As Barry mentioned about Charles' Golden ticket, I have heard you guys say that our original paint is fairly forgiving... any advice on specific products? My truck has a fade/oxidation line across the hood where the PO placed a tarp over the truck... over the past year I've used Mother's compound and Mother's wax several times, and it looks great for about a month, but the damage is still evident... I don't want to make the situation worse with some shitty rubbing compound...
Anybody wanna tell me their paint restoration/compound secrets? She used to be Protofino Red, if that matters to the product selection...
Honestly with my 110 the truck sat under a pine tree for more than a year. I went the compund route and it did wonders but the best results I got were taking it to a detailing place. For $200 they went to town on my truck like nothing I have ever seen. I wish I had done it earlier.
Worth letting a place like that do it as they wont destroy the paint
I agree with Barry. A high speed true orbital buffer can take tons of baked in grime away. BUT only in the hands of a true expert. I would much rather pay the $$ then run the chance of ruining my paint or my shoulder.
The only thing that I am cool with attempting is clay baring which takes all the burs off the paint.
Doing your own buffing with a good random orbital sander / buffer is no big deal, you just need to learn the proper technique and the put some time in (you might it find it rewarding or therapeutic. ;-) only Black Defenders came to the states with clear coat every other color is single stage paint. I own the Porter Cable 7424XP and use it with CCS Smart Pads . If you want an easy understanding of the technique and use a DVD like Mike Phillips principals of Machine Polishing . Your "polish" and pad is what is used to cut the paint flat and remove imperfections and swirl marks, (several different grades of cut from mild to wild and several different pads from aggressive to ultra soft ) to bring the paint back to new(or many times better than new) than the wax is what is is used to seal the job and prevent future UV or other damage. Clay bar is used after your basic wash to remove the crap that the washing did not remove / Using a rubbing compound by hand is some serious arm labor, and I would rather pay an expert than do it buy hand.
Mine's porto red. I did the Ron technique of cheap polishing compound followed by a nice wax, and it looks great. Unfortunately doing just the front wing and driver door was a lot of work.
I found a guy on craigslist who, for like $100 is willing to de-oxidize and detail the whole truck. In the time value of money equation, seems worth the investment. Lots of car detailers out of work now, shouldn't be too hard to find someone local who will come to your house.
Looks like he did a great job on the detailing. Going green's always good. May have to find someone here in Cali for mine. :sunny
Nice weather chart on the website btw-it can also go right above the Rover so you can have different cloud formations from heavy storms to sunny. Lightning/rain/hail/sleet/snow a plus.
This is an old thread but I wanted to show the people with faded portofino that it is possible to bring it back. I took my rig to Intrigue Detailing in Englewood, CO after buying a groupon earlier this year. The groupon was $150 for a $300 inside/outside detail. When I showed up, the manager asked if I wanted to use the whole amount on the outside since the inside was fine, and it would take him an entire day to wax, etc. the outside.
I don't have any "before" pics, but trust me when I say that it was pretty faded. I should've brought it to a good detail shop a long time ago!
Highly recommended if you're in Denver. You can also ogle the ferraris and porsches and whatnot they have there.
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