Plan of attack for odd faded and peeled panels?

[Neutral_Eyes]

My Miata sat under the AZ sun for 2 years before finally getting a garage about a year ago. I noticed some panels had begun to fade and the whole car looked pretty foggy so I took it to a detailing place to give it a new shine once I knew it'd be kept out of the sun. The worst panels are the passenger rear quarter and the small rear deck. The detailer said those panels had probably been resprayed which is why they looked different, but when I bought the car the paint looked uniform. He said he couldn't do anything about the color difference. The car was glossier and smooth, but I'm noticing now that there's still quite a bit of orange peel all over my car - it's just shinier! Maybe I just didn't throw enough money at the problem, but I'd like to learn how to correct this myself, if anything can be done at all. Pictures ahoy!

Here's the color appearance difference:




I noticed that the faded panel seemed to have more peel than the adjacent trunklid, could they have just not been aggressive enough?







The transition between the passenger door and the rear quarter seems fine color-wise, but still rather peel~y.




And a hood shot, more orange peel:



So orange peel pretty much all over the car, with a couple faded (?) panels. Is this too much for a noob to tackle? The trunklid not showing any noticeable signs of fade seems a bit odd, but this car's appearance wasn't maintained as well as it should have been from the start. Is this enough to give an accurate diagnosis, or at least a prescription for something that might work? Thanks for any help!

[Murr1525]

Re: Plan of attack for odd faded and peeled panels?

If it was all factory, you really wouldnt want to tackle the orange peel too much. The paint just isnt thick enough.

The paint seems is good shape, so a basic clean/polish/wax shouldnt be a big deal. Not even many swirls to fix, so only some mild products would be needed, assuming the detailer didnt cover anything up.

For a good quick detail, I like:
1. Wash - Gold Class, good towels, sponges, etc...
2. Clay - Smooth Surface Clay Kit
3. ColorX
4. Wax - Nxt 2.0, Ult. Wax, etc

[Blazebro]

Re: Plan of attack for odd faded and peeled panels?

Personally I don't mind orange peal, it does show a bit of honesty and the car probably hasn't been involved in an accident, meaning that's how it was from the factory.

With regards to the colour difference, do you know what the detailer did and products used?

You can lessen the effect by using products which darken the look of paint. Another option is to obtain a paint depth guage. With a car from factory the paint depth should be more or less uniform, had the panels been resprayed there will be a difference in depth between factory and the resprayed panels.

Another point is that garages tend to coat their cars in filler heavy products. This has the effect of masking changes in paint colour and defects. I've seen cars looking ok drive off a garage forecourt, then 2 weeks later the paint looks horribly matted and full of swirls and other defects. The reason isn't the the new owners wash regiem, but the fact the garage filler heavy products have been washed away.

HTH.

[Neutral_Eyes]

Re: Plan of attack for odd faded and peeled panels?

Thanks guys, if I don't have to take on the orange peel, all the better.

With regards to the colour difference, do you know what the detailer did and products used?

I'm not sure of the specifics. I know he removed light swirls and oxidation from the entire car, but the products or procedures involved.. I don't know.

You can lessen the effect by using products which darken the look of paint. Another option is to obtain a paint depth guage. With a car from factory the paint depth should be more or less uniform, had the panels been resprayed there will be a difference in depth between factory and the resprayed panels.

These seem pretty expensive, would a body shop normally have access to one to tell me, or is it a pretty useful tool worth the price down the road?

Another point is that garages tend to coat their cars in filler heavy products. This has the effect of masking changes in paint colour and defects. I've seen cars looking ok drive off a garage forecourt, then 2 weeks later the paint looks horribly matted and full of swirls and other defects. The reason isn't the the new owners wash regiem, but the fact the garage filler heavy products have been washed away.

HTH.

It did take a few years before I started to noticed the fade, prior to that it had been washed maybe once a month.

Thanks again guys, I'm preparing a shopping list!

[Blazebro]

Re: Plan of attack for odd faded and peeled panels?

Yep a body shop should be able to assist with a paint depth guage.

Without knowing what the detailer did it's hard to pass judgment as whether the paint could be revived further. If it's old paint that's become weathered then hitting it with a polishing/cutting compound and then refineing it would do the trick. If it is a crash repair then only a respray will resolve it.

The other route is to use something like Poorboys Blackhole which will have the effect of darkening the panels a little and reduce the effect of the bleaching.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Plan of attack for odd faded and peeled panels?

It's pretty safe to assume that a panel or two was resprayed somewhere along the line during the life of this car. That would certainly account for the differences in both color and texture. What's interesting is that the quarter panel and door look similar but the trunk looks darker and has less texture. Initial thoughts were that the quarter panel and small panel where the hard top mounts sit were the resprayed bits, but why would the body shop blend the quarter panel to the door but not the trunk?

Regardless, if the paint respray was a poor color match, you're kind of stuck with it as there's really no way to truly change the color of the paint without respraying it. You may be able to match the texture better but honestly, to the untrained eye, the color mismatch will be more noticeable than the texture. And if is the repainted panels that are fading while the factory painted panels are not, then it would appear that the UV sensitivity of the aftermarket spray is much greater than the factory paint. Whether that means even further fading in the future is hard to say. Yes, the car is garaged now but we an only assume it's going to be driven and enjoyed in the coming years, and that's hard to do without UV exposure unless you only drive it at night!

From what I can see in these pictures, this is a second gen Miata (NB), so that trunk lid (and the hood) are aluminum while the side panels are steel. Something to keep in mind if you or anyone else is going to be taking paint thickness readings on it. And there are differences in how a panel should be sanded depending on whether you're looking to remove texture, lessen it, or correct other defects without impacting the texture. Not something for the novice to attempt!

[ronniejay]

Re: Plan of attack for odd faded and peeled panels?

bookmark.

[Neutral_Eyes]

Re: Plan of attack for odd faded and peeled panels?

It's pretty safe to assume that a panel or two was resprayed somewhere along the line during the life of this car. That would certainly account for the differences in both color and texture. What's interesting is that the quarter panel and door look similar but the trunk looks darker and has less texture. Initial thoughts were that the quarter panel and small panel where the hard top mounts sit were the resprayed bits, but why would the body shop blend the quarter panel to the door but not the trunk?

Now that you mention it, the trunk is pretty much the smoothest panel on the car, texture-wise. Could it be that the trunk was sprayed with a slightly darker color and only blended to the driver's side? My hood color (at least from the crappy photos) seems to closer match what I initially thought were the faded panels. Maybe I was looking at the wrong panels all along, it's hard for me to tell because the color plays tricks with my eyes a lot of the time. It's storming pretty hard right now, but I'll see if I can take it to my body shop guy when it clears up and get his take on it. Sorry this has quickly gotten away from detailing, but I appreciate the input! Thanks!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Plan of attack for odd faded and peeled panels?

We would certainly hope that if a panel was repainted the painter wouldn't blend it to just one adjacent panel and ignore another. But hey, stranger things have happened!!

[jrsb1418]

Re: Plan of attack for odd faded and peeled panels?

To figure out whats been painted, if anything.. use your finger tips and follow the edges of all your body panels. If you feel roughness on the edges of one panel inspect a little further and you'll probably notice signs of repaint. Pay attention to areas that arn't really visible like the edge beteween the hood and your windshield. If the areas are really smooth more than likely the area was never repainted or blended. Reason being is that most paint or resprays, the car just gets taped off then pained and the edges are where either the tape was and if so you'll be able to see where exactly they taped.

On a side not I detailed a Miata that had some discoloration as well. Was a charcoal grey one. The bumper was a little lighter that the hood. I think its because the bumpers are plastic and the hood is metal.. the 2 dissimilar surfaces could be the reason why the feel and look different.

Notice on a lot of "pearl white" cars, namely Japanese like Lex or Acura the bumpers and body panels look a different color.. even brand new.. its because the bumper plastic is dark colored almost black before its painted unlike the metal surface.

Hope this helps!