My elderly mother has a low mileage 92 LE sedan that has lived in Florida and Alabama without a garage. The paint has oxidized from above the windshield to about a foot back onto the roof. I suggested that she take it to a dealer's auto body shop and all they could should suggest is a total repaint. She told them that she was not that elderly and left.
She went by an AutoZone and they said that there is a Maguires product made for this and they were getting some in. Can anyone offer some suggestions? The rest of the car is in excellent shape.
You need to offer a fuller description. The paint has a color coat (over a base coat) and clear coat (finish). Usually oxidation is a process associated with chalking that occurs on solid color (non clear coat) finishes, where the surface deteriorates but something like the Meguiar's product can abrade (polish) away the surface slightly revealing unblemished paint beneath. We're talking removing as little as possible - thousandths of an inch or less. The clear coat is designed to prevent oxidation. If the clear coat is gone, and the color coat, exposing the base, that Meguiar's product is not going to help. Perhaps you could explain a bit further to facilitate suggestions. Also, need to know if you (she) has solid color like white or black, or a metallic paint.
My mother said that the touch-up paint color is called Frosted Sapphire. The number on the bottle is 8J4. The car is a solid dark navy and if memory serves it is metallic although I'm not positive. I would indeed think of this as chalking now that you mention it.
Unfortunately I don't know any more about car finishes to offer any additional information.
Look for the Meguire's product. There is a whole line available; the lower the number the more agressive the compund (well, sort of)
You want to look for an agressive compound to start. I use 3M Fill n' Glaze as a starter. Most times it will do what you want, but you may have to get more agressive than that. Unfortunately, Fill n Glaze has been replaced; the replacement is almost as good.
You'll also need a 7" or so buffer, you can buy or rent.
Put the compound on the surface, cool and out of the sun. Start with a lower buffing speed and buff the damaged area. If this dies not work, add more compund and increase the speed of the wheel slightly. You want to be at 2,500 RPM. This should work. Then cover with a good (Meguire's) Paste wax and it should look OK. Since weathering has probably chewed off the clear coat, you can either re-clear coat or keep the area well waxed.
if you need to go more agressive than Fill n Glaze, use a liquid rubbing compound or a paste one. BE CAREFUL!!! You could totally ruin the paint or burn right through it!
Good Luck! (BTW, I am a Pro Detailer at a Toy dealer...)
I could be wrong, having never done this, but I'd be reluctant to use a power buffer on the first attempt. Try application by hand first. You can get some pretty good buffing action going with a simple cotton pad, and that way you can gauge how much color is coming off on the cloth before inadvertently "burning" right through the finish. As a pro, working daily, you want the power tool, for for the first timer, slower could be better.
Good point, although the poor 80 year old woman was all excited that she would be able to use a power buffer. I will tell her that whatever product she uses to keep looking at the cloth to see if it starts to get blue and then leave it alone for a while to see if the area looks like it's improved before continuing.
Gotta learn sometime! Start slow and work up; as I always say, start with the LEAST agressive method and get more aggressive as required!
From his description, it sounds like age/oxidation/acid rain have taken their toll. Short of painting (which is a pain) a good buffing would be the next best thing. How badly can he ruin the paint?
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