Car paint oxidation. Does colored polish work?

[JeffersLos]

We recently had an older car washed and cleaned, and the exterior is really showing signs of oxidation. Paint fade.

 

Similar to these.

 

 

 

It isn't serious yet, but we should do something about it.

 

Is there a recommend product in Thailand, paint polish? Brand? etc. For us to do it ourselves?

 

If that fails, do car wash places offer it as a service? How much does it usually cost for a Hona Jazz?

 

First we would like to do it ourselves. Is there a good polish or product we should buy? Apply with a cloth, leave it for an hour and then rub off with a cloth, then wash the car?

 

TIA. 

 

[PR3]

I never heard of a product that does that (leave on for a  hour and its good again) but maybe there is one I've been out of that game for 20 years or more.

I expect you'll likely have to use a rubbing compound to break through the oxidisation.

It's hard work but worth the effort.

If your car is red, be aware that many older Honda reds had paint fade and it doesn't always improve, my forza has the same problem just replaced the affected panels after i couldn't buff the pink tinge out.

There are quite a few rubbing compounds available and they all pretty much do the same thing, I use a product called Solar and that's quite good IMO.

Just be careful on any corners as it can rub through quite easily if you go too hard.

After that a good coat of a decent wax will help keep the shine.

I think some car wash outfits will likley offer it as a service, alternatively body paint shops have the kit to do that sort of thing.

No idea of the cost though sorry.

You can do yourself but without a polishing machine it can be tough going (depending on how bad it is), good luck in any case.

 

PR3

[JeffersLos]

1 hour ago, PR3 said:

I expect you'll likely have to use a rubbing compound to break through the oxidisation.

 

1 hour ago, PR3 said:

There are quite a few rubbing compounds available and they all pretty much do the same thing, I use a product called Solar and that's quite good IMO.

Okay, thanks. I'll look for Solar rubbing compound.

 

1 hour ago, PR3 said:

After that a good coat of a decent wax will help keep the shine.

And a wax to finish it. 

[JeffersLos]

1 hour ago, PR3 said:

There are quite a few rubbing compounds available and they all pretty much do the same thing, I use a product called Solar and that's quite good IMO.

There are 500 gram tubs available for 199THB, and 3.3KG tubs for 1000THB.

 

I have no idea how many grams it takes to do a hatchback car.

 

500 grams or 3.3 Kilograms? ????

Edited June 27, 2023 by JeffersLos

[problemfarang]

no product can do that. 

there are some ways or products will show better but they wont do the magic. 

my old car was in the same situation (ford focus 12 yrs old). so i really know what you are talking about and what you need or want to do. 

 

you need a new repaint. and to be honest you need to find a good garage to do that. if you live in bangkok and if you want to do that contact me i will give you the info where i did my car. they did it really good and really reasonable price (im so surprised). they made the color really the best close to the original (most garage cannot do) even the electronic color change reader gave very close numbers which means almost original. 

[PR3]

@JeffersLos 500gramme tin will be enough.

Before you start buying things have a simple check with some Jif bathroom cleaning cream or similar and give it a good rub to make sure its actually going to lift the oxidisation. 

 

What colour is the car BTW?

 

Unfortunately if it doesn't have any effect you may as the person above says be in repaint territory.

 

 

[Skipalongcassidy]

Repaint is the last resort... an experienced professional car restorer can bring the car back to showroom condition... not easy, but doable.  If you will be satisfied with less than showroom... do it yourself... just do not over heat your buffer pad... doing it by hand rather than using an electric buffer will cause agony.

[Tropposurfer]

I've been detailing my cars for many years so I have some knowledge about this.

There are 'cutting compounds' in the car polish sections of some stores in LOS.

BUT these are often very harsh cutting mediums. 

 

Here's a link to an expert detailing product mob I import all my stuff through in Oz.

https://www.detailstore.com.au/

These folks are experts and sell a great range of super products and will advise you very well.

 

Such work depends on what level you want to go to in the paint restoration.

 

Here's a comprehensive step by step: You can avoid the clay-bar steps if you wish and you'll still get an amazing result.

Using a DA polisher and decent foam pads makes this job so easy, with no rubber arms form rubbing like a maniac for hours and hours, AND the DA polisher will produce a far better result.

1. Pressure (a hose nozzle will do - thoroughly to blast the dust and dirt off the car.
2. Wash the car thoroughly with a good quality foamy car wash - don't spare the suds (I spread and squeeze out the soapy foam across the panels before I rub across them) and continuously soak the wash mit or sponge with the solution and spread it across the panels prior to lateral movements to lift the stubborn dirt off.  Use a little pressure to wash the panels not just simply passing the sponge over the panel.
3. Wash the undersides, skirts after the topsides are finished with a separate wash sponge to the topside panels.
4. Some use a separate 'rinse bucket' to separate out as much grit that comes off on the mit/sponge before dipping back in the soapy bucket.
5. Wash the rims separately with a brushes and a separate mit or sponge to keep the brake dust and stuff off the paint work - lots of soap. There are products on this site for cleaning the brake dust out of the rims paint too which work well.
6. Dry the car - don't do any of this work in a dusty area or on a windy day - wash down the entire area prior to washing the car if need be to get rid of the dust.
7. Clay-bar the car with a soapy solution in a spray bottle - use lateral movements only, spraying your soapy solution on each section as you go to keep bar well lubricated. Fold the clay-bar over itself as you go and replace with a new bar as it becomes contaminated with the grit it pulls out of the paint. Rinse well as you go. You can get non-clay grit removing pads that are, in my opinion, better than clay-bars - better because they are reusable many times and if you do drop them you wash them in a soapy bucket and go again. 
8. Rinse and chamois car.
9. Take your DA polisher and apply solution to 'medium cut buffing pad' as instructed.
10. Polish at a slow speed (1 or 2) in a cross-hatch pattern sections of the panel until whole panel has been polished.
11. 3 passes i.e. 1 way, then another, then finish section with the 3rd pass - there are plenty of UTube tutorials - Meguiars has some simple and good videos on how to do this i.e. the speed of moving the DA polisher etc.
12. Leave applied compound to dry to a powder like you do regular polishes (swipe test with finger tip will show if dry).
13. you can buff this powder off with another foam polishing pad or simply buff with good quality microfibre cloth.
14. If you use a product similar to the pic attached you'll get all the micro-scratches out of the paintwork as well as polishing the oxidised clear-coat. Deeper scratches no.
15. This product shown along with a decent DA polisher (you can buy them for as little as 2500 baht) makes it completely safe with this product. You can't cut through the clear-coat into the base coat with these products (those cut n polish and cutting compounds found commonly will cut right through all the paints into the base coat if you are not super careful) - don't use them.
16. I always when doing this buffing add another step and use a super-high-gloss polish afterwards to really deepen the shine and further coat the paint.
17. I do this micro-scratch and deoxidise once a year with my cars, and the high gloss polishing every 2 months after a good wash).

 

[actonion]

Good old fashioned ....."T CUT"  and lots of elbow grease

[Ralf001]

14 minutes ago, actonion said:

Good old fashioned ....."T CUT"  and lots of elbow grease

Tried to buy some last year to no avail.

Do you know where in Thailand I can get some ?

[Lacessit]

11 hours ago, PR3 said:

I never heard of a product that does that (leave on for a  hour and its good again) but maybe there is one I've been out of that game for 20 years or more.

I expect you'll likely have to use a rubbing compound to break through the oxidisation.

It's hard work but worth the effort.

If your car is red, be aware that many older Honda reds had paint fade and it doesn't always improve, my forza has the same problem just replaced the affected panels after i couldn't buff the pink tinge out.

There are quite a few rubbing compounds available and they all pretty much do the same thing, I use a product called Solar and that's quite good IMO.

Just be careful on any corners as it can rub through quite easily if you go too hard.

After that a good coat of a decent wax will help keep the shine.

I think some car wash outfits will likley offer it as a service, alternatively body paint shops have the kit to do that sort of thing.

No idea of the cost though sorry.

You can do yourself but without a polishing machine it can be tough going (depending on how bad it is), good luck in any case.

 

PR3

There are cut and polish compounds around, I seem to remember the Turtle brand. No doubt plenty on Lazada.

Agree the only way to deal with oxidation is to remove it with cutting compound. If the oxidation is so bad the compound gets through to the undercoat, it's time for a respray.

I was once told by a paint chemist red is the absolute worst color for oxidation, due to its higher sensitivity to certain wavelengths of solar radiation.

[JeffersLos]

9 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Agree the only way to deal with oxidation is to remove it with cutting compound.

 

Is the solar rubbing compound a cutting compound?

[Lacessit]

Just now, JeffersLos said:

 

Is the solar rubbing compound a cutting compound?

Yes. IMO they are synonyms, like beer and ale.

[JeffersLos]

1 minute ago, Lacessit said:

Yes. IMO they are synonyms, like beer and ale.

Thanks. I'm also looking at this, which states it is a cutting compound.

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/roar-310-speed-cut-compound-500-g-i2773457920-s10085901696.html

 

At the moment I'm considering a polishing machine for around 1200THB, and a compound such as this. Then finish it with a colored polish. Total cost around 2000-2500THB. 

[Lacessit]

26 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

Tried to buy some last year to no avail.

Do you know where in Thailand I can get some ?

Not in Lazada's catalog, but there are 17,000 others.

[seajae]

oxidation effects the surface  paint and as cars should have several layers of paint usually a good cut and polish will remove it. I had to do this on a couple of my cars in Australia, a good cutting compound follower by a good quality polish always brought them back 

[Henricus]

12 hours ago, JeffersLos said:

then wash the car?

before you start wash the car

[JeffersLos]

8 minutes ago, Henricus said:

before you start wash the car

1. wash the car.

2. Apply cutting compound with polishing machine

3. Wipe with cloth.

4. Apply colored polish with polishing machine.

5. Apply car wax with polishing machine.

 

Does this sound about right?

 

How long should one spend on a hatchback car with the compound on the polishing machine, 10 minutes? 30 minutes? Until the white oxidation is visibly gone?

[VocalNeal]

Take it to the largest/poshest car wash near you ( have tables and chairs and serve coffee) and ask them to polish it because you want to sell it. 

[brianthainess]

 glass/ceramic spray on finishes, work well for me, available on Lazada, this one I found in Big-C enough to do the car 4 times at least. this car is 2014

Edited June 28, 2023 by brianthainess

[JeffersLos]

A Western managed shop near here offers the service for 1,500thb. Paint Buff + Wax, which they say includes a compound polish and they have seen the photos.

 

I will go for that option first, then consider all the DIY options for keeping it fresh after that.

 

Thanks for the information. 

[PR3]

That's a good price.

After it's done and if succesful you should only need to give a fresh coat of wax occasionally.

Try not to wash the car with anything that'll strip the wax or it will start to fade again.

I did all the detailing for a local car sales company in the UK for many years, you don't have to spend a fortune on fancy stuff to keep your car looking good, there's a lot of poor products out there just a matter of trying them out, trying to find a decent wax that comes off on warm days was the hardest.

To be fair I'm in KK I'm sure there are better choices in BKK etc.

[PR3]

@brianthainess thanks for the tip about diff glass coating, I'm off to big C I fancy trying that out.

[brianthainess]

4 minutes ago, PR3 said:

@brianthainess thanks for the tip about diff glass coating, I'm off to big C I fancy trying that out.

I hope you find it, not available at mine anymore  but my Big C is crap anyway too miserly to even have A/C turned on. 

Edited June 28, 2023 by brianthainess

[PR3]

I shall let you know

[Ralf001]

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Not in Lazada's catalog, but there are 17,000 others.

Thats confusing.

it is or isnt available ?

[Lacessit]

1 minute ago, Ralf001 said:

Thats confusing.

it is or isnt available ?

Not available on Lazada.

[Almer]

4 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

Tried to buy some last year to no avail.

Do you know where in Thailand I can get some ?

Lazada

[PR3]

@brianthainess got the last 2 bottles.

Since you have experience with this product please clarify something if you dont mind.

Am I correct in understand you don't polish it off after application; or is there a line of text missing from the instructions on the bottle?

Thanks

PR3

[brianthainess]

1 minute ago, PR3 said:

@brianthainess got the last 2 bottles.

Since you have experience with this product please clarify something if you dont mind.

Am I correct in understand you don't polish it off after application; or is there a line of text missing from the instructions on the bottle?

Thanks

PR3

You lucky sod, Several ways of applying it, it can be used as a polish, now I just give mine a light spray on to the car, (after a shampoo), wipe off when wet, let it dry wipe again, no hard rubbing needed, don't worry no damage, good on windscreen too.