Auto Paint Restoration

You can greatly improve the look of an older paint job by performing an auto paint restoration. With the right tools and a little know how you can remove oxidized paint, scratches and swirl marks from your car’s paint job. My 1989 Mustang’s original paint job was looking pretty shabby. It had it all. The oxidation, scratches, swirl marks and some odd streaks down the sides really dragged down the overall look of the car.

Preparation

Before getting started with polishing, I decided to try my hand with a clay bar. Using a clay bar helps remove embedded contaminants and fine particles from the paint. If these particles aren’t removed prior to polishing, they will scratch the paint as you polish. After using the Mother’s Clay Bar System, the surface of the paint felt super smooth. I only ended up using one of the clay bars to do the whole car.

First Polishing Attempt

It’s worth noting that I knew nothing about restoring paint before I started. I started with some cheap 3″ and 5″ buffing pads on a drill adapter and some buffing compound. That worked to remove oxidation and some scratches but it left “hologram” marks on the paint’s surface. It looked like crap in the sun! The cordless drill simply doesn’t have enough speed to leave a nice finish.

Second Polishing Attempt

The fear of messing up a 30 year old paint job left me very hesitant to use an electric polisher. I finally broke down and bought an electric random orbit polisher and better pads. Since I wouldn’t be working on a lot of paint jobs, I didn’t want to spend a lot. After researching, I settled on the Bauer Dual Action Random Orbit Polisher.

Random Orbit Polisher

I opted to just go with Harbor Freight brand of polishing pads. Be careful when choosing polishing pads. Every manufacturer seem to use different color pads for different applications. Both Chemical Guys and Meguiar’s make great polishing pads.

When it comes to selecting polishing compound there are a ton of choices. Again, I had no polishing experience to fall back on. I ended up starting with the Meguiar’s Mirror Glaze Ultra Cut Compound 105 and an orange pad from Harbor Freight. After that, I went to a blue pad from Harbor Freight and Meguiar’s G19220 Ultimate Polish.

Here’s one of the videos I watched to learn how to use a polisher.

Before Polishing

AFTER POLISHING

Waxing

After all that polishing, protecting the paint was essential. Automotive waxes have come a long way in recent years. I chose the Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax. It goes on smooth, dries quickly and buffs off easily. I applied and removed the wax with micro fiber towels. This stuff smells good too. It doesn’t smell like petroleum like other waxes I’ve used.

Final Results

I was pleasantly surprised with my results. No more oxidation, streaks or swirl marks. My newbie polishing skills were also able to remove a lot of scratches and unsightly hard water spots. Don’t be afraid to give paint restoration a shot.