OT: Cars

[NickyFotiu]

The reason you'll get so many opinions is two fold, as I said a lot of this can be trial & error & the bigger issue is that some products can do wonders on one car but not on another. Then there's the pad/product dilemma. Which one to use with which pad? it's a bit overwhelming, honestly...so the thing I tell guys is if you find something that works well for you, stick with it.

I got to the point that I would only have my cars painted with a specific clear coat from Axalta(Dupont) because I knew exactly how it would build on the surface, how easy it was to sand flat & how well it polished out. The products I used, including wet sand paper, buffing pads & polish, all stayed the same so I would have no surprises. Time is money & I didn't want to spin my wheels after all that work. I've had freshly painted clear coats that were a f***ing nightmare to sand or a nightmare to polish. It can make your life hell, believe me.

I believe you and totally agree. Even as just a once in a while detailer I have used at least a half dozen brands and over a dozen products.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Drove in sunshine today. I'm very pleased with both the results and ease of use. Now keep in mind I was not looking for a show car level job. I think that is impossible with my 17 year old abused black paint. I would say it took care of 85%-90% of my issues and I did that in just 10-15 minutes on the hood/top of fenders and 8-10 minutes on trunk/top of quarter panels. Just 1 product (Carpro Ultracut) and 1 pad (LakeCountry HDO Blue).

 

[Boris Zubov]

Drove in sunshine today. I'm very pleased with both the results and ease of use. Now keep in mind I was not looking for a show car level job. I think that is impossible with my 17 year old abused black paint. I would say it took care of 85%-90% of my issues and I did that in just 10-15 minutes on the hood/top of fenders and 8-10 minutes on trunk/top of quarter panels. Just 1 product (Carpro Ultracut) and 1 pad (LakeCountry HDO Blue).

Let's see some pics.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Let's see some pics.

I took these this morning just for myself. I do not know if you will be able to tell anything from them. Its in my garage so you see the lights reflected.

 

[Boris Zubov]

I took these this morning just for myself. I do not know if you will be able to tell anything from them. Its in my garage so you see the lights reflected. View attachment 888187View attachment 888188

Looks great, man. Nice work.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Looks great, man. Nice work.

I was in a hurry today. Next time Ill take pics outside or with garage light off. I was not planning on posting them. I only took them as a reference for myself. Here is a pic where you can actually see the cars that was taken a few years ago.

 

[Unpredictable1]

What jalopies do you have in the stable?

black 96 TA 6spd LT1 with t-tops (actually light on power modifications but still put 290hp to the ground - had her since she was 4yrs old)
Ol 86 Sierra Classic half ton with a 350 4bbl that still goes to work (with some nice dad options of cruise, pl, pw, ac etc)

My buddy threw the keys to his 99 2 door Explorer Sport back at me in April past, I used to own it some 12-13 years ago and sold it to him for what I was into it for because he needed a vehicle. He was going to donate it and was hesitant to let me have it because it needed work but he's not mechanically inclined (that one is gettin the love right now as I daily drive it!)

Then the kids got their rides that clog up the driveway and street lol

 

[Boris Zubov]

black 96 TA 6spd LT1 with t-tops (actually light on power modifications but still put 290hp to the ground - had her since she was 4yrs old)
Ol 86 Sierra Classic half ton with a 350 4bbl that still goes to work (with some nice dad options of cruise, pl, pw, ac etc)

My buddy threw the keys to his 99 2 door Explorer Sport back at me in April past, I used to own it some 12-13 years ago and sold it to him for what I was into it for because he needed a vehicle. He was going to donate it and was hesitant to let me have it because it needed work but he's not mechanically inclined (that one is gettin the love right now as I daily drive it!)

Then the kids got their rides that clog up the driveway and street lol

Cool! That 86 pick up probably gets a lot of attention, but the TA is really a fun car to drive with a 6 speed.

The black '67 Chevelle I posted earlier in the thread has a LS1/T-56 that I pulled from a 2002 Camaro. It was such a blast to drive with that 6 speed.

 

[Unpredictable1]

Cool! That 86 pick up probably gets a lot of attention, but the TA is really a fun car to drive with a 6 speed.

The black '67 Chevelle I posted earlier in the thread has a LS1/T-56 that I pulled from a 2002 Camaro. It was such a blast to drive with that 6 speed.

View attachment 888327

Jesus merciful Christ.... well done.

Wow.

 

[Nogatco Rd]

 

[nyrmetros]

Any thoughts on a 2002 Reynard Honda IndyCar?

 

[NickyFotiu]

Had a rear tire go 100% no air on the way to the store. Good thing it was a run flat. Drive 30 minutes no problem home.

 

[Ben Grimm]

I've been doing a lot of research this year. Edmunds is the best site to buy a car. Get a nice trim. (Car and Driver has good advice). A car is more than just the powertrain.

Speaking of which after you buy it's too late if you didn't get enough power. The smallest engine I recommend is a 2.5L 4-CYL with at least 219 hp.

 

[ThirdEye]

I was in a hurry today. Next time Ill take pics outside or with garage light off. I was not planning on posting them. I only took them as a reference for myself. Here is a pic where you can actually see the cars that was taken a few years ago.
View attachment 888258

Nice, had a manual E85 Z4 for about 2 years and loved every second of it. That thing drove on rails and the 3.0L engine sounded awesome, especially with the top down (can only imagine how good the M roadster sounds). Eventually sold it cause I needed more space and the roof went for like the 3rd time. Also didn't care for all of the creaks and rattles. Awesome powertrain though and a very underrated car

 

[NickyFotiu]

Nice, had a manual E85 Z4 for about 2 years and loved every second of it. That thing drove on rails and the 3.0L engine sounded awesome, especially with the top down (can only imagine how good the M roadster sounds). Eventually sold it cause I needed more space and the roof went for like the 3rd time. Also didn't care for all of the creaks and rattles. Awesome powertrain though and a very underrated car

I enjoy mine. Its been pretty reliable and I got it used at a fair price. For what I use it for it has been a good match for me. It is an automatic so I use it for easy driving.

 

[Synergy27]

I wasn’t expecting to have so many talented restorers here. I have a pretty basic question that I am hoping someone can help me with.

I have a 2013 Mazda CX-5 and the paint on the rear spoiler is fading. Would I be able to fix that with an orbital sander and this stuff?:

Mazda CX-5 Touch Up Paint & Paint Color Codes

Browse our large inventory of Mazda CX-5 touch up paint to keep your vehicle looking brand new. Choose from pens, brushes, aerosol and combo kits to do the job right.

touchupdirect.com

 

[NickyFotiu]

I wasn’t expecting to have so many talented restorers here. I have a pretty basic question that I am hoping someone can help me with.

I have a 2013 Mazda CX-5 and the paint on the rear spoiler is fading. Would I be able to fix that with an orbital sander and this stuff?:

Mazda CX-5 Touch Up Paint & Paint Color Codes

Browse our large inventory of Mazda CX-5 touch up paint to keep your vehicle looking brand new. Choose from pens, brushes, aerosol and combo kits to do the job right.

touchupdirect.com

View attachment 896345

I can't tell enough from your picture to offer a legit opinion. In general Id see if the paint could be fixed before respraying it. I have seen some good amateur resprays and some bad. Can you tell if the clear coat has been broken?

 

[Boris Zubov]

Delete

 

[Boris Zubov]

I wasn’t expecting to have so many talented restorers here. I have a pretty basic question that I am hoping someone can help me with.

I have a 2013 Mazda CX-5 and the paint on the rear spoiler is fading. Would I be able to fix that with an orbital sander and this stuff?:

Mazda CX-5 Touch Up Paint & Paint Color Codes

Browse our large inventory of Mazda CX-5 touch up paint to keep your vehicle looking brand new. Choose from pens, brushes, aerosol and combo kits to do the job right.

touchupdirect.com

View attachment 896345

If you look at the rear corners, the clear coat has been "burnt" off & the base coat of the paint has been affected. When the clear coat is compromised like this, sanding it will only damage the base coat even more. The only option is to repaint the entire section, but you can't simply spray clear coat over it & call it good. If you were to do that, you would have a shiny surface covering the previously damaged clear coat. What this means is first the red base coat would need to be sprayed on the damaged areas...most likely the entire section would need to be covered & then some surrounding panels would need to be blended with red base coat. Then the entire area would be clear coated.

Theoretically this would be a simple job for a competent painter, but the issue is color match. Because this car is 11 years old, it's not as simple as going to the paint store, giving them the paint code of the car & having them mix the color. From the factory, paints have what they call "Variants", meaning if the color is called "Brilliant Red" (I'm making this up), there can likely be 12 versions of that color depending on the plant the car was built & the day the paint was mixed. One Toyota/Lexus color I made the mistake of using had almost 40 variants, which made color matching basically impossible without using some advanced techniques.

You are in a very lucky position, however. Since this area is on the roof, any color mismatch it's less likely to be noticed as opposed to many cars where the bumpers have been resprayed. What I would do is keep the repair contained to the borders of the affected spoiler panel. Find a shop where you can explain to the painter you only want him to touch up the areas where the clear has burnt away with fresh red base coat, & then clear coat the entire spoiler using the body gaps as his boundaries to tape off the rest of the car. When spraying clear coat, you need to cover the entire panel or you will get hard paint edges that will look very unsightly when the car is unmasked. Those edges are basically impossible to remove, which is why the entire panel must be clear coated.

Good news it's a simple repair for a competent painter, bad news red paint is the most expensive to mix & all body work is overpriced. With that said, you can probably have this done for less than $1500 at a shop. If you're willing to try this yourself, I can walk you through the steps I would take...not sure I would use the stuff in that link, but the process would be the same.

 

[Synergy27]

If you look at the rear corners, the clear coat has been "burnt" off & the base coat of the paint has been affected. When the clear coat is compromised like this, sanding it will only damage the base coat even more. The only option is to repaint the entire section, but you can't simply spray clear coat over it & call it good. If you were to do that, you would have a shiny surface covering the previously damaged clear coat. What this means is first the red base coat would need to be sprayed on the damaged areas...most likely the entire section would need to be covered & then some surrounding panels would need to be blended with red base coat. Then the entire area would be clear coated.

Theoretically this would be a simple job for a competent painter, but the issue is color match. Because this car is 11 years old, it's not as simple as going to the paint store, giving them the paint code of the car & having them mix the color. From the factory, paints have what they call "Variants", meaning if the color is called "Brilliant Red" (I'm making this up), there can likely be 12 versions of that color depending on the plant the car was built & the day the paint was mixed. One Toyota/Lexus color I made the mistake of using had almost 40 variants, which made color matching basically impossible without using some advanced techniques.

You are in a very lucky position, however. Since this area is on the roof, any color mismatch it's less likely to be noticed as opposed to many cars where the bumpers have been resprayed. What I would do is keep the repair contained to the borders of the affected spoiler panel. Find a shop where you can explain to the painter you only want him to touch up the areas where the clear has burnt away with fresh red base coat, & then clear coat the entire spoiler using the body gaps as his boundaries to tape off the rest of the car. When spraying clear coat, you need to cover the entire panel or you will get hard paint edges that will look very unsightly when the car is unmasked. Those edges are basically impossible to remove, which is why the entire panel must be clear coated.

Good news it's a simple repair for a competent painter, bad news red paint is the most expensive to mix & all body work is overpriced. With that said, you can probably have this done for less than $1500 at a shop. If you're willing to try this yourself, I can walk you through the steps I would take...not sure I would use the stuff in that link, but the process would be the same.

Ah, crazy detailed response. Thank you so much.

There is no way I am sinking $1.5k into this car. It has 125k miles on it and I just plan to beat on it for a few more years until I get something new for myself. I just inherited this from my wife because we got her a new car.

Maybe I’ll just paint the spoiler matte black and see how it looks. Haha

 

[NickyFotiu]

Ah, crazy detailed response. Thank you so much.

There is no way I am sinking $1.5k into this car. It has 125k miles on it and I just plan to beat on it for a few more years until I get something new for myself. I just inherited this from my wife because we got her a new car.

Maybe I’ll just paint the spoiler matte black and see how it looks. Haha

You haved said spoiler but Im not familiar with spoilers from the roof area. I only know ones that are bolted or glued on the trunk area. Is the spoiler removable? If so you may be able to sand it, prime it and do an amatuer spray. I have seen people do rattle can sprays of whole cars. I don't recommend that but I was surprised at how well they did. If the spoiler is removable you could also remove it, sand it, and prime it in your garage. Then just ask a shop to spray it.

 

[Boris Zubov]

Ah, crazy detailed response. Thank you so much.

There is no way I am sinking $1.5k into this car. It has 125k miles on it and I just plan to beat on it for a few more years until I get something new for myself. I just inherited this from my wife because we got her a new car.

Maybe I’ll just paint the spoiler matte black and see how it looks. Haha

If you're comfortable with using spray cans, you can do this yourself for about $200 give or take. Depending on your skill level it will come out decent to good. It will never be perfect(who cares) but if you're willing to spend a weekend on it, I can give you some guidance on how to get it looking way better than it is.

 

[NickyFotiu]

If you're comfortable with using spray cans, you can do this yourself for about $200 give or take. Depending on your skill level it will come out decent to good. It will never be perfect(who cares) but if you're willing to spend a weekend on it, I can give you some guidance on how to get it looking way better than it is.

If he is willing to spend a little more money he may be able to find a shop willing to mix a paint match for him. Then he can spray that in a few different ways. I only mention that because the rest of his paint may not match the rattle cans.

 

[Boris Zubov]

If he is willing to spend a little more money he may be able to find a shop willing to mix a paint match for him. Then he can spray that in a few different ways. I only mention that because the rest of his paint may not match the rattle cans.

His door jamb should have a tag that gives a paint code with the variant. He can take that to any decent auto paint supply store & have a spray can made with the base coat to match his car. Assuming he doesn't have a spray gun or a compressor this is a better options than ordering generic paint from the internet. Trying to match factory paint will always lead to disappointment if you don't have a pro mix it for you.

If he really wanted to get the best match possible, a good paint supply store could match his paint with a special camera & a computer. My local guy in Vegas charged $40 for this service (plus the cost of the paint) & it took about 10 days to have the paint mixed, but this method is by far the closest he's going to get. Even so it still might not match because metallic & pearls are greatly affected by the air pressure coming out of the gun. A spray can will have a tough time emulating 25 psi from a spray gun.

Regardless this is the route I would choose. Mixed base coat in a spray can, plus I believe his car has pearl, so that would be a separate spray can. Then a 3rd step is the clear coat, which can also be had in a spray can. For spot repairs, there is a company called Spray Maxx that actually sells a spray can of clear coat that has a 2 part system that hardens & sprays like paint from a spray gun. I've used it with excellent results.

 

[NickyFotiu]

His door jamb should have a tag that gives a paint code with the variant. He can take that to any decent auto paint supply store & have a spray can made with the base coat to match his car. Assuming he doesn't have a spray gun or a compressor this is a better options than ordering generic paint from the internet. Trying to match factory paint will always lead to disappointment if you don't have a pro mix it for you.

If he really wanted to get the best match possible, a good paint supply store could match his paint with a special camera & a computer. My local guy in Vegas charged $40 for this service (plus the cost of the paint) & it took about 10 days to have the paint mixed, but this method is by far the closest he's going to get. Even so it still might not match because metallic & pearls are greatly affected by the air pressure coming out of the gun. A spray can will have a tough time emulating 25 psi from a spray gun.

Regardless this is the route I would choose. Mixed base coat in a spray can, plus I believe his car has pearl, so that would be a separate spray can. Then a 3rd step is the clear coat, which can also be had in a spray can. For spot repairs, there is a company called Spray Maxx that actually sells a spray can of clear coat that has a 2 part system that hardens & sprays like paint from a spray gun. I've used it with excellent results.

I have been let down by some rattle can and touchup matches bought in store or online using exact factory paint codes but maybe a shop would be different. His car may have faded a bit. Thats why I put out the option of a paint match. Never heard of SprayMaxx. Thanks for the tip!