my buddy is getting his 3000gt back today after getting a new engine and i want to help him detail it. the problem is that his nice red paint turns sort of hazy in certain areas of the car. looks like the previous owner did a wax job under the sun or somethiing. how can we restore the paint and take that ugly white haze off the paint ?

 

Like myshelf and alot of people in the forums are using Maguires NXT wax. The **** is amazing($15.00) You could just use that by it shelf. Try it cause id like to know if it could. I just used it to day and im amazed.

 

ya i have that next generation wax also but i was wondering if there is something stronger then wax to renew his paint.

 

Theres gotta be something to use before the wax

 

try some haze remover or some fine gritt buffing compound for a rotary buffer. Some companies offer pre wax. such as Zymol's cleaner wax! I know most of this stuff you can pick up at your local auto parts store. I have seen the results of a buffing job done with compound, but I have never tried it, it takes off small scratches, haze, water spots, and leave a briliant shine. Hope it comes clean!

 

As stated a paint cleaner would do the trick. Also, trying this by hand would be futile really. A good dual action polisher such as the Porter Cable 7336 is a great investment. You can pick one up at Lowes for about $100.00. Using a rotary, assuming your thinking of something under $50.00 or so, will only cause some added stress. Most of them do not have the speed or torque to really work the polishes into the paint and get those trouble areas leveled out and feathered. Using a true rotary polisher, something that usually runs $200.00 ro more , can be dangerous to the paint without the proper experience. Many have tried and ended up burning the paint or removing it all together. The dual action is much more forgiving and therfore a great place to start. It will give you the same results as a good rotary but is a lot more forgiving and a little slower than a rotary would be.

Some good site to look at would be Autopia.org ot Autogeeks.net for more info on products, techniques and a good read form many people that have some experience under varied conditions.

 

Clay bar, should get rid of most of the haze. Unfortunately, this is one of the problems with red paint and why I will never have a red car again.

 

Bring it to detail shop and have it Buffed, Polished, and waxed. Should shine up like new. I used to detail Cars and used Mequires Diamond cut 2.0 to buff out faded looking paint. The stuff does an amazing Job bringing back Oxidized paint!

 

The detail shop recommendation isn't a bad one -- sometimes it's really worth having someone who knows what they're doing to clean it up, then making it easier for you to maintain. Get some trusted recommendations from friends.

If you decide to attack it yourself, you want to find out what the haze is... just using a cleaner wax (your NXT or a pre-wax cleaner or a polish), rub lightly in the hazed area and see if you get a lot of red on the pad. If you get red, then it's not something on the paint and it's not clearcoated -- the paint is starting to oxidize.

Always clay first (after a thorough washing). Clay bar won't remove much haze, but it will remove some... its purpose is to clean surface contaminants -- not oxidation. But it's certainly a good idea to do the clay, regardless.

You can do a lot with a good random-orbital (such as a Porter-Cable) and a cutting pad (like a Lake Country Yellow) with something like Mothers Power Polish to clean that off. Unlike a rotary, it's pretty much a no-brainer and you have little risk in causing damage.

Another good place for help is www.waxforum.com