Oxidization, Swirling, Mat Areas, etc.

[mr2fr]

Hi,

I'm the proud owner of a 1995 Toyota MR2 Mk2 Rev3 which I recently bought in the UK and brought back to France.

Being a red model, it has suffered from the sun and weather over it's 15 years and has lost it's original bright shiny red appearance.

In areas it is quite heavily oxodized - dull white / pink finish; in others it has suffered from previous polishing - general swirling and mat areas having lost their gloss.

For starters I spoke to one of your guys at this year's Le Mans 24 races in France who demonstrated the use of Ultimate Compound on an area of a red Corvette which had similar issues to mine. I was impressed!

I intend, after using Meguiars Quick Clay, to apply the Ultimate compound by hand using Meguiars foam applicators then finish by a couple of coats of Tech Wax 2.0 and a coating of Ultimate Quick Detailer.

Sounds simple, right?

My first question is for the Compound - how much should I put on the applicator for each section and how much pressure should I apply?

Should the paintwork look quite shiny after this process?

I'll be using an electric polishing tool with lambs wool cover to apply the wax, does this sound like a good idea?

What kind of issues / errors can I expect.

I'll be starting with a test on half the engine cover (which I will be replacing anyway) : Should I test all processes before continuing with the rest of the car?

I've never done this before so am a little worried about getting it wrong - it all looks so easy in your demo videos

Thanks in advance
Best regards
Clive

[mr2fr]

Re: Oxidization, Swirling, Mat Areas, etc.

In case you need to see the problem(s) here's a photo I took yesterday. I've applied Ultimate Compound to the left hand side of the engine cover but as you can see, it's not a lot better - perhaps I didn't apply enough?

For info, it all looks worse in the photo than to the naked eye.



Thanks in advance for your advice.

Clive

[mr2fr]

Re: Oxidization, Swirling, Mat Areas, etc.

Wow, no ideas guys?

Anybody know where else I could seek advice then?

Thanks in advance

In case you need to see the problem(s) here's a photo I took yesterday. I've applied Ultimate Compound to the left hand side of the engine cover but as you can see, it's not a lot better - perhaps I didn't apply enough?

For info, it all looks worse in the photo than to the naked eye.



Thanks in advance for your advice.

Clive

[mr2fr]

Re: Oxidization, Swirling, Mat Areas, etc.

Still no response?

Did I do something wrong? Have I broken forum rules?

I don't understand...

[Ol' Red]

Re: Oxidization, Swirling, Mat Areas, etc.

Hey Clive. That engine panel does look like it is pretty heavily oxidized. I am also having the same problem as you, the hood on my Wrangler is oxidized and fading. I am also going to use Ultimate Compound and Swirl X if needed to try to correct it. When paint is that oxidized, it will probably require multiple passes and a lot of time to correct it. Are you using a machine or doing this by hand?

[Murr1525]

Re: Oxidization, Swirling, Mat Areas, etc.

When you applied the UC, did your pad come up red?

[BobbyG]

Re: Oxidization, Swirling, Mat Areas, etc.

This is the process I use and examples of what Meguiar's products you could use and the order of use.

• Clay
• Swirl Remover – example Meguiar’s M105
• Finishing Polish – example Meguiar’s M205
• Paint Glaze – example Meguiar’s #7 Show Car Glaze
• Seal - example Meguiar’s #20 Sealant
  
• Wax - example Meguiar’s #26 Liquid Car Wax

[TOGWT]

Re: Oxidization, Swirling, Mat Areas, etc.

Oxidation

Chalk like appearance on the paint surface - it starts as a chemical reaction that causes the resin binder system to overheat and dry out or it can also be caused by excessive (friction) heat generated during the machine polishing process (See also Compound Polishing Surface Temperature) leaving microscopic surface imperfections and micro fissures in the paint film surface that are vulnerable to deterioration. Once the air borne contaminates and pollution compromises the paint surface they accelerate the oxidation (reduction) or paint failure process.

a) Two stage paint system- (base, colour and isocyanate clear coat) - a clear-coat finish does not oxidize in the true sense of the word (meaning that the pigments and resins mix together and the pigments are exposed to the sun's ultra-violet rays, which causes them to dry out, this is not oxidation, its clear coat failure.. The clear coat is applied to protect against this but the finish will become ‘dull’ by using harsh (abrasive) or if acidic car washing solutions as used in ‘touch less’ car washing systems, or from industrial airborne pollutants compromising the clear coat allowing the suns heat to dry out (oxidize) the paint, causing it to fail.

Correction- Two stage paint system- usually a repaint is required to replace the failed clear coat

For oxidized paint try the following as it may provide a temp 'fix;

• Wash the paint surface and dry thoroughly
• Clean the paint with chemical paint cleaner (Klasse All-In-One) using an orange foam pad at speed #4, this may take 2-3 applications
• If a chemical paint cleaner doesn’t remove the oxidation use a Lake County (LC) purple foamed wool (PFW) pad and Menzerna’s Power Gloss (POS 34A) clean or replace with a clean pad as the oxidized paint will load the pad
• A foam pad will transfer kinetic (friction) heat to the paint and may exasperate the problem
• Wet-sanding will remove oxidation but may remove too much clear coat
• Once the oxidation has been removed use a decontamination system (Aquartz Iron Cut)
• Apply an oil rich product to stabilize the paints binder system (3M Imperial Hand Glaze) apply a thick coat and allow to dwell for 12-24 hours before buffing, repeat as necessary until surface has an ‘oily’ sheen.
• Using Gloss It EVP Pad Prime will help maintain sufficient oil lubrication for the polish
• Remove residue and apply a Carnauba wax (Zymol Concourse)
• Try to keep vehicle paint surface away from UV heat radiation
• Keep paint surface waxed on a regular basis.

b) Single stage paint system – oxidation can usually be removed by using detailers clay to remove any surface contaminants, and/or a solvent type chemical cleaner/polish (Zaino ZPC Fusion or Klasse All-In-One) and then a suitable abrasive polish (dependent upon how severe the problem) to remove the oxidized paint (Optimum Compound or Optimum Polish) with a cutting foam pad Lake County (LC) orange or yellow, PC speed #4, or 1100RPM Rotary) and then apply a sealant and / or wax protection

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Oxidization, Swirling, Mat Areas, etc.

Hi Clive!

We apologize for missing this thread initially.

Single stage red paint is great to work on because you can fairly easily take it from a pink and white chalky disaster to gleaming, shining bright red again. You will want to have several applicator pads on hand as they will turn as red as the car pretty quickly while correcting the paint.

Working by hand you'll want to apply an amount of product about the size of an American silver dollar in diameter (which probably means nothing to someone in France!) or about 3cm in diameter. Work that into an area about 30cm x 30cm to start and see how the paint responds. If it seems to be restoring quickly and easily you might expand that work area by a bit, but you really should confine your work to a small area. This is to allow you to apply equal pressure over the entire work area in order to achieve a uniform result.

Using moderate pressure (you will have to experiment a bit here) work the product until it becomes very thin and almost clear on the surface, but not totally dry. Again, a bit of experimentation here will show you pretty quickly how long to work it. Wipe off the residue before it dries.

As for your wax application, a wool bonnet on an orbital may inflict some light marring to the surface, depending on the construction of the wool (knitted, twisted, natural, etc).

Since the wax application is the easy part of this whole process and the Ultimate Compound part is the hard work, why not use the power tool for the correction part and hand apply the wax? You would need a series of applicator bonnets for applying UC, with terry cloth probably a good choice at least for the initial cut. Depending on available bonnet selections you may want to follow with a softer type to refine the finish a bit.

Also, since this is single stage paint, an application of a pure polish like M07 Show Car Glaze or even Deep Crystal Polish between the UC and wax can be a huge benefit. Single stage paint responds very well to a pure polish, with the result being a deeper, richer color with a much higher gloss level. If you're going to use UC to remove the oxidation and restore the color, then we highly recommend a pure polish as a follow up.

Not to try and confuse you here, but M80 Speed Glaze is a great alternative to UC when working with single stage paint. It still offers good cleaning ability but is rich in the same polishing oils contained in M07 so it sort of combines both steps into one bottle. A great alternative given the type of paint you're working on.

[Calais]

Re: Oxidization, Swirling, Mat Areas, etc.

I would use ColorX to cut all that oxidation and M205 to remove any swirls scratches left behind.