Hi Tyler,
Thank you for taking this to the forum, typing time is so limited that the best leverage of time is to try to keep discussions on the art of detailing on the public forum where myself and everyone else can chime in.
Hi
Ill try to keep this as short and to the point as possible.
Car: 1993 BMW 3 series with a SS Red paint
Im working on it as I type. I stripped it with 3 washes of dawn (all I had available to me) and hoped the rest of the Klasse sealant was taken off while I clayed it.
I am now soaking it in Megs 7 as there are select areas that seem to have failed, and fade within days no matter what.
My questions are as follows:
1) Is this "newer" SS paint benefiting as much as the antique SS paint in your Megs 7 article?
Yes. The reason why is the paint is more porous, thus the reason it dries out and oxidizes and the polishing oils can affect the pigmented resin, that is the polishing oils can be introduced to the pigmented resin. A clear coat could be thought of as of impenetrable layer of plastic covering the pigmented resin so the polishing oils could never reach it.
2) After the megs 7 soak I want to go over it with the lightest abrasive I can find as well as the lightest pad I can find with my flex polisher in order to remove some swirls, while also taking very little paint with it.
After the polish is it a good idea to follow it up with another megs 7 soak topped with megs 26?
Yes.
The initial #7 saturation soak will penetrated and revitalize the dried out paint to whatever level is possible. After you lightly abrade the surface you will expose new and different pores or openings in the paint for the #7 oils to penetrate, so a follow-up application will only further help with no downside.
My thinking is that the 26 will lock in the oils needed to help those failed areas keep their pigment.
Correct. One of the purposes of a wax, paint sealant or coating is to seal over the surface locking any polishing oils into the paint and locking or blocking everything else including water, moisture in the forum of humid air plus anything that would attack the paint. A wax, paint sealant or coating is thus the sacrificial barrier coating, it sacrifices itself when the surface is attached so the paint doesn't have to.
So applying the non-cleaning, finishing wax M26 will seal the surface, not perfectly but to the degree waxes historically always have and this will act to lock in the water soluble polishing oils found in the M26.
My worry is that the megs 26 wont bond properly with the 7 underneath.
Your concern is similar to a lot of peoples concern when it comes to getting wax to stick to paint, I believe this concern originated with the introduction of the Zaino products and the strong following they have on discussion forums plus the manufactures recommendations to chemically strip the paint before applying their paint sealants, which are different than waxes.
I a hardened veteran of the NXT vs Zaino Wax Wars and as such have written on this topic for years now, more years than I wish actually but the benefit to this experience is that I have discussed this with a PhD Chemist, one of the best I have ever known and worked with and also consider a very good friend.
Here's the short answer...
Don't worry about it.
Wipe the #7 off and then apply the M26. Allow the M26 to dry to a haze, in normal temperatures this will be about 20 to 30 minutes depending on how thin or thick the coating is and the humidity. Use the "Swipe Test" to determine if the wax is dry and ready to remove and when ready to remove do so carefully using premium quality microfiber towel.
The long answer is to read my article below but I have included the pertinent portion...
Miscible and Immiscible - Wax and Paint Sealant Bonding
I contacted R&D, communicated with one of the Chemists, and then posted a statement provided to me on this topic.
A wax, (natural or synthetic), is a substance that when applied to a surface will not adhere properly on its own. Thus, it is necessary to add specialized miscible oils to allow the waxy material to spread and adhere evenly to the surface. These oils along with polymers are responsible for improving the functionality of the wax protection, appearance, adherence and the overall application.
This means the addition of any Meguiar's polishes prior to the wax application will not only enhance the paint finish, but also aid in the appearance, adherence and overall lasting ability of the wax which is applied over the top of it.
Plus the timeless comments from my longtime forum buddy Tom aka Mosca
Originally Posted by Mosca
I've never walked out into a garage only to find out that overnight the wax or paint sealant I applied slipped off the car's paint and piled-up on the floor surrounding the car because it didn't bond or stick to the paint.
So do the #7 Saturation Soak and then polish the paint with a Fine Cut Polish or a Ultra Fine Cut Polish and then re-#7 the paint and the seal with the M26.
If all of the above takes, then maintain often, that's the idea behind,
"Find something you like and use it often"
If the above doesn't take then your car's paint has become unstable and is now past the point of no return.
The words Unstable and Past the Point of No Return are categories in my how-to book on Paint Condition Categories and you can read about them here,
Page 37 - Paint Condition Categories
Any clarification would be absolutely amazing. This paint has been a huge problem for me.
Thanks
I hope the above helps and thank you again for bringing this to the public forum. I really hope your car's paint can be saved as its never any fun letting someone know their single stage paint is unstable and past the point of no return because at this point you only have two options,
Learn to live with it
New paint job
If you can bring the paint back to a level that's acceptable, that is you are able to restore the richness of color, then you can keep it this way with regular applications of #7 and M26 and avoid any type of detergent washes and never introduce any oil leaching solvents to the paint. Also avoid leaving the car exposed to major sun shine for extended periods of time.
Also take a look at Optimum Car Wax, it has patented UV inhibitors. Use it over the M26, like a day or two after applying the M26, apply the Optimum Car Wax. Be sure the paint is dust free before applying.
And for anyone reading this into the future that is not sure about or ever read my article on restoring original and antique single stage paints you can find my article here,
The Secret to Removing Oxidation and Restoring a Show Car Finish to Antique Single Stage Paints
Excerpt...
Mike Phillips said:
This is key...
Saturation Application --> The First Application
This is a mostly unknown technique and that is to let the first application penetrate and soak into the paint for up to 24 hours before wiping the product off. The idea being to really apply the product wet and work it in really well and the walk away.
The idea is to allow the heavy concentration of oils to penetrate and seep into the paint for maximum saturation before removing the product and continuing with the process. In this case I finished applying the first application of #7 around 9:00 pm and then left the #7 to soak in until the next day. I started wiping the product off then next morning right about 10:00am.
Some will argue if this works or not but my experience is that with a porous single stage paint it does in fact help. One thing for sure it can't hurt.
Paper Test for Capillary Action
If you place a few drops of #7 onto a piece of paper and then monitor it over a few days you will see the oils in the #7 migrate or seep away from the actual drop of product. It does this through capillary action and the same thing can work to your car's paints' advantage if it's a single stage lacquer or enamel paint.
I placed a few drops about the size of a nickel on a piece of standard printer paper around 3:00pm.
The next day I took these pictures at approximately 10:00am, (19 hours later), note how the oils in the drops of #7 have migrated outward via
capillary action.
Feeder Oils penetrate or feed the paint
This same effect can take place in a single stage paint but not only will the oils travel horizontally, they will also travel vertically, that they will penetrate downward "into" your car's paint and this is where the term
feeder oils comes from as the oils penetrate into or feed the paint. The result is they will condition the paint restoring some level of workability as compared to just working on old dry paint, and they will also bring out the full richness of color, something that will showcase the beauty of your car's paint.
As well as on
AutoTraderClassic.com
Restoring Single Stage Paint
