The paint on my W126 is DEAD on top - clay bar or??
 

Tha paint on the hood, trunk and top of my 380 is very dull. The sides are still shiney. Other than a repaint, is there anything recommended that may bring my paint back a little? I had someone tell me "clay bars", but I have never used them. Can someone give me details?

Any other suggestions?
BTW - my car is silver. Here is a photo and as you can see, the paint is rather dull.

Thanks in advance.

Go to a detailing shop and check out malco products "Paint Rejuvenator" it's pink colored and it's great.
http://www.malcopro.com/cgi-win/mselect.exe/1117

It looks as though your clearcoat has broken down. Here in Sacramento where the sun is brutal in the spring, summer and fall this condition is not that rare.Try buffing it using a milder polish and work your way up to a rubbing compound that is more aggressive. If that does not remove the dullness, your only recourse will be to have it resprayed.

Try Auto Glym's paint renovator, i've used it on a friends car with great success. His roof was faded even worse than that.

We got it lookign brand new again.

And where can this "Auto Glym's paint renovator" be purchased?

Thanks!

Thats commonly know as oxidation.

The clear coat is probably still good underneath. You have to use a mild aggressive polish or paint cleaner. If you do it by hand its going to be tough on you. You can buy an orbital buffer to do it or take it to a detailer and have them do it for a price. As long as there is no peeling anywhere you can save this.

Try a light rubbing compound and a rag in the corner. My bet is oxidation. The factory paint on my 71 was the same way and a light buffing by hand over a couple of days shined it right back up. Be very carefull with a orbital polisher because its easy to go through the paint with the right compounds.

Thanks for the replies. I am going to try something soon. There is no peeling, so hopefully it is fixable. Not sure if it matters, but I do not think that the paint on top of the car is still original. It appears to have been repainted in the past. Also- about the color- I think it is officially called "smoke silver" according to this:

http://autocolorlibrary.com/cgi-bin/search/searchpic.pl?1985-mercedesbenz-pg01.jpg

Thanks again!

Alot can be done with that I recommend going to www.autopia.org and looking in the click and brag section. I know there is a guy there that details in TN Im not sure if he is close to you but he does amazing work. That site also has the best detailing info...

Zack

I have been using Paint Rejuvenator for a few months and I used it on about 10 cars and it is unbelievable. Most detail shops should have it.

Jack
1989 560 SEC

For what you'll pay to have some one buff out the car, you can buy a lower end buffer. 2 schools of thought here, random orbital or rotary. Either one needs to be variable speed. Don't waste your time on Harbor freight or cheapo
chinese ebay knock off's. Ask me how I know.

http://www.bettercarcare.com/articles.php?articleId=47
Porter Cable makes a very nice RO polisher (7424). Using this tool and good polish is a no brainer newbie friendly buffer. Some of their other varible speed sanders can be adapted to the same for less.

http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/en001/auto_marine_aero/automotive_aftermarket/node_S396KC69N0be/root_GST1T4S9TCgv/vroot_GSLPLPKL4Xge/gvel_J8L94XHB6Rgl/theme_us_aad_3_0/command_AbcPageHandler/output_html
Variable speed rotary buffers can be a little tricky. 3M's Finesse-It or Finesse-It II system makes a rotary very newbie friendly. It's a combonation of foam convoluted pads and polishes.

My favorite VS rotary is the WEN 945 http://www.nuvitechemical.com/Prod%20Pages/945%20Buffer.htm
This is the least expensive good quality buffer I've found.

http://www.topoftheline.com/paint-polish.html

My 380SEL is the same way.



Except with a bit of rust spots around the car. Is their anyway to trackdown the exact paint used? - I happen to like the current color and would like to respray it that color (it's the same blue as yours)

Dealer can look up your paint code.

do some checking into a product called flitz. it can work wonders on paint and metal...

CHeck out their website, you can even use it to polish the plastic headlight surrounds and taillights and corners and such.

My brother used flitz on his old rover which had bad oxidation, and it made it look 100 times better, but the paint was already pretty far gone on that car, it still worked wonders for it.

Do some research on it and if need be try it out in a inconspicuous area.

Alon

Thanks. I checked on many of the suggested items at a couple of local auto body supply shops and not much available.

They suggested I bring the car by and they would look at it and suggest something. He took out some "Meguiars 85 Mirror Glaze Diamond Cut compound 2.0" He tried it on a spot on the hood and it did help a lot. He said it was one of the best, but what do I know? :D For $17.85 it better be good!

He suggested that I really should use a buffer- which my grandpa has. On my next day off- I am going to tackle this - if it is not raining. I have never buffed before, but dad has, so I think I will get him to help me.

The body shop "specialist" also suggested that I wash the top, hood and trunk with "comet" or "ajax" cleanser to get all of the ground in dirt off of the faded paint. Regular soap would not get it out of the paint. I was hesitant, but I went ahead and cleaned the hood with comet and a 3M soft scrub pad. I probably should not have used both, because it did leave swirls galore, but I am hoping that the buffer will remove this. On the top and trunk- I just used the scrub pad, without the comet cleanser.

I will post photos of the results when I get it done.

Thanks again!