thepottleflump said:

That is a good example of an extreme restoration. You'd be surprised what can be achieved with a simple cheap rotary polisher. That example took many hours of machine polishing - it wasn't a respray. Paint has a thickness and is normally laid down in layers which fade outside in, remove the top layers and reveal good paint, simple really. Clearcoat cars don't tend to fade but can dull if neglected, red single stage is well known for fading but you can prevent by regularly cleaning and waxing with the occassional polish to bring back the shine.

Detailing World is a good site for advice some advice on car care techniques, a bit too heavy on the sales front with all the links to recommended traders though and you really need to be pretty committed.

Click to expand...

How about white primered paints? :idea: am i right in thinking when that fades its the white coming through or can it still work the same way as the above? :chin:

i've tried cutting compound and t-cut to no luck, but wondering if theres a way i can bring it back ship shape
p.s. orrr how about paint on plastics too? :chin:

p.p.s. sorry was going to save this and post on detailing world but not had a chance yet

In my experience...

- Original FIAT red paint on the Uno (and probably the Cinquecento) fades to matt orange/brown, but polishes up well. Needs a cutting compound (like the Farecla that Luke mentioned) to really strip off the oxidation. The original paint is much harder than the oxidation and should survive polishing several times.

- Later FIAT red paint on the Punto, Brava/o etc. fades to shiny pink. It does not polish up well. It seems that the colour change is permanent through the paint, rather than just oxidation on the surface. Sometimes a similar permanent change occurs on painted plastic items, due to the plasticisers (flexibility additives).

- Resprayed red paint - anything can happen. If matt, it may polish up well as for original old FIAT paint. If glossy, suspect the worst - that someone has matched the paint to the faded colour of the original paint... this happened on a red Uno that I owned, and I ended up repainting quite a bit of the car (and sanding the resprayed paint off other parts to expose the original red beneath).

When red paint fades, it is not usually exposing the primer underneath... if in doubt, try some cutting compound on a small area to see if it 'grows' (even household cleaner like Jif or toothpaste will do in a pinch to work out what is going on).

I reckon the main decider is whether the finish is matt - and I mean totally-matt, without a trace of gloss - if this is the case, then I reckon the colour will come back when it's polished (like it did for that Porsche!) This kind of degradation usually results from severe neglect; parked outside for months on end without washing.

If you have tried cutting compounds without success, be aware that there is a huge range of products out there Try a local paint shop for advice.

Thanks,
-Alex