Suggestions for 16 yo black paint

[henshman]

Pardon the beginner question...we have a 98 4 runner that needs some TLC.
I just detailed (clay bar, cleaner (?) wax, followed up with 845) my grey 2010 gmc. I used a cyclo orbit polisher with the orange and the white pads...I think it came out ok.
My question is, due to the age and color (black) is there anything that I should do differently than what I did on my 2010?

Thanks for the help.

[allenk4]

What is the current condition of the paint?

If you are happy with it, great...no further steps required

Are there flaws in the paint that bother you?

-Swirls
-Scratches
-Waterspots
-Etching

[miad]

will need a compound, then polish, then 845. the cyclo will work well. but you will have to cut it big time to bring it back (assuming its in the kind of shape that most 16 yo paint is).

[henshman]

What is the current condition of the paint?



If you are happy with it, great...no further steps required



Are there flaws in the paint that bother you?



-Swirls

-Scratches

-Waterspots

-Etching


Thanks...still learning the terms, but I can say that it wasn't really maintained other than washes, which really isn't maintaining it!
So, just swirls and water spots for sure.

[henshman]

will need a compound, then polish, then 845. the cyclo will work well. but you will have to cut it big time to bring it back (assuming its in the kind of shape that most 16 yo paint is).


Sir, by compound do you mean a claybar cleansing?
And I am not familiar with the term cutting. I will look it up though.
Are the same pads, orange to clean and white to polish good too?

If only this forum could create the extra hour we need everyday!

Thanks

[Setec Astronomy]

Do you have some pictures of the paint condition?

As to your compound question, depending on the condition of the paint, various levels of aggressiveness could be used. The aggressiveness of the method is a combination of the machine used, the chemical, and the pad (and to some extent the size and thickness of the pad). A "compound" is generally the most aggressive chemical, followed by "polishes" that could be medium or fine, and lastly a "paint cleaner" or perhaps a "cleaner wax" as you apparently used.

The idea is to refine the finish by starting with more aggressive steps and progressing to less aggressive ones.

[MarkD51]

Sir, by compound do you mean a claybar cleansing?
And I am not familiar with the term cutting. I will look it up though.
Are the same pads, orange to clean and white to polish good too?

If only this forum could create the extra hour we need everyday!

Thanks

Cutting is I believe a term used to describe "Compounding", with more aggressive polishes pads, and possibly even tools. (such as a Rotary Polisher)

I would say it will be a good idea to keep some things in mind, such as the age of the vehicle, the condition of the paint, and to what degree of finish quality do you wish, or hope to attain?

Will you then be able to retain this degree of finish quality, and for how long?

Often with vehicles of this age, the paint of course hasn't somehow gotten "magically thicker" over the years, possibility of some deeper isolated sleeks-scratches that perhaps no methods or products will be able to remove. Or at least not remove without removing quite a bit of precious paint.

Just something to keep in mind to construct a good logical plan of attack by restoring the paint without causing other issues-problems in the process. One can always do more, but one cannot undo over-aggressive methods and the results they might create.

I would start with gentle finishing polishes, and less aggressive pads first, and see where that gets you?

While my own Chevy Tahoe has a paint finish luster and condition quality that looks better than 99% of the vehicles on the street, I also was aware that it is a 1997 vehicle, time can and will eventually take its toll.

I've of course ran the gamut of so many products over the years I've lost track of all the products used, and how many times I've detailed this vehicle?

I more recently concluded get the paint into the best condition doing the least amount of work on it, and then to durably "lock" that quality with a more durable protective Coating, not a Wax or Sealant.

My vehicle is not of course a show circuit vehicle, never was, and never will be.

My conclusions at this point and vehicle age, is the "less I now do" to the paint, the better.
Mark

[MarkD51]

30778

Here's some 17 year old paint.

There's a myriad of correction products on the market, and it truly does confuse. You could get a different suggestion and a variation of advice for as many number of members that are here in this forum.

The products that I found that worked beautifully-perfect on my Tahoe was the "Wolfgang Trio".

Those consisted of Wolfgang Uber Compound, Total Swirl Remover, and Finishing Glaze. I never found a need to go beyond LC White Flat Pads with these products I mention. Of course, no two vehicles possess the same paint, or same paint condition.

But, these products I list do work amazingly well, a well thought out, and engineered paint restoration system that will-can produce stellar final results.

I have found the WG Uber Compound quite easy to use, very workable, predictable, it by itself does finish down beautifully, to an LSP ready luster. I only found a need to use Uber Compound on a couple of small areas in which WG TSR was leaving just very slight evidence of some slightly deeper sleeks.

There's of course many more systems, but these above are without a doubt world class products, and within this range of polishing products, one should be basically safe without worry of paint damage, and a very stunning final finish result.

[tuscarora dave]

I'd suggest getting some Meguiar's Ultimate Compound from your local parts store or big box store such as Target or WalMart.

Ultimate Compound is a middle of the road compound in terms of it's aggressiveness, it's very user friendly and sometimes can produce desired results in and of itself, though with black paint you still might want to follow it with a few passes of Ultimate Polish to further refine the gloss and finish of your Toyota's black paint.

I would try green or blue Cyclo polishing pads with the Ultimate Compound before jumping right to an orange light cutting pad and see what you think of those results. Going with these less aggressive pads will remove less paint and cause less micro marring in the compounding process. In other words, the paint will look better, or glossier as you compound using softer foam pads, and you stand a better chance of being pleased with the results after only using one chosen product and pad choice.

If you think you need to further refine your finish, or that the softer pads aren't removing the swirls sufficiently, then you can go more aggressive and perhaps even order up a more aggressive compound to go with your orange pads to "cut" more paint off the vehicle to remove unwanted blemishes.

It's a wicked trade off though, you remove more clear coat to produce nicer results but in the end, you have less clear coat protecting the color coat underneath the clear.

A few observations and comments about Toyota paint from my experience in working with it.

1. Toyota paint is typically pretty tough, and can usually handle a good bit of compounding, so you (within reason) shouldn't have an issue with removing too much clear with your Cyclo, assuming you aren't using a "Rocks in a bottle" type of compound on it.

"Rocks in a bottle" = 3M Rubbing Compound, or worse yet, 3M Super Duty Compound, Poorboy's World SSR3 etc. Learn a little about the products you intend to use before you choose them.

2. I've worked on many Toyotas over the years and have noticed that a lot of the late 90's Toyotas have very deep water spot etchings on the roof. Some of these deeper water spot etchings are too deep to safely remove without removing too much clear coat in the process.

If your orange pads combined with a compound don't remove them, you should simply polish over them to create an acceptable level of gloss and learn to live with these spots.

3. I've worked on many black Toyotas that had single stage black paint (no clear coat) on the bumper covers only, while the rest of the car had a base coat clear coat paint system on them. This was in most cases I've encountered, from the factory so don't be too alarmed if your Cyclo pads begin turning black as you begin working on the bumper covers. (if your 4 Runner has bumper covers that is.)

If you are working away at compounding with no black paint transferring onto your pads, then suddenly they start turning black, STOP!! This means you have cut clean through the clear coat and into the black paint that the clear coat had been protecting!!

You should have no such issues though if you stay away from "Rocks in a bottle" rubbing compounds. Meguiar's Ultimate Compound is far, far from rocks in a bottle so don't let the name scare you. It's more like a polish with some compound mixed in at the factory that requires no real advanced techniques to work with. It's quite safe for newbies actually.

Hope this helps. TD

[allenk4]

I would suggest starting at the beginning by building a strong foundation of knowledge:

Auto Detailing Facts, auto detailing Tips, How to detailing Guides, how to polish, how to wax, DIY detailing, do it yourself guides (http://www.autogeek.net/detailingtips.html)

Read all of them and memorize the flow chart of the order of the steps in the process