Can you wetsand/clearcoat a paint job 2 years old?

[rsaritzky]

Hi all,

A couple of years ago, I had a 1997 Toyota repainted – the clear coat had started “chalking” in several areas. It was a car I was giving to my son, good shape but didn’t want to spend a ton of money. I took it to one of the chain auto painting shops (OneDay in California). I don’t want to use the wrong terminology (as I have read here on the forum, so I don’t want to call it a “one stage” paint, but it is a single coat catalyzed paint system (Sherwin Williams urethane) that had “some” glossiness to it. There was an extra-cost option at the time to add color sanding and clear-coat to the paint job, but I chose not to do it at that time, and I don't know for sure if it would have involved a different type of paint.

When delivered, the finish on the car had a reasonable gloss – not great, but reasonable. There was a slight mottling or “orange peel” surface (i.e. tiny pits) that, for example caught the polish that I applied 30 days after the paint job.

Now, it’s 2+ years later. The car has been parked outdoors for that period of time near the California Coast (Santa Barbara) while my son has been away at school.

Now, the car’s finish is quite dull. I tried taking an automatic buffer and some light polishing compound, was very careful in a test area, but could not get much improvement after 10 minutes or so of careful buffing and then applying a high quality polish – hardly any improvement at all.

So, my question is, on this kind of paint surface, is it possible to go back and ask for the “second step” of wet-sanding and applying of a clear coat? At this point, the car runs great, and I’m willing to invest in improving its finish. I’m not looking for show-quality, just a decent shine.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thx

Ron

[psdnuts]

pictures of the paint/clear would help. what you might see might be clear failing. being applied incorrectly. next it might start flaking off. at this point it would have to be striped.
but thats only what I'm thinking.
get some pictures and we can better determination what you can do with it.
what buffer, pads, compound did you use?

[hernandez.art13]

I was going to say maybe the CarPro denim and velvet pads might help and a PC.

^ but that is true what psd said. Post pictures first so we can see.

[Mike Phillips]

All the info you posted before the quoted sectin below sounds about right.

Now, it’s 2+ years later. The car has been parked outdoors for that period of time near the California Coast (Santa Barbara) while my son has been away at school.

Now, the car’s finish is quite dull. I tried taking an automatic buffer and some light polishing compound, was very careful in a test area, but could not get much improvement after 10 minutes or so of careful buffing and then applying a high quality polish – hardly any improvement at all.

My guess is that if you use the righ tool and a quality product and good technique you can bring this paint back to life.

I lived in Irvine for almost 2 years, close enough to the beach to call it coastal living.

I've lived in Stuart for 5 years so I'm living on the coast again and any car left outside for 2 years is going to do nothing but go down hill.


You'll be lucky if the problem is only oxidtion. Worst case scenario it wil be clear coat failure.


If the automatic buffer you used looks anything like this then you're wasting time....

TOB = Traditional Orbital Buffer aka The Wax Spreader[COLOR=#000000]





At a minimum you need a Porter Cable 7424XP, some 5.5" thin foam pads like a Lake Country Orange or yellow foam cutting pad and a quality comopund like Wolfgang Uber Compound.

That above combo would either fix the problem, that is restore clarity and gloss like it was just out of the paint booth or the paint is probably to far gone because that combo will fix just about anything,.

So, my question is, on this kind of paint surface, is it possible to go back and ask for the “second step” of wet-sanding and applying of a clear coat? At this point, the car runs great, and I’m willing to invest in improving its finish. I’m not looking for show-quality, just a decent shine.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thx

Ron

Ron,

Wetsanding, cutting and buffing a car from start to finish is a TON of work for someone with experience and has all the proper tool.

It's even more work if it's your first time.


My guess is you can save this paint or start a thread on our forum to find a pro detailer in your area and pay them to do it for you. Like this,


Pro Detailer wanted in Santa Barbara


If you want to buff it out yourself we certainly have the ability here on this forum to walk you through the process.


If you want to get a glimpse as to what it looks like to wetsand, cut, polish and even wax a car from start to finish watch this, it will only take 10 minutes and throughout the process I bring each product/step to the camera and this will give you a better idea of what it takes.

How to wet sand a car

[Mike Phillips]

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thx

Ron

Any follow-up or plans of action now Ron?

[rsaritzky]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for the various replies. I'll keep it simple. I really didn't plan on trying to do this myself - I was really asking if it was possible. So those of you "in the business" - would a good-quality detailing shop be able to do this?

I also don't think it's entirely oxidation, either. Certainly it has something to do with it, but as I mentioned, the paint job (as far as I know) was a single-coat type of system without a separate clear coat. If it were clear-coated from the beginning, I would have expected more sheen. 1Day's website calls it their "Plus3" paint job. Their "Plus4" paint job specifically mentions a base coat/clear coat job, so I'm virtually certain there was no separate clearcoat.

I was going to try to take the car either back to the paint shop or a good detailing shop (hard to find here in L.A.), but really didn't want to get laughed at <grin>.

But thanks also to Mike for the suggestion for advertising for a detailer here on the forum.

If I find someone, or I find a referral to a local shop, I'll post results. I'll try to post pictures too, but my son is away at school for another 3 weeks before the car comes home.

Thanks again for everyone's reply.

[Mike Phillips]

I also don't think it's entirely oxidation, either. Certainly it has something to do with it, but as I mentioned, the paint job (as far as I know) was a single-coat type of system without a separate clear coat.

If it's single stage paint, probably urethane, and this car sat outside for the last 2 years with little to no regular maintenance, then chances are actually very good it's simle oxidiation.

Sounds like an easy fix to me, even by hand with a one-step cleaner/wax.

Before trying to find a local detail shop without the forum, I'd still start a thread on this forum and get somene that's up to date with all the best products, pads and tools.

I explain why here,


Detailers that hang out on discussion forums know more than detailers that don't...





It's just as easy to do things the right way the first time as it is to do things wrong all the time. Like I always say,

"Detailers that hang out on discussion forums like AGO know more than detailers that don't hang out on forums at all"

A great detailer brings four things to the table...

1. Knowledge
2. Skill
3. Experience
4. Passion

Knowledge is shared, transfered and obtained via detailing discussion forums better and faster than any other media.

Anyone agree or disagree? Make your case.