I figured that it's kind of a shame that here I am, a trained automotive collision and repair technician and Im driving around in an oxidized poorly maintained sports car with such potential. I've been kind of lazy with this car so far because of all the mechanical issues that keep me busy but, today I finally got out and did a least a little bit.

I decided I would see just how much potential the paint on this car has so I ran a line of tape right down the middle of the hood. I did no wetsanding whatsoever, I used what I had on hand, a bottle of Zymol Cleaner Wax, which probably isn't the best product to use since I need something with a bit more umph in it. I also had an applicator pad with a pocket for my hand and some extra towels. I spent a little over 30 minutes on just half of the hood but that included, buffing it three times with the wax, three times by hand with the towel, and cleaning it off a few times to see the differences.

It was a cloudy day, my car is white, and my camera is a fujifilm cheapo model, Im not trying to make excuses but, the difference really doesn't show so well in the pictures. Here goes!


Here is a close up to show just how oxidized the paint really is.


This kind of shows the overall condition of the paint.


A close up right after the initial buff, you can see some shine coming back to the paint.


Another close up where you can just start to see the difference in the two sides.


The second round.


Yeaaaah, second round still.


Geeeez when am I going to move on to the third round.


Bingo, third time's a charm.

 

I think it looks GREAT, I can see a huge difference in the paint! It actually looks white, good job reppin the 2+2!

BTW, sweet supra and subaru!

 

Thanks for the compliments but, sadly the supra and subaru are not mine. The supra is a friend's and the subaru is the man of the house's project, his DD is a late model STI.

 

Yeah this is the weather outside so I called it a day, see how much florida changes in the period of 30 minutes?

 

Hmmmmmm, wow that does change fast! Half a hood in 30 min, soooooo you have a very long weekend ahead of you, but you can really see the difference! Keep it up!!!


MMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm fried chicken!

 

And that is why I do NOT miss the east coast That really did help the shine though. Car will look that much sharper when you get the rest done.

 

Yeah, a local shop owner suggested using either mothers or meguiars #3. Zymol isn't working so well even if it did make a big difference it took 3 applications with a lot of effort.

 

you can get polishes and rubbing compounds in different grits (not the word I'm sure, but the particals in the polish go from course to fine just like sandpaper does) as well. The finer the polish the longer it's going to take to work out deeper blemishes and to removed surface contaminants like paint oxidation.

 

Ah, okay that's about what I figured. Thanks J

 

Im painting the hatch next week, right now there are primered areas where the previous owner removed the rear window shade.

 

My Paint Is So Oxidized Right Now That I'm Using A 5" Orbital Sander With 100 Grit To Take Off The Clear Coat. I Then Wet Block It With 800. So Far Its Looking Pretty Good. After I'm Done Blocking It I'll Shoot Primer Over It And Start Over To Try To Get The Car As Straight As Possible. I Degres, Get The Meguires Its Wicked Stuff. A High Speed Buffer Will Help Out As Well Just Don't Burn Through The Paint.

 

do what i did

https://www.zdriver.com/forums/280zx-appearance-exterior-interior-80/spring-cleaning-18251/