1988 Mazda Rx-7 hood correction

This 1988 Mazda Rx-7 was sitting outside covered for a few years after it broke down. The cover eventually disintegrated leaving the paint exposed to the sun. Recently I decided to fix the car up and get it running again. However, I am having difficulties removing the splotches and discolorations from the hood. In my limited experience I assumed the paint issues were oxidation in the clear coat that I could buff out. My painter neighbor agreed and thought he could fix it with a three in one compound. This however made the paint look even worse with a white faded finish over it. I did more research and picked up some meguiars 105, clay, and foam pad. We did a few passes with this and it has not changed appearance that much. Im worried about cutting through the clear coat and figured I should get some advice from some more experienced people before I trash this hood if it even can be saved. Does this paint look salvageable and what do I need to do to fix it. All advice is welcome, thank you.
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Hard to say for sure, I’m gonna lean towards some time of clear coat failure though. I’m sure others more knowledgeable than I will chime in and hopefully give you a better answer.

Clear coat can be quite finicky especially at the age of this vehicle. Normally any type of oxidation built up would buff out easily which leads me to believe it’s possibly failed. If not clear coat failure maybe something stained into the clear?

Do you or anybody you know have a paint depth gauge? Might want it for what I’m recommending next..

Are you comfortable wet sanding? Being older clear and generally on OEM paint finishes you’d want to steer clear of wet sanding as clear is extremely thin(thinner than a post-it note), but if it’s this far gone and not responding well to an AIO or M105 you might want to try wet sanding with 3000 grit.

I recommend this because going gung ho with a polished on paint this old may push it to failure from generating so much heat. Although wet sanding is an extreme option, it generates no heat and will quickly knock out any staining or badly oxidized clear and that may allow you to quickly compound and polish without building up a ton of heat and seeing if anything was salvageable.

Would love to see more pictures of the FC though if you get a chance!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DMiglio

Hard to say for sure, I’m gonna lean towards some time of clear coat failure though. I’m sure others more knowledgeable than I will chime in and hopefully give you a better answer.

Clear coat can be quite finicky especially at the age of this vehicle. Normally any type of oxidation built up would buff out easily which leads me to believe it’s possibly failed. If not clear coat failure maybe something stained into the clear?

Do you or anybody you know have a paint depth gauge? Might want it for what I’m recommending next..

Are you comfortable wet sanding? Being older clear and generally on OEM paint finishes you’d want to steer clear of wet sanding as clear is extremely thin(thinner than a post-it note), but if it’s this far gone and not responding well to an AIO or M105 you might want to try wet sanding with 3000 grit.

I recommend this because going gung ho with a polished on paint this old may push it to failure from generating so much heat. Although wet sanding is an extreme option, it generates no heat and will quickly knock out any staining or badly oxidized clear and that may allow you to quickly compound and polish without building up a ton of heat and seeing if anything was salvageable.

Would love to see more pictures of the FC though if you get a chance!

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Thanks for the advice. You reminded me that I forgot to mention that the car has been repainted but I am not entirely sure how long ago, probably sometime in the early 2000's. Haven't wet sanded before but I could give it a shot if that is what everyone thinks is best, can't really make it worse. I'll put some pictures up later.

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Here is a nice photo, ill get some better ones next time she is out of the garage.

Oh is it a convertible? That’s a beautiful color I hope the hood can be saved!

I’ve got a ‘90 Miata basically all original, would love to own an FC some day.