If your automobile is not garaged or covered when not in use, the paint and plastic trim will discolor under the savage UV sun light. If you don't give required service with regular polishing and waxing, the paintwork will oxidize.
The fortunate thing is that weathered paint can be restored up to a point. That point is basically based on the kind of paint system used and the color. On a car with a clear coat you can revive the finish up to the point that clear coat failure starts ( splotchy white areas ).
On a normal automobile paint finish without a clear top coat, you can revive the surface until the color coat wears away and exposes the primer. When one of these two situations happens, the weathered panels or the complete automobile will need to be refinished. If you have got to park your automobile outside, you can avoid sun fade and oxidation with repeated polishing and waxing, and by using a car cover.
Left unprotected and out in the weather, your vehicle will quickly oxidize. You will not see the damage over a period of a few months, but it will be there. After a year parked outside without protection, your paintwork will be dull and rough.
The good news is that paint oxidization isn't the kiss of death. Light oxidization can be removed with periodic paint cleaning with a clay bar. Once the paint surface starts to oxidize and fade, you'll need to clean away the damage with a clay bar and restore the shine by polishing. Heavy oxidization, distinguishable by chalky paint color, is likely beyond complete restoration. Nevertheless even heavily oxidized paint can be polished to restore most of the gloss.
Use the mildest polish possible to get results. Even slight paint oxidization causes the paint to become thin. When you polish, the dead paint is rapidly removed. At the point the clear coat fails from heavy oxidization, it can not be restored by polishing.
The most effective way to revive the gloss and color lost to oxidization is to buff the damage away using a dual-action car buffer, like the Porter Cable 7424XP.
Here are the step by step instruction to revive a paint finish that's noticeably faded. The 1st step is to totally wash your automobile and then utilize a detailing claybar to get rid of the dead paint.
As your automobile's paint oxidizes, microscopic particles of the paint flake off. This has to be cleaned away. A detailing clay is the convenient tool to get rid of the dead paint and surface contamination.
The cleaning step was the easy part. Now the fun begins. You want to shine your car or truck with two levels of car polish. The 1st grade is a cutting polish, typically called a rubbing compound. The 2nd grade is a finishing polish.
A lot of individuals ask me if they can do this work by hand. The answer's "yes," nevertheless it will not be easy, quick or the best job. To use a micro-abrasive cutting polish, like Meguiar's Final Compound, you should apply the polish with a dual-action auto buffer. I highly recommend the Porter Cable 7424XP.
If your car's paint is heavily oxidized, take care polishing plastic fender caps, plastic mirrors and anywhere there's a raised edge. Painted plastic body parts oxidize faster than painted metal parts. Be careful and treat these parts by hand with finishing polish. Don't utilize a cutting polish on painted plastic parts. Take your time on raised edges, too, as the paint will be thinner.
The fortunate thing is that weathered paint can be restored up to a point. That point is basically based on the kind of paint system used and the color. On a car with a clear coat you can revive the finish up to the point that clear coat failure starts ( splotchy white areas ).
To protect your automobile from oxidizing and fading, use a car cover.
On a normal automobile paint finish without a clear top coat, you can revive the surface until the color coat wears away and exposes the primer. When one of these two situations happens, the weathered panels or the complete automobile will need to be refinished. If you have got to park your automobile outside, you can avoid sun fade and oxidation with repeated polishing and waxing, and by using a car cover.
Left unprotected and out in the weather, your vehicle will quickly oxidize. You will not see the damage over a period of a few months, but it will be there. After a year parked outside without protection, your paintwork will be dull and rough.
The good news is that paint oxidization isn't the kiss of death. Light oxidization can be removed with periodic paint cleaning with a clay bar. Once the paint surface starts to oxidize and fade, you'll need to clean away the damage with a clay bar and restore the shine by polishing. Heavy oxidization, distinguishable by chalky paint color, is likely beyond complete restoration. Nevertheless even heavily oxidized paint can be polished to restore most of the gloss.
Use the mildest polish possible to get results. Even slight paint oxidization causes the paint to become thin. When you polish, the dead paint is rapidly removed. At the point the clear coat fails from heavy oxidization, it can not be restored by polishing.
The most effective way to revive the gloss and color lost to oxidization is to buff the damage away using a dual-action car buffer, like the Porter Cable 7424XP.
Here are the step by step instruction to revive a paint finish that's noticeably faded. The 1st step is to totally wash your automobile and then utilize a detailing claybar to get rid of the dead paint.
As your automobile's paint oxidizes, microscopic particles of the paint flake off. This has to be cleaned away. A detailing clay is the convenient tool to get rid of the dead paint and surface contamination.
The cleaning step was the easy part. Now the fun begins. You want to shine your car or truck with two levels of car polish. The 1st grade is a cutting polish, typically called a rubbing compound. The 2nd grade is a finishing polish.
A lot of individuals ask me if they can do this work by hand. The answer's "yes," nevertheless it will not be easy, quick or the best job. To use a micro-abrasive cutting polish, like Meguiar's Final Compound, you should apply the polish with a dual-action auto buffer. I highly recommend the Porter Cable 7424XP.
If your car's paint is heavily oxidized, take care polishing plastic fender caps, plastic mirrors and anywhere there's a raised edge. Painted plastic body parts oxidize faster than painted metal parts. Be careful and treat these parts by hand with finishing polish. Don't utilize a cutting polish on painted plastic parts. Take your time on raised edges, too, as the paint will be thinner.
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Discover how-to remove oxidation the easy way on the Guide To Detailing blog or check our paint oxidation fix-it page on Squidoo.