Restoring My Paint

[davisharr]

The paint on my 1991 Miata has been neglected for years, always kept clean and waxed by previous owner, but it appears to have never been polished or compounded up.

I am new to detailing and figured I would ask here before I go buy a DA buffer and supplies. The paint is a dark colour (British Racing Green) and it is the original single stage paint. As im sure you know it can be difficult to photograph the scratches and swirls you can see in person, but here is a link to a quick video I threw together to try hilight some of the problem areas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI217hK3l4Q


I understand this paint is definitely not 100% fixable without a repaint, but I want to get it as close as possible. Like I said this would be my first time seriously detailing a car, and I have watched a lot of videos, but most are referring to base coat clear coat finishes, or old single stage paints. I am only 16 and this is my first car, I am contemplating becoming a pro detailer when I am older and figure this is a great opportunity to try out the basics and see if it may interest me, as well as get some practice!

So my question is what pads, and products do you suggest to bring this unique finish back to life, the car is daily driven but only in summer months.

I was personally thinking to buy a Porter cable DA and 2 Orange pads, a white and a black/grey, and using products like Megs 105, and 205, followed by a carnuba on top.

I wash and wax my car every week or so, so longevity of wax is not an issue!

I already have a bunch of Walmart, Canadian tire, and Auto Zone type products for cleaning car, but no professional quality supplies.

[Mike Phillips]

I was personally thinking to buy a Porter cable DA and 2 Orange pads, a white and a black/grey, and using products like Megs 105, and 205, followed by a carnuba on top.

That will work. Single stage paint except for white single stage paint, is not onl easy to restore but a lot more fun to work on than clearcoats.

I post the below link a lot because no matter which brand of dual action polisher you get, by dual action polisher I mean the Porter Cable or any of the copies of the Porter Cable, you're going to have to purchase a 5" backing plate.


5 inch Backing Plates on Meguiar's, Griot's and Porter Cable DA Polishers

[Mike Phillips]

Read these too...

How To Do a Test Spot
(and why it's so important)



I recommend everyone read this article first - before you need to troubleshoot

DA Polisher Trouble Shooting Guide

Video: Mark your backing plate to make it easy to see pad rotation

Factors that can cause a pad to stop rotating on a DA Polisher

Video: How-To do a "Section Pass" when Machine Polishing with a DA Polisher



Step-by-Step How-To use the Porter Cable 7424XP
(Very in-depth how-to guide that covers every topic related to using a DA Polisher like the PC, Meguiar's or Griot's tools)

The short how-to guide for using a DA Polisher
How to maximize the ability of the 1st Generation Porter Cable Dual Action Polishers

The long and in-depth guide for using a DA Polisher
The Definitive How-To Article for using DA Polishers - Includes Videos
Includes: Removing Swirls, Scratches and Water Spots Using a Porter Cable 7424XP, Meguiar's G110v2 or Griot's Garage Polisher

The Compression Washer

How to prime a foam pad when using a DA Polisher

How much product do I use with my DA Polisher?

Wet Buffing Technique

DA Polisher Articles - Help for Newbies to Machine Polishing

[jamesboyy]

Welcome to autogeek....read the links I post up they hold some great information on how to handle single stage paint http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...ge-paints.html as for polishers if you got the money go for groits garage 6 inch polisher but if money is tight then get a harbor freight polisher

[davisharr]

Thanks so much guys, I read through all the links, I think this is going to be a fun project! I may just get the cheap Harbour Freight DA if my family takes a trip down the the US this week, if not I will have to order a Porter Cable one. I am on a tight budget as I am just a teenager, but I want somthing that will at least introduce me to the hobby/possible future career, and something that will clean up my baby!

If anyone is interested here is the car:


and here is what I managed to do to the oxidation on the spoiler just by hand with cheap turtle wax compound:


To bad the rest of the paint isn't as easy as the spoiler was!

[DA-detailer]

Whats up man, I rarely comment on forums but you got my attention because you are working with a 91 miata. I myself have a 91 miata and have done A LOT of work to the paint to get it looking good. So I just wanted to share with you what I have come across. Like your miata I too have a luggage rack on the trunk piece, my front bumper is also like yours where it looks like a different color than the car, and mine as well is still single stage paint. I don't know for sure but my guess is like in your case the previous owner waxed the car but never and compound or polish. When I bought the car it looked like it had a shine but once I started working with it to clean it up nice I noticed it looked like the people put wax on the car but never removed it- I could see the exact pattern they used when applying the wax (and there was a white layer above the paint).

Anyways- Single stage paint, be ready to have paint transfer to your pads and towels. I have separate pads and towels just for my miata due to paint transfer. I use the 5 inch microfiber Meguiars pads with the Meguiars DA and supreme shine towels made by Meguiars. If your paint is in decent shape just the DA will be fine, I used the Meguiars correction compound (made for use with the DA and microfiber pad) and Meguiars 83 (a cleaner polish)- for some of the car I had the opportunity to use a new product by Meguiars, the microfiber polish which from what I was told is suppose to be like the 205. I then topped it off with a Carnuba wax. That makes the paint look great! Unfortunately the first time I worked on my paint it wasn't that simple (and I let the paint go to long, on accident, and had to redo my first process a second time). My paint was heavily oxidized, I mean bad! I used a rotary with 105 (100 the second time) then went to the DA and used the steps mentioned before. It wasn't anything bad using the rotary if you know what your doing.

The trunk- Because you have the luggage rack it is a pain to do the trunk. I personally take the bar connecting the far left and far right post (I hope you understand what I am talking about) and I also take those far posts off, so I am left with a lot of room to work and then the two middle posts. the reason I do that is to give me the max room to work and I have a better chance of hitting every bit of paint. The other bit of advice I have here is the DA 5 inch pad has a hard time fitting around the turns on the trunk and maneuvering around the rack. I got the DA power system drill attachment (by Meguiars) to work on these tighter spots- you can also find a connector that fits on the DA and a smaller backing plate. The second option is cheaper but I have both- I'm the kind of person that likes to have options on tools to use. The quality is good from the power system and I know its advertised to be able to work on an entire car, and while you can use that for an entire car I wouldn't really recommend it- you just aren't working with a lot at a time.

The bumper- Man, get use to that ugly look, as far as I know. I have tried to work with my bumper and I have never been able to get it any better. So if anybody else has ever had success please share! But I have tried to buff it with the rotary and the DA. I have tried a wide variety in products- compounds, polishes, waxes, glaze. And at most I have got it to shine for maybe a week max- but I think thats a high guess. It's plastic and the paint doesn't improve like the rest of the car. In my experience it is also very hard to remove anything from the bumper- it goes on like normal products but it does not want to come off.

Alright, I know that was a lot of information but I really wanted to give advice since I have been through this myself. I hope you read it and I hope it helps. If you are confused on anything in here reply and I'll try to clear it up. Good luck man!

[davisharr]

Alright, I know that was a lot of information but I really wanted to give advice since I have been through this myself. I hope you read it and I hope it helps. If you are confused on anything in here reply and I'll try to clear it up. Good luck man!

Thanks man, read it all, good to see others with the same issues as me! I know exactly what you mean when you talk about disassembling luggage rack, and that is a really good idea. I just want to get the darn supplies already and get to work on the paint!

[davisharr]

Okay, just incase anyone is still following and wanted to hear the my decision, I took a trip down to the US where I purchased the harbour freight DA, and some Megs #105, #205, and #26 Carnauba wax. I will now order a lake country backing pad, and some pads (probably orange, white, and black) as well as some convertible top cleaner. I will hopefully order that from here, however shipping to Canada is pretty pricey, wish that was a bit cheaper as no doubt about it this is the best detailing advice and supply website I have seen so far, and there prices before Canadian shipping are very reasonable!
Again, thanks so much for the advice, the links posted by everyone where awesome, and if I really get into this, I will need to look into getting a U.S. PO box to start saving on shipping from this site!

[jamesboyy]

Sounds like your off to a good start, have fun with your detailing, and if you do get into maybe you will do some side work to have some money in your pocket but for now just have fun learning