I'm not sure if I'll do it, (opinions appreciated) but I'm considering remove the strips on the front bumper and having it sprayed in the tiziano red.

Several issues I'm aware of, 1. Removing the strips 2. Smoothing it off 3. Spraying it with the correct shade due to slight fading of colour...

I'm likely not to do it, but I'd like to know what the rest of you lot think, I certainly know someone who'd be able to do it for me...

I've attached two photos to demonstrate the look and give a feel...crap photo-shopping skills I know

think the strips are just clipped in, removing the bumper would confirm that.

- Rub down
- plastic weld the clip holes/fibreglass behind them
- Fibre filler in the recess
- P38 filler, sand down, repeat.
- spray some primer on the area to show up any imperfections, take action as necessary.

Because the car is faded you'd have to take it to a body shop and see if they'll match the faded colour, that or respray the whole car lol.

Knew you'd be one to answer aha, yeah I dread the thought of having it all resprayed....think I might just have to pop it to my mates and see what he can do...we'll see...

ha, happy to help a fellow red punto owner lol. i'd have smoothed parts on mine by now if it weren't for the colour, couldn't stand it if the bumpers didn't match the rest of the car.

Forgive me if I'm being a little optimistic with this suggestion here but wouldn't a good dollop of T-Cut colour restorer fix the problem of faded paint colour? Never had to use it so I don't know how well it would work.

I'm going to be using a clay/detailer/compound procedure to try and take a tiny bit of surface paint off to hopefully reveal a vibrant red under yes, but I tend to plan using a "worst case scenario"

I'll certainly keep you posted :devil:

t-cut will do absolutely nothing. Problem is the clear-coat, so you'll just be polishing that. Claying made a little difference on mine though.

I have tried t-cut on mine, waste of time to be honest.

Was tempted to give those G3 products a try, but would highly doubt they could restore the colour fade on my car.

How much difference did the clay do on yours TJH?

Clay removes the tatt left from all the elements (weather, pollution etc) , it's pointless to try a compound if the clay bar hasn't been used.

Clay - "Lifts" debris, films, oils etc from the paint
Detailer - Removes slight scratches and smooths paint
Compound - Further removal of scratches, swirls that have been revealed with the use of clay. When used properly will go through clear-coat if done slowly (no need to apply pressure).

Alternate between detailer/compound until results - then seal the now exposed paint.

That is the plan anyways, I've used T-cut before and it has worked to remove blemishes on my cars paint, but as it now looks brand new on that part of the paint, the rest looks out of place now...

that's weird if t-cut works on yours, i tried it along with loads of other things and they all did nothing. Bonded contaminants can make the paint look dull, so claying can restore some of the colour. It's definitely worth claying, i noticed a difference. And it makes the car feel so smooth lol

Yeah it does, and agreed with the clay.

A simple test to know if your car would benefit from clay - Rub your finger along a panel, if it does the juddering noise then it'll benefit from clay...once it's been done, your finger should "glide over" the car without any friction.