Advice about polishing/detailing at all please? :)

[stephenpolhill]

HI there. I am trying to get the colour back into my car but not suceeding having used various cutting agents and polishes. Mine is a almond green '65 and had been parked (not properly stored ) in a normal garage for almost 30 years. We cleaned it up and got it running which is all fine but there is still discolouration. I have uploaded pictures to show you. The 2 front wings polish up well and have a clean look to them. The bonnet and roof however have tonnes of scratches all over them if you look closer. Theyre in all directions and look to be part of the paintwork.
I have used so far Meguiars Clay (excellent stuff) then Auto Glym Super resin polish, and aqua wax. This is my favoured method and brings a nice finish but still discolouring and the scratches.
So any advice or help on products/methods would be gratefully appreciated.
<br><br>
This is the difference of the bonnet (left) and the nearside wing (right). The small scratchs can just be seen.
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This is the difference between the roof (above) and the rear of the body. Not such a noticeable difference but the finish can still be seen. :/<br><br>
This is the result after claying then polishing using the motorised polisher with the polish. The feel of the paintwork is so smooth and looks good when looking across the roof, but not looking straight down at it.<br><br>
These 'blotches' are all over the roof and no they aren't reflected clouds. That is what can be seen on the roof.<br><br><br><br>
On the right is the bonnet (which I have polished before and worked on but still no result) compared with the bulkhead? (where the wipers sit underneath the windscreen). I have touched this once with polish I think but not concentrated on it.

Thanks
Steve

[bmcecosse]

You can only try more T cut ( or cutting compound) - but in all honesty - it probably needs a re-spray.

[stephenpolhill]

I might try that. I have read alot around detailing and cleaning forums and they all say T-cut is too abrasive. However none cover classics like mine, only expensivly sprayed Ferrari's etc. I will wait until a little warmth and have a proper go with this new Meguiars Scratch X stuff and t cut, clay and polish etc and see what happens.

[bmcecosse]

Well - my Flame Red Meriva was turning Pink! T cut soon sorted that out - for a while.
Is the engine STILL being rebuilt? Haven't heard much about progress....?

[stephenpolhill]

I'll have a proper go this time then . I will update the other thread for you yer about the engine?. That way I don't go off topic XD

[TRANS4MATION]

Theres alot of good products out there like auto glym but remember auto glym is one of the worst polishes for causing paint to re-act if you ever get any paint work done in the future , i use ferecla G3 if faded bad or g10 if new paint just to tone it town then finish off with 3M glaze buster before using the final top coat polish but not all paints take the same effort, when i valeted cars year back for the trade we just used T cut then put auto smart polish over the top its easyer to remove the t-cut rather than twice the effort getting the t-cut off then polish/ max wax was cheap to but unsure if its still on sale these days as been out the game abit now, another good polish is mer but Meguiar’s range is also good . were you have white haze type acid rain stains this may not in some cases be removed , its all down to is it orginal paint / 2k / celli or base coat laquer has it ever had paint work that you dont know about ? . just my 2cent i know mine has a had paint work cause when i t-cutted it you can allways tell what orginal or been blown in. remeber if its ever had paint have they edge to edge matched the paint or use the blow in fade out method cause this can cause paints to polish diffrent even laques some are cheap & can go slightly yellow compared to a good quality product . for the age of some of these classics jib fast also know as tecloyed etc was used back in the day before 2k was known.

hope this ramble may help in some way lol

Edit : when you say you used a mop is it a std handy diy type or a proper 2 speed jobby cause if its a std diy this may not give a good finish down to the rpm of the product? theres also diffrent mop heads like white & blue these also can make a diffrence .

just remeber also its an old car been stored in all weathers for years maybe worth giving it a new coat of paint in the summer if you are wanting to keep it

regards
craig

[stephenpolhill]

I only really know the well known brands such as Meguiars and Auto Glym and also I don't know the professional terms so excuse me for being naive.
In short which is the best thing to use to get a bit of a result. I can polish well because it is quite easy to buff off, its the cutting things that are a pain to me.
Is there a polish/cutting agent that is used by detailers that isn't a brand product but one that actually is recommended and works well?
Thanks

[TRANS4MATION]

Hi try ferecla G3 with smear of water on the mop head to give it a nice cream rather than thick paste as it comes also splash water on the panel 1st , you can buy just a small tube thats goes along way rather than a tin, then once mopped with G3 or G10 wipe the area then either polish with your auto glym resin or what ever you have its mainly down to giving the old paint a good cutting before top coat , when using the mop try to keep away from corners or rased area's as much incase you cut through the paint to the under coat . Go along the panel side to side then up & down why mopping making sure water is alway there to keep paint cooler not loads of water just alittle .

regards
c

[DAVIDMCCULLOUGH]

My preference for old paint is liquid brasso put on with an old soft towel, like terry towel nappys. Work on small sections at a time using very little brasso. Hard on the arms but worth the effort!! Also its easier to see if your going right through to primer and stop, unlike a buff. The paint build up also helps fill in the small scratches. Then a good coat of autoglym super resin polish followed by the one with the gold lable? Ive forgotten what its called but it seals the paint really well for about 6 months. We had an autoglym agent speak at the club one night, he recommended putting this one in straight sweeps not polishing it in in circles and leaving it on for at least 12 hours before buffing to a shine.

I would guess that the roof and bonnet are original paint and the bottom half has been resprayed at some stage. The white clouding is difficult to stop happening again, but once a good numbers of layers have been built up it does protect the old paint.

Also I would polish too much in the cold weather, especailly outside as you could seal in damp.

[MarkyB]

My car is Almond green from 1968 and the bits that are original paint look the same as yours.
Like you I've tried various polishes and methods to get through to the original colour with little or no success.<br><br>

A body shop that I asked if it could be restored by polishing described the paintwork as "dead" and said a respray was all that could be done.
I took that with a pinch of salt but it may be true.
Has anyone here had any luck restoring this colour?

[andrew.searston]

the scratches could be from a sponge while washing it. i use a wash mit, make sure you wash the crud off with a hose first as it will reduce the risk of scrathing dirt into the paint.
as for the discolouring t cut should do it, for example ive t cutted a reliant rialto (right shed) that looked white but was red under neath the bad paint, it came up pritty well after a sore arm
if not i can only suggest a mop with cutting compound

[Blaketon]

You can only try more T cut ( or cutting compound) - but in all honesty - it probably needs a re-spray.

Yes, there's only so much you can cut back. At least once you've got it right, if looked after, it will last for years. I'm guessing the paint on there is original and thats done well, all things considered.