paint. The color coat in a base/clear system will never hold a gloss because it isn't designed to. All of the gloss in a base/clear system comes from the clear. Once the clear is compromised the best you can do is buff the living daylights out of the color and achieve just a very short lived, relatively modest shine. That's all this particular paint has to give.

[TheStig]

Re: Fading Clear Coated Red Paint

I understand. I sure wish the previous owner went single stage. Porsche never clear-coated Guards Red in the 1980s. The whole entire car is clear coated too. When I do the repaint, I will follow in the same fashion just to maintain the consistency of how it was painted prior. There are no other problems with the paint thank God and it's only two sections affected.

[TheStig]

Re: Fading Clear Coated Red Paint

I am bumping this thread I made 4 years ago. I finally have some pictures of what I am talking about. Please see below. The red paint IS clearcoated. If you notice, there appear to be some small scratches, almost like sanding marks that were never buffed when the car was repainted. Can anyone confirm this? What is going on with my roof and hatch?

[tomsteve]

Re: Fading Clear Coated Red Paint?

not the greatest of pictures. could ya pull it outside and snap some more at different angles? im seeing either a severely scratched or cracked surface( on the hatch), but better pictures would help.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Fading Clear Coated Red Paint?

That almost does look like sanding marks, Andy, but it's a bit tricky to say for absolute certainty from this angle. Have you tried anything on this to correct it, or have you just been living with it for the past 4 years? Sanding marks can be fairly easily to remove with a DA buffer, or they can be darn near impossible. It all depends on what grit the sanding marks are, how cleanly they were put in in the first place, how hard the paint is, and which tool/pad/liquid combo you're working with.

At the very least, we wouldn't hesitate to hit this with the DA Microfiber Correction System and see where that gets you. If the sanding marks are deep enough (ie, from something like 1000 sanding) you may actually need to refine them with 3000 grit first and then buff out. But if you've never sanded before, you probably don't want to just jump in with both feet as it's definitely a more advanced process.

So, what have you tried thus far, if anything?

[TheStig]

Re: Fading Clear Coated Red Paint?

Hi,

Sorry for the constant late responses on this thread. I haven't attempted any corrections since we just had a newborn enter our household a little over a month ago and priorities have shifted significantly.

From what I can tell you:

1) The marks seen in the picture appear to be deep sanding marks. It looks like an amateur may have color sanded the paint job sometime prior to my ownership.

2) above the driver side door, the clearcoat has failed in a spot about 1.5"x3". Layers of M07, M21 and Gold Class wax make it nearly impossible to tell the clear has failed there.


I would really like to take care of the sanding scratches. I tried taking photos of it again but it's just no hope to get the camera to show it (cheap digital camera). I can tell you that if I were to wash the car off, the areas where the scratches are would look rosy in the sun and not a deep red like they should. This is ONLY the areas that have the scratches.

Please let me know the best way to correct this. My tools are:

M105
M205
M02 Fine Cut Cleaner
Ultimate Compound
Ultimate Polish

I have wetsanded before, but only small spots where I have applied touch up paint to great success on my other cars. I don't trust myself wetsanding the roof of my Porsche :p

Also, what would be the best way to strip all the layers of wax off that have accumulated over the years? Dawn Soap?? Denatured Alcohol??

[TheStig]

Re: Fading Clear Coated Red Paint?

By the way, I think these sanding scratches are at least 14 years old now.

[Don]

Re: Fading Clear Coated Red Paint?

Either way, you have a lot of work ahead of you

[TheStig]

Re: Fading Clear Coated Red Paint?

I sure do.