No I am not going to spring for a paint job. I just laid out for a rebuilt tranny.

Any recomendations on how to best revive a dull paint job? A friend recomended a buffing wheel and some buffing compound. I have never used either and don't want to do any further damage in my attempts to make her purdy.

So are there any prefered products to use? Any particuler procedures to better clean and prep the surface to get an optimal finish out of a 25 year old, been sitting awhile, kinda flat looking paint job?

Anybody?

R

__________________
I would'nt say I've been missing work...

1982 300D Turbo Diesel

I'll second this question. China girl has some of the flattest paint I've seen in a while.
Please remember, we aren't paint and body professionals.....

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

Didn't I just reply to this thread? Deja Vu.

Check out this place:

www.malms.com

There's a great FAQ on bringing back faded back.

I used their polish and wax on my 911 and it looks fantastic. You'll probably have to spend a long, long time working the polish.

Scott

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Scott
1982 Mercedes 240D, 4 speed, 275,000
1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S (70,000)
1987 Porsche 911 Coupe 109,000 (sold)
1998 Mercedes E300 TurboDiesel 147,000 (sold)
1985 Mercedes 300D 227,000 (totaled by inattentive driver with no insurance!)
1997 Mercedes E300 Diesel 236,000 (sold)
1995 Ducati 900SS (sold)
1987 VW Jetta GLI 157,000 (sold)
1986 Camaro 125,000 (sold - P.O.S.)
1977 Corvette L82 125,000 (sold)
1965 Pontiac GTO 15,000 restored (sold)

Forced induction....
Yes you did, I am dual posting to try and catch as much info as I can. Seems like i am not the only one cruising both boards.


R

__________________
I would'nt say I've been missing work...

1982 300D Turbo Diesel

Zedd??? That isn't Pulp Fiction inspired I hope.........

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

It depends if the paint is metalic or not. If it is non metalic, like Ivory, it will buff out with almost any pollish. I like using TR3 resin glaze. I do it by hand, dont like the wheel. buy a bag of new white terry cloths, and expect to use at least 10-20 of them. It takes 2-4 hours, but you will not be dissapointed.

If you have a metalic paint job and have clear coat burn spots, then you are screwed.

__________________
Andrew Villasenor
805-720-5057
1984 300D turbo 5-speed manual(daily driver)
ALL MY DIESELS RUNNING WVO
Everything is for sale for the right amount
Ebay Store

That would be Zed.

Zedd is short for Lord Zedd.

1) Wash/dry
2) Clay bar
3) Fine Cut Cleaner
4) Swirl Mark Remover
5) Polish
6) Wax


If you do use a buffer for steps 3-6, get a variable speed random orbit and keep the rpms pretty low, like 1500. I like the Meguiars Professional products (tan bottles).

Note: Polish is an often misused word. Some 'polishes' are fillers, and some synthetic waxes are called polishes.

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1984 300TD

Head over to Autopia.org and find a pro detailer. There is a HUGE difference between a "detailer" and a REALLY GOOD detailer, the guys you find there are the REALLY GOOD ones.... Just take a peek in the click and brag section for some examples.

Zack

I'll take before/after pics for you today. I just used some Maquire's stuff that was next to the Nufinish on the shelf at AutoZone. I picked up a bag of new terry cloths at the same time. Cost was maybe $10-$15 and about an hour of labor. I only ended up using 2 towels, one to apply, one to wipe off. I walked around the car rubbing it on, and by the time I got all the way around it was time to wipe it off. The car looks totally different to me now.

__________________
-James

'85 280GE...sold
'96 Impala SS ~ 6-speed 396
'14 Cadillac Vagon. . . . . . . . . . "Life without knowledge is death in disguise." - Hans-Peter Geerdes

If you take your time, there's no reason you can't do as well.

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1984 300TD

Meguiares compounds and waxes .O'rielles Auto Parts has different stages of waxes and compounds for the job ,its located along with the paint strippers and body repair isle,not were the waxes have been placed.Its a process to bring back old paint ,you get it done in stages .The bottles of finishing compounds have a rating from 1 to 10 ,10 being the heaviest cut compound .I went with a #7 then a #3 to get my cut ,then a swirl remover followed by a cleaner wax then a top coat wax.All in all it was a $40 haul of compounds and waxes but youll have enough for 4 cars. the 1st is to cut into dry paint with the a compound,then a lighter cut.You might do the lighter cut twice for better results ,then the swirl compound .Finish up with a buffer for the final wax stage .Your going to need 20 plus good small white towels ,a 10 pack of the pads for the orbital buffer and 2 hrs of free time to wash,let dry ,then get bizzy and dizzy.Its good to have some good tunes on and not be in direct sunlit ,believe me its easier to do this at night with some good garage light.This is funny ,I just got going on a project yesterday ,my old brown coupe was in need of ye olde wax on wax off.The paint was so dry on the upper part of the car I could here the paint like crunching old dead leaves,came out very good ,except ,some spots that were not coming back on the hood.You can only do so much before a new paint job is needed.

Agree w/Tankdriver...We just did my Helga using orbiter and clay and orbiter for wax/polish. 5 hours later including toothbrush for inside doors molding, etc. AWESOME. What a great color that china is....

Dakota

1981 300D- China Blue 190K

i have had good luck with meguires paint cleaner and then zymol wax/polish after




Finished product... i really need to do this again too