Serious Oxidation Problem...?

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adudley88

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I have a few questions about polishing out the oxidation on my Bronco. I got this thing about 6 months ago and took care of all the mechanical issues first. I've been wanting to polish out the hood, but it's been very intimidating and slightly frustrating. I posted some pictures of the oxidation and what I've done so far. What would you guys recommend for this type of job? I've been using Megs 105 and Menz SIP. I have a Flex 3401 and I'm using The chemical guys hex logic pads (yellow and orange). You can see the part I've polished so far, but in certain lighting and from certain angles you can still see slight oxidation and it's driving me crazy! Is there any way to remove it all? I'm not totally new to polishing, but far from calling myself 'experienced'. How would you guys tackle this job? I'm not afraid of trying different things (I honestly don't care about this paint that much, since I got this as a trail truck and it has clear coat failure in some other spots. I really just want the practice!)

While I'm at it, how did you guys get better at polishing? And at detailing in general? Just practice? I've been thinking about getting a rotary (Makita), but I've put it off. Would it be that hard to learn, switching from the Flex?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks so much, -Ash

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im no expert but that looks 100% better than before..
How many passes was that?
 
with the exception of the pits on the front of the hood, thats extremely better. i wish i had money to get my car looking better by removing the deoxidation in the paint. my car's black and it looks grey. very ugly.
 
2kredbb6 said:
im no expert but that looks 100% better than before..
How many passes was that?
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A lot! I think I did about 2-3 with the SIP and there was still a lot of oxidation, then I did another 2-3 with the Megs 105. It seriously just won't come off and I'm not sure how to tackle this job.
 
evilwrx said:
It looks like you are doing a great job.

I am going to assume that this is single stage paint, and if so you cannot get a more complete write up than this from Mike Phillips:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...w-car-finish-antique-single-stage-paints.html

Just use the least aggressive method. M105 is very aggressive and you probably don't need that much power. Good luck!!
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I did read that. I'm not sure if the steps/products would be the same though, since the oxidation on my bronco is much worse. I guess it's worth a shot. :-/
 
Those are incredible results. At a glance I would have thought that that kind of result wouldn't have been possible. It is what it is, and it is seriously damaged paint. It's a wonder you got it that good.:dblthumb2:

You have the perfect vehicle to learn the rotary on. A rotary is not that much different in feel but the pad spins the opposite direction and a whole lot faster than the flex 3401. Just start out slow and see what it does before cranking the rotary up in speed and always be aware that sharp edges and rubber trim can be easily burned. You'll do fine. I say get the rotary and you'll be glad you did.
 
Rotary isn't that hard to learn. If you do go for the rotary, start with a wool pad, I find its more forgiving when you start out.
 
Have you considered that the paint has had it and that's as good as anyone could get it? Like tuscadora dave I'm rather amazed that it came out as nice as it did. Methinks you ask to much of a very damaged painted surface to expect it to be "perfect".
 
Which rotary polisher would you guys recommend? I'm mainly trying to decide between the Flex L3403 (mainly because it's lighter) or the Makita 9227C. Does anybody have one of these or would recommend one over the other?
 
adudley88 said:
Which rotary polisher would you guys recommend? I'm mainly trying to decide between the Flex L3403 (mainly because it's lighter) or the Makita 9227C. Does anybody have one of these or would recommend one over the other?
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I painted my first car, then sanded with a product called finishing film 1500 grit. I thought I'd really mess up. This was the first time I used the 9227 buffer and the 3 M super buff pads using an ultra fine cutting creme. It turned our very nice. It was because I ask a bunch of question, some dumb but I got the answers. The Makita BO 60/40 is nice to have, and using a foam pad U not going to burn much paint off. The 60/40 spins counterclock wise. The 9227 is not hard to learn by no means am I a professional but I did do a nice buff job the first time I used it. I have both machines. You just need to read all you can about what to do and what not to do. The 9227 spins clockwise, u always want to spin off the fender not into the work. If you can remember this and think as you go taking your time, you will do fine. As long as you know what running into a fender and running off means you will be fine. Stay low rpm, no problem. I heard one guy out west say, that if he only had one buffer to buy it would be the Makita 60/40.

I'm running into some water spots that my polish want take off. We don't have a big problem here in NC but I've had several detail jobs so far that I didn't get all the oxidation off of, its pretty deep in the paint. These people don't keep them in shelter and don't wash but once a year. That works on paint. I know what u mean about your job with the spots and oxidation, it looks good from here but know U are there and U can see it big time. I wish I knew of a miricle chemical that one could use.
 
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Well I ended up just trying to polish the rest out and this is what I ended up with. Also, There were some yellow spots (paint overspray, I'm assuming) that I couldn't get out. How would you go about removing these?

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I don't see any brown paint on the face of the pad on the polisher in this picture...

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This is an indicator you're working on a clear coated finish. Can you confirm?

If so, you've done an amazing job so far and any cloudy areas that won't polish clear could be signs of clearcoat failure.


:)
 
Just re-read through the thread where you mentioned there is clear coat failure in other areas... if that's the case then it might be impossible to reach perfection. When the clear layer starts to fail it will turn whitish or opaque "throughout" the layer or matrix of clear paint.

More and more buffing won't remove the opaqueness, it will just reveal a fresh layer of it.

With single stage paint, when you abrade it you remove the oxidation which is limited to the upper surface, not so with a clearcoat.


:)
 
When I was polishing there wasn't any paint coming off. Can this much oxidation build up on top of a clear coat? Maybe the hood was repainted with a single stage paint? I honestly just don't know. It's just so weird that the whole entire hood is like this, and not the rest of the car. How can I figure out if it's single stage paint or not? I'm so confused on this car. Maybe I'll take a picture of the parts that have clear coat failure. Would that help you determine?
Thanks, -Ash
 
If it is single stage paint, when you compound, your pad woud turn the color of your paint, in this case brown. If your pad is not turning brown, then it is clear coated. This is how I understand it.
 
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