OT: Car paint restoration

[LegendRider]

A family member gave my 16 year old son a mid-2000s Toyota Camry. The car is in fine shape EXCEPT for the paint. There is no rust and only a small number of scratches, but the paint is exceptionally dull and it has the texture of an orange peel. There is absolutely no clear coat either. I've never seem anything like it - this isn't just normal wear and tear. Also, the paint over metal doesn't match the paint over plastic.

Any ideas on how to restore it as best as possible by hand (that is, I don't have an orbital buffer, etc.) Also, what products would you recommend?

Thanks in advance!

[Ken Robb]

You may ffind useful info and products at Griot's Garage.

[C40_guy]

Hmmm...orange peel makes me think that the car may have been repainted...

For restoring older paint, I'd normally suggest the following:

claybar
cleaner
polishing compound (or if the paint is really dull, rubbing compound)
swirl remover
glaze

Meguiars products are all pretty good and reasonably priced.

That having been said, you will spend $75 and a full day doing this by hand...and the polishing compound really should be done with a random orbital polisher. You could buy a good one for a couple of hundred dollars...I use mine once a year on each of the four cars in the family, using it with everything but the claybar. I don't normally do the polishing compound...you only need it for neglected paint.

The paint on bumpers and other plastic bits will not match paint on metal...it's different paint, designed to move as the underlying plastic deforms...

Or...you can have the car detailed by a good local shop. It will probably cost $200 and save you a lot of work.

Or let your son just play...and see how well he does.

One caveat...if the car is black, all bets are off. Black shows every booboo, every swirl...

Lots of good reading on the Internet on how to detail a car, with lots of input on the "best" products. :)

[pjm]

Learn to appreciate the patina.

[Mikej]

Dude, wormhole approaching- just step back and savor your son being out of the house....

[Gsinill]

Learn to appreciate the patina.

Agreed, whatever you do won't last long anyway.
When I bought my old MB Diesel, the clear coat was pretty much gone and the car looked dull.
I used clay, an orbital buffer and lots of buffing compound to make it look decent/good after at least 5h of work.
Lasted a few weeks before the car looked pretty much like before.
Gave up and still drive it as ugly as it is.

[ultraman6970]

If the clear coat is gone no magic dust will get that paint back from the dead. It will help to use some of the products some people said but that clear is just gone and sure the paint is just blistering from the inside that is a bad sign because humidity got inside already.

Grandpa thought cleaning the car in the car wash was the right thing to do every weekend, that's that happens when the car doesnt have extra 4 or 5 clear coats that cost like 2000 bucks more at the time to order the car. After 10 years I would not take a car to get cleaned in a carwash again.

My advice since you got the car for free, and hope you can do the job yourself or probably if you have a friend with a barn or something. Just sand that and repaint it. Or take it to maaco, they have like 500 bucks specials, if the car is in good shape and you paid nothing 500 bucks is what the car worth. You lose nothing.

Another option? leave it as it is and dont even bother cleaning it, the dust will protect the car, the less you touch the surface the less damage will get, the more you try to clean it the worst will do to that paint. And have your kid to just kill it.

Sucks to see stuff like that to happens to cars but thats hwo it is, too much cleaning, bad quality factory paint jobs, it is cool to drive a descent car but for a car that was given free I would not worry about fixing it, like finding that EM that is perfect but with a bad paint job, you wont see the money back ever if you get into a paint job, exactly the same problem here.

The advantage to people (girls in specific) seeing your kid in a hoopty is that if the chick doesnt want to ride with him in that car it says a lot about the girl... i think you got the idea.

Good luck with this one :)

[carpediemracing]

Sounds like it was painted, as said before.

Regardless, if the paint isn't good then you can't make it a better paint. Enamel (one shot Maaco) makes for such a finish and if that's the material you have then it will never look like a $15,000 paint job.

You need to either accept the paint as it is (accept present material), repaint it (new material), or change it (hide material?).

My brother asked me a similar question recently, about his almost-200k Civic Si. He wants it to last another couple years so his oldest can drive it, but it's pretty battle worn. I mentioned two things: wrap and plastidip. The latter is a bit more interesting as it's a vinyl-like paint that you can peel off. It's a matte sheen but that's part of the appeal I guess, and you can go crazy with the colors.

The wrap is another option but trickier to apply.

I vote a plastidip (that's a brand name, there are other things out there). Make it a matte gray or something.

[msl819]

Even if your 16 y/o is super cautious this car will be parked in a lot with a bunch of other 16 y/o who are not. I wouldn’t spend too much time or money on a car that will likely get knocked around a fair amount. I’d be much more concerned with reliability and safety features, which I am sure you are. I think it is a right of passage for every teenager to have a car that is less than desirable on the outside.

[John H.]

Get it wrapped in camo.

Wrap will look way better than a cheap paint job.

[likebikes]

don't bother imo.

[alancw3]

Earl Scheib paint job. $399.99 special:

http://www.earlscheibautopainting.com/about.html

or go their deluxe $599.99 job.

[weisan]

Got this for my 17-yr-old.

1991

84k miles.

Paint - immaculate!

The roof liner not so much. But told my kiddo, "that's up to you if you want to drive around with that thing flappin' around. It's your car now. You are responsible for it."

http://alicehui.com/family/buick/buick3.jpg

[54ny77]

Take it to a detailer, spend a few hundred bucks, and go ride for the 4-5 hours they'll be working on it!

Or, let your kid figure it out. I'd imagine he knows how to use YouTube and search for car detailing videos. Give him a bunch of rags and a bottle of Meguiars Cleaner Wax and say wax on wax off!

[ultraman6970]

Oh the liner in those cars, is not hard to fix the problem is that probably you need to remove the front and rear windshield to get the panel out and back in, you can find liner at micheals and is not expensive either, IN a minivan ins piece of cake because you use the rear door in a sedan you are kind'a screwed.

Since i never did a sedan liner wonder if the top panel is split in two or something, in that case well you can use the rear seat to get the panel out... but the job itself after the panel is out is piece of cake, just get an old broom to sweep and clean the surface and glue the thing on top, hard to screw the job honestly.

Yeah, those cars paint job was fantastic, last centuries, they put really quality paint on them, the car can be falling appart but the paint job never fails, dont remember seen a single one with a busted paint job ever here in the area.


Got this for my 17-yr-old.

1991

84k miles.

Paint - immaculate!

The roof liner not so much. But told my kiddo, "that's up to you if you want to drive around with that thing flappin' around. It's your car now. You are responsible for it."

http://alicehui.com/family/buick/buick3.jpg

[Ken Robb]

Earl Scheib paint job. $399.99 special:

http://www.earlscheibautopainting.com/about.html

or go their deluxe $599.99 job.

And about 1969 Earl was all over TV yelling that he would paint any cay for $39.95. It was a good idea to wash you car first though because one of my pals didn't and Earl painted over a couple of dead bugs on the hood.

[oliver1850]

Anyone know what will remove poop stains from birds that have been eating mulberries? I have little maroon blemishes all over the hood and roof of my Olds wagon, painted red acrylic enamel in 1990. I've thought about mashing up a mulberry slurry and applying it to the whole car.....

[ultraman6970]

Probably the only solution is to sand then clear on top with at least 4 coats if posible.

[alancw3]

And about 1969 Earl was all over TV yelling that he would paint any cay for $39.95. It was a good idea to wash you car first though because one of my pals didn't and Earl painted over a couple of dead bugs on the hood.

i remember those commercials well! i think they actually started out at $29.95. one of my friends went to get his car painted and there was an extra charge to prep the car for painting i.e. sanding etc. basically if you brought a car there they just painted it as presented with not a whole lot of masking either. i do believe that they have greatly improved the quality of their paint jobs over the years.