Faded paint

[deane30 30]

I've recently noticed that the paint (Mineralblau) on the roof of my e30 has turned faded and "cloudy".

My question is would cutting compound or a clay bar be the best option to return the shine?

Thanks

Dean

[Apex 693]

Try a good polish (not a wax, a polish) if that doesn’t work try some T-Cut and ample albow grease.

Clay wont do sh*t, it’s a cleaner.

If you manage to reverse the neglect make sure you apply some wax to protect your hard work.

[Mark 178]

I disagree, if you polish without claying first you're just grinding dirt further into your clearcoat and damaging the finish more. Clay first to remove the stubborn dirt and dust stuck in the clear coat then try a polish or T-Cut...

Good luck!

[Apex 693]

I disagree, there is no logic in that, the paint is already damaged… Clay wont do bugger all, have you tried it on faded paint before, it simply sticks to the matt like fade you need to go at it all aggressive, I have even resorted to metal polish to remove the faded cloud

Clay is good but its no miracle worker.

[greenday-rulz21 4]

Clay is good but its no miracle worker.

Agreed.

[deane30 30]

Try a good polish (not a wax, a polish) if that doesn’t work try some T-Cut and ample albow grease.

Clay wont do sh*t, it’s a cleaner.

If you manage to reverse the neglect make sure you apply some wax to protect your hard work.

Can you recommend a decent polish Apex? Will definalty be waxing afterwards. I reguarly wax my car but haven't polished it since I've had it.

Thanks for your help.

[deane30 30]

I disagree, if you polish without claying first you're just grinding dirt further into your clearcoat and damaging the finish more. Clay first to remove the stubborn dirt and dust stuck in the clear coat then try a polish or T-Cut...

Good luck!

Ive seen photos of your car looking very tidy before too Mark. What polish do you recommend to restore paint colour?

It is not really bad yet but I definatly do not want it getting worse

[JiB 0]

even resorted to metal polish to remove the faded cloud

You're not the only one..

I used Brasso on an old red civic followed by Meguiar's medium cut then yellow pre-wax then gold class. It actually went back to red....but only after a whole day of elbow grease

Invest in a random orbital polisher if you're lazy/have expendable income

[Graham m5 0]

You need to use a polish called autoglym it is used on aston martins etc and it will bring up all faded paint colours with no effort.You can inport it from Aussie as you cannot get it here.I have some here and if you are close to me you can come a try some it will do the job

[bmw.maniac 1]

You need to use a polish called autoglym it is used on aston martins etc and it will bring up all faded paint colours with no effort.You can inport it from Aussie as you cannot get it here.I have some here and if you are close to me you can come a try some it will do the job

There is a NZ distributor located in Nelson.

He sells Autoglym stuff on TradeMe

[Graham m5 0]

Thats the man you need then, i have been using autoglym for years and it brings up faded paint up really well including reds.

[deane30 30]

You need to use a polish called autoglym it is used on aston martins etc and it will bring up all faded paint colours with no effort.You can inport it from Aussie as you cannot get it here.I have some here and if you are close to me you can come a try some it will do the job

There is a NZ distributor located in Nelson.

He sells Autoglym stuff on TradeMe

Thanks guys i'll look into the autoglym polish. I may be wrong but I have heard that Armstrong Prestige in Wellington sell it? Can anyone confirm this?

[deane30 30]

Im thinking some of this might do the business: http://www.autoglym.com/enGB/product-proddetail.asp?v06VQ=HD

Its $29 on trademe.

Would wash, polish with autoglym, then wax be the way to go?

Cheers

[Graham m5 0]

Hi all you do is wash the car then dry it then polish it one panel at a time, you can polish the whole car at once if you like but i just do one area at a time. you then do not need to polish again for around a couple of months.

[deane30 30]

Hi all you do is wash the car then dry it then polish it one panel at a time, you can polish the whole car at once if you like but i just do one area at a time. you then do not need to polish again for around a couple of months.

No need to wax over the top?

thanks Graham

[Mark 178]

Always wax over the top to protect the finish. If your elbow can stand it, do more than one layer.

Also, to previous comments on the usefulness of clay in such a situation. I probably wasn't quite clear enough... What I meant was that you should always clay before polishing to avoid grinding dirt into the clear coat. Sure, it won't work on really faded paint where the clearcoat is gone, but it will certainly help the other good paint around the faded areas. Clay will still remove dirt from a slightly mottled or grazed clearcoat.

Remember, the dirt stuck in the clearcoat scatters the light hitting the paint surface making it look dull. The other day I clayed the E28, it had spent the best part of 20 years without being cleaned and the result after ONLY claying was amazing. Polishing further brought out the shine and waxing just finished it off.

[deane30 30]

Always wax over the top to protect the finish. If your elbow can stand it, do more than one layer.

Also, to previous comments on the usefulness of clay in such a situation. I probably wasn't quite clear enough... What I meant was that you should always clay before polishing to avoid grinding dirt into the clear coat. Sure, it won't work on really faded paint where the clearcoat is gone, but it will certainly help the other good paint around the faded areas. Clay will still remove dirt from a slightly mottled or grazed clearcoat.

Remember, the dirt stuck in the clearcoat scatters the light hitting the paint surface making it look dull. The other day I clayed the E28, it had spent the best part of 20 years without being cleaned and the result after ONLY claying was amazing. Polishing further brought out the shine and waxing just finished it off.

Thanks for the help Mark. I think i'll give it a clay before the polish.

[bimmer boy 21]

I disagree, if you polish without claying first you're just grinding dirt further into your clearcoat and damaging the finish more. Clay first to remove the stubborn dirt and dust stuck in the clear coat then try a polish or T-Cut...

Good luck!

Mark is right, make sure you always make sure the area is perfectly clean from contaminants before polishing etc, so alwyas best to give the car a once over with clay bar then polish.

In my experience is quite hard to get rid of the cloudiness entirely. I dont know how willing you are to get rid of the clouds in the paint but personally I'd go get the roof resprayed if your a perfectionist but if not then there are some quite good products on the market. Just you dont always have to default to the stuff you buy off the shelve at a supercheap auto or repco. At work we mostly only use pacer products and they are great, better than Meguiars in my opinion.

Heres a link to, you can buy it online www.pacer.co.nz

[deane30 30]

Mark is right, make sure you always make sure the area is perfectly clean from contaminants before polishing etc, so alwyas best to give the car a once over with clay bar then polish.

In my experience is quite hard to get rid of the cloudiness entirely. I dont know how willing you are to get rid of the clouds in the paint but personally I'd go get the roof resprayed if your a perfectionist but if not then there are some quite good products on the market. Just you dont always have to default to the stuff you buy off the shelve at a supercheap auto or repco. At work we mostly only use pacer products and they are great, better than Meguiars in my opinion.

Heres a link to, you can buy it online www.pacer.co.nz

Thanks Ryan. I usually am a bit of a perfectionist and have worked hard to keep this car very tidy. I will also work hard to get rid of the cloudiness especially since it is only a small patch. I don't think a roof respray is on the cards as its only a 320i auto (albeit an otherwise exceptionally tidy one with no dash cracks or rips in the seats) and I don't plan on keeping it forever.

[bimmer boy 21]

Fair enough man, and since it is a small patch it should be quite easy to disguise it, I had my roof resprayed on my old E30 to get rid of the cloudiness. Its hard work to get rid of it. If you were in Auckland I would give it a shot but I guess you just gotta try lots of different products haha.

[martyyn 2]

Clay wont do sh*t, it’s a cleaner.

A clay bar is a 'stripper' rather than a cleaner. Its aim is to remove the layers of polish/wax to get you down to the layer of paint so you can use a paint cleaner to take care of the clouding.

Clay is superb at its job, its just that fixing clouding is not it !

[Apex 693]

Haha, I admire anyone that uses a paint cleaner as opposed or as well as a Clay-Bar.

Best find someone with a few products lying around, I usually start with the least aggressive and move my way up.

Paint Cleaner. Colour Restorer Polish. Scratch/swirl remover. T-Cut. Metal Polish. Sand Paper… Once desired result is achieved I use a cut and polish then wax.

[martyyn 2]

Paint cleaner, colour restorer I dont know what its 'official' title is but Ive used the Meguiars 3 step stuff on several old cars with amazing results. I think step 1 is what they call a 'cleaner' but what it does I dont know.

[Apex 693]

It makes me say the f word and get my clay bar out… Using that paint cleaner is like using a slip and slide without a hose

Edited March 17, 2009 by Apex

[bmw.maniac 1]

Don't get the Super Resin Polish, it's not that good at restoring colour.

Their 'Paint Renovator' would probably be best. It's okay by hand and absolutely amazing with a power buffer. But be careful!