Adding bling to old paint

[Pocket_Rocket]

Hey guys, just thought I'd share a neat little trick I discovered. Lately, I've been working on fixing the exterior of my car, like doing rust repair, touch-ups, and ultimately, bringing my flat white paint to its former glory. Like some of you guys, my paint was scratched and faded pretty bad. Now, most of you know that in those cases you buff it out with some compound and wax it afterwards. But since my paint was pretty rough, I needed to smooth it out before buffing it. At the store, I saw a rectangular sanding block, with the consistency of a stiff sponge, and each of its faces are covered in abrasive material. It's to be used to finish wooden door frames and such, but does a great job for automotive use. It doesn't wear out as fast as regular abrasive paper, it can be used wet or dry, conforms pretty well to different shapes, and seems less aggressive than regular abrasives. I tried it on a front fender, regularly spraying it (the fender) with water. Then, I used some Turtle Wax heavy duty rubbing compound, and finished with a coat of Mothers wax. The results are stunning!!! I got rid of all but the biggest scratches, and the ones that remain can hardly been seen exept if you put your face five inches from the fender. The paint is now really soft and glossy, maybe not showcar quality, but more than I expected for 16 year-old factory paint. If the weather's good tomorrow, I'll do it with the driver's front fender, and will be sure to take some before and after pictures.

[jr.fester]

I've only got into doing half my roof. but I just hit it with some meguires swirl remover and a wool pad on my makita polisher and was able to start taking out most of my scratches. was pretty impressed with it. once she's on the road again I'll worry about looks again. also worked really good on the faded a-pillar

[shawnw]

Good tip, be sure to take some pictures. Sounds like a nice simplified version of wetsanding. I don't know if your car is the same but the paint on mine seems to be alot thicker than what is on newer cars which gives you much more breathing room to work away old wear and tear.