Restoring colour on a Red car!

[DraigFlag87]

Today I bought a 1989 Fiat 126 BIS to keep my Abarth 500 company! However she is 21 years old, rust free, but has been sitting outside since December (garaged prior to that)

The Red paint has begun to fade on the bonnet/roof etc and i was wondering what to use to restore the colour/shine?

In my box of potions i have two possible candidates: T-cut (too harsh?) or AutoGlym's paint restorer (never used it) or anything else you would recommend?

Help appreciated, i was hoping to do her tomorrow, will post pics of the results!

 

[Ninja59]

machine polish it is probably the quickest....AG SRP is a next best thing although it is likely to take alot of effort its probably only suffering from oxidation of the single stage paint if you see paint on pads its fine being single stage...you then need to protect it best bet probably BH auobalm it doesnt bead but this will increase the finish for longer....

 

[Eklipze3k]

My brother bought an E-reg BMW 5 series which was pink, we started with AG paint renovator, then SRP and then some cheap wax he'd got from Halfords, worked a treat. Your 126 looks in much better nick though so SRP (Super Resin Polish) should do the trick on it's own, obviously followed by a wax.

 

[DraigFlag87]

Thanks guys, she's just been washed (took all of 10 minutes!) so i'll try some AG SRP first, if that doesn't work then maybe a little AG paint renovator as that's all i have in stock!

 

[DraigFlag87]

I've been busy with the potions today, tried just AG SRP first, didn't work, so tried AG Paint renovator, that didn't work either. Got the T-cut out and at first i thought it was working. I did the roof twice before applying polish, but after buffing the polish off, the finish is streaky and still faded in places. Bonnet is better but still not as i want it.

So where do i go from here? Does she need professionally machine buffing or is there something else i can do?

The rest of the car is fine, i did a quick cut and wax on the front wing, polished up very deep glossy red!
Thanks guys

 

[Ninja59]

you could try getting your own DA from CYC/i4detailing single stage paint is quite easy plus you get to learn how to machine polish all the pads will go the colour of the car though.....mp'ing it will be the quickest route to taking the oxidation from the car....if you want to look for a pro to do it consider joining DW and using one of the pro's from there i think Ti22 is reasonably in your area...but as for £ im unsure....

 

[VmanC]

Hi, Was it very warm when you did the work? as ideally you need to be doing this on a cool (temperature ) car. The products you've used have normally worked well for me, and I don't have a machine polisher.
Things to watch are.... Panels are not too warm. Consentrate on small areas at a time. Make sure you have a good pad of cloth as your fingers can press through and leave lines. Use the AG paint renovator first until all the oxidation is gone, then go over with the SRP. Good luck .

 

[DraigFlag87]

Thanks guys. Admittedly, it was a warm day, but the car was not in direct sunlight. It's a little cooler/overcast today so maybe i'll have another go, shame i put so much polish on though, going to take it all back off now! :bang:

BTW the polish i used wasn't AG SRP as i have ran out of that, but it was AG ultra deep shine, i'm assuming this is pretty much the same stuff.

 

[karbineftw]

Nope. That isn't a polish, that is almost in the same category as a wax or sealent kinda.

You need a polish as it.... polishes the paintwork.

AG SRP did a great job on my red car, it was pink when i got it and red when i sold it

 

[maddogmorg]

t cut works, but you have to really put a lot of effort into it! take it to a Polish car wash.

 

[DraigFlag87]

Nope. That isn't a polish, that is almost in the same category as a wax or sealent kinda.

You need a polish as it.... polishes the paintwork.

AG SRP did a great job on my red car, it was pink when i got it and red when i sold it

I just assumed it was a marketing ploy by AG! Smells the same and buffs off the same. I'll have to buy to SRP in the week and give it a go then!

Anything else i need to give a go?

 

[karbineftw]

Nope it doesn't contain fillers.

 

[mahol]

i don't use T-cut anymore as it has ammonia in it, i have to admit it does work but at what price to the paintwork

best buying a Kestrel DAS-6 package with Megiuars cutting,polishing and finishing pads. then use Meguiars #83- Dual Action Cleaner Polish on the cutting pad and Megiuars #80 - Speed glaze on the polishing pad and AG SRP on the finishing pad.

then use a sealant if you stock auto glym try Extra gloss protection, then wax with a decent wax like collinite 915.

this might cost more than you wished to spend but the car will look just the way you want it. there loads of videos on the net about dual action polishers and detailing world has loads of guides.

 

[Andy Monty]

no real point in using EGP then Colinite, The solvents in Collinite will remove the EGP


just put on 2 coats 24 hours apart of one or the other


UDS contains mainly fillers although does have a very slight cut ime


Megs 80 doesn't finish down as fine as Menzerna

http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/menzerna-final-finish-polish-p0-85-re-5-250ml.php?manufacturers_id=49

 

[DraigFlag87]

That's all a bit complex for me, but thanks anyway. I'll see how the SRP brings it up, then decide what to do next i think

 

[Andy Monty]

well if your using SRP you might as well get the Extra gloss protection no point in getting a nice finish and leaving it exposed seal it and it will last longer

 

[richard33dees]

loving your wee 126, as Ninja59 suggested it might be worth a looking/joining DW this was posted up yesterday white/pink/red MR2
Personally, having been on there a couple of months now, there are so so many different combinations of things people would suggest, really it comes down to how deep your pockets are and being a newbie what to try next :devil: