Help With Mustang Paint Correction

[99Mustang]

Well first off I am new to detailing nd I want to restore the paint on my 1999 Laser Red Mustang that has a clear coat. The hood is pink with white chalky spots nd might beyond complete repair but I'm willing to give it a shot. Also the Roof, Trunk nd Wing are all showing signs of oxidation.however the sides of the car look great. I am getting ready to buy a Porter Cable 7424xp with 10 Lake Country 5.5" pads what products should I use with the PC? Thanks in advance for any help nd suggestions.

[PAR Detailing]

Take some pics for us if you can. You will get much better help if you do. Take several and post them if you can.

Jon

[ShaunD]

I have the older PC 7424 and it still kicks butt.:dblthumb2: I use the CCS pads and they work great on flat panels. But, I have started using the Kompressor pads and they work great for flat panels, but excel on curves. I swear by the Pinnacle XMT line of products. The XMT 4, compound, finishes with very little haze for a compound. And at the 6 setting on the 7424 with any cutting pad it will knock down some orange peel and completely take care of your oxidation problem and any scratches along with it. You usually just need the XMT 2 to finish after using the XMT 4. You might want to start with something less aggressive like XMT 3 and go back and touch up any heavy spots with the 4. The Menzerna line is awesome as well and will perform up to par with the XMT line. The Menzerna compound(Power Gloss S34A) is a very smooth compound but requires a cutting pad above the orange to achieve the same results on orange peel that XMT4 produces. Yet, the Menz Power Gloss will leave less haze than any other compound you will most likely try. I would by a couple of products to try out and see what gives you the best results for what you are trying to achieve. You can't go wrong having both product lines in your arsenal. I purchased the spot buff kit for the 7424 and it is awesome and a must have. It comes w/ the adapters for the PC and a drill. And I think they still have the special with two added flat orange pads. They are great b/c the CCS pads are bulkier for tight spots. You don't want to use a big cutting pad for a thin scratch, especially if the scratch/defect is in a small/tight spot. But don't take my word for it, buy the stuff and see/try for yourself. Make sure you get you stuff out the BOGO section of the AG store. The XMT4 compound is on there, so if you plan on ever trying it get it now at BOGO free. Don't forget MF on the BOGO too if you need some. Have fun when your 7424 comes in, and watch some off Mike's videos on using it if you haven't already.:buffing:

[99Mustang]

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/1746/medium/2_Mustang_Hood_Fender_Picture_2.jpg

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/1746/medium/Mustang_Side_1.jpg

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/1746/medium/Mustang_Side_2.jpg

[99Mustang]

ShaunD thanks for the recommendation I will look into the XMT#4 and#2. I posted the pictures I have on hand as you can see the hood is extremely oxidized but in the side views you can see the oxidation starts on the sail panels. Someone told me that the Meguiars Ultimate Compound, Ultimate Polish, Ultimate Wax trio would yield great results. I had been thinking of buying several different 4oz. samples for the different areas nd levels of oxidation.

[goathead]

Ugh, that paint is brutal, good luck. I worked on my cousin's 99 and the paint was more faded than oxidized. I was able to brighten the paint up, but the color never fully came back. Is the car from down south? His was really hammered. You'll get it better, but not perfect.

I'll try and find some pics, but I used a PCXP with Cobra orange/white/grey/blue pads. For products i used Optimum Compound, Optimum Polish, ClearKote Red Moose Glaze, then topped with ClearKote MooseWax.

[99Mustang]

Goathead I am actually up in Salt Lake City... I kinda figured I wouldn't be able get a complete correction on the hood but I at this point I just want to get some of the red back into it. The Roof, trunk, nd wing areas are nowhere near as bad as the hood... So I'm hoping for a pretty decent correction on those areas... What color was the 99 you worked on? I would love to see what optima products are capable of... What does everyone think of the Poorboys SSR products?

[goathead]

It was the same color, laser red. I'm in a Mustang club in CT and there were several members that had cars that were this color and they all had some level of fading mainly on the hood, tops of fenders and c-panels where you're showing. None were as bad as yours so I'm not sure what you'll be able to correct.

As far as PB SSR goes, I have 1, 2, 2.5, and 3. They are a good product, I've been happy with the results when I used them but they aren't my go-to product like Optimum mainly because of the dusting. Also if you do go with the SSR line, 3 is probably a touch more aggressive than the Optimum compound as a point of reference.

[goathead]

Not the best pictures, I didn't take them so I'm kind of "liberating" the ones he posted on FB. :) You can see some of the pink-ish tones are still there after.

[5.4 Shelby]

99,

You will probably get as many recommendations as their are products available. Everyone has their favorites. The meguiars products you mentioned above (UC, UP) are great for beginners. They use micro-abrasives instead of diminishing abrasives. One of the challenges of polishing is knowing how long to polish. diminshing abrasives have to fully broken down to reach their optimum result. Micro abrasives allow you to stop whenever you see the result you are looking for. Search for Mike's article on SMAT products.

XMT #4 is wicked stuff. IT is like liquified sand paper. Will aggressively remove the oxidation and scratches, but, removes paint in a hurry. Be very careful with it.

[99Mustang]

Goathead those mustangs look great I really like the rich color that laser red is when they are polished like that...

5.4 Shelby thanks for the heads up on the micro-abrasives I will probably go with the meguiars UC,UP,UW package since this is my first time using a a machine like the PC I usually prefer to maintain by hand but when I got this back after giving it typo a family member in 01 I realized it's time for a machine... I would really like to try the XMT#4 it sounds like great stuff what CCS pad color should be used with a product like the XMT#4?

[99Mustang]

I was thinking about the PB SSR combo simply for the fact that they are abler to be used in direct sunlight nd I don't have a garage.

[5.4 Shelby]

Goathead those mustangs look great I really like the rich color that laser red is when they are polished like that...

5.4 Shelby thanks for the heads up on the micro-abrasives I will probably go with the meguiars UC,UP,UW package since this is my first time using a a machine like the PC I usually prefer to maintain by hand but when I got this back after giving it typo a family member in 01 I realized it's time for a machine... I would really like to try the XMT#4 it sounds like great stuff what CCS pad color should be used with a product like the XMT#4?
I generally use CCS 5.5 in pads. When I used a yellow pad and XMT#4, it took paint off quickly and left the surface marred. I even got a little red residue on the pad. I would only go with that combo for the most severe correction needs (and your oxidized hood may qualify). I would recommend an orange pad for most XMT#4 jobs.

I ended up following the yelllow/XMT4 with orange/M105 (similar to UC), then white with M205. I got a good result. I ended up finishing the rest of the truck with M105 yellow, M105 orange, M205 white. It was a little more work to level the paint, but, less work to finish the clear to a high gloss.

I am in process of buying a deep blue 2003 Mustang that needs correction work. I doubt I will use XMT. In fact, I am thinking about using it as a canvas to learn to use a rotary. I just have to decide which one.

[ShaunD]

Today I started compounding my neighbors red 03 F150 that is severely scratched and hazed from brush washing. I tested the hood with spot buff pads using Menzerna Power Gloss and XMT4 and while the Menzerna is leaving less haze than the XMT4, it is not getting the deeper scratches out as easily as XMT4. I think more time working both will get closer to equal results, as well as finish my section passes with a little less pressure. Getting some good heat with the spot buff pads and setting the 7424 to 6. Just have to be carefully close to edges and raised curves with the XMT4. I actually combined the the Power Gloss and Xmt4 and got the best results in my opinion; compounded 1st w/ XMT4 then got rid of the the haze with the Menz PG. I think this might be quicker than spending more time on just one of the compounds; haven't timed myself on it yet. Will follow up later, and post a :Picture: of before and after test spot.

[goathead]

[QUOTE=99Mustang;420576]Goathead those mustangs look great I really like the rich color that laser red is when they are polished like that...

QUOTE]

Just so you know the photo on the left is before, right is after. Sorry, I wasn't sure how it would post when I uploaded. The red really does pop when you polish it, like I said, I wish I had better pictures but good luck! :props: