I'm stumped - what's up with this paint?!?!

**WilliamsDetail** · 08-20-2014, 08:18 PM

Hey everyone!

Been reading for a while and just recently joined! I have now been detailing as my full time job for a few months, but I've been a hobbyist for a while.

A friend of mine wanted some help brightening his finish, so I brought some product down to see what I could do. But as it turned out, his paint kicked my butt - and I've never come across this before!

Car is a 79 Volvo 242, paint is a single stage medium blue metallic (no clear), several years old, looks to be an Earl Scheib/1-Day/Maaco job (significant overspay).

Here's the situation - most of the finish has nearly a "matte" look, but hand-polishing resulted in a few moderately glossy areas - so, we went to work with the DA and several products.

What ended up happening was like the paint just "absorbed" whatever we put on it - like nothing would wipe completely away - and the finish remained dull over MUCH of the area we compounded/polished/waxed.

I would apply something, then immediately go to wipe it away - and it looked as if it hadn't even been touched, despite blue paint on the microfiber and buffing pads. You could see an *outline* of the areas that were attacked, but other than that, no significant changes.

I didn't feel comfortable with more than orange pads and M105 not knowing the thickness of the paint (some burnt areas on the roof from someone using a rotary - the paint appears on the thin side).

Does anyone know why the paint is so resistant to glossing?! As I said - some sections came to a moderate gloss, but others - no matter what we used - stayed "hazy" looking, and seemed to absorb the product. If you have any ideas, let me know! Thanks so much!

(Video currently uploading)

**trekkeruss** · 08-20-2014, 08:32 PM

I think you need some Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #7; the entire Mirror Glaze line is perfect for single stage paints.

**WilliamsDetail** · 08-20-2014, 08:49 PM

Thank you - I will try that out!

**rbss** · 08-20-2014, 08:53 PM

This my help.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...ge-paints.html

**David Hayward** · 08-20-2014, 08:56 PM

Originally Posted by rbss

This my help.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...ge-paints.html

I was going to post exactly this. Perfect reference there to help you out.

**Setec Astronomy** · 08-20-2014, 09:21 PM

Those cheapo repaints are frequently crap--I think that's the problem.

**David Hayward** · 08-20-2014, 09:26 PM

Well that definitely can make it tough lol but its worth a shot to try all options at least before giving in.

**refreshauto** · 08-20-2014, 10:46 PM

What steps were taken before you started to polish.

Did you chemically and mechanically decon the paint?

Was a proper wash done?

Do you have Mega #7 and a terry cloth?

Sent from my SPH-D710 using AG Online

**Hazcat** · 08-20-2014, 10:48 PM

It works. I followed what Mike did and had outstanding results. Use terry cloth towels for aggressively rubbing Meguiars #7 on and off. I used a wash cloth for application...use the same one throughout. Don't use MF towels. I did it 4 times with 24 hours of soaking in #7 each time prior to scrubbing it off with fresh towels. After the #7 it will compound out for you but I have to say a pad cleaner is worth it's weight in gold. I used a purple kompressor pad for the compounding stage. I think there was about an inch or more of oxidized paint in the bottom of the pad washer by the time I was finished. You're going to be pulling a lot of dead paint off. I think you can now see why the orange pad didn't touch it by itself. Kompressor pads have a lot of surface area to them because of the cuts made in pad not unlike a Mother's Power cone. Good luck. If you have any questions feel free to hit me up. Here's a few pics I put up on the single stage I worked on.
1959 Buick Invicta Paint Restore