What type of compound would you recommend in this situation.

The paint on my truck is 16 years old. Almost overnight,for some strange reason, the paint on my hood seemed to fade completely. The truck has never gone more than a month or two without a polish job,and it has been under a carport 99% of the time. This began to happen last summer. The truck had sat for a while due to electrical problems that I didn't have time to fix. It had gotten a pretty good coat of dust on it,but I had waxed with Gold Class right before I parked it. Like I said, one day I just noticed the paint had faded real bad.

The paint is acryllic enamel with clearcoat. It does not "pull color." I do not have a buffer. I had some 3m rubbing compund that I bought at Wal-Mart. I gave it a try, but the results were marginal. Some color came back, but not enough.

What should I try? I've heard 3m has the best products, but I don't know what would be best. This was my first truck and it still looked great up until last year. People could not believe it had been painted for 16 years!
I really can't justify getting it repainted either. The paint still looks pretty good except for the hood and the top of the cab.

I use Zaino on my Formula, but it's not much for removing oxidiation is it?

Thanks for the help! I hope I haven't let this go too long!

 

3M has many products, if you have a lot of oxidation I would look into a buffer. You may need a product like 3M liquid polishing compound followed by Scratch and Swirl Remover. Here is a link so you can see what 3M products are right for you.

http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/e...er/output_html

 

Yeah, you'll probably need a compound to restore and remove the dead paint. A buffer really would help this process along though. I'd recommend you look into any of the following products: 3M Fine Cut Compound, Meguiar's Fine Cut or Medium Cut Cleaners, Meguiar's Dual Action Cleaner Polish, etc... These products have quite a bit of "cut" to them, some much more than others. And, when you use a compound it is a must to follow with a swirl remover, like 3M SMR or Meguiar's #9, to remove the marring. If the fine cut isn't working, I guarantee a medium cut or heavy cut will take off the dead paint. Heavy cut is about the strongest abrasive you can buy, and is like sandpaper in a bottle really. Medium and Fine are basically steps down, so I'd read up on these products and decide which sounds like it will work best on your situation.

Here's a link to nearly all of these products and their descriptions: http://www.goodspeedmotoring.com/sub...gory=Compounds

 

I forgot to ad that you might want to ditch the Gold Class wax for something with more protection and durability. While the GC shines nice, it just doesn't last and has very poor durability/protection. I used quite a bit of GC in the past and it never lasted longer than about a month, but it did look good. On a vehicle that sits outside, I'd certainly recommend something with more proetction. The GC probably wore off in no time leaving your paint exposed to the elements, which likely caused the fading and oxidation.

You might want to check out some of the better local polymer or wax products that have better protection. Something like DuraGloss CCP, Liquid Glass, Meguiar's #20 Polymer, or even a carnauba cleaner wax like Mother's or Meguiar's will last longer than GC at about 2 months. I wouldn't trust using GC to a car or truck that needs more durability and protection than average. I used it on a garaged car back in teh day and still didn't get a month out of it. It's good for shine, but not much else.

 

Trust me, I have never been a fan of the durability of Gold Class.

Anyway, I'm probably going to buy a buffer. I looked on the 3m website, but I had no idea which product would be the best. I've visited meguiars.com, and I used to get their catalogs. I'm guessing the product is going to have to be pretty abrasive.

The paint is red, but it has faded to a more pinkish color. It has shine, but the color has faded. I just hope I haven't let it go too long. I feel ashamed because I've always kept my vehicles looking nice.

Once I get the finish restored, I'm going to Zaino.

Thanks guys.

 

Ok, the product I used before was 3m Body Repair Finish Restorer. It says it is for swirl marks and light oxidation. Like I said before,I rubbed until my arms about fell off with moderate results. I guess I need to step up to something more aggressive like the products ya'll mentioned.

 

You must first find out if your clearcoat is just oxidized or has failed or because of UV degradation of the base colorcoat its color is "bleached". No SMR or buffing compound will rejuveniate a "bleached" base color coat or rectify a failed clearcoat. Since you have some 3M paint restorer already, choose a spot and really work it ( via pressure and straight-line rubbing). If the base color coat is still vibrant it will slowly show improvement. If the base color coat is faded ( bleached) no deepening and/or richness of color will result.

 

Ok, thanks for the tip. I really am worried that my clearcoat is gone. I guess I'll break out the 3m and give it another shot. My arms hurt already!

I'll be looking into buying a buffer this weekend too.

 

How about 3m #39066? O'reilly's carries this product, and I wondered what everyone thougt about it.